Field service Action 15B23

I got a field service action 15B23 notification from Ford in the mail.
This is the recall that covers the High Voltage wire harness update and reprogram power train control module.

My car is a 2013 that was built in August 2012. I was informed by the dealership that my high voltage harness is part of the recall, and that they would order a replacement harness. One of the ways they identify the affected harness is to inspect the section that is circled in the photo below.

This harness is part of the recall.
The recalled wire harness has the tape and sleeving close to the plug. The unaffected harnesses the tape and sleeving is further back from the plug.

The following day I power up the car and this pops up on the screen.

The dreaded Yellow Wrench. So I went and consulted the owners manual.
The manual says, "Illuminates when a powertrain or high-voltage charge system fault has been detected. If the indicator stays on of continues to come on, contact your authorized dealer as soon as possible."
So this not a SSN type problem.
I found it very interesting that this happened the day after the vehicle was taken in for inspection. Since I only seen this message come up once two years ago when the car was plugged into disabled charging station.
I suspect that Ford can remotely trigger the Yellow wrench warning message.
The Yellow wrench message is most likely not due to a problem with the car.

So until the harness is replaced it seems the yellow wrench will be around for a while.

I had to call my dealership to remind them I was waiting for a part. Once I called, they realized I had the part and scheduled me for an appointment. The appointment took no more than 2 hours.

Be sure to check out this existing thread on this FSA, has some more detailed info:
http://www.myfocuselectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=3197

I took my 2014 FFE to my local Ford dealer early last week to have this FSA 15B23 performed.
The wire harness apparently only needs to be replaced if your build date is before mid May 2014, and after that the procedure is simpler just using electrical grease on the harness connection points and then reprogramming with updated firmware.

My FFE's build date fortunately was a week after the threshold date, so the process only took a little over an hour at the dealer while I waited in their waiting area.
FFE still working fine for the past week after the update. I have noticed my 12v battery voltage level is staying steady now for days in a row even if I don't use the car during that time, before the firmware update the 12 voltage will tend to drop below 12v sometimes after a few days. Also now I don't hear a buzzing sound when you open a car door like I used to, which was probably draining the 12v battery to do something at that time?

NightHawk said:

Also now I don't hear a buzzing sound when you open a car door like I used to, which was probably draining the 12v battery to do something at that time?

Click to expand...

Like a transformer sound?

I swear such a sound was "added" to my car after the last time I took it in for the previous recall (where the reprogrammed something and replaced a module somewhere). At the time, it really annoyed me, but I've gotten used to it I guess.

When the car was new, I remember coming to stop lights in utter silence (especially driving home at night with the radio off). These days, under the same circumstances, when things get quiet enough, I notice the buzzing coming from somewhere inside the dash. But, like I said, when the car was new (before any "fixes" were applied) I could swear it was totally silent.

Hmm, maybe it will be quiet again if I go have the recall done.

Update: Things just got worse.
I come home from work and plug in the car.
Later that day I check my cell phone messages.
I got a text message saying that their is now a "fault while charging".
The time stamp on the text is right after I had plugged the car in.
I did notice the charging ring was on constantly.
I tried unplugging and re-plugging the vehicle in.
This did not cure the problem. I next tried turning the vehicle on.
This message now popped up.

I have never gotten the Stop Safely Now message before!
Powering down, opening the door, and powering up didn't clear the message.
So I left the car on the charger over night.
The next morning I check my text messages.
Their is a new one warning me that the "12 Volt battery is low. Please plug the vehicle in."
So I go out to the vehicle and the charging ring is still on constantly.
When the door is opened the center console display says that it's conserving power because of low battery.
I next try to power up the car. The displays light for a half second then go out. I could also hear a relay clicking.
I measured the 12 volt battery at 9.06 volts.
The 12 volt battery is now being charged.
The dealership has been contacted as to what has happened.
The battery appears to have the range necessary to get to the dealership.
If the vehicle is drive-able I may attempt to get it the dealership later on today.

WattsUp said:

NightHawk said:

Also now I don't hear a buzzing sound when you open a car door like I used to, which was probably draining the 12v battery to do something at that time?

Click to expand...

Like a transformer sound?

