Charging hot battery

[Highpi]

It was pretty hot today and I was driving up in the hills for bit. I was going to charge when I got home, but I thought I had read that you shouldn't charge when the battery is hot.
Should the fan kick on at some point? It starts when I start the truck, but it's quiet when I turn it off.
Maybe not hot enough for the fan?

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[Scorpio3d]

Mine will kick on sometimes when I first plug it in, but it seems to cool down pretty quick and the fan shuts off. I know when I have DCFC’d it usually stays on most or all of the time, maybe when AC charging it is not necessary but I’m not sure. I see your battery temp bar is above mid range. Have you checked your coolant level?

 

[KahnDawg]

My truck will run the cooling fan and coolant pump at times when (AC) charging at home on a hot day. I’ve also heard (what I assume) is the chiller compressor running when I have arrived home and started charging with the temperature slider above the middle marker on hot days.

I think (I could be very wrong) the trucks thermal management system will ensure the battery is kept within the appropriate temperature range while charging. I did note the owners manual states waiting a couple hours in certain conditions is recommended, but I assume that is to obtain the most efficient charge (by not diverting energy to thermal management) operation as possible.

 

[Kansan]

It was pretty hot today and I was driving up in the hills for bit. I was going to charge when I got home, but I thought I had read that you shouldn't charge when the battery is hot.
Should the fan kick on at some point? It starts when I start the truck, but it's quiet when I turn it off.
Maybe not hot enough for the fan?

What was the temperature of your battery?

 

[WaterboyNorCal]

It was pretty hot today and I was driving up in the hills for bit. I was going to charge when I got home, but I thought I had read that you shouldn't charge when the battery is hot.
Should the fan kick on at some point? It starts when I start the truck, but it's quiet when I turn it off.
Maybe not hot enough for the fan?

Yup. The fan will kick in when needed. I would note that people sometimes freak out when the battery temperature gauge is anything above the halfway mark, but yours is still well within the “normal” hash marks. Sure, check the coolant level, but my guess is that it’s totally normal. The battery temperature will rise a little bit above the halfway mark when DCFC on a hot day (over 95 degrees), but the cooling system will bring it back down within 20min by simply driving the truck.

 

[Highpi]

Thanks for the replies.

So plugging it in will kick the fan on, if needed?

 

[jetfixr1]

Its still within range. If you really want to see it move to the middle, throw it in sport mode and it will bring the temp down quicker.

 

[Highpi]

What was the temperature of your battery?

I'm not sure how to find that.

 

[Shmoe]

It was pretty hot today and I was driving up in the hills for bit. I was going to charge when I got home, but I thought I had read that you shouldn't charge when the battery is hot.
Should the fan kick on at some point? It starts when I start the truck, but it's quiet when I turn it off.
Maybe not hot enough for the fan?[
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If you need to charge your car, charge your car.

 

[RLXXI]

I'm not sure how to find that.

Don't overthink it, your machine has built in safeguards to prevent damaging it, as mentioned if you need to charge, just do it. The truck will take care of itself. If there's an issue, you'll get a notice on screen.

 

[TaxmanHog]

TRUCK !

 

[Dan C]

I towed with mine at 100 plus degrees and the batt temp. went up to about that level. I dc charged with no problem the charge rate was just reduced. Like they say if you need to charge, charge. The truck will deal with it.

 

[Highpi]

Thanks for all the input. I’ll try and keep it simple.

 

[RickLightning]

Got home yesterday in 92 degree heat. Plugged in, fans ran for about 15 seconds.

It has to be HOT for it run the fans. Ford recommends cooling it off for a few hours if time allows.

 

[Joneii]

Yes the OPs temp is still well within the normal range, but it is wise to question when it moves off the exact middle—because it normally doesn’t!

I’ve had my truck almost three years and driven about 80,000 miles and the battery temp rarely leaves the middle mark. Once it was -20 F and I could not plug in overnight and the battery cold soaked , so I got to see the gauge turn amber as the indicator left the normal range on the cold side.

Recently I saw it elevate on the hot side as I DCFC for the fourth time that day on a road trip through Kansas at 108 F ambient air temps. What I noticed first was not the temperature gauge (because you can’t see it while fast charging), but the charging speed dropped drastically. When I disconnected (wrongly assuming a problem with the EA charger I was using), that is when I saw the temperature gauge. I tried to convince myself that it was just because it was so hot outside, but it happened again that evening when I made it to Denver and it was only 61 F ambient temps. There was definitely something wrong with my cooling system while charging. The dealer diagnosed it as a coolant valve, but after that was replaced I made the return roadtrip in much more reasonable temps. Unfortunately, the battery temperature elevates whenever I DCFC for more than about 20% and the charging speed is thermally throttled to 100 kWh or less. Needless to say this is not normal even though whenever the battery temperature elevates it is remaining in the normal range. It takes about 10-15 minutes longer for a 20-80% charge stop. The truck is scheduled to go back to the dealer tomorrow. I hope they find the issue.

So, yes there is a normal range, and no, I never received a fault indication from the truck; however, there is certainly something different about it’s performance now and that is worth noticing.

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