Stop safely now

[rtk11226]

I guess I’m cursed… it’s been less than a month since getting my truck back from the dealership, and once again, the dreaded “Stop safely now” message appeared in an almost identical situation. I was driving through a torrential downpour and I get the error message. Luckily I was turning into my driveway, but still, there’s never a good time for this to pop up.

Last time the dealership replaced the 12v battery and all was good (supposedly). Now I’m beginning to worry. I checked the battery voltage. It was 12.5v. Took the negative connector off for 15 minutes. Still nothing. The last time this happened the 12v was completely dead, so at least I’m able to get it into neutral. Tow will be here in the morning.

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[jthiesse13]

I guess I’m cursed… it’s been less than a month since getting my truck back from the dealership, and once again, the dreaded “Stop safely now” message appeared in an almost identical situation. I was driving through a torrential downpour and I get the error message. Luckily I was turning into my driveway, but still, there’s never a good time for this to pop up.

Last time the dealership replaced the 12v battery and all was good (supposedly). Now I’m beginning to worry. I checked the battery voltage. It was 12.5v. Took the negative connector off for 15 minutes. Still nothing. The last time this happened the 12v was completely dead, so at least I’m able to get it into neutral. Tow will be here in the morning.

I just had my truck in the dealer for the same message. They replaced the 12 volt battery and also the high voltage junction box. Good luck.

 

[chl]

I guess I’m cursed… it’s been less than a month since getting my truck back from the dealership, and once again, the dreaded “Stop safely now” message appeared in an almost identical situation. I was driving through a torrential downpour and I get the error message. Luckily I was turning into my driveway, but still, there’s never a good time for this to pop up.

Last time the dealership replaced the 12v battery and all was good (supposedly). Now I’m beginning to worry. I checked the battery voltage. It was 12.5v. Took the negative connector off for 15 minutes. Still nothing. The last time this happened the 12v was completely dead, so at least I’m able to get it into neutral. Tow will be here in the morning.

Bummer...
12.5v for an AGM is 75%, but the voltage is only one part of the story, a weak battery can give a seemingly OK terminal voltage but fail under load...a so-called crank test is needed.

If going by the terminal voltage you'd need to disconnect the battery fully charge it then let it settle for several hours, overnight is better, THEN test the terminal voltage again and see if it fell a lot.

Do you keep it on a maintainer with an AGM mode?
If you do get another new 12v, try doing that, a few of us use the NOCO Genius1 (see related threads).
I have mine on the maintainer all the time the truck is in by driveway not being used, so far so good.

It is possible there is an electrical problem causing the battery to have an excessive draw, damaged wiring for example causing an intermittent short, or some other issue.

Or something wrong with the BMS - there have been a few of those I think. If it goes bad, the truck will be even worse at keeping it charged.

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As noted above, there have been cases of the HV junction box failing, that would prevent the HVB from moving forward. If that happened it could have caused arcing inside where the bus bars are, and they might be damaged and need replacing, internal fuses as well. There was a recall:

Ford Recall 24S11 (NHTSA Recall # 24V-144) The Issue: Fasteners (nuts) that secure the junction box bus bars inside the high-voltage battery pack may have been improperly tightened or left missing, leading to electrical arcing.

23S56 This recall is related to the High Voltage Battery Junction Box (HVJB) IN THE MACH-E, specifically the main contactor, which acts as a switch to connect and disconnect the battery from the vehicle's powertrain. Repeated heavy accelerations and DC fast-charging can cause the contactor to overheat, which may cause it to weld closed or fail to close
-----
Hope they can figure out what is going on this time.

 

[GoodSam]

23S5 This recall is related to the High Voltage Battery Junction Box (HVJB),

Did you mean 23S56?

 

[chl]

Did you mean 23S56?

Yes, but sorry, that was a battery issue with the Mach-e, had it stored in the same text file for some reason...my bad...I edited it to make it clear.

I try to keep a list of EV battery issues and links, but sometimes they get lumped together in the same file in the wee hours of the night, lol.