I swear such a sound was "added" to my car after the last time I took it in for the previous recall (where the reprogrammed something and replaced a module somewhere). At the time, it really annoyed me, but I've gotten used to it I guess.

When the car was new, I remember coming to stop lights in utter silence (especially driving home at night with the radio off). These days, under the same circumstances, when things get quiet enough, I notice the buzzing coming from somewhere inside the dash. But, like I said, when the car was new (before any "fixes" were applied) I could swear it was totally silent.

Hmm, maybe it will be quiet again if I go have the recall done.

Click to expand...

I noticed the same thing on my car, after I had the "start/stop" recall done. The noise sounds like some kind of accumulator charging up, I notice it after I start the car, and particularly when I put my foot on the brake.

campfamily said:

I noticed the same thing on my car, after I had the "start/stop" recall done. The noise sounds like some kind of accumulator charging up, I notice it after I start the car, and particularly when I put my foot on the brake.

Click to expand...

You all are probably referring to the vacuum pump. Since the FFE doesn't have an ICE to create/maintain a vacuum it uses an electrically powered one for the same task.

On my FFE (and ironically on my C-Max Energi now too) it sounded more like a fish tank pump to me.

It makes sense that it runs when you lift your foot off the brake (since the brakes are the biggest "consumers" of the vacuum; the HVAC is 2nd).

It also makes sense that it runs when you open a door after the car has been sitting--its precharging expecting that you'll be driving in a few.

jmueller065 said:

On my FFE (and ironically on my C-Max Energi now too) it sounded more like a fish tank pump to me.

Click to expand...

That's exactly what it sounds like. But, like Wattsup reports, I don't remember this when I first got the car. It was much easier to sneak up on the parking lot entrance guards at work before I had the recall done!!

Keith

jmueller065 said:

campfamily said:

I noticed the same thing on my car, after I had the "start/stop" recall done. The noise sounds like some kind of accumulator charging up, I notice it after I start the car, and particularly when I put my foot on the brake.

Click to expand...

On my FFE (and ironically on my C-Max Energi now too) it sounded more like a fish tank pump to me.

Click to expand...

Nah, you guys are just referring to the relatively loud noise made by the vacuum pump. You might hear it suddenly run, and then stop, as you've mentioned, when you open the door, press the brake, etc.. Standing outside the car, you can clearly hear it coming from inside the engine bay (where the pump is located).

What I'm talking about is softer electronic buzzing sound (like a transformer) originating from inside the car, somewhere behind the driver's side dash. It sounds continuously while the car is on. It stops immediately when you turn the car off.

You'd probably only notice it when the car is stopped in a quiet place, like your garage at home or at a deserted intersection at night. (These are the times when I notice it.)

After a week since I got the FSA 15B23 procedure done at a local Ford dealer that included the latest firmware update, I have noticed my longtime 12v battery level issue seems to have been resolved from the update.
I can see now immediately after I plug in to charge the HV battery that the 12v level jumps to over 14v now, before it didn't do that usually. So the newer firmware appears to be more aggressive at charging the 12v battery - good!
Also it doesn't discharge after a few days to below 12v now sitting in the garage without powering up the car, the 12v level stays about 12.3-12.4V idle for days now - very good!

I don't plan on taking mine in for that until late spring. I'm too busy to bother with it right now and I'm not having any issues. I probably just jinxed myself by typing that. I might monitor my 12V before I take it in to see if I can verify "better" 12V battery management. My FFE has been sitting for almost 2 months and I just put the 12V on the charger. I didn't check the voltage beforehand, but when I plugged in the charger it said, "LO." So I assume it was getting pretty low.

jeffand said:

This harness is part of the recall.
The recalled wire harness has the tape and sleeving close to the plug. The unaffected harnesses the tape and sleeving is further back from the plug.

Click to expand...

Mine was made in late 2014 and the newer harness has each wire in it's own plastic "sleeving." Surprisingly mine has no tape from the plastic to the wire. I'll post a pic when I get the chance to take one.

Just called the dealership, and found out the bad news.
They installed the new harness, and still had problems.
I was informed that they will be pulling the battery and shipping it to California.
A special shipping crate will be sent to the dealership for the battery.
They are shipping the battery to have it tested and serviced.
This will take about a week and half. We will see.

