Cold snap triggering battery “protection” heating?

[luebri]

EDIT, prior to the above, at 9:14 (while I was not looking) the battery warming phase ran for about 8 minutes.

Why would preconditioning start, then stop, then start again? I have never seen that behavior monitoring my usage.

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[luebri]

I‘ve left my Mach-E at the airport for several days at a time. It’s there now and was there last week during single-digit temps. It has never lost any charge while parked.

Since the % charge figure resolution is only whole numbers, +-1 could just be rounding, or just temperature effects on the SOC algorithm.

Thanks for sharing. The "emergency" battery self heating temp threshold must be super cold. I left my truck outside last night in 0 to 5F weather and saw no affect of any kind on SOC.

OBD says HVB min 6.8F / HVB Max 8.6F this morning

 

[LightningShow]

I don’t think you would see any change in SOC if the battery is just heating.

 

[luebri]

I don’t think you would see any change in SOC if the battery is just heating.

Where is it getting its energy, to heat, if not plugged in?

 

[RickLightning]

I checked this morning and my truck was charging. That’s nothing to do with the cold, though, that’s just Ford’s poorly designed charging algorithm. I told it to stop charging last night at 95% but it decided i needed a 100% charge at some point in the middle of the night. @Ford Motor Company really needs to fix this broken interface.

To clarify, if you set a charge level and the vehicle has not reached it, and you click "stop charging", that is not the same as "stop charging, don't start again". The truck will resume charging at some point on its own, during your charging window.

If you want to stop charging at 95% but the truck is set to 100%, then you have two choices:

- change level to 95%
- unplug

 

[LightningShow]

To clarify, if you set a charge level and the vehicle has not reached it, and you click "stop charging", that is not the same as "stop charging, don't start again". The truck will resume charging at some point on its own, during your charging window.

If you want to stop charging at 95% but the truck is set to 100%, then you have two choices:

- change level to 95%
- unplug

I’m aware of that but it’s so counterintuitive that i still forget about it sometimes.

 

[RickLightning]

I’m aware of that but it’s so counterintuitive that i still forget about it sometimes.

Intuitive and Ford's technology is often not compatible unfortunately.

 

[LightningShow]

Where is it getting its energy, to heat, if not plugged in?

It only heats the battery if it is plugged in.

 

[luebri]

It only heats the battery if it is plugged in.

Not what I’ve been told. I’ve heard many people on this forum say there is a certain temp at which the battery heater will draw from the Hi voltage battery to protect the HVB.

The question is what temp is the trigger? That is what many of us have been trying to figure out.

 

[LightningShow]

Not what I’ve been told. I’ve heard many people on this forum say there is a certain temp at which the battery heater will draw from the Hi voltage battery to protect the HVB.

The question is what temp is the trigger? That is what many of us have been trying to figure out.

I’m not sure, then. I haven’t seen anyone confirm that for the Lightning.

 

[Walle1jm]

Just curious if anyone is seeing this. I figured it might happen with the very cold weather we’re having. This morning the app said “preparing to drive” even though there was no departure time set. I’m assuming it was doing some unscheduled preconditioning. It was only about 15 degrees at the time, we’re going -12 overnight.

I had the same thing happen and wondered what it was too.

 

[luebri]

I had the same thing happen and wondered what it was too.

@RickLightning Have you found data that changed your belief below from a previous thread.

Battery will care for itself. If plugged in, the truck will use house current sporadically as it needs to, usually in 15 minute spurts, and only on very cold nights. If not plugged in, battery will keep itself warm by using it's own power to run the systems to warm it.

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/lightning-winter-preparations.12306/#post-259995

 

[RickLightning]

@RickLightning Have you found data that changed your belief below from a previous thread.




https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/lightning-winter-preparations.12306/#post-259995

It seems that battery behavior may have changed with updates. Clearly the readouts posted of temps around 10F for the battery seem to indicate that it is not warming at all without being plugged in. Given that I'm not testing the behavior of a Lightning, it seems not at this point. I'll look back for any results I can find.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Help me understand your post. You had a departure time set at 10am, the battery was already at 100% charge, and apparently the preconditioning started 30 minutes early using about 9 kw?

Am I reading that correctly?
Thanks

The instantaneous [by the minute] rate of consumption shown in the prior graphics would lead you to believe that had it lasted for an entire 60 minutes, but the battery and cabin warming only consumed 6.98KW. 5.14 KW during the 9 to 10 am period and 1.84 KW from 10 to 11 am.

Based on these by the hour charts, all that energy was used by the PTC to warm the battery, then the cabin, and the heater continued to idle for 15 minutes afterward. Cost was [$1.73] to prepare for the long cold trip.

BTW, when I unplugged the truck and started it up directly, the steering wheel warmer came on immediately and I had a warm wheel the whole trip north.

Side note about the trip, total miles ~190, I averaged 1.2 MPK the whole day due to very cold outside conditions, driving 65-70 mph mostly freeway i-95/i-495/rt-3 with me and one passenger, cabin temp steady around 72° going north, then having seen how much juice I was using the return trip I lowered the cabin to 65°. Travel costs for today [$22.90 or 12.1 cents a mile]

I might have made the round trip 100% to 0%, but opted to stop in Marlborough at the BOA EA for an11 minute session, adding ~18KW [31% to 44%], extending my travel range, which got me home with a 20% SOC [$2.75]

Took the lady to supper, then I headed to the EA in Wrentham Mass, arrived at 11%, left at 80%, taking on 98 KW in 44 minutes. [$11.26]

Got home at 77% and just finished topping up to 95% on the FCSP @75 amps indicted throughput, adding 29KW gross energy in preparation for a Monday trip to the same destination, where the temperatures will be MUCH warmer, but I still plan to use departure times to prepare the battery for improved efficiency [$7.16]

 

[TaxmanHog]

Why would preconditioning start, then stop, then start again? I have never seen that behavior monitoring my usage.

I've never seen this before either, why is an unknown, but I have had several PU's posted to the truck since the last departure time study.

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