Ford REALLY doesn't want you to kill it.

[TomB985]

I was curious how it would behave when it got down to 3-4% SOC, so I took a short detour on the way home tonight. I was monitoring with the CarScanner app, and the actual SOC was always a few percent above actual.

When it got below 5%, the power delivery meter on the left cut down to 53, and then 23%, telling me how much power was available on tap. It was giving me chimes for the last couple of miles before killing power altogether, telling me I had 1% of normal power to use. It coasted down to about 15 MPH with the pedal on the floor about 1.5 miles from home, so I quickly turned right into a gas station.

As soon as I got into the parking lot, the power meter jumped, giving me 18% power. it was like flipping a switch; the throttle pedal worked again. The truck deliberately withheld power to get me to stop driving, but then let have it again. I turned out of the lot and made it home without issue, and it gave me 23% power the whole way.

These were taken after I got home. The app indicated I had almost 4% SOC remaining, but the gauge was pegged at 0.

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[TaxmanHog]

Nice to see this data, the motor heat is helping to warm the battery.

 

[davehu]

Although I've only had my lightning for a couple months I have a lot of power tools powered by LiOn batteries. it has been characteristic that when the tool stops, you can turn it off and back on and immediately get a little more out of this, and you can usually do this to or three times before there is nothing. Sounds like the Lightning batteries are no different. So if it goes to zero, give it another try.

 

[TomB985]

Although I've only had my lightning for a couple months I have a lot of power tools powered by LiOn batteries. it has been characteristic that when the tool stops, you can turn it off and back on and immediately get a little more out of this, and you can usually do this to or three times before there is nothing. Sounds like the Lightning batteries are no different. So if it goes to zero, give it another try.

This felt like an intentional act by the computer instead of a battery characteristic. The scan tool showed 4% SoC remaining when I got home, and the truck very abruptly let me have more power. It was like flipping a switch.

?‍

 

[davehu]

This felt like an intentional act by the computer instead of a battery characteristic. The scan tool showed 4% SoC remaining when I got home, and the truck very abruptly let me have more power. It was like flipping a switch.

?‍

interesting.

 

[carys98]

This felt like an intentional act by the computer instead of a battery characteristic. The scan tool showed 4% SoC remaining when I got home, and the truck very abruptly let me have more power. It was like flipping a switch.

?‍

That 4% is the difference between the pack capacity and what Ford makes available. The SR pack is actually 106 kWh but only 98 are available. The numbers for the ER are similar but I don’t remember the details.

 

[lightspeed]

interesting.

Not sure about that, but battery management is an art.

I think what you're experiencing though is normal battery recovery. When you are draining it to a low point, the voltage sags under draw, but if you give it a little time, the chemical reactions happen at a slower pace but recover some voltage which the BMS reads as a little more available power.

 

[Revenge]

Mind sharing your PIDs for coolant heater, instantaneous consumption and energy? I am using torque pro and can't seem to find those. Thanks in advance.

 

[trev5150]

In a lithium ion battery, the charge carrying atoms have to physically migrate around the gel. When the battery is rapidly discharge, the lithium ions in the gel closest to the battery pole gives up their electron quickly and easily, thus there is not a lot of power - the local charge is depleted. When the battery is allowed to rest, the charged lithium ions redistribute to equilibrium, and there is more charged particles and thus more potential available for rapid discharge.

 

[TomB985]

Mind sharing your PIDs for coolant heater, instantaneous consumption and energy? I am using torque pro and can't seem to find those. Thanks in advance.

I wish I knew how to get those out of the app.

I use Torque Pro for my old Expedition, but I forked over a few bucks for CarScanner because all of these PIDs were built-in for Kia, and now Ford EVs. I just dug through and couldn't find a way to get the app to show them. Someone else may know a way.

This is the app I use:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ovz.carscanner&pli=1

 

[Revenge]

I wish I knew how to get those out of the app.

I use Torque Pro for my old Expedition, but I forked over a few bucks for CarScanner because all of these PIDs were built-in for Kia, and now Ford EVs. I just dug through and couldn't find a way to get the app to show them. Someone else may know a way.

This is the app I use:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ovz.carscanner&pli=1

Thank you I'll look into it.

 

[Adventureboy]

Although I've only had my lightning for a couple months I have a lot of power tools powered by LiOn batteries. it has been characteristic that when the tool stops, you can turn it off and back on and immediately get a little more out of this, and you can usually do this to or three times before there is nothing. Sounds like the Lightning batteries are no different. So if it goes to zero, give it another try.

This practice is VERY hard on your batteries. They cut out to protect the cells from over discharge which can kill them prematurely. You will be replacing batteries regularly if you do this. Stop using them when they start to get a bit weak and they will last for years. Run them to the bottom and then some, and you will be replacing them regularly. Same for our Lightning batteries although there is more buffer in our trucks than in a tool battery.

 

[davehu]

This practice is VERY hard on your batteries. They cut out to protect the cells from over discharge which can kill them prematurely. You will be replacing batteries regularly if you do this. Stop using them when they start to get a bit weak and they will last for years. Run them to the bottom and then some, and you will be replacing them regularly. Same for our Lightning batteries although there is more buffer in our trucks than in a tool battery.

Good advice. thanks!

 

[hturnerfamily]

the 'intentional act' was actually from YOU, the driver... putting the pedal to the floor.
that action alone sets the computer in action to LIMIT your power, to send you a CLEAR signal of what could be in your future... come off the pedal, even come to a complete stop, and even put the gear into Park - you'll find that THEN you have power again, magically.

I think the designers actually got this right. If you've experienced it once, you've learned everything they want you to know.

 

[TomB985]

the 'intentional act' was actually from YOU, the driver... putting the pedal to the floor.
that action alone sets the computer in action to LIMIT your power, to send you a CLEAR signal of what could be in your future... come off the pedal, even come to a complete stop, and even put the gear into Park - you'll find that THEN you have power again, magically.

No, I don't think so; there was no clear signal unless it knew I was in a parking lot. I was coming down from highway speed to make a right turn into my town. After turning right, I tried to accelerate back to the 30 MPH speed limit, and it wasn't there. The power indicator said 1%, but the SOC and pack voltage was stable around 300 despite my pedal on the floor trying to make it to the gas station.

I turned into the gas station at 5 MPH, let off the throttle again to come around the pumps, and the meter jumped to 23%. I never got below 5 MPH or put it in park. I then had a very consistent 23% power turning out of the lot, right onto the main road, through a left turn, two stop signs, a right turn, and back into the garage.

Looking at pack voltage and SOC, you'd never know anything was being limited. This is my fourth EV, and I've never experienced anything like it.

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