Problems with Value Charge - Cannot get car to wait to Chg

[johnny]

Hoping someone can offer some advice. I set our FFE 2014 to value charge. I set the time for value charge from 10pm to 2pm every day including weekends. I set that as the default profile and on MFM I have an added profile for home which is also set the same. I use a 120V charger free with car. I run the battery down to about 50% and plug it in then the car sometimes waits a bit or sometimes starts charging immediately but never waits til 10pm? I really want it to wait til 10pm when my electric rates go down.

The time on the clock in the car is right and its properly set to PST which is my time zone.

I tried setting GoTimes for 2pm but that did not work so I removed them. I called Ford and created a case but have not yet heard back.

I wonder if I should reset the car and disconnect the car from MFM and then start over? Maybe also not use MFM at all and just use the time clock in the car. Or I wonder if I need to spend the money and buy a level 2 charger? (I have a 240V outlet in the garage for welder on 50 or 60 A circuit just not sure which is the most affordable charger?)

Sync is the latest rev as the car is only 2 weeks old and per the site I think its was like 3.6.2 if I remember right.

Any ideas please?

I really appreciate the help.
John

 

[jmueller065]

I think its been mentioned before around here that value charging doesn't work on Level I.

Something like the car calculates that it will take longer than the time window to charge so it just starts immediately.

 

[unplugged]

I think its been mentioned before around here that value charging doesn't work on Level I.

That is my understanding also. But I charge on Level 2-240 volts, so I can't confirm. One interesting experiment may be to have just a little need for a charge and see if Value Charging works when you only need a couple of hours. If it works, then the reason is confirmed regarding charging outside the window of Value Charge. If it doesn't charge, then I guess the answer is that Level 1 and 120 volts just doesn't work on Value Charging in any case.

 

[Cogniscaena]

This issue has been driving me crazy the past two days. I have had two FFE 2013s for 3 months and recently installed a Bosch level 2 charger ($650). The value charge seemed to work fine for both vehicles on the Level 2 and Level 1 chargers until yesterday, when I noticed that the vehicle plugged into the 120v charger was not "waiting to charge" any more.

After resetting everything and starting from scratch, I could not seem to get it to adhere to the value charge schedule...

This evening, however, I decided to change the default profile Charge Rate to 240v to "fool" the car into thinking that it CAN charge within the allotted time. This, however, did not work until I created a separate profile for my "Home" charging location.

I believe that it IS also a function of the amount of charge required. Earlier this morning (before coming across this solution), the value charge worked after driving the fully charged vehicle 1.5 miles and plugging back in.

I hope this works for you.

 

[johnny]

I have gone ahead and paid $900 for an Aerovironment lvl 2 charger from Amazon. Its coming tomorrow. I already have a the NEMA plug installed for it so installation should be fairly easy for me, at least I hope.

Then I am hoping that this issue will be resolved since I will use level 2 charging.

Thanks for the support everybody.
John

 

[dcast1079]

I have a 2013 FFE with the newest update. I also have the same issue. I have the vehicle set to Value charge and MFM set to value charge from 0001 to 0700 hours. The vehicle will ALWAYS charge as soon as I get home and plug it in. No Go times set, have a level 2 charger. Not sure how to resolve the problem.

For now I just go outside at 0500 hours and plug it in. Fully charge within two hours from 50%.

Otherwise --- I LOVE THIS CAR

 

[oilman]

Just curious. Are you sure the car starts and COMPLETES the charge after you plug it in? I use value charge with a start time of 9 pm. When I get home and plug in (to a 240 v system), I hear the click in the car indicating the charger has engaged. However, this soon clicks off and the car only starts to charge later at the appointed time. You might keep an eye on it one time and see if this is the case for you as well. The system will also engage immediately if it is hot and the battery needs to cool. Anyway, something to look for.

Oilman

 

[michael]

I just spotted your thread. I inquired about exactly the same thing. Yes...it starts immediately, doesn't wait for the programmed start time.

Level 2 6 KW charger.

