110V Power Inverter No power

[Tom991]

Is there a trick to getting to power the 110V inverter in my 2020 Expedition. The red light is on. I plugged a battery charger to charge my weed whacker battery, the light started flashing next to the plug socket, but it wouldn't charge.

 

[Grrumpy]

From what I understand it only puts out 150 watts....barely enough to power a laptop or charge your phone. Seriously doubt it can recharge a heavy duty lawn equipment battery.
What is it a 24 amp or larger battery ??? No Way Jose !!!!!

 

[DieselMonk]

Protection mode probably. That inverter is really small. 120VAC @ 150w AC = 1.25Amps. Look at your charger and see how many amps it draws. Probably way more than that!

 

[Tom991]

So in other words it's worthless. I charge my phone via the USB port. I have an inverter that plugs into the 12 volt outlet that will run my drip coffee maker.

 

[DieselMonk]

I am running a Bluetti AC200L in my SPP. Use my 10qt Ninja dual basket air fryer and cook while I am going. Works great. I can cook easily for 60mins using 1800w full bore. Makes a whole chicken and a bag of fries! Yumm!!!

This way I don’t have to stand in line, or pay any of these crazy food prizes and I am much faster than any fast food chain around here.

I can also charge the Bluetti at 560W using my DC to DC converter while driving.

 

[Burz]

Mine will not even charge / reliably my higher end laptop. I think Ford save 3 cents and probably should have moved up to a 500 or 1000w. I would have paid the 10 bucks extra.

 

[rcbassin]

Not sure about your 2020 model compared to our 2026, but ours says "The 400-watt capacity is sufficient for charging laptops, tablets, phones, or running small electronic devices, but not for heavy-duty power tools or high-draw appliances." Doesn't seem like much help, but we didn't expect to use it for anything other than a laptop or tablet while on a road trip.

 

[DieselMonk]

Mine will not even charge / reliably my higher end laptop. I think Ford save 3 cents and probably should have moved up to a 500 or 1000w. I would have paid the 10 bucks extra.

Not so fast! So a 1000w 120v inverter would draw a rocking 83.3 amps DC! I think you need a second alternator and real thick wiring plus real good cooling too. And all that for a measly 10 extra bucks? Not happening.

Did I mention that little 150w inverter is only modified sine wave? Maybe a step petter than square wave, but that’s about it.

So if you think of it:
Take a Bluetti, jam it into the truck, run that DC to DC inverter to fast charge the Bluetti if it has to be permanently in there. It has its own battery soot CAN run without the engine running and you can take it anywhere where you want in any vehicle you want.

 

[DieselMonk]

Not sure about your 2020 model compared to our 2026, but ours says "The 400-watt capacity is sufficient for charging laptops, tablets, phones, or running small electronic devices, but not for heavy-duty power tools or high-draw appliances." Doesn't seem like much help, but we didn't expect to use it for anything other than a laptop or tablet while on a road trip.

They changed that from the 4th gen 150w to the 5th gen 400w. All 4th gen have 150w. There is no other option besides doing either an install or a solar generator of some sort. I went the solar generator route, because I’ve got minimum wiring. I can take it in and out of my truck as needed and mine does 2200w for one hour and makes yummy food in the dual basket air fryer while driving.

 

[Burz]

They changed that from the 4th gen 150w to the 5th gen 400w. All 4th gen have 150w. There is no other option besides doing either an install or a solar generator of some sort. I went the solar generator route, because I’ve got minimum wiring. I can take it in and out of my truck as needed and mine does 2200w for one hour and makes yummy food in the dual basket air fryer while driving.

Air Fryer while driving. Epic