I was thinking about why the 12v battery would be affected when the bus bar arcing in the junction box happens and it occurred to me that the 12v battery powers the contactors in the junction box, so somehow that must be the reason the 12v battery is involved and may fail

 

[chl]

This was an article I have about the HVBJB recall for the Lightnings back in 2024 sometime:
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The defect: in affected vehicles, the fasteners that secure the junction box bus bars inside the high-voltage battery pack may not have been tightened securely, which can cause electrical arcing at the busbars.

The hazards: electrical arcing increases the risk of a fire. In addition, a loss of drive power may occur, which can increase the risk of a crash.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-f-150-lightning-recalled-over-improperly-secured-battery/

It only affected a couple hundred Lightnings they said, but maybe it recurred in other vehicles and other manufacturing dates? It was similar to a problem in the Mach-e, so....

 

[jthiesse13]

This was an article I have about the HVBJB recall for the Lightnings back in 2024 sometime:
----
The defect: in affected vehicles, the fasteners that secure the junction box bus bars inside the high-voltage battery pack may not have been tightened securely, which can cause electrical arcing at the busbars.

The hazards: electrical arcing increases the risk of a fire. In addition, a loss of drive power may occur, which can increase the risk of a crash.

https://fordauthority.com/2024/03/ford-f-150-lightning-recalled-over-improperly-secured-battery/

It only affected a couple hundred Lightnings they said, but maybe it recurred in other vehicles and other manufacturing dates? It was similar to a problem in the Mach-e, so....

I doubt that Ford would even acknowledge that my issue was related to a previous recall. The dealer techs barely know anything about the Lightnings other than what the manual says.

 

[chl]

I doubt that Ford would even acknowledge that my issue was related to a previous recall. The dealer techs barely know anything about the Lightnings other than what the manual says.

Right well my point was that the HVBJB has been an issue in the Ford EVs in the past, so they dealers tech should check that out, you might have to nudge them in that direction, eh?

It will be covered by the battery system warranty btw.

Good luck!

 

[rtk11226]

My truck finally made it to the dealership this morning. I did in fact pass on the hint about checking the high voltage junction box to the service manager. Thanks for all the feedback. Much appreciated.

 

[jthiesse13]

Right well my point was that the HVBJB has been an issue in the Ford EVs in the past, so they dealers tech should check that out, you might have to nudge them in that direction, eh?

It will be covered by the battery system warranty btw.

Good luck!

yes, it was covered so I had no out of pocket costs.

 

[rtk11226]

Got a call from my service advisor this afternoon. Other than charging the 12v battery they weren't able to find any issues. They suspect moisture in a connection. Excellent deduction since I was driving through torrential downpours both times when I got the error. This sounds like a situation where I potentially have a serious problem that I might have to pay for after my warranty ends somewhere down the road. Is there a way to escalate this with Ford instead of just issuing an "Oh well, we'll fix it the next time maybe"? Any recommendations?

 

[chl]

Got a call from my service advisor this afternoon. Other than charging the 12v battery they weren't able to find any issues. They suspect moisture in a connection. Excellent deduction since I was driving through torrential downpours both times when I got the error. This sounds like a situation where I potentially have a serious problem that I might have to pay for after my warranty ends somewhere down the road. Is there a way to escalate this with Ford instead of just issuing an "Oh well, we'll fix it the next time maybe"? Any recommendations?

Most states have a lemon law and if your car can't be fixed after a certain number of tries, it kicks in.

However you probably don't want that, you want the truck fixed.

Contacting Brian @Ford Motor Company with a direct message abut this issue might be a good idea.
He has been very helpful with some issues.

 

[chl]

Got a call from my service advisor this afternoon. Other than charging the 12v battery they weren't able to find any issues. They suspect moisture in a connection. Excellent deduction since I was driving through torrential downpours both times when I got the error. This sounds like a situation where I potentially have a serious problem that I might have to pay for after my warranty ends somewhere down the road. Is there a way to escalate this with Ford instead of just issuing an "Oh well, we'll fix it the next time maybe"? Any recommendations?

As for the warranty, if you take it to Ford before the warranty expires and the issue persists and was never fixed, they should consider it an ongoing claim.

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