mach-e gt charging fault

Hooniverse Asks: Are you prepared to diagnose problems with electric vehicles?

Jeff Glucker

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I have a 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT in my garage right now. It looks awesome with its black wheels and Grabber Blue paint. The 600 lb-ft of torque on tap is a blast, literally and figuratively. What isn’t so great is the fact that the car is currently a brick. It will not take a charge. It also will not let me drive it nor shift it out of Park to roll it on out of here. When I try to start the car, I get two messages on the gauge display. One says “STOP SAFELY NOW” which is odd since I’m in Park and not moving. The other says “FULL ACCESSORY ACTIVE” which is great if I wanted to just sit here and listen to the sound system. I’m going to find the 12-volt power, disconnect it for a minute, and see if that clears any issues.

What this has me thinking about though is the fact that I don’t know how to fix a lot of the potential problems on an electric vehicle. In fact, even if I knew how to fix something, I would likely be nowhere close to properly set up to do so.

Cars have been getting less “repairable” for some time now. This isn’t strictly a fault of EVs. But it is a problem magnified with EVs.

How can future DIY tinkerers be better prepared to assess and fix problems with electric vehicles?

About

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker

Jeff Glucker is the co-founder and Executive Editor of Hooniverse.com. He’s often seen getting passed as he hustles a 1991 Mitsubishi Montero up the 405 Freeway. IG: @HooniverseJeff

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8 responses to “Hooniverse Asks: Are you prepared to diagnose problems with electric vehicles?”

  1. mdharrell Avatar
    mdharrell

    “How can future DIY tinkerers be better prepared to assess and fix problems with electric vehicles?”

    In my experience it’s not that difficult, just messy and time-consuming.

    Reply
    1. OA5599 Avatar
      OA5599

      Even the non-electrical parts of that car got ZAPped.

      Reply
    2. Lokki Avatar
      Lokki

      Uhm, MD…. I don’t think he really meant “electrical”; I think he is actually talking about interactions which can and should occur between the Mustang’s computer hardware, programs, and sensors but which currently (heh) are not. While I concede the (perhaps intermittent and occasional) presence of electricity in your car vehicle movable contrivance with batteries and and electric motor, I must confess I doubt that there is any control circuitry in it that Thomas Edison couldn’t have made in his garage at age 14, so perhaps the parallels between his problems and yours are not quite as close as you imagine…. still you are to be commended for offering your help, such as it is.

      Reply
      1. mdharrell Avatar
        mdharrell

        I still think my method would get that Mustang out of Jeff’s garage, just as it got that Xebra out of my back yard. The problem hasn’t recurred, either.

        Reply
  2. Batshitbox Avatar
    Batshitbox

    They seem to be (not that I’ve looked that closely) less complicated mechanically than ICE vehicles. I’m remembering doing shim-under-bucket valve adjustments and balancing four carburetors on 90s era Japanese motorcycles, and being the benighted innocent with an (gasp!) automatic transmission problem; and all those pumps, hoses and O2 sensors that ICE engines need to pass emissions.

    Aren’t the transmissions on EVs pretty rudimentary, if they even have one at all? Do they need limited slip differentials or is it just a rotary encoder like ABS now?

    Seems the problems are going to be more software glitches and less related to state of tune of thousands of moving parts. In that case, no, I’m not prepared to diagnose software problems at all. I just last week bought my first professional grade digital multimeter, and am only halfway through my book on basic electronics (Kirchhoff’s current rule, yo!)

    Reply
  3. I_Borgward Avatar
    I_Borgward

    Prepared? Success grows in the soil of failure!

    I can’t wait to educate myself by tinkering with my first beater-grade electric car.

    Reply
  4. Sjalabais Avatar
    Sjalabais

    Sounds to me like a 12V battery problem, too – did you fix it?

    To me, cars have always been magic boxes, so relying heavily on OBD or internet advice has been the way…anyway. There’s nothing different to that with EVs, just less, I guess, as @Batshitbox correctly points out. Just take precautions handling 400 or 800V connectors.

    When our Leaf’s onboard charger failed, I got a lot of help from strangers on an EV forum. I tried to honour that by posting a complete guide here, first rejected by the Hooniverse overlords.

    What is funny with our widely publicised EV adoption is that schools teaching future mechanics just now get the tools and cars to work on EVs. It’s a mix of a funding issue and that kids who select this education are sceptical of EVs, swearing by ICE cars. That’s 10 years after the Leaf was the most sold car here, and they fill up junkyards by now because of failing 0.5$ capacitors – which is frustratring.

    Reply
  5. Sw beam Avatar
    Sw beam

    The shade tree mechanics should think long and hard about these and their future because I am. In theory EVs are simple. Reality may not agree when in practice with high voltage battery systems. My company is ready. We have been trained and certified. We have our extremely expensive nonconductive gloves, common nonconductive tools and a long nonconductive stick. You are not allowed to work on these without them per the manufacturer. The gloves and tools are easy but the stick, why do we need a stick? the stick is used to pull someone off of the high voltage batteries. Yes, really really, a long fiberglass stick just in case with a person there to use it. It is required to be out and ready for use if the tech gets stuck to the battery via direct bodily short and or vaporize miscellaneous body parts instantly while stuck…Remember high voltage. Let’s just hope for the best, shall we?
    Why else do you need the stick? The gloves have “up to 30 days of useful life” after exposed to oxygen. they rapidly deteriorate and stop protecting the wearer. Yes, they do need to be dated when opened. Think less like gloves and more of a thick rubbery membrane material that is not designed for use with hands or tools. You do not want to work on these if you are all sweaty, which is impossible if you’re wearing the gloves.
    What else, oh yes do not push the EV/ hybrid that is dead, crazy things can happen if the regen brake system wakes up with a low battery. Terms like unintended acceleration, flat bed tow only and expensive repairs to hardware and shop were used in training. The hybrids need to be driven 30 to 50 miles weekly in order to recharge the batteries. They will drop to 50% in the first week of just sitting, it will be dead before 2 weeks. remember do not push it. The future is going to be bright and extremely short if you screw up on one of these…Don’t forget your stick.

    Reply