Charge Level Increasing?

[brownhousechris]

I've noticed lately that the State of Charge tends to increase a couple points when I start driving. For example, if I charge to 90% at home overnight, when I unplug and head out in the morning the dash will show something like 91%, and will increase to 92% or 93% over the next few minutes. This seems like a recent thing, maybe within the last month or so. Anyone else experiencing this?

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[Ish]

Ditto

 

[chriserx]

typically weather, as the pack temperature increases (usually from use or pack heater turning on) it 'unlocks' more kWh from the battery. sometimes it's also a cell balance issue which resolves within a couple of full cycle charges.

typically not something to worry about, but it is more noticeable as the pack ages.

 

[Maquis]

Mine‘s been doing this for the last 6 months. I think it’s cell imbalance. I normally don’t let my SoC get very low so I’m ready for backup power in the event of an outage. I probably need to deep cycle it a couple times.

 

[I <3 My Lightning]

I've noticed lately that the State of Charge tends to increase a couple points when I start driving. For example, if I charge to 90% at home overnight, when I unplug and head out in the morning the dash will show something like 91%, and will increase to 92% or 93% over the next few minutes. This seems like a recent thing, maybe within the last month or so. Anyone else experiencing this?

Yes. It typically catches up after a week but not in a positive way. LOL, because I tend to charge once a week. It's not the warmer weather thing. It was even doing this nonsense in 15F to -5F weather. I thought it was a screw up after doing some longer trips where I charge to 100%. The first time it was was not a fully balanced 100% SOC so I chalked it up to that. But even after allowing it to fully balance to 100% SOC it still has been wacky.

I noticed this started to occur back in December when FORD pushed the WAL toggles WITHOUT an actual OTA.... So it makes me wonder what also was sent along with this non official officially admitted push of an OTA....

Jumping in to clear up some confusion regarding the update mentioned.

If you own a 2022 or 2023 F-150 Lightning, we recently pushed out a software update to enable the Walk Away Lock feature. However, if you do NOT have a BlueCruise-equipped vehicle, you may not be seeing a toggle to control it on your in-vehicle screen.

While I know this is frustrating for those of you experiencing this, I have some good news! There is an update being pushed out which will enable the Walk Away Lock toggle on your in-vehicle screen.

It is important to note that this software update happens in the background, which means you will NOT get a notification on your in-vehicle screen or in the Ford app letting you know an update was installed.

Additionally, you may need to turn your vehicle ON/OFF one or two times for the screen to refresh.

Keep an eye out on your Settings menu – the toggle should appear soon!

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...o-2022-2023-f-150-lightning.31087/post-613806

 

[Tfarrell73]

Same here. 1 to 3% increase on first trip after charging. I usually charge to 100% every few months to help balancing

 

[Timeless Epoch]

I’ve noticed it too.

 

[chl]

The Lightnings use passive balancing (from what I've read - I don't think Ford has explained the exact method used) during charging.

Having passive balancing allows the weaker cells to get more fully charged.
Without balancing, charging would stop when the stronger cells reach their full charge, e.g., before the weaker ones have reached their charge limit.

So the overall available energy is increased with balancing over what it would be without it.

But all that would happen during charging and maybe some short time afterwards (in the case of Nissan Leaf, about 1 hour).

The increase in displayed usable capacity after starting the truck and driving is more likely one or both of: the internal warming of the battery as energy is being used to power the truck, and/or the BMS raising the temperature of the battery to an optimum operation level, like when one pre-conditions the battery before a departure, for example.

The warmer the battery the more kWh are available, because the internal resistance is lowered as the temperature increases to the optimal temperature.

****************************************
Note: excessive heat will reduce the lifespan of an EV battery, and the cooling system will use up more energy keeping the battery 'cool', thus reducing range.

Optimum temperature for the battery is about 68F to 86F so they say.

 

[Rtashiro]

I have had the same issue here. Only been lately. I tried running it down t on 10 then up to 100 and it still does it. I typically charge to 80

 

[chl]

I have had the same issue here. Only been lately. I tried running it down t on 10 then up to 100 and it still does it. I typically charge to 80

So most likely related to battery temperature rising when truck is turned on rather than cell balancing.

 

[Mache_Enrique]

Started for me recently also seemingly after the last OTA. Never used to do it before.

 

[chl]

Started for me recently also seemingly after the last OTA. Never used to do it before.

Which OTA was it that changed things?

Could Ford have changed the kWh calculation process?

 

[DNap4]

Yesterday I noticed my vehicle summary now has “Will Charge When Plugged In”, whereas before it never had that.

As of Yesterday:

Before:

It’s been warm in Virginia about 70-80 degrees during the day all week. My mi/kWh has gone up significantly where I’m getting between 2.5 - 3.4 mi/kWh over the last couple weeks. The calculation for my total range at 100% with a SR battery is currently 253 miles.

I see no updates pushed through on my 22 XLT SR. Recently seeing a lot more shift in the guessometer. It is what it is.

 

[MountainAlive]

Mine has been doing this with the sudden warmer temps in MA to. Yesterday I charged it at work in the morning up to 93%. Then it sat for a couple hours. When I got in and started driving a couple miles I looked down at the dash and it suddenly said 96%.

 

[kens]

For the MME we have a HV Battery Calibration Procedure tutorial on the forum. Do you guys do anything like that on the Lightning?

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