Ford Electric Truck Owner Hears 'Loud Pop' at Charging Station - Then His Worst Nightmare Happens
An electric Ford F-150 Lighting owner who describes himself as “Into Electric Vehicles” had to get out of his electric vehicle when it stopped working after a public charger “fried” the vehicle, he said Sunday.
“Lightning bricked today at an [Electrify America] charger,” Twitter user Eric Roe wrote Sunday afternoon. “I’m 1000 miles from home, the EA charger when [sic] black, and my Lightning won’t move. I’m screwed.”
My @Ford Lightning bricked today at an @ElectrifyAm charger. I’m 1000 miles from home, the EA charger when black, and my Lightning won’t move. I’m screwed.
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 27, 2022
After that initial post, Roe posted an update that included pictures of the vehicle being loaded onto and then carted away by a tow truck.
My @Ford being towed away from an @ElectrifyAm charging station after the EA charger fried my truck. pic.twitter.com/V7tFWPWSoi
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 27, 2022
That tweet had gotten some attention — 1,412 likes (which I’ll interpret as expressions of sympathy, in this case), as well as about 235 replies and a similar number of retweets as of late Tuesday morning.
A number of those replies were from Roe himself, providing updates to his situation, but one was from Emma Bergg, whose profile indicates that she is the “Global Director, Electric Vehicles & BlueOval City Comms for Ford Motor Company.”
Hi Eric, please DM me. Thank you!
— Emma Bergg (@ebergg) November 28, 2022
Hopefully, Bergg can get Roe some help — because it sounds like he needs some.
Plugged the Lightning to the EA Charger, started to charge, heard a loud boom, and the charger went dark and the Lightning threw up a bunch of error codes and wouldn’t start. Couldn’t even shift into neutral.
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 28, 2022
The truck had a bunch of error codes, and wouldn’t got beyond accessory mode. I tried the N button and nothing. The tow truck driver had to drag the car out of the spot.
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 28, 2022
@Ford @ebergg @ElectrifyAm @itskyleconner @brandenflasch @jimfarley98 Power Ford in Newport says they need to replace the 12 volt battery before they can diagnose, and it’s some sort of special battery and they don’t have an ETA. Then what?? 😡
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 28, 2022
Apparently, technicians at the dealership to which the F-150 was towed need — or believe they need — a specific battery before they can even diagnose what’s wrong with the truck and start talking about repairs.
Still, Roe doesn’t seem discouraged about electric vehicles in general, saying almost 24 hours into his ordeal that he still “loves EV’s.”
I love EV’s and this is my second. I have 66k on my KIA Niro and 10k on the Lightning.
— Eric Roe (@Eric_L_Roe) November 28, 2022
Roe’s Twitter profile describes him as being “Into Electric Vehicles, technology, going on drives, road trips, and trains.”
On Aug. 23, Roe had posted a video of him “[c]rossing the Mojave River twice in Afton Canyon, California,” in what was presumably the same truck.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Roe’s situation and hoping that he gets it resolved quickly, and at the expense of either Ford or Electify America, because Ford truck batteries can run over $35,000, as The Western Journal has previous written.
That’s a big repair bill for a vehicle with only 10,000 miles on it.
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