Cannot trust my truck to stop charging at 90%

[metroshot]

They’re at 100% because the pre-delivery checklist says to charge to 100%. They shouldn’t do it until they sell the truck, but laziness is a factor. Mine was at 86% when I picked mine up. Salesman told me that’s what it was when it came off the truck and I told him to not bother charging it any further.

Correct, the buffer is about 10%, split between top and bottom.

The 90% charge limit is not a requirement, it’s a recommendation.

Correct - when I picked up mine, the PDI checklist from the service dept said charge to 100%.

There is nothing wrong with 100% - if there was, Ford would have limited it (they do with a 9%-10% buffer already).

Since I charge mine once a week, 100% is not harmful at all....

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[RickLightning]

They're at 100% because when the truck sells, the charger may not be available to top off, or have enough time. And it's not hurting anything.

 

[Replika]

They’re at 100% because the pre-delivery checklist says to charge to 100%. They shouldn’t do it until they sell the truck, but laziness is a factor. Mine was at 86% when I picked mine up. Salesman told me that’s what it was when it came off the truck and I told him to not bother charging it any further.

Correct, the buffer is about 10%, split between top and bottom.

The 90% charge limit is not a requirement, it’s a recommendation.

The vehicles I saw were charged to 100% at all times because the charge scheme wasn't set up, or maybe it failed to kick in. My dealer said they charge them to 100% all the time.

Requirement of not, the manual says it adds wear to the battery and the reason this is happening is the charge scheme software is over-complicated.

I've also found it to be finicky like the OP, resulting in accidental 100% charges.

 

[trev5150]

The vehicles I saw were charged to 100% at all times because the charge scheme wasn't set up, or maybe it failed to kick in. My dealer said they charge them to 100% all the time.

Requirement of not, the manual says it adds wear to the battery and the reason this is happening is the charge scheme software is over-complicated.

I've also found it to be finicky like the OP, resulting in accidental 100% charges.

Exactly, and that’s what this is about: Setting a limit in the tools provided and not walking away wondering if it’s actually going to do what I told it to do.

 

[RickLightning]

The vehicles I saw were charged to 100% at all times because the charge scheme wasn't set up, or maybe it failed to kick in. My dealer said they charge them to 100% all the time.

Requirement of not, the manual says it adds wear to the battery and the reason this is happening is the charge scheme software is over-complicated.

I've also found it to be finicky like the OP, resulting in accidental 100% charges.

Vehicles are to be delivered with 100% charge, just like a full gas tank is required on ICE vehicles.

The manual specifically says "setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery". Note the words "everyday usage". Charging the vehicle to 100% for delivery, or for sitting a few days before delivery, is a non-issue. Vehicles are generally not prepped until they're getting ready for delivery.

 

[Maxx]

I have had the truck for only a few days. The interface is not the best I have seen but over all it is not that bad. For charging, If I could design my own, I would have it so whenever you plug in (at least for level 2 charging), there would be a pop up screen displaying two sliders:

1 - Charge limit already set at your scheduled charge limit .

2 - Current limit set at a value you selected in the charge settings (anywhere between 6 Amp to Max the truck can handle).

You should be able to move the sliders on the truck interface or on Ford pass app for that session. And you should be able to turn off the pop up or adjust how long will stay up in the charge settings.

I prefer to charge at the lowest current my time allows. Especially in winter, it would keep the battery warm longer and less stress on all components and wiring involved.

I have my charge limit set to 95% and use a ChargePoint Home32A, works every time.

I was talking about setting charge rate, not charge limit. Like setting it to 24 Amp with your current setup from inside the vehicle instead of 32 Amp.

There are instances where I may want to plug into a 30 amp dryer outlet of a family member with a Ford mobile charger and not sure if the wiring in the house can handle the continues 30 Amp and don’t want to set their house on fire. It seems like neither the truck nor Ford mobile charger let you do that.

 

[RickLightning]

There are instances where I may want to plug into a 30 amp dryer outlet of a family member with a Ford mobile charger and not sure if the wiring in the house can handle the continues 30 Amp and don’t want to set their house on fire. It seems like neither the truck nor Ford mobile charger let you do that.

Correct. You cannot set the limit the truck pulls - it will put up to the max offered up to its limit of 80amps. And the Ford Mobile Charger is not settable either, it pulls 30amps.

If you want to use a dryer outlet, you need to buy a 24amp charger with the right plug.

 

[Replika]

Vehicles are to be delivered with 100% charge, just like a full gas tank is required on ICE vehicles.

The manual specifically says "setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery". Note the words "everyday usage". Charging the vehicle to 100% for delivery, or for sitting a few days before delivery, is a non-issue. Vehicles are generally not prepped until they're getting ready for delivery.

I wasn’t clear enough, my vehicle and the vehicles I was mentioning were mannequins and demos. Vehicles they had for 6 months. Not getting ready for prep, just sitting at 100% because the software is difficult to get to work.

