What is the Trick? To leaving the Pro Power ON?

[chl]

Maybe Ford's concern with leaving PPOB on with the truck off is some kid fooling around with the outlets in the truck bed and frying themselves on the 240V outlet? So, it just seemed safer from a liability perspective to have PPOB off when the truck is off (and presumably might be unattended).

So...in some years it was a no no, and in others it was OK?
That does not compute.

They could easily fix it in a software update by removing that silly low power / inactivity shutdown, yes. No there is no known fix in Forscan. But no a dealer can't do anything; the software gods would have to do it.

I just leave the truck "on" with the main shutdown timer disabled (there *is* a Forscan tweak to have that one permanently disabled if so desired) if I have my cooler running. I usually have the dog in the truck so I need it "on" for the climate control anyway.

Seems like on my truck, if I had the shut down time off when I turn my truck off, it stays that way when I turn my truck on the next time, without any FORscan tweak needed.
The PPOB defaults to on as well if I had it on before.

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[chl]

Maybe Ford's concern with leaving PPOB on with the truck off is some kid fooling around with the outlets in the truck bed and frying themselves on the 240V outlet? So, it just seemed safer from a liability perspective to have PPOB off when the truck is off (and presumably might be unattended).

So...in some years, 2022-2023 model years, it was a dangerous no no, and in others years 2024+, it was OK?

That does not compute.

 

[Jim Lewis]

So...in some years, 2022-2023 model years, it was a dangerous no no, and in others years 2024+, it was OK?

That does not compute.

Must have bothered you a lot, since you felt compelled to post the remark twice! I don't see the problem.

Say, in 2022-2023, they make some design decision, and liability wins out. So, it's hard to maintain PPOB ON with the truck off because of that. Then, there's a lot of grumbling from 2022-2023 owners, "Why the F--- did you do that?" So, PPOB ON with the vehicle off is designed to work better for 2024+ vehicles, and liability concerns take a back seat. I haven't bothered to find out what's involved with PPOB ON with the vehicle off, or the 2024+ design changes from 2022-23. But since the vehicles have their differences, it's entirely possible that design priorities changed from what was originally built into the 2022-23 vehicles. The same Park Lock fix that works for 2024+ vehicles does not work for 2022-23 vehicles. Considerations of electrical safety can change and change how PPOB is allowed to work, and possibly not be worth fixing as Ford puts the original Lightning out to pasture. I'm still waiting for Ford to make the Home Integration System work reliably automatically .... Maybe if I'm lucky, Ford will fix that before it gets around to making PPOB work with the vehicle off in the 2022-2023 model years...

 

[jobofly79]

This is a very basic ask that Ford needs to address. We need a camp mode and dog mode as well. When I am camping in the winter time, I want my outlets to stay on all night so I can turn my electric blanket on and off as needed. Also need my devices to charge until full overnight.

 

[K6CCC]

I agree that PPO while the truck is off is kinda pointless with the power draw floor requirement, but I'm continually perplexed by the advice to just have a semiconstant load.

Because it's an easy fix.

Just leave the truck on and disable the auto shut off timer? There's no way the truck in the on state with HVAC off is using more power than running a space heater off the cabin outlet. Can you please explain what I'm missing?

What you're missing is the duty cycle. In my example, 100 watts for 1 second every 210 second is about 2400 watt seconds per hour - or about 2/3 of a watt hour per hour - or less than a LED nightlight bulb. No WAY the truck being ON uses less than that. Someone in this thread said it's about 300 watts to keep the truck on.

Not to seem like a Nervous Nelly but I guess space heaters never cause fires, right?

With one second of on time, the heater never even gets warm - let alone hot.

 

[ryun]

What you're missing is the duty cycle. In my example, 100 watts for 1 second every 210 second is about 2400 watt seconds per hour - or about 2/3 of a watt hour per hour - or less than a LED nightlight bulb. No WAY the truck being ON uses less than that. Someone in this thread said it's about 300 watts to keep the truck on.

I did see the duty cycle. I'm still not really getting why it's best to spend over $30 on a solution when one already exists. But I guess if you need every watt (though I remain unconvinced truck off + PPO is appreciably different than just truck on + HVAC off) and use PPO with truck off regularly then it's the best way.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[chl]

Must have bothered you a lot, since you felt compelled to post the remark twice! I don't see the problem.

