Rip Van Transit

[madlock]

During my recent visit to the Dejana Ship-trough Upfit Facility, I had a terrific discussion with the Dejana Manager for Transit Connect, including many of the idiosyncrasies that have resulted from Transit Connect having been pulled forward to market so quickly and some of the lessons learned by ramming 20,000 "one offs" through the pipe so quickly and the challenges that exist among North American owners with dealers and service representatives being so generally unfamiliar with a new product, and this one in particular that European owners take for granted given that Transit Connect is a mature, established product.

One phenomenon discussed was the Transit Connect's "Sleep Mode".

Apparently, if the vehicle isn't started for a month or more, the vehicle's OBC puts the vehicle "to sleep". The headlights, dome lights, and accessory power will continue to work as expected, but power to the ignition system is cut-off, making the vehicle impossible to start. The solution for this "feature" is to remove fuse number 5 for 2 minutes before reinserting. The vehicle will then "wake up" and once again function as normal.

Given all the kinky combinations of ignition key programming sequences, under-dash button pushing, and other odd ways the vehicle is programmed (and until they can all be set by connecting the vehicle by a USB cable to a PC as God intended), I found it hilarious that they would let such an awkward solution stand. Nevertheless, if someone should happen to go on vacation or operate a seasonal business that could leave their Transit Connect unused for a month or more, perhaps this "trick" will save undue frustration or an unnecessary tow.