The Ford Lightning Miscellaneous Question and Answer Thread

[bmwhitetx]

The feature is a part of the MAX TOW option starting MY2025, optional on Pro, XLT, Flash, Lariat, included on Platinum.

Cool, we need the FORScan gurus to see if this can be enabled for earlier models like they did for the Advanced Charging Screen and Pro Power Onboard. As always. it might require newer module firmware.

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[WXman]

Ok so I decided to just try and look it up in the owners manual. It's actually pretty tough to find online in true "book" format. Anyhow, it DOES look like Slippery Mode kills or reduces the regen braking to help prevent losing control while going down a hill in the snow. Nice. I will be sure to use that a lot this winter.

 

[bmwhitetx]

I have no Max Towing package. I also have no options other than the Tesla adapter and PPO. The Slippery Mode is standard. So you guys don't have it? Every Lightning I've looked at has it.

Are you looking at just 2025's? I have a 2022 with MaxTow, TowTech, Onboard Scale, ... everything. But I don't have Slippery mode or the Hill Descent Control slider.

@TaxmanHog - he's referring to Slippery mode but his screenshot also shows a Hill Descent Control toggle (highlighted below) which we don't have. Maybe they are related. But the owners manual note he posted for slippery seems to indicate grade braking (hill descent?) is turned off.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Every Lightning I've looked at has it.

I'll assume ..... they were all 2025!!

 

[Athrun88]

Looks like it is just 2025+; we'll just have to wait for OTA in the next 5 years or ForSCAN experts to see if we can get it too

 

[TaxmanHog]

Looks like it is just 2025+; we'll just have to wait for OTA in the next 5 years or ForSCAN experts to see if we can get it too

Can FORScan turn on Slippery Mode and previous Drive Mode for pre-2025 Trucks?

 

[Ford Motor Company]

The feature is a part of the MAX TOW option starting MY2025, optional on Pro, XLT, Flash, Lariat, included on Platinum.

2025 F-150 Lightning ORDER GUIDE (8/26/24) - PDF DOWNLOAD

@TaxmanHog swinging in as the MVP once again. Thanks!

 

[WXman]

@TaxmanHog swinging in as the MVP once again. Thanks!

Again, I don't have any options for it on my Monroney sticker, nor do I have the Max Towing package. These 5 drive modes are just standard equipment on all 2025s from what I can see.

To follow up on this, today I tried Slippery mode (even though it's not snowing yet) just to see how it drives. I LOVE it. It feels exactly like an ICE truck. I can coast down hills without throttle input, and acceleration is very controlled. This is going to be a fantastic help when winter comes out here in rural America. Thank you @Ford Motor Company for adding this feature to the Lightning. Without it I truly think this truck would be dangerous on slick roads.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I was NOT intending to assert the "Slippery" mode is dependent on MAX TOW, only that Hill Descent appears to be related to the MAX TOW package group.

 

[arod412]

Been reading manual and searching for answers but im hoping I can get some clarity on battery conditioning...and only battery conditioning( not climate control) in the winter.

My understanding is that it works when you turn on climate control and setting departure times. Personally for me, im a get up and go kinda person, so setting those predeparture setting just isnt something I prefer especially when times change. In a gas car for me, there have been plenty of times where I would remote start and just forget it if things change...and car/truck shuts off after a period of time. Other times, im just going 5 mins away, and I really dont need to put on a heater if I have a nice thick jacket.

So the question in regards to battery conditioning..... really only happens when its plugged in and charging? I get it, if im chargong to 80%, but about different scenarios where you dont need to fully charge?

Let's just say im at 50% ( you can change it to 60-80%) state of charge, and tomorrow is going to drop to single digits? I dont need to charge because im going grocery shopping or going to work which is 10 mins away and 5 miles...if I set my charge to 50% in the app and plug it in overnight, will my battery be conditioned the entire night for the morning?

Again..I dont need to fully charge every single day...my commute are extremely short ( everything i need is within 10 miles), but how can I conditioning ONLY the battery. Things heat up pretty quickly when using climate controls but the battery takes longer to warm up.

