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Charge Fault


OrangeAl
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Bought a new fusion energi on May 23, 2015. Drove off lot with zero electricity available. Dealer was kind enough to fill tank to less than half full. Came home and could not charge car. Next day wife drove car on errand and said check engine light was on. Monday was a holiday so I took in to dealer today. Was told that the wiring harness is bad. Dealer must call Ford for help. Warned it could take 2 weeks for repair. Bought car 3 days ago and feel like I got a lemon. Worried I'll be forced to keep this car. Any advice? Dealer will call me tomorrow.

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Different states have different laws about returning a vehicle, but in general you're probably SOL until you actually meet the lemon law requirements (which also varies by state, but a single issue that gets corrected is most likely not going to be enough in any state.)  Look over your contract and see if it has a cancellation clause.

If they have another similarly equipped Fusion on the lot you can always ask them to do an even swap, they may do it out of customer service if they're able to cancel the contract and still sell it as a new car after fixing the issue.

Keep in mind that you want to be as nice as possible, but don't allow yourself to get pushed around.  You can still be nice while standing your ground when you have solid ground to stand on.

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Ya know, don't these dealerships have a pre-delivery checklist to make sure everything works before selling a damn car?  Since you've only had the car a couple of days, I'd insist on exchanging the thing.  I know there are laws for "no cooling off period" but that shouldn't apply to a vehicle defective right off the lot.

 

However, if they're willing to work with you and maybe go the extra mile and give you something, such as an extended warranty, I'd find that satisfactory too.  That could very well be the only problem that car ever has, and aside from this bump in the road, may be the most reliable vehicle you've ever owned.

 

So far, I have had no issues with mine.  There were some bugs in the software that I had updated (call it computer maintenance) and I've noticed a few other improvements too.  Interestingly, I took delivery of mine on May 23, 2013. :)

 

One note though... if yoiu do try to do the avenue of an exchange, remember to be professional, and that you're looking for help.  Screaming and shouting is a good way to make them completely disinterested in assisting you.  If your sales person can't help you, try the general manager.  If they won't help you, there are other external avenues you can take (Better Business Bureau, etc).

Edited by Russael
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Why didn't the dealer fill the tank? They charge you for a full tank. It's one of the line items that goes into the invoice price. I would request that they fix it & fill the tank all the way full.

 

The suggestions by the previous two posters about being courteous are right on the mark. Requesting something like a no charge PremiumCARE $0 deductible warranty sounds reasonable. We got this from a dealer when they screwed up our car during delivery.

 

The salesman also gave me $50 cash to persuade me to wait to fill our the Ford survey until after they had resolved my issue so that I would give them all 5s on the survey.

Edited by Hybridbear
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Service Dept called this morning to confirm they must replace the main wiring harness.  It will take at least a week to repair.  He could take up to 2.  I think I will take your suggestions and talk to the general sales manager.  I don't know where it will lead but I do think they should be willing to listen and help me out.

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First, I want to praise the dealership for correcting their previous shortfalls on customer service.  The general sales manager personally got involved and made sure I had a full tank of gas, gift cards to a very nice local steakhouse, and verified that the replacement car did charge (with me present).   They also gave me a car that had only the options I truly wanted.  Gone were the rear inflatable seats.  I got a lower price and walked away satisfied.  Lesson here is to report the issue early and remain polite but stay firm on getting the dealership and Ford to do the right thing.  It's been a couple of days now and I am totally happy with the car and its features.  Thanks all for the advice!

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Speaking of Charge Fault, I have been getting the following emails lately:  "We thought you would like to know that Timewellspent has experienced a fault while charging. Please verify that there isn't a problem with your power source. If this problem persists, contact your dealership."

 

The first time it happened, I went to check and the charger was flashing with the big red fault symbol. It had been raining out so I wasn't sure if that had anything to do with it. I unplugged and replugged and same result.  I waited a bit and tried again and it worked fine.  Today I got the email and went to check and there were no faults on the charger, but it was a solid green light like it had finished charging.  I unplugged and replugged and it started charging right away.  Does anyone know what would be causing this?  It seems to happen after a full drive of depleting the battery with EV+ and no ICE (26 mile drive or so). and me plugging in right away.  This is the 3rd time it has happened and one time it was over night and it just corrected itself and finished charging based on the MFM site.

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120 or 240 volt charging?

Anything else on the same circuit?

 

A large load, such as an A/C compressor, starting up can drop the voltage quickly enough that it might be detected as a fault.

