Turn off lights during Climate pre conditioning

[P-38]

It's just the climate button. Runs it for 15 minutes or you can extend it once(for a total of 30 minutes) last I played with it

But if you use both the 15 and extension or 2 separate remote starts it won't remote start again until you physically start the truck.

Sponsored

 

[Ishkatan]

It's just the climate button. Runs it for 15 minutes or you can extend it once(for a total of 30 minutes) last I played with it

But if you use both the 15 and extension or 2 separate remote starts it won't remote start again until you physically start the truck.

Thanks. I always thought Climate was just for heating the interior, not pre-conditioning the battery. I am more interested in pre-conditioning the battery as it extends range nicely. Also, never thought of it as a remote start... Ford should learn from Trump - language does make a difference... Or I should read the manual (but I am a man!) This really helps since I am always changing departure times and 15 minutes is perfect.

 

[P-38]

Thanks. I always thought Climate was just for heating the interior, not pre-conditioning the battery. I am more interested in pre-conditioning the battery as it extends range nicely. Also, never thought of it as a remote start... Ford should learn from Trump - language does make a difference... Or I should read the manual (but I am a man!) This really helps since I am always changing departure times and 15 minutes is perfect.

Then I mis understood.

The only way to precondition the battery is to set a departure time. Only worthwhile if you need the added range that comes with a warmed battery. If you don't need the range it's just a zero sum game that spends energy.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Then I mis understood.

The only way to precondition the battery is to set a departure time. Only worthwhile if you need the added range that comes with a warmed battery. If you don't need the range it's just a zero sum game that spends energy.

And the truck needs to be plugged into a level 2 EVSE to get the ~full~ benefits of battery conditioning, folks have argued that it also works with level-1 EVSE but not very effectively given the limited amount of energy it can provide and the demands of energy during cabin & battery warming phases.

 

[Bandit216]

The Mach E has a Forscan config change that will let you set the exterior lighting default to 'off' when remote starting car/climate with the app. It works great. I haven't tried seeing if it works for the Lighting.

During our extreme cold wx (-40), I just leave the truck on, turn the vehicle automatic shutoff to 'off', turn the headlights off, place a towel across the driver display, and put the main display screen in the sleep setting. I do also turn the fan controller down to a lower setting to minimize the fan noise you sometimes hear outside the vehicle when it is running full blast (I never use auto climate control in extreme cold).

Assuming the inline heater stays on continuously to heat both the battery and the cabin, it can only use a max of ~8kw per hour. (From experience, the average is when parked is typically only about half that). So, for any shopping or even a 3 hour sporting event, the battery drain is not a showstopper if you keep your vehicle reasonably charged.

 

[Heliian]

When the truck is plugged in, no lights when precon.

When truck is unplugged, the lights come on to tell YOU that it's in precon mode.

 

[Divo]

Upside of scheduled departure: preconditions battery and no lights. Downside: it shuts off when you pop the trunk.

Silent mode works with keeping the truck on, but doesn't work with remote start.

I've not found a halfway yet.

 

[Lake Placid Lightning]

When the truck is plugged in, no lights when precon.

When truck is unplugged, the lights come on to tell YOU that it's in precon mode.

I previously mentioned that my lights are on while not plugged in my garage ahead of my scheduled departure time and the doors are locked.

Last night, I plugged in my Level 2 and this morning the lights were not on and doors were unlocked (and vehicle was warm).

 

[Robocop]

As mentioned, it's not a switch that the headlight circuit passes through like we had in the 80's. It's called a rotary encoder and it sends an up/down signal to the Body Control Module (BCM). The BCM handles all the lighting control logic and tells the proper LED on the switch to illuminate. Could easily just replace the headlight switch with up/down momentary buttons.

The SYNC volume knob is a rotary encoder also. Spin it all you want with the truck off and you'll find you haven't changed the volume at all when the truck is turned on.

Thank you for this detailed response. I feel a bit silly now but it makes sense to a degree. Either way, you are correct.

I have tested this recently. Using the app to activate the "climate" will activate the lights regardless of where the headlight "switch" is positioned. I've tested it and my previous post was incorrect. The dial switch does suppress the "automatic" light function that switches on/off the lights in dark places but it has no effect on the "climate" function, which was my thought after reading the manual.

 

[hb.sagen]

We were at the football game a few days ago and I went to pre climate condition the truck just before the game was over. I could see the truck from the seats in the stands. I remotely turned on the heater, the whole truck lit up like a christmas tree. I figured maybe it does that on start up, but it stayed on the entire time the truck was preconditioning. Any way to have the lights go off? Seemed like a lot of extra attention drawn to the truck. I was wainting for the annoucer to say someone left their lights on in the parking lot. LOL.

This can be turned off with Forscan.

				RStart_Lighting_Enable_Cfg (RSLEC)
726-63-02	xxxx	xxx*	xx--	0 =	RSLEC DISABLE
				1 =	RSLEC ENABLE

Sponsored