Say, in 2022-2023, they make some design decision, and liability wins out. So, it's hard to maintain PPOB ON with the truck off because of that. Then, there's a lot of grumbling from 2022-2023 owners, "Why the F--- did you do that?" So, PPOB ON with the vehicle off is designed to work better for 2024+ vehicles, and liability concerns take a back seat. I haven't bothered to find out what's involved with PPOB ON with the vehicle off, or the 2024+ design changes from 2022-23. But since the vehicles have their differences, it's entirely possible that design priorities changed from what was originally built into the 2022-23 vehicles. The same Park Lock fix that works for 2024+ vehicles does not work for 2022-23 vehicles. Considerations of electrical safety can change and change how PPOB is allowed to work, and possibly not be worth fixing as Ford puts the original Lightning out to pasture. I'm still waiting for Ford to make the Home Integration System work reliably automatically .... Maybe if I'm lucky, Ford will fix that before it gets around to making PPOB work with the vehicle off in the 2022-2023 model years...

LOL, no, the system did that somehow, not sure what I did to have it show up twice...go figure!

Sorry about the HIS - if it were me, I think I'd demand my $$ back, and just use a $400 manual transfer switch...

 

[chl]

With one second of on time, the heater never even gets warm - let alone hot.

I see.
How much did the heater and timer cost and where do you put it, in the frunk?

The only time I need to keep the PPOB and the truck on is if there's a storm coming I want to be prepared for it, so if it's 300W x 10hrs (at most) that is 3kWh or about 15 cents where I live.

"The workaround that many of us have done is to get a short interval timer and a 100 - 200 watt heater. I found that with my 100 water heater, 1 second on and 220 seconds off will keep PPO on."

 

[Ford Motor Company]

@Ford Motor Company Hey Brian, is it feasible to have the minimum greater than 90W power draw to keep PPO "ON" be removed from the software logic? If so, could someone please generate a ticket for a future software update?

The desired outcome is that even if there is no load, PPO will remain in an "ON" or "Ready" state regardless of whether the full vehicle is "ON" or "OFF".

I've shared this with the team!

 

[chl]

I've shared this with the team!

 

[K6CCC]

I see.
How much did the heater and timer cost and where do you put it, in the frunk?

I would have to look. Not all that much.
Primary reason I have used it so far is when camping and using PPO to power my CPAP. I just put the heater on the tailgate pointed out. I can hear the relay in the timer click every cycle if I'm sleeping in the truck bed. If I set up the tent I can't hear it.

 

[Kansan]

Just makes no sense to me, unless holding the contactors to the HVB closed requires 12v battery power? Then I could see you'd run the risk of depleting your 12v battery if PPOB were on for too long with the truck off.

Of course, Ford could alleviate that issue by turning on the DC-DC converter to keep the 12v battery topped off while the HVB contactors are closed, eh?

I think I’m following what you’re saying here and want to offer what I’ve seen on my 24 Flash. With the truck off, PPOB On, work around in place - repeat cycle time with small heater on the floor of the back seat - the DC-DC converter is active continuously and holding the 12v system around 14v (and applying a charge to the 12v battery).

 

[chl]

I think I’m following what you’re saying here and want to offer what I’ve seen on my 24 Flash. With the truck off, PPOB On, work around in place - repeat cycle time with small heater on the floor of the back seat - the DC-DC converter is active continuously and holding the 12v system around 14v (and applying a charge to the 12v battery).

Interesting..so keeping the 12v battery from discharging isn't the reason for the threshold, at least in your Flash.

 

[vvgogh]

Someone with the "Pro Power on while truck off" option should do a test. Charge to 90% before each case. Test for at least 24h to get enough significant figures on the battery discharge. Ideally test for long enough to get 10% HVB discharge. Keep vehicle in garage. Turn HVAC off, headlights off, put screen on calm (push dial in and turn). The heater on timer method seems to be 1s on, 300s off to defeat the 6 min timeout.

Case 1) Truck ON, Power Power OFF
This is the baseline power draw of the truck's systems
Case 2) Truck ON, Pro Power ON - either no load or the heater on a timer
2-1 is the power of keeping the inverter's active
Case 3) Truck OFF, Pro power ON with "Keep pro power on while truck off" with the heater on a timer

3-2 is the power saving benefit of this feature​

​

I don't have this "keep pro power on while truck off" feature on my '23.

 

[AMG]

Seriously, good luck getting Ford to fix/change this.

The fact that you can only set climate pre-heat/pre-cool for a short duration before it turns off and you must be at the truck to turn it on/off to re-activate is stupid.
The fact that you start the pre-climate and if you walk up and open the front trunk, it turns off the climate, just shows how much Ford cares.
The fact that the falling out of Sport Mode issue was pushed out over 4 months ago with Ford acknowledging they broke it, but still cannot fix what they broke shows where priorities lie with a discontinued vehicle.

I could go on and on....
The truck is great at many things. I love driving it.
But from a technology perspective, it's crazy to think it took Ford till 2025 to disassemble a Tesla and suddenly realize they are still stuck in the 20th century with how they opeate.

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