 

120v charger that came with car..  Nothing else on circuit (wife did plug in a vacuum cleaner on an outlet inside the house which tripped the GFI in the garage once, but this issue has happened at both home and work without anything else on same circuit.

 

Edit to add:  At work, I do have it connected to a 15Amp 10 Gauge Outdoor Cord, but have done so from the start and this issue has just started so I assume that isn't an issue

Edited by Timewellspent
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120v charger that came with car.. Nothing else on circuit (wife did plug in a vacuum cleaner on an outlet inside the house which tripped the GFI in the garage once, but this issue has happened at both home and work without anything else on same circuit.

 

Edit to add: At work, I do have it connected to a 15Amp 10 Gauge Outdoor Cord, but have done so from the start and this issue has just started so I assume that isn't an issue

Perhaps the extension cord is the issue. It may have deteriorated over time where now it's causing the issue. Can you try charging without the extension cord to see if you still get the charge fault messages? Can you try charging at a free public 240V charging station to see if the car will charge there?
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Perhaps the extension cord is the issue. It may have deteriorated over time where now it's causing the issue. Can you try charging without the extension cord to see if you still get the charge fault messages? Can you try charging at a free public 240V charging station to see if the car will charge there?

 

The extension cord was purchased new in January only for the purpose to charge my car at work.  I don't use it at home and have gotten the fault message at both locations.  The car still charges and most of the time it hasn't been an issue, but in the past two weeks or so I have gotten the fault email 3 times.  Keep in mind I charge twice a day so it hasn't been that big of a deal to unplug and replug to get it charging.  I'm just wondering if something is going bad.  Maybe the OEM Charger is starting to fail?

Edited by Timewellspent
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The extension cord was purchased new in January only for the purpose to charge my car at work.  I don't use it at home and have gotten the fault message at both locations.  The car still charges and most of the time it hasn't been an issue, but in the past two weeks or so I have gotten the fault email 3 times.  Keep in mind I charge twice a day so it hasn't been that big of a deal to unplug and replug to get it charging.  I'm just wondering if something is going bad.  Maybe the OEM Charger is starting to fail?

Can you try public L2 charging? The instructions for the dealer if the owner complains of a charge fault is to plug the car into the L2 at the dealer and charge it. If that works the dealer is supposed to blame the customer's EVSE. If the customer is using the Ford supplied 120V EVSE the dealer should replace it under warranty. You could potentially save some time by testing your car at a public L2 charging station to see if it works fine there.

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Can you try public L2 charging? The instructions for the dealer if the owner complains of a charge fault is to plug the car into the L2 at the dealer and charge it. If that works the dealer is supposed to blame the customer's EVSE. If the customer is using the Ford supplied 120V EVSE the dealer should replace it under warranty. You could potentially save some time by testing your car at a public L2 charging station to see if it works fine there.

 

I am using the Ford Supplied 120v Charger.  It worked fine at home to charge the car overnight, but when I plugged in yesterday at work, I got the Fault again.  The charger started buzzing.  I wiggled it a bit and the buzzing stopped and I was able to charge.  Today I tried to charge and again got the Fault and this time the green power light was going from bright to dim and then went out.  Now the power light doesn't light up at all and I get nothing.

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I am using the Ford Supplied 120v Charger.  It worked fine at home to charge the car overnight, but when I plugged in yesterday at work, I got the Fault again.  The charger started buzzing.  I wiggled it a bit and the buzzing stopped and I was able to charge.  Today I tried to charge and again got the Fault and this time the green power light was going from bright to dim and then went out.  Now the power light doesn't light up at all and I get nothing.

As Hybridbear intimated you need to take the car/charger to the dealer.  From all indications you have a bad EVSE.

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As Hybridbear intimated you need to take the car/charger to the dealer.  From all indications you have a bad EVSE.

 

That is what sucks.  I tried to make an appointment and was told they don't have an opening for Hybrid cars until next week and it was going to take a half day to look at it.  Huh?!  I again explained it is the charger not the car having issues.  I was also told if if they inspect it and it does need to be replaced they will have to order it.  Great, there goes my 2 months between gas station visits.

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Just show up without an appointment and go to the service desk.  Park your car next to the charger and/or and outlet and demonstrate to someone the issue and see "who" can take care of you.

 

That sort of thing doesn't need an appointment, only make sure you go to an Energi dealer and not all Ford dealers can sell the Energi model.

 

-=>Raja.

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