10% Charge Loss Overnight--portable 120V charging

[tls]

With the truck off, You do not lose KWH in the cold... you lose efficiency of how far a KWH will get you!

From conversations with multiple people at Ford - not so. Like almost all EVs from reputable manufacturers, the battery management system can burn significant amounts of charge protecting the pack from freezing. It does not have to be 0F outside for this to happen.

Ford learned its lesson on this one from the C-Max. My neighbor had cells in his pack freeze twice while he was parked outside steps from my house. Twice, Ford had to replace his pack. his dealership told him the problem was so common they and many others in the Northeast had stopped selling the vehicle. I'd be surprised if they ever make this mistake again. The pack will heat to protect itself and it does not have to be 0F to start heating.

Does that explain 10% reported charge loss in an enclosed, insulated garage? Likely not. But some energy use is to be expected in these conditions.

And yeah, they really ought to insulate the pack better.

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[luebri]

From conversations with multiple people at Ford - not so. Like almost all EVs from reputable manufacturers, the battery management system can burn significant amounts of charge protecting the pack from freezing. It does not have to be 0F outside for this to happen.

Ford learned its lesson on this one from the C-Max. My neighbor had cells in his pack freeze twice while he was parked outside steps from my house. Twice, Ford had to replace his pack. his dealership told him the problem was so common they and many others in the Northeast had stopped selling the vehicle. I'd be surprised if they ever make this mistake again. The pack will heat to protect itself and it does not have to be 0F to start heating.

Does that explain 10% reported charge loss in an enclosed, insulated garage? Likely not. But some energy use is to be expected in these conditions.

And yeah, they really ought to insulate the pack better.

In 99% of cases, my statement is true. You do not lose KWH due to cold.

How much energy the emergency management system is a calculation of how cold and how long it's in the cold. I dont have the answer for that but a 9 hour work day in well below freezing I have not seen any loss of SOC. As @GarageMahal documented.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Another thing to watch is stale data on the app, it's not constantly refreshing, you need to trigger a comm event to get it updated, lock or unlock, interestingly my truck since parking in our driveway not plugged in for over two hours with the temperature rising 10 degrees from ~24 to 34°, caused the DTE to rise 5 miles and the SOC is steady.

Warming cabin 10 minutes before leaving breakfast place, half hour earlier we left home with 95%

Arrived home about 9:20 am @24°, screen shot taken a few minutes ago.

After tickling comm's to the TRUCK, @ 34°

 

[metroshot]

Why anyone would not charge to 100% is beyond my comprehension - especially in cold weather.

Who knows when a power outage occurs and you have to power the house or an emergency cold weather travel is needed.

I always keep my LIghtning at 100% as much as possible.

You never know of an unexpected calamity waiting so I am in a prepper mode....

 

[tls]

Why anyone would not charge to 100% is beyond my comprehension - especially in cold weather.

Who knows when a power outage occurs and you have to power the house or an emergency cold weather travel is needed.

I always keep my LIghtning at 100% as much as possible.

You never know of an unexpected calamity waiting so I am in a prepper mode....

Spending substantial time at 100% is bad for the battery. 90% is a pretty good compromise.

 

[metroshot]

Spending substantial time at 100% is bad for the battery. 90% is a pretty good compromise.

Well my thinking is different due to SOC buffers built into the design.

100% charged actually means roughly 90% actual.

I charge 100% on L2 at home and only to 90% on L3 (DCFC).

I am not planning on keeping a first gen Lightning for over 8 years so, not much to worry about during the wear on the batteries.

So in my mind, I ask "why shortchange yourself" ?

 

[cwstnsko]

From conversations with multiple people at Ford - not so. Like almost all EVs from reputable manufacturers, the battery management system can burn significant amounts of charge protecting the pack from freezing. It does not have to be 0F outside for this to happen.

Ford learned its lesson on this one from the C-Max. My neighbor had cells in his pack freeze twice while he was parked outside steps from my house. Twice, Ford had to replace his pack. his dealership told him the problem was so common they and many others in the Northeast had stopped selling the vehicle. I'd be surprised if they ever make this mistake again. The pack will heat to protect itself and it does not have to be 0F to start heating.

Does that explain 10% reported charge loss in an enclosed, insulated garage? Likely not. But some energy use is to be expected in these conditions.

And yeah, they really ought to insulate the pack better.

This is interesting, was the car in question a C-max hybrid or C-Max Energi? I leased a C-Max Energi for 3 years in Winnipeg and occasionally left it at the airport for several days in extreme cold and I didn’t have any battery problems during the 3 year lease.

 

[tls]

This is interesting, was the car in question a C-max hybrid or C-Max Energi? I leased a C-Max Energi for 3 years in Winnipeg and occasionally left it at the airport for several days in extreme cold and I didn’t have any battery problems during the 3 year lease.

It was an Energi. I think he had one of the first ones sold - after the 2nd pack replacement he did keep it for another winter with no problems so I guess they must have fixed something, whether software or hardware I don't know.

Gets down to 10 or 15 below (F) by us on the coldest nights but I suspect Winnipeg is colder.

 

[TaxmanHog]

So in my mind, I ask "why shortchange yourself" ?

Reading of a variety of posts folks say that regenerative braking is reduced in high SOC conditions, also seen experts say this happens in cold conditions as well, assuming the unseen buffer of ~5% is not allowed to be used as storage for regen efforts I keep it around Fords recommended 90% to provide a place to put the recovered energy. Exception is if I'm heading directly for the freeway (we're close to the ramp) then drive at 65+ mph for 30 minutes before needing any substantial braking that charge head of 100% will be lowered to restore my regen storage pool, and the extra 10% gives me that much more range only when needed. Honestly most of the time we're puttering around town so the extra 10% is hardly a concern.

 

[MillieChliette]

Why anyone would not charge to 100% is beyond my comprehension - especially in cold weather.

Who knows when a power outage occurs and you have to power the house or an emergency cold weather travel is needed.

I always keep my LIghtning at 100% as much as possible.

You never know of an unexpected calamity waiting so I am in a prepper mode....

Maybe because the owners manual literally says that for everyday use to charge to 90%? Maybe because not everyone's use case is the same as yours?

Why someone would ignore the owners manual and simultaneously indirectly offend everyone that does follow the owners manual is beyond my comprehension.

 

[RickLightning]

At 45 degrees, battery did not heat at all. Loss of 10% very unlikely.

 

[MichaelCA]

Well my thinking is different due to SOC buffers built into the design.

100% charged actually means roughly 90% actual.

I charge 100% on L2 at home and only to 90% on L3 (DCFC).

I am not planning on keeping a first gen Lightning for over 8 years so, not much to worry about during the wear on the batteries.

So in my mind, I ask "why shortchange yourself" ?

which is why i dont buy used vehicles. who knows if the previous owner cared?

 

[vsansal]

For those of you charging to 100% factoring in the buffer, keep in mind the buffer is not only on the top end and also the bottom end as well. So when you do the math, don't assume charging to 100% is actually charging to 90% or so. I am not sure how they split the buffer but the bottom buffer is usually what they pay more attention to and that's why the truck doesn't shut down when it hits 0% state of charge. I would not recommend charging to 100% a habit. 90% is a safer charge point for battery longevity.

 

[Halbach]

which is why i dont buy used vehicles. who knows if the previous owner cared?

That's exactly the same reason why I don't. I dont treat the truck with kid gloves, but I do respect the battery. I plan on having this truck till the WNY road salt claims it.

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