Im well versed on how climate controls work and its been helpful in the summer, but that doesn't effect range and battery conditions like the winter does. So thats why I only want to focus on only battery conditioning.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Been reading manual and searching for answers but I'm hoping I can get some clarity on battery conditioning...and only battery conditioning( not climate control) in the winter.

My understanding is that it works when you turn on climate control and setting departure times. Personally for me, I'm a get up and go kinda person, so setting those pre departure setting just isn't something I prefer especially when times change. In a gas car for me, there have been plenty of times where I would remote start and just forget it if things change...and car/truck shuts off after a period of time. Other times, i'm just going 5 mins away, and I really don't need to put on a heater if I have a nice thick jacket.

So the question in regards to battery conditioning..... really only happens when its plugged in and charging? I get it, if im charging to 80%, but about different scenarios where you don't need to fully charge?

Let's just say I'm at 50% ( you can change it to 60-80%) state of charge, and tomorrow is going to drop to single digits? I don't need to charge because I'm going grocery shopping or going to work which is 10 mins away and 5 miles...if I set my charge to 50% in the app and plug it in overnight, will my battery be conditioned the entire night for the morning?

Again..I don't need to fully charge every single day...my commute are extremely short ( everything i need is within 10 miles), but how can I conditioning ONLY the battery. Things heat up pretty quickly when using climate controls but the battery takes longer to warm up.

Im well versed on how climate controls work and its been helpful in the summer, but that doesn't affect range and battery conditions like the winter does. So that's why I only want to focus on only battery conditioning.

You only need to have the truck plugged in and the EVSE is in a mode (speaking about NON Ford EVSE's) where there is an independent time controller for 'time-of-use' situations, the FCSP and FCCS and FMC are all 'always ready' devices. Just plug in the truck and it'll manage what needs to happen based on environmental conditions, charging rules and departure rules.

The scheme's you set for topping up your battery in Sync will follow the programmed rules based on time and target SOC settings.

If you only want to do 'charging' once a week for example, lower the SOC limitation to the base [50%], then the scheme will not activate a charging session until the battery charge level drops below this value, then once a week, on designated topping off day bump it back to your prefered value. This will minimize the number the actual charging sessions per week/month based on your particulars.

As for cold weather battery conditioning, the truck has a passive process to ensure the battery is at minimum operating temps'. I've seen my truck activate it's battery conditioning phase for 10-20 minutes in the middle of the night when it's very cold out., it's only happened a few times in the most brutal of temps, ie. ~10° or less.

Then we have the departure time routine, which will invoke a battery conditioning phase appx 40 to 20 minutes prior to leave time that I programmed, this phase only warms the battery, the truck is pretty flexible about when it decides to do this, then later when it's about 10 minutes before departure, the cabin heating phase will begin, this is programmed on my truck to run for 15 minutes, the last 5 minutes would be after my intended leave time to allow for less than precision roll out timing and getting the wife to go.

The one oddball situation I've experienced is if I charge the battery to 100% in advance of a big trip on a cold winter day, and the battery has had a chance to cool down, the re-heat phase won't kick on, so I've developed a process of only topping up just in time to 95%, this allows the charging and departure timed events to work together just in time before actual leave time. This method of operation is very seldom used in my personal travels.

A Ford executive said quite a while ago while being interviewed by @tommolog that if you have an unpredictable schedule, to simply set the departure time a couple hours ahead of intended leave time frame, that way the battery is already to go and all you need is 5-10 minute of spontaneous remote start if a warm cabin is desired.

 

[arod412]

You only need to have the truck plugged in and the EVSE is in a mode (speaking about NON Ford EVSE's) where there is an independent time controller for 'time-of-use' situations, the FCSP and FCCS and FMC are all 'always ready' devices. Just plug in the truck and it'll manage what needs to happen based on environmental conditions, charging rules and departure rules.

The scheme's you set for topping up your battery in Sync will follow the programmed rules based on time and target SOC settings.

If you only want to do 'charging' once a week for example, lower the SOC limitation to the base [50%], then the scheme will not activate a charging session until the battery charge level drops below this value, then once a week, on designated topping off day bump it back to your prefered value. This will minimize the number the actual charging sessions per week/month based on your particulars.

