Electrical System Drain-Service Required Message

[Elctrnone]

Hello,
I have a ‘23 Platinum with just over 36k miles. A couple of months ago, I had a message come through the app and then on screen when I next got into my truck saying there was an electrical system drain, and service was required. I took it to my dealer, and they tested and replaced my 12V battery, saying it had gone bad. About a month later, I got the same message, so I took it back to the dealer, where it has now been for THREE WEEKS! They acknowledge that there is an issue. They have tried reprogramming modules, and leaving it hooked up to diagnostic computers overnight. They said every time they think it is fine, it will go haywire again, with multiple modules waking up while the truck is parked and off. They contacted Ford for an engineer to help. After 4-5 days, they requested in-person help from a Ford engineer. Now I have been told they are going to replace the TCU and see if that helps. I’m trying to be patient and not hound them, but after three weeks I am getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I have never connected any aftermarket electronics to the truck if you don’t count using Apple CarPlay.

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[TaxmanHog]

Watching the thread, seems like your service team already has the highest levels of engineering support involved, I doubt @Ford Motor Company interceding will help anymore than where your case is at now.

I wonder if there is a hidden inventory tracker under the dash sucking up energy from the 12v?

The DC/DC inverter or the logic it's run by is faulty and not topping up your 12v like it should?

 

[sdingeldein]

I had a MagSafe charger plugged into USB. They replaced the 12V - no charge. Unplugged the MagSafe and never seen the message again.

 

[Elctrnone]

I appreciate the feedback. There is literally nothing plugged in. Not even a plain USB cable. I have an 87-mile drive to work. The first time I got the message was while the truck was plugged in at home. The second time (after replacing the 12V battery) was while the truck was parked at work. I have dealt with this dealer for years, and they have always taken excellent care of me and my trucks. I spent a decade in my…youth…working in the Roadshop at Circuit City and owning my own car stereo shop, so I know how frustrating it can be to troubleshoot an intermittent electrical issue. I guess I was hoping someone else out there had a ghost of an idea about what could cause this. I also wish they would keep me more informed on what their process has actually been, but that is between me and them. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Knobch33z3]

I have the same error message over and over again in my 24 lightning. One of the main noticable symptoms was volume on the stereo was stuck at zero. All sorts of sensor warnings at startup. Either way, dealer replaced the huge 15" screen and head unit. Still no sound. Now I am waiting for a replacement amplifier. I believe the faulty amp is the draw on the 12 v but I don't know anything. I do know that I haven't had sound in my 10,000km new truck for more than 2 months now.

 

[RLXXI]

I wonder if the latest ota I got was or is the fix for the mysterious modules draining the system. Got this the other day.

 

[Elctrnone]

I wonder if the latest ota I got was or is the fix for the mysterious modules draining the system. Got this the other day.

Interesting. That certainly looks like the kind of thing that would help. I will share it with my dealer on Monday.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Hello,
I have a ‘23 Platinum with just over 36k miles. A couple of months ago, I had a message come through the app and then on screen when I next got into my truck saying there was an electrical system drain, and service was required. I took it to my dealer, and they tested and replaced my 12V battery, saying it had gone bad. About a month later, I got the same message, so I took it back to the dealer, where it has now been for THREE WEEKS! They acknowledge that there is an issue. They have tried reprogramming modules, and leaving it hooked up to diagnostic computers overnight. They said every time they think it is fine, it will go haywire again, with multiple modules waking up while the truck is parked and off. They contacted Ford for an engineer to help. After 4-5 days, they requested in-person help from a Ford engineer. Now I have been told they are going to replace the TCU and see if that helps. I’m trying to be patient and not hound them, but after three weeks I am getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I have never connected any aftermarket electronics to the truck if you don’t count using Apple CarPlay.

I'll send you a message and see if I can help in any way.

 

[Elctrnone]

On August 19th, a little more than three weeks after leaving my truck with them, I was just called today to say everything was resolved, and my truck is ready to come home!

Apparently the TCU (Telematics Control Unit?) had gone bad and was intermittently waking up other modules in the truck, causing them to power up and drain the 12V battery. It has been replaced, and now everything can sleep like my dog.

I will post again on this thread after a couple of weeks have passed to confirm there have been no further issues.

Thank you for all of the responses!

 

[TaxmanHog]

Awesome !!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

On August 19th, a little more than three weeks after leaving my truck with them, I was just called today to say everything was resolved, and my truck is ready to come home!

Apparently the TCU (Telematics Control Unit?) had gone bad and was intermittently waking up other modules in the truck, causing them to power up and drain the 12V battery. It has been replaced, and now everything can sleep like my dog.

I will post again on this thread after a couple of weeks have passed to confirm there have been no further issues.

Thank you for all of the responses!

Glad we could get you sorted!

Also, to be a well looked after dog in another life... That's the dream.

 

[Elctrnone]

Well, less than 36 hours after bringing my Lightning back home, I got the same “Electrical system drain. Service required.” message. The truck is going back to the dealer on August 25th. I will post updates on the adventure when I have them.

 

[SteuLight]

When you call tech support because your computer won't turn on, the first question they ask is, "Are you sure it's plugged in?"

I know you said that the dealer replaced the battery. When I read this thread, my first thought was, "After they replaced the battery, did they fully charge it and then reset the BMS?"

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