Time line: The high voltage wiring harness was ordered on Friday, and arrived at the dealership on Wednesday.

Here is an update of what's going on with my car.
They pulled the battery on March 9th and shipped it to California for repairs.
On March 15th Ford will had my car for 3 weeks.
So here are few pictures of the FFE with the battery removed.

jeffand said:

So here are few pictures of the FFE with the battery removed.

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Wow, look at that trunk space!

Sorry to hear about your problems. I hope it all works out. Are they giving you a new battery? I wonder if they will be able to put the 2017 battery in some day with the higher range. I asked Ford via e-mail and they said no. I would pay extra to get the new battery. I bought the car, but am disappointed that I did since the technology and batteries keep getting better. I hope some day to swap out the battery for the latest version. Did you ask about that? Thanks

robodog1 said:

Sorry to hear about your problems. I hope it all works out. Are they giving you a new battery? I wonder if they will be able to put the 2017 battery in some day with the higher range. I asked Ford via e-mail and they said no. I would pay extra to get the new battery. I bought the car, but am disappointed that I did since the technology and batteries keep getting better. I hope some day to swap out the battery for the latest version. Did you ask about that? Thanks

Click to expand...

Battery swap would probably be half the price of a new car.

I finally got my car back on March 24th. It's been gone for over 4 weeks.
I talked to one of the service techs, and he told me that when they pulled apart one of the electrical connectors under the car it had turned green on the inside. This is most likely what caused the car to be no longer operable. Here in Wisconsin vehicles are exposed to salty roads for 6 months of the year. The cable replacement and the greasing of the electrical contact on the wire harness is evidently done to keep water out. I highly recommend having this service recall done. It's a good preventive service recall that should be done.
A DTC code P0AA6 was retrieved.
Total cost if it was not a warranty repair would of been $6400.

jeffand said:

I finally got my car back on March 24th. It's been gone for over 4 weeks.
I talked to one of the service techs, and he told me that when they pulled apart one of the electrical connectors under the car it had turned green on the inside. This is most likely what caused the car to be no longer operable. Here in Wisconsin vehicles are exposed to salty roads for 6 months of the year. The cable replacement and the greasing of the electrical contact on the wire harness is evidently done to keep water out. I highly recommend having this service recall done. It's a good preventive service recall that should be done.
A DTC code P0AA6 was retrieved.
Total cost if it was not a warranty repair would of been $6400.

Click to expand...

jeffand,

That DTC code indicates isolation failure. Did you get 16B02 done as well? If you didn't, I would suggest you have it done. Since you had the lower battery fixed, it won't take longer than 3 hours once they have the parts. I'm getting my FFE back this week. I had the exact same issue. 16B02 installs a salt spray shield to protect the connectors from corrosion.

Hi All,

This past Mon April 18th while driving 90 km/hr (I'm in Ontario, Canada eh!!!) on a side road I received my second SSN message. The first SSN message was back in Nov 2015 and due to a short in the cabin heater. I was able to come to a safe stop and get a tow from Ford Road Side Assistance to a local dealer. After talking briefly with the service manager, he informed me, my FFE is due for the following recalls:

FSA Title: HIGH VOLTAGE WIRE HARNESS UPDATE AND REPROGRAM POWERTRAIN CONTROL MODULE
Field Service Action Number: 15B23

FSA Title: HIGH VOLTAGE BATTERY PACK CONNECTOR CORROSION
Field Service Action Number: 16B02

FSA Title: 16B02 BATTER PACK CONNECTOR
Field Service Action Number: 16A01

This is my first visit to this dealership, but that seem to be handing the recalls well. While performing the inspection on the Battery Pack Connector the tech noticed a crack. They have now removed my Lower battery and they are waiting for a crate to ship it for repair. I saw the photos of jeffand 's car a noticed that removed the upper and lower battery. Right now they have only removed the lower battery on mine. does anyone know if both should be removed. Also does anyone know if they repair the connection or replace the battery pack?

I figure I will be out of my FFE for a long time, but at least they gave me a nicely loaded 2016 (gas guzzling) Edge to drive during the repair.

Thanks for any help or info.