Out of curiosity, what happens with the truck hits 0% battery remaining?

[robbyhammond]

Has anyone had this happen? I've never come close, but I'm wondering if it's similar to what happens in ICE vehicles where there is usually a little more gas in the tank even though the fuel gauge says it's completely empty.

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[Pioneer74]

 

[The Weatherman]

Yes, yes there is.

 

[Ffxdude]

You have to push it to the charger....

 

[Yellow Buddy]

You have to push it to the charger....

You sound like you know from experience

 

[Texas Dan]

The battery really never goes to zero even though the gauge says zero. There is always a buffer. When the battery gets low the battery management system will reduce power to the motors and when the battery gets really low the BMS will turn off power to the motors completely.

But no worries, since the truck never really loses all its charge all you have to do is connect the truck to a charger and it will come back to life.

 

[Ffxdude]

You sound like you know from experience

Nope, lowest I've gone is arriving at my first long road trip destination at 5%. BUT I heard of a guy who ended up just shy of his destination...

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Nope, lowest I've gone is arriving at my first long road trip destination at 5%. BUT I heard of a guy who ended up just shy of his destination...

Guy sounds like an idiot, who cuts it THAT close?

 

[Yellow Buddy]

Has anyone had this happen? I've never come close, but I'm wondering if it's similar to what happens in ICE vehicles where there is usually a little more gas in the tank even though the fuel gauge says it's completely empty.

On some EVs, you can hit 0 miles or 0% and still keep on going....the Lightning is not one of those vehicles.

At 3-4 miles remaining the power reduction is significant enough to prevent you from being able to get up slight inclines. I could not get to this charger..

Foot to the floor would maintain/hold the truck but not actually propel it forward. Doing so repeatedly will eventually drain the rest of the charge. Eventually (not all that long) the truck will run out and you will not be able to shift it out of Park and into Neutral. To shift it, you will need to hope the 12V maintains a charge long enough for you to go through the steps to unlock the shifter and get it into neutral.

From there, you pray that someone can help you push the truck. It's heavy and on flat ground may be easy to push. On a slight uphill, pushing it alone is a challenge. Get enough people and pushing it is a piece of cake.

I tested this as a contributing member of the forum to help promote knowledge, not because I am THAT idiot that @Ffxdude knows...

 

[Maxx]

On some EVs, you can hit 0 miles or 0% and still keep on going....the Lightning is not one of those vehicles.

At 3-4 miles remaining the power reduction is significant enough to prevent you from being able to get up slight inclines. I could not get to this charger..

Foot to the floor would maintain/hold the truck but not actually propel it forward. Doing so repeatedly will eventually drain the rest of the charge. Eventually (not all that long) the truck will run out and you will not be able to shift it out of Park and into Neutral. To shift it, you will need to hope the 12V maintains a charge long enough for you to go through the steps to unlock the shifter and get it into neutral.

From there, you pray that someone can help you push the truck. It's heavy and on flat ground may be easy to push. On a slight uphill, pushing it alone is a challenge. Get enough people and pushing it is a piece of cake.

I tested this as a contributing member of the forum to help promote knowledge, not because I am THAT idiot that @Ffxdude knows...

I assume if 12V dies, it won't even be able to talk to the charger. Do you know if these portable jumpers are enough to wake it up for a charge?

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I assume if 12V dies, it won't even be able to talk to the charger. Do you know if these portable jumpers are enough to wake it up for a charge?

You need a charger and not a jumper.

The jumpers kick it enough to essentially be a a starter for the engine. At which point the alternator maintains and charges the battery.

For us the juice still has to flow from the HV to a LV through an inverter. The jumper may wake it but there wouldn’t be an engine to keep the truck alive. I suppose if you have a powerful enough jumper you could leave it on while you shifted but I would also be concerned with damage as most jumpers will pulse whereas a battery charger will hold a more consistent volt/amp. A jumper with a battery maintainer/charging selection should be able to keep the truck awake.

 

[Gimme_my_MME]

 

[On the Road with Ralph]

I've pushed it to 1% on two occasions (both more-or-less intentionally). On one occasion, I really didn't notice much change in the truck's behavior - I was able to pull up to the dispenser and begin charging (I was on the road).

The other time was more interesting. I experienced a reduction in power the last mile or so to the charger, pulled into the parking lot and the truck "died" about 25 feet from the charger. After fruitlessly trying to push the Lightning forward, I got back in the truck and was able to restart it and drive up to the charger. I assume that the battery voltage rebounded just enough during the time it was shut down to allow that to happen.

Bottom line: I'd avoid going below 3% at all costs.

Side note: I do A LOT of long distance driving in my SR Pro. Optimizing my time at chargers is important in order to cover as many miles as possible in a day. I've studied the charging curve for the Lightning and concluded that the best time to pull off the road and start charging is between 15% and 20%, with the battery preconditioned. The vehicle will hit its highest initial speed (occasionally in excess of 170 kW) and when it drops down it will stay between 120 kW and 140 kW all the way to about 70%. If the stars align (fast charger, preconditioned, etc.) , I get from 20% to 75% in 23 minutes (does not include initialization, just actual charging time).

 

[Yellow Buddy]

I've pushed it to 1% on two occasions (both more-or-less intentionally). On one occasion, I really didn't notice much change in the truck's behavior - I was able to pull up to the dispenser and begin charging (I was on the road).

The other time was more interesting. I experienced a reduction in power the last mile or so to the charger, pulled into the parking lot and the truck "died" about 25 feet from the charger. After fruitlessly trying to push the Lightning forward, I got back in the truck and was able to restart it and drive up to the charger. I assume that the battery voltage rebounded just enough during the time it was shut down to allow that to happen.

Bottom line: I'd avoid going below 3% at all costs.

Side note: I do A LOT of long distance driving in my SR Pro. Optimizing my time at chargers is important in order to cover as many miles as possible in a day. I've studied the charging curve for the Lightning and concluded that the best time to pull off the road and start charging is between 15% and 20%, with the battery preconditioned. The vehicle will hit its highest initial speed (occasionally in excess of 170 kW) and when it drops down it will stay between 120 kW and 140 kW all the way to about 70%. If the stars align (fast charger, preconditioned, etc.) , I get from 20% to 75% in 23 minutes (does not include initialization, just actual charging time).

Similar experience for me, on the ER you can run it down to 10% and still get peak speeds. It will drop a little around 65-70% but it’s usually worth holding to 80% to avoid the next overhead -at least previously on EA, may be different now. In the new world of availability I may cut her short around 60% now.

 

[MickeyAO]

If you are so low on juice that the truck will not allow you to pull forward and are close to a charger, wait a minute or two and then try driving in reverse instead.

Little trick we learned testing many EVs and have to run the battery down to the point it won't move

I also remember reading a member of this forum doing it when he was close to his destination but couldn't go forward anymore.

BUT DON'T PUT YOURSELF IN THIS SITUATION!

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