ProPower Ground Fault

[snyce1]

Again, I'm speaking from a position of ignorance here because I still have at least six weeks to wait on my truck coming in, but my thought would be that the issue is on the downstream end of things...from the inverter back to the bed. (Why would 120V be routed to the engine bay?) This is where the greatest likelihood of water intrusion will be, creating the leakage fault. (if that ends up being the root cause) I ordered the 7.2Kw and if I have this issue, I will start with the PPO panel in the bed and work my way backwards from there until I find connectors that I find suspect. We might even find that some of the plastic used (soy-based?) is the culprit, so I would look to isolate/protect anything that could get wet backwards from the panel.

Techs that have the skills to work on a ground fault issue like this are making bigger bucks in the medical electronics industry, and are not dumping oil at the local dealer. I think it's within the collective skills of this group to figure it out.

The connector in the engine bay was identified by others in this forum. There may be multiple issues

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[davincinardo]

Mine tells me there is a ground fault when i run the test. Dealer told they found no issue but i keep getting the same error

 

[snyce1]

 

[snyce1]

Again, I'm speaking from a position of ignorance here because I still have at least six weeks to wait on my truck coming in, but my thought would be that the issue is on the downstream end of things...from the inverter back to the bed. (Why would 120V be routed to the engine bay?) This is where the greatest likelihood of water intrusion will be, creating the leakage fault. (if that ends up being the root cause) I ordered the 7.2Kw and if I have this issue, I will start with the PPO panel in the bed and work my way backwards from there until I find connectors that I find suspect. We might even find that some of the plastic used (soy-based?) is the culprit, so I would look to isolate/protect anything that could get wet backwards from the panel.

Techs that have the skills to work on a ground fault issue like this are making bigger bucks in the medical electronics industry, and are not dumping oil at the local dealer. I think it's within the collective skills of this group to figure it out.

have pushed dealer to communicate to ford after the unsuccessful trip last week for 2 days at dealer. Told em propower shuts off every time it gets wet . They did not tell ford hotline this until after i picked up my truck and i started emailing service manager so communication of my message was poor in the dealer system.
At drop off (i was quite clear about water creating propower shutdown).
The ford response was to water test and check a few more circuits for water intrusion. So maybe i am making some progress on my wet software issue . I will get another appointment for them to try again to find the vulnerable to water circuit/circuits .

 

[glockcopbob]

So here is my two cents worth…
i Have been a proctoring electrician and utility substation controls tech for many years. I understand electricity.

I have this same issue after purchasing the truck at the end of the 2021.

software does not get wet! I totally agree. It could be something else that gets wet, like another sensor that triggers this warning. It shouldn’t but we do not know the coding.

I think the water problem is a humidity issue more than just water. I only get the alarm at the car wash when the doors are closed. I have a bed cover so the control panel is not getting wet from the bed side. I spent an hour with a hose and sprayed everything i could find that could be a cable or connection for the power system. No GF triggered. This is after I ran through the car wash and the GF triggered. I ran to the dealer so they could see that no codes were present. By the time I got home, the GF cleared (about 2 miles). The previous times, it took the rest of the day and night for the GF to clear.

as for the one comment about adjusting the leakage current… this would be unsafe and possibly illegal. I am not up on how the NEC (national electrical code) fits the truck but I assume it has to meet the code. The nec requires GF detection to be 5-10ma. Anything higher could stop your heart. This is the purpose for the GFCI’s is your kitchen and bathrooms.

 

[TN Rotty]

It could be something else that gets wet, like another sensor that triggers this warning. ...

I spent an hour with a hose and sprayed everything i could find that could be a cable or connection for the power system.

Hey Bob - welcome to the forum and thanks for your first post being a helpful one. I agree about the software not getting wet and the possibility of a humidity (dampness) problem.

When you sprayed - did you follow as much as possible the wiring harness? The issue may not be related to a bad connector but a bad wire which could have been pinched or sliced during assembly. That break or exposure could be located anywhere along the wires used in the system. (As I'm sure you've seen in your controls work, a single bad wire can cause issues first related to other things - sensors, connectors, etc.)

I had a ground fault pop up on my truck when I first got it, but it's not come back (I've not been through a car wash though).

 

[glockcopbob]

Hey Bob - welcome to the forum and thanks for your first post being a helpful one. I agree about the software not getting wet and the possibility of a humidity (dampness) problem.

When you sprayed - did you follow as much as possible the wiring harness? The issue may not be related to a bad connector but a bad wire which could have been pinched or sliced during assembly. That break or exposure could be located anywhere along the wires used in the system. (As I'm sure you've seen in your controls work, a single bad wire can cause issues first related to other things - sensors, connectors, etc.)

I had a ground fault pop up on my truck when I first got it, but it's not come back (I've not been through a car wash though).

I did try to follow the harness as best I could. After giving the engine a downpour, I sprayed into the engine on both sides from the front wheel wells (trying to simulate the car wash).

This week I will get under the truck and look over the full path of the harness before I get the driveway all wet to see if I missed anywhere.

