[Conrad787]

Good morning,

I'm writing today requesting urgent help with my 2012 Ford Transit Connect electric from Azure Dynamics. I shot a short video in my garage explaining the issues I have with the vehicle not driving (despite a full charge on the battery) as well as some of the error codes thrown and visible in the Azure Dynamics diagnostic tool on my laptop. All these issues began when the vehicle "hiccuped" and skipped while driving around 15 miles per hour. For no reason, the car skipped and lurched forward, immediately shut off power with a Wrench symbol visible on the dashboard, and since then I only have about 1 MPH acceleration when pressing the accelerator pedal. Please view this YouTube video and comment below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnIDAjdFjSI

Thank you,
Conrad

 

[Conrad787]

Here's a detailed video of the "crunching" sound I'm experiencing upon acceleration:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/gi5ur75iy3aeqly/IMG_5843.MOV?dl=0

 

[Kevin Sharpe]

Please view this YouTube video and comment below!

I'd stick it up on a lift with the wheels free and run the motor... you need to get close to the transmission and listen.

 

[Conrad787]

Hello Kevin and other readers on this thread,

Please view this updated video from over the weekend. I lifted the front of the car up and crawled underneath while someone else pressed on the accelerator. You can hear the crunching/rubbing/clicking sound I am experiencing that results in only 1 MPH acceleration. Any idea what part might have failed resulting in this sound??

https://youtu.be/M_9XVs0TZY0

Thank you,
Conrad

 

[zaxxon]

Good morning,

I'm writing today requesting urgent help with my 2012 Ford Transit Connect electric from Azure Dynamics. I shot a short video in my garage explaining the issues I have with the vehicle not driving (despite a full charge on the battery) as well as some of the error codes thrown and visible in the Azure Dynamics diagnostic tool on my laptop. All these issues began when the vehicle "hiccuped" and skipped while driving around 15 miles per hour. For no reason, the car skipped and lurched forward, immediately shut off power with a Wrench symbol visible on the dashboard, and since then I only have about 1 MPH acceleration when pressing the accelerator pedal. Please view this YouTube video and comment below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnIDAjdFjSI

Thank you,
Conrad

I would suggest that you need to find and correct what is causing the ABS/Traction fault light. The ABS module is likely sending a command to the controller to limit motor torque. The popping sound you hear might be caused by a repetitive on/off control being sent to the motor and resulting gear chatter.

 

[Conrad787]

I would suggest that you need to find and correct what is causing the ABS/Traction fault light. The ABS module is likely sending a command to the controller to limit motor torque. The popping sound you hear might be caused by a repetitive on/off control being sent to the motor and resulting gear chatter.

Zaxxon, please watch the most recent video in my post recent post above. There is no longer an ABS light or Traction control light. They were repaired by Dave Alef from Azure. I have no lights on the dash. Any other ideas about what might be rubbing under the car?

Here's the updated video I'm referring to:
https://youtu.be/M_9XVs0TZY0

 

[zaxxon]

Zaxxon, please watch the most recent video in my post recent post above. There is no longer an ABS light or Traction control light. They were repaired by Dave Alef from Azure. I have no lights on the dash. Any other ideas about what might be rubbing under the car?

Here's the updated video I'm referring to:
https://youtu.be/M_9XVs0TZY0

So I am sure I understand. You can no longer go faster than 1 to 5 mph with the accelerator floored? The ABS and Traction lights did come on when the issue started? What was the cause given for the these fault lights and what was done to fix/remove?

If ABS/Traction control is not cause of issue. Based on the operation seen the issue might be related to the motor speed pickup or some issue with the inverter. Are you drawing a large amounts of current from the High voltage battery when trying to accelerate?

 

[Conrad787]

So I am sure I understand. You can no longer go faster than 1 to 5 mph with the accelerator floored? The ABS and Traction lights did come on when the issue started? What was the cause given for the these fault lights and what was done to fix/remove?

If ABS/Traction control is not cause of issue. Based on the operation seen the issue might be related to the motor speed pickup or some issue with the inverter. Are you drawing a large amounts of current from the High voltage battery when trying to accelerate?

Hi Zaxxon, thank you for your ideas. To answer your questions:

- I can no longer go above 1 MPH with the accelerator floored. This is the same whether the front wheels are lifted off the ground, or if the car is lowered.

- I believe the ABS and Traction lights came on when the issue started but to be honest, it was 2 years ago so I can't be positive.

- Dave from Azure Dynamics resolved the issue by clearing all the DTC's and clearing any codes stored in the VCU too. I believe he also had me pull the fuse for the VCU to fully reset it. Now, no lights or errors on the dash or in the Azure diagnostic tool!

- Not sure how much power I am drawing upon acceleration..... is there a way I can see that? I don't believe there are any electrical problems because I have a full charge on the high-voltage battery (65 miles range) and 14V on the low-voltage battery under the hood.

 

[zaxxon]

In your first video showing the diagnostic tool, Its looks like there are two modules showing red (Charger and WOC). Are they still showing red?

Please run diagnostic tool again and show videos showing all DTC codes and other troubleshooting and tab display screens for TM, Charger, WOC.

 

[Conrad787]

No problem Zaxxon, here is the video you requested showing all the tabs of the Azure Diagnostic Tool:

https://youtu.be/0_Qywk3-PJ0

And here is one more video I shot under the car this morning while holding a stethoscope to several of the components under the car:

https://youtu.be/gE9VB7eHDwU

Thanks!

 

[zaxxon]

When in the Main DTC Tab, can you also show us what's on each of the sub tabs (VCU, TM Info Codes, ...........)

I am not sure what that noisy box is. Can you tell if its something to do with the electrical hydraulic steering? I see there is a fault indicated in the EHPAS/SASM Tab. Are there any issues with steering?

 

[Noah23]

I have this same vehicle too. Thankfully I don't have any problems with it. Although I would like to know how to get this diagnostic tool so I can learn more about my car. Also I saw in a forum thread that you had an Azure Dynamics employe working on your vehicle I was wondering I could get in touch with them because I have some questions.

Thank You For Your Time!

 

[Conrad787]

I just wanted to provide an update on my Azure Dynamics Ford Transit Connect Electric that we discussed. I was able to fix the majority of issues I had shared with you previously!

- I’ve got all of the electrical issues sorted out. Both the 12V battery and high-voltage battery are fully charged.
- I have no CEL’s on the dashboard, I have no DTC’s stored when I use the TCBEV Diagnostic Tool from Azure Dynamics.
- I no longer have the wrench icon nor the ABS icon on the dashboard. Woohoo!

However, I am still having this issue with the drivetrain of the vehicle. I filmed a short video with my Dad this morning to demonstrate the mechanical issue we are still encountering:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRvWVf_qOuQ

Any ideas or suggestions what component might have failed that needs replacing? Thanks so much in advance, and happy holidays to you.

- Conrad