As for cold weather battery conditioning, the truck has a passive process to ensure the battery is at minimum operating temps'. I've seen my truck activate it's battery conditioning phase for 10-20 minutes in the middle of the night when it's very cold out., it's only happened a few times in the most brutal of temps, ie. ~10° or less.

Then we have the departure time routine, which will invoke a battery conditioning phase appx 40 to 20 minutes prior to leave time that I programmed, this phase only warms the battery, the truck is pretty flexible about when it decides to do this, then later when it's about 10 minutes before departure, the cabin heating phase will begin, this is programmed on my truck to run for 15 minutes, the last 5 minutes would be after my intended leave time to allow for less than precision roll out timing and getting the wife to go.

The one oddball situation I've experienced is if I charge the battery to 100% in advance of a big trip on a cold winter day, and the battery has had a chance to cool down, the re-heat phase won't kick on, so I've developed a process of only topping up just in time to 95%, this allows the charging and departure timed events to work together just in time before actual leave time. This method of operation is very seldom used in my personal travels.

A Ford executive said quite a while ago while being interviewed by @tommolog that if you have an unpredictable schedule, to simply set the departure time a couple our ahead of intended leave time frame, that way the battery is already to go and all you need is 5-10 minute of spontaneous remote start if a warm cabin is desired.

Its going to be something I would need to test and look at that battery status. Setting departure times for me might not work, but maybe just plugging it in and leaving it in is my only option. Even if my current charge state is 75% and just plug it in at 6pm at night and leaving it overnight is best to keep the battery warm. It is also interesting on what would the conditions be if it is fully charged to 80% and its plugged in compared to setting the climate and not plugged in. Will it pull charging on/off from the home during those several hours to keep the battery warm or best operating temp for me to just jump in an go. When I leave for work the next day at 7am...(and that time can vary either earlier or later).

 

[TaxmanHog]

Its going to be something I would need to test and look at that battery status. Setting departure times for me might not work, but maybe just plugging it in and leaving it in is my only option. Even if my current charge state is 75% and just plug it in at 6pm at night and leaving it overnight is best to keep the battery warm. It is also interesting on what would the conditions be if it is fully charged to 80% and its plugged in compared to setting the climate and not plugged in. Will it pull charging on/off from the home during those several hours to keep the battery warm or best operating temp for me to just jump in an go. When I leave for work the next day at 7am...(and that time can vary either earlier or later).

Using remote start and :

• If you're plugged in then any type of energy needs will be supplied by the EVSE, be it battery conditioning or cabin warming, LVB for the seats and steering wheel only.
  
  
• When you're NOT plugged in, then the HVB (High Voltage Battery) only provides energy to warm the cabin, LVB for the seats and steering wheel.

 

[Maquis]

Been reading manual and searching for answers but im hoping I can get some clarity on battery conditioning...and only battery conditioning( not climate control) in the winter.

My understanding is that it works when you turn on climate control and setting departure times. Personally for me, im a get up and go kinda person, so setting those predeparture setting just isnt something I prefer especially when times change. In a gas car for me, there have been plenty of times where I would remote start and just forget it if things change...and car/truck shuts off after a period of time. Other times, im just going 5 mins away, and I really dont need to put on a heater if I have a nice thick jacket.

So the question in regards to battery conditioning..... really only happens when its plugged in and charging? I get it, if im chargong to 80%, but about different scenarios where you dont need to fully charge?

Let's just say im at 50% ( you can change it to 60-80%) state of charge, and tomorrow is going to drop to single digits? I dont need to charge because im going grocery shopping or going to work which is 10 mins away and 5 miles...if I set my charge to 50% in the app and plug it in overnight, will my battery be conditioned the entire night for the morning?

Again..I dont need to fully charge every single day...my commute are extremely short ( everything i need is within 10 miles), but how can I conditioning ONLY the battery. Things heat up pretty quickly when using climate controls but the battery takes longer to warm up.

Im well versed on how climate controls work and its been helpful in the summer, but that doesn't effect range and battery conditions like the winter does. So thats why I only want to focus on only battery conditioning.

For such short drives, there’s no need to precondition. You’ll simply use more electricity than if you didn’t.

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