The other thought I was having is how many owners drive with the Pro Power system off? I typically have the system off when I drive. The first time I had the GF, only the 400W system was on, not the full 7.2kW. The second time I had the GF, I planed on watching for it so I had the full system on. I assume it should only go into GF with the system on (where else would it get power from) so this could have been happening more than the two time I have scene and could be happening more frequently to others but they just don’t know it.

 

[TN Rotty]

Good point - I've only had my system on once, (that I turned it on) if I remember correctly. I'll need to start playing with mine and testing it.

 

[glockcopbob]

Follow up…

it’s been almost a month and the GF has not triggered again. I hand washed the truck again trying to spray the right area with no luck. I have been to the same car wash twice more that originally triggered the F the first two times and nothing.

Did Ford do a software update? I am not aware of it but I do find that my custom setting change as time goes on.

Why give me the option to set the screens if the system will just over ride them? The fricking music presets go from the 5 pages back down to the default 2 pages every two weeks! First world problems, I know.

 

[KDPGame02]

Any update on this or resolution of the "wet software" supposedly fixed in an OTA April update? I picked up my PB last night in the pouring rain without a tonneau cover, drove it a good 100+ miles today, partly in the rain as well, and can't get ProPower to work in the bed or the front cab outlet.

I have a handful of camping trips coming this summer and was really depending on this to power our TT, so any thoughts would be appreciated. When it stops raining tomorrow, I'll crawl under and check the wiring harness & connectors by the bed and engine firewall. As I read in another post, nearly all my smaller fuses in the engine fusebox weren't properly seated all the way either, SMH.

 

[snyce1]

So here is my two cents worth…
i Have been a proctoring electrician and utility substation controls tech for many years. I understand electricity.

I have this same issue after purchasing the truck at the end of the 2021.

software does not get wet! I totally agree. It could be something else that gets wet, like another sensor that triggers this warning. It shouldn’t but we do not know the coding.

I think the water problem is a humidity issue more than just water. I only get the alarm at the car wash when the doors are closed. I have a bed cover so the control panel is not getting wet from the bed side. I spent an hour with a hose and sprayed everything i could find that could be a cable or connection for the power system. No GF triggered. This is after I ran through the car wash and the GF triggered. I ran to the dealer so they could see that no codes were present. By the time I got home, the GF cleared (about 2 miles). The previous times, it took the rest of the day and night for the GF to clear.

as for the one comment about adjusting the leakage current… this would be unsafe and possibly illegal. I am not up on how the NEC (national electrical code) fits the truck but I assume it has to meet the code. The nec requires GF detection to be 5-10ma. Anything higher could stop your heart. This is the purpose for the GFCI’s is your kitchen and bathrooms.

Well april has come and gone .. no OTA AT ALL FROM FORD..BUT MY TRICK HAS STOPPED FAULTING FOR THE MOST PART AND IF IT DOES IT CAN BE Reset readily.

I have a suspicion that ford may have updated this without notifying us . They worry about class action law suits . I hope my truck keeps working .paid 73,000 plus tax and was deprived of using truck festures critical to my recreational enjoyment . No compensation to date . Really just hope the lemon turns into lemonade

 

[snyce1]

Well april has come and gone .. no OTA AT ALL FROM FORD..BUT MY TRICK HAS STOPPED FAULTING FOR THE MOST PART AND IF IT DOES IT CAN BE Reset readily.

I have a suspicion that ford may have updated this without notifying us . They worry about class action law suits . I hope my truck keeps working .paid 73,000 plus tax and was deprived of using truck festures critical to my recreational enjoyment . No compensation to date . Really just hope the lemon turns into lemonade

Appreciate the perspective. My truck has not faulted in weeks now. Car washes tolerated without GF. Realize the faults i had were long duration in cold dry winter and fall weather .
Humid spring no problem in weeks
Ford ????? Whats goin on w the engineers who are supposed to update OTA software

 

[KDPGame02]

@Ford Motor Company any word on this? The generator was literally the key selling feature of the PowerBoost for me to power our travel trailer among other things. Not having it working since day 1 is not a good first impression. Please advise.

I'm scheduling time to drop it off at the dealer post haste, but I would appreciate your team following up on this. Please PM me as needed.

 

[KDPGame02]

Just found this post after successfully getting my Powerboost to run my RV & AC, which suggests that maybe it is a software issue after all? Even so, I'm curious if anyone has done any mods to better waterproof some of the electrical connectors?

"When I perform the self-test, it results in the Ground Fault detected. Ford has issued an SSM 50270 which says this: Some 2021 F-150 vehicles with ProPower Onboard may exhibit a message in the touchscreen stating Pro Power Onboard Turned Off Ground Fault Detected, after performing the Pro Power Onboard test function. This is a normal response after performing the test and full system function may be restored after pressing the on-screen RESET button. Inform customers that engineering is currently working on a solution for this condition and will be released via an over the air (OTA) software update expected in April of 2022."

 

[Snakebitten]

Yea, I read that back when it was released and it was a perfectly accurate description of what my 2021 Powerboost would do.

And it was never an issue with powering my RV. It has done so perfectly many many times. In fact, shore power flickered about 5 minutes ago and I'm currently making homemade ice-cream. I was more than ready to fire up the Powerboost and finish my treat for the grandkids.

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