It’s not a ford issue specifically, they all do this because “moar is better” and it’s just easier.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Ford allows us to adjust the charging current flow limit below the maximum 80 amp setting for the FCSP via the Connected Charge Station tile on the FordPass App under "Account"

Just to advise those pondering alternative EVSE's, the FCSP and Connected Charge Station via the Fordpass app allows reduction of current draw to slow the rate of charging to a slower pace, I did a quick test this afternoon, cut my rate from 80 amps [effective rate has been 75 amps historically] to 40 amps.

This graph from my Emporia Vue2 confirms the reduction in current flow with the new settings, 9327 watts at 240 volts is approx 38.86 amps.

You won't be able to do this with the dumb chargers like the Ford Mobile charger, but some of the more advanced third party EVSE's are adjustable via their own applications.

 

[Monkey]

Charging to 100% is a non-issue if done on an L2 charger and then you drive it. Going to 100% on DCFC is much more strenuous on the battery, but also why the truck throttles back the charge rate as necessary to keep from wearing on the battery. The biggest issue with 100% SOC is it bleeds off quick and it's best to discharge it properly through driving... Ford has also allowed more headroom on the pack than Tesla and some others have on theirs. This lets Tesla et. al advertise a bit more range, but being above 90% SOC on my Tesla also means that regenerative braking is disabled and that > 90% SOC bleeds off FAST... much faster than it does on the Lightning.

 

[ctuan13]

It's just ridiculous to me that there just isn't a universal manual setting right on the head unit in the Lightning for max charge percentage. My mom's Kia EV6 has this function and it always works. This location based bs should be a secondary option, not the only method of setting a charge limit.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

I’ll try it next week. Not gonna risk going to 100% three days in a row.

My sense is that you are being a bit dramatic about this. A few times to 100% or even a few dozen times is not going to significantly affect your battery. The battery does not charge to 100% in any case - there is a built-in cushion above the stated 131 kwh stated max (it is actually 143.3 kwh, while the standard range truck battery is 107.6kWh total, which Ford says is 98 kWh useable), plus the Ford BMS can handle a full charge as many times as you wish. The key is to avoid leaving the battery at full SOC - make sure you drive the truck soon after being charged to what appears to be 100% (which isn't really 100%).

Ford's recommendation of 90% daily charging is simply best practice, isn't absolute, and violation isn't immediate harm. Think of it like an octane advisory. Elon Musk at one point said that the optimal daily max charge level for long battery health is lower, more like 80%, and then Tesla disclosed that repeated and regular DCFC would cause faster battery degradation than Level 2 charging. That leads some of us to set daily charging at 80% and the charging rate at 20 amps, which keeps our cord a lot cooler and the battery a bit more chill than at a faster rate. That's quite easy to do in the Tesla environment, where changing the charge max and amps is a matter a few swipes in a couple seconds. Unfortunately Ford's interface has no such functionality beyond a kluge for max charge - you cannot set the rate of charge at all without going inside the Ford charger.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

Charging to 100% is a non-issue if done on an L2 charger and then you drive it. Going to 100% on DCFC is much more strenuous on the battery, but also why the truck throttles back the charge rate as necessary to keep from wearing on the battery. The biggest issue with 100% SOC is it bleeds off quick and it's best to discharge it properly through driving... Ford has also allowed more headroom on the pack than Tesla and some others have on theirs. This lets Tesla et. al advertise a bit more range, but being above 90% SOC on my Tesla also means that regenerative braking is disabled and that > 90% SOC bleeds off FAST... much faster than it does on the Lightning.

Correct except throttling has nothing to do with saving the battery. Throttling is simply a reflection of the ABILITY of the battery to accept charge at higher states of charge - a nearly full battery can't take the remaining charge as fast - it's li physics.

 

[PungoteagueDave]

How does that matter? I’m not hooking up an OBD every time I charge. 100% indicated is 100% as far as I’m concerned. That extra reserve is in the noise as far as im concerned. And the 100% isn’t even the point. The point is the continual failure to properly control the equipment via the software despite the multiple workarounds duscussed here and in other threads.

It matters because 100% indicated is really more like 90%, which is perfectly safe. You cannot charge a Lightning battery to 100% - it is a safety built into the BMS.

 

[trev5150]

It matters because 100% indicated is really more like 90%, which is perfectly safe. You cannot charge a Lightning battery to 100% - it is a safety built into the BMS.

Dave the point of this thread is the software issue that we can’t rely on the settings to perform as advertised, not the esoteric vagaries of phantom battery capacity. I’m not interested in your interpretation of the battery capacity or what you deem safe and not having a cumulative, deleterious effect on battery life.

I want the system to stop charging when I say, per the recommendation, period. I want to be able to trust that SOMETHING works as advertised.

That. Is. The. Point. Of. This. Thread.

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