 

[laguna_b]

Clipper Creek L2 charger since day one. value charging HAS NEVER WORKED reliably. Ford has been unresponsive with open issue since October (problem since February) Have reset everything and been through firmware update with reset to system. Tried entering profile both on car and via web. We get the same unreliable results. Car charges when IT wants, tells us it will start at 11PM when it is in the middle of weekend off peak times, will charge in the middle of peak times, no pattern repeated. What do you expect with a system run by Microsoft? That is why nothing I own with a processor lacks an Apple LOGO.

Other than the charging issues....of which this is only one, we love the car.

 

[az erik]

Just curious. Are you sure the car starts and COMPLETES the charge after you plug it in? I use value charge with a start time of 9 pm. When I get home and plug in (to a 240 v system), I hear the click in the car indicating the charger has engaged. However, this soon clicks off and the car only starts to charge later at the appointed time. You might keep an eye on it one time and see if this is the case for you as well. The system will also engage immediately if it is hot and the battery needs to cool. Anyway, something to look for.

Oilman

This is what I see as well. My car 'charges' for 1 minute then kicks off. The L2 charger says charging but the ring flips off and the battery disconnects. Then it starts charging at the set time. I believe this throws a LOT of people off as I used to unplug the thing and get pissed about the value charge not waiting. When in fact it might well have.

I only set a value charge for m-f and only on the 120v. Never bothered looking at the 240v settings (in the car) and it appears to be working. Though completely wrong from the thinking but it's working for me now.

 

[davideos]

My FFE finally started to misbehave. It worked flawlessly for a year, then finally, I was leaving work for home, and it didn't charge at all. I had checked on it shortly after plugging it in and the charge light was flashing, but when I left for home and the charge ring was off, I thought it fully charged, but it didn't. After that, I noticed more odd behavior and decided that I'd have to remove the car from the "system" since I could not modify the value charge times since the app and web-site switch-over a few months ago.

I started with doing the master reset from the car, but that didn't clear the value times on MFM and was still messed up. I then went to the website and removed the car and kept the settings. That didn't work either. I ended up having to delete the car from MFM as if I were selling it, and add it back. That did the trick and all is well again. I lost some of the historical data from the car, but no big deal. I only use MFM to check charge completion when I'm at a computer.

Lesson learned:
-Yes, Value charge does mess up from time to time.
-If you have the double "home" value charge setting, you can clear it by doing the full reset from MFM
-After reseting the car, there may be some delay in being able to add it back. If you reset from the car, it seems that it takes longer for MFM to accept your VIN. It wasn't till after I re-configured my radio stations etc before the VIN was available on MFM
-If you do the full reset from MFM, you will have to do the 24hr double confirm method before you have full access to the car from MFM.

 

[az erik]

I did have this happen and I'm not sure what/why it did it.

The ring was off but the chargers said "Charging" the car stayed in this 99% charged state for about an hour. Never went to 100% but the L2 CHarger no longer said Charging. I'm not worried about it but figured it was MFM.

 

[jmueller065]

In addition if the ambient temperature is < freezing it will trickle charge the battery until the charge time (or full whichever comes first).

I notice this daily now in the cold weather. When the temp is above freezing MFM and the app will say: "Waiting to charge" and show the start time of my value charge (1am). When the temp is below freezing I still see "Waiting to charge" but the start time shown will be the time I plugged the car in. (Presumably it is doing this to keep warm.)

All of this is on a Level 2.

 

[davideos]

I did have this happen and I'm not sure what/why it did it.

The ring was off but the chargers said "Charging" the car stayed in this 99% charged state for about an hour. Never went to 100% but the L2 CHarger no longer said Charging. I'm not worried about it but figured it was MFM.

Mine does that all the time. I haven't played around with it, but one time I unplugged it when it was telling me 99% and the charge ring was off, I got a text that it was 100%. And sometimes when it does indicate 99%, the completion time is in the past.

Even with its quirks, it is still helpful to monitor completion time.