How do you know HVB cooling system is working?

[Maxx]

My SOH has been dropping usually when it gets warm (98% at 17K now). Although this is not an extreme drop, it made me wander if my cooling system works. My coolant sensor seem to be always at 59F. Inlet coolant is usually closer to ambient temp. Today ambient temp was 84.2F and inlet coolant was at 82.4F. Battery temp was at 75.2F. I drove for 18 minutes in tow hall mode. Thinking with tow Package and extra cooling something would change. HVB, coolant and inlet temp were exactly the same at the end of the drive. This is probably not hot enough but I don’t think I have ever seen my battery temp drop during any summer drives. Can you guys share what sensors you monitor and any insight on how the cooling system works and when it is suppose to kicks in? Have you seen your battery temp drop? From what to what temp and under what conditions?

Thanks for sharing what you know.

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[Firn]

My SOH has been dropping usually when it gets warm (98% at 17K now). Although this is not an extreme drop, it made me wander if my cooling system works. My coolant sensor seem to be always at 59F. Inlet coolant is usually closer to ambient temp. Today ambient temp was 84.2F and inlet coolant was at 82.4F. Battery temp was at 75.2F. I drove for 18 minutes in tow hall mode. Thinking with tow Package and extra cooling something would change. HVB, coolant and inlet temp were exactly the same at the end of the drive. This is probably not hot enough but I don’t think I have ever seen my battery temp drop during any summer drives. Can you guys share what sensors you monitor and any insight on how the cooling system works and when it is suppose to kicks in? Have you seen your battery temp drop? From what to what temp and under what conditions?

Thanks for sharing what you know.

Sport mode may be a better bet for cooling the battery down.

I actually think right around 84 is where it keeps it in Sport. In normal it let's it get up just over 104.

If you want to test go hit a DCFC and monitor your temps!

 

[RickLightning]

77 is optimal. Why would it try to cool it lower?

 

[Maxx]

77 is optimal. Why would it try to cool it lower?

I am not sure if battery temp was at 75 F (bellow 84F ambient temp) because the cooling system was working or despite the fact that it was not. I am trying to see how others know theirs is working so when I get higher temps, I know what to look at and what to expect as a functioning system. For example does coolant start flowing when inlet or battery temp reach a threshold? At which time the inlet temp starts dropping and coolant temp start rising? What is the threshold?

 

[RickLightning]

I am not sure if battery temp was at 75 F (bellow 84F ambient temp) because the cooling system was working or despite the fact that it was not. I am trying to see how others know theirs is working so when I get higher temps, I know what to look at and what to expect as a functioning system.

I, and many others, monitor temps in winter for the sole purpose of getting fast charging speeds up. That is how I discovered that while may 2022 Mach-E preconditioned the battery on the way to DCFC, my 2022 did not, and still does not, confirmed by Ford as not yet updated to 2022s.

I have never monitored temps in hot weather with any goal in mind, just watched as battery temps hovered around 100 while DCFC, vs 95 in winter. In some warm situations, fans on both vehicles are running at full bore with vents fully open.

I have no concerns that my cooling system isn't working on either vehicle.

I don't wander, and have never put my vehicle into tow hall mode, but have used Tow Haul mode while towing.

 

[Maxx]

I, and many others, monitor temps in winter for the sole purpose of getting fast charging speeds up. That is how I discovered that while may 2022 Mach-E preconditioned the battery on the way to DCFC, my 2022 did not, and still does not, confirmed by Ford as not yet updated to 2022s.

I have never monitored temps in hot weather with any goal in mind, just watched as battery temps hovered around 100 while DCFC, vs 95 in winter. In some warm situations, fans on both vehicles are running at full bore with vents fully open.

I have no concerns that my cooling system isn't working on either vehicle.

I don't wander, and have never put my vehicle into tow hall mode, but have used Tow Haul mode while towing.

I wander if you wander without knowing you do . How else would you have learned what you know . I am not super worried. Just want to know how it works so when it doesn’t, I notice.

 

[TaxmanHog]

 

[Firn]

I am not sure if battery temp was at 75 F (bellow 84F ambient temp) because the cooling system was working or despite the fact that it was not. I am trying to see how others know theirs is working so when I get higher temps, I know what to look at and what to expect as a functioning system. For example does coolant start flowing when inlet or battery temp reach a threshold? At which time the inlet temp starts dropping and coolant temp start rising? What is the threshold?

Inlet temp is the PID to monitor to determine if the cooling system is working. I have seen that PID actively change temp to cool the battery, specifically when fast charging it will drop to around 60F and stay there. It's funny because you can tell Ford uses Celsius because the temps in F are always odd ball temps but correlate to an exact temp in C, like the battery cooling in normal mode at 104f, which is 40c.

The system will cool down to 104 in normal mode, 86 in Sport mode, and when DCFC inlet temp stays right around 60f regardless of battery temp. I verified the dcfc inlet temp by building a secondary chiller, even when running the seconday chiller on the main radiator inlet still only dropped to 60, but the trucks AC energy consumption dropped.

 

[mr.Magoo]

Inlet coolant is usually closer to ambient temp....

HVB, coolant and inlet temp were exactly the same at the end of the drive.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but the coolant doesn't have a chiller on it, so it (and thus, the battery) can't get lower than ambient temperature.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but the coolant doesn't have a chiller on it, so it (and thus, the battery) can't get lower than ambient temperature.

WRONG

Device 3, 9 & 12

 

[Maxx]

WRONG

Device 3, 9 & 12

I am a visual guy and this helps a lot. Now I have to figure out if those valves have a sensor I can read. So far the only sensor with valve in its name is for ICE. I will keep digging and if I find anything, I will report back here.

Edit: there is a sensor:

EV battery ESS Thermal state: (I am getting no reading here)
0 - Off
1 - Active cooling
2 - Passive Cooling
3 - Active heating
4= Passive heating.

other relevant sensors:
HVB Thermal Op mode.
Coolant Heater Op mode
Evaporator system vapor pressure (no reading here)
AC compressor current


will set it up, monitor and report back.


Thanks

 

[mr.Magoo]

WRONG

Device 3, 9 & 12

Well I'll be...
You learn something new everyday.

I wonder what the efficiency of that setup is.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Well I'll be...
You learn something new everyday.

I wonder what the efficiency of that setup is.

For clarity, I'd like to point out this schematic is actually for the Mach-E which our Lightnings share similar DNA of design.

IIRC there is radiator in the mix on the HVB cooling circuit based on what some folks have discovered with the hose routing.

I suspect the chiller takes up any slack after the glycol coming out of the battery pack has made a pass through a traditional radiator ---> proportional valve ---> chiller -----> pump.

The alternate path with the diverter allows the flow to pass through the PTC for cold weather conditions, warming the battery pack.

If someone with access to FDRS license could look through the online service manual, see if they have a Lightning specific schematic, I'd love to see that version.

 

[bmwhitetx]

I verified the dcfc inlet temp by building a secondary chiller,

Wait. You did what? .
Need to start a new thread and explain that. The former ICE truck guys on here that love to mod, lower, lift, change gear fluid at 15K miles are going to want to do that.

 

[Firn]

Wait. You did what? .
Need to start a new thread and explain that. The former ICE truck guys on here that love to mod, lower, lift, change gear fluid at 15K miles are going to want to do that.

I will, although it's lightning specific and is for when DCFC. And it isn't really a "chiller" if I'm being honest, it just boosts the efficiency of the cooling system.

On my bucket list is getting a few of these put together and sent to some folks in hot climates for testing.

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