Can The Lightning Cool Its Own Battery in Hot Weather When Not Plugged In?

[Jim Lewis]

Sorry if I missed a pre-existing thread on this. If so, just point me in the right direction with a link. I was chitchatting with my neighbor, who has a new Tesla Model Y. He mentioned he's not worried about Texas summer heat in parking lots, etc., because his car will use some of its battery charge to keep the battery cool even when the car is not plugged in. He thought the cooling came on when the battery was in the 95 to 102 deg F range but wasn't sure.

I've looked through the Lightning manual and searched through Lightning and Mach-E forums, but I've only seen remarks about dashboard warnings coming on advising the owner to plug the vehicle in for cooling in hot weather. So, can the Lightning, if not plugged in, use its own battery power to cool itself, and if so, what sort of a dent in % SOC is caused by an hour or two in a hot parking lot? If the Lightning can cool its own battery when not plugged in, does the owner have any control over the temperature at which the cooling comes on, through the OBDII port or by getting the dealer to adjust the settings, etc.?

The other dumb newbie question (no truck yet) is if the truck is just plugged into a 120-volt outlet with the Mobile Power Charger, can that supply enough juice to allow the truck to cool its battery pack or would I need to use the Mobile Power Charger in 240-volt mode if I want battery cooling when visiting one of the kids?

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[sotek2345]

Yes, the battery will cool itself when not plugged in if needed, but it has a higher threshold than when plugged in to not use as much power. This shouldn't have any impact on battery life, but you may have some power reduction when you first start driving if it is really hot.

Source: Mach-e experience from last summer.

 

[tubby]

Sorry if I missed a pre-existing thread on this. If so, just point me in the right direction with a link. I was chitchatting with my neighbor, who has a new Tesla Model Y. He mentioned he's not worried about Texas summer heat in parking lots, etc., because his car will use some of its battery charge to keep the battery cool even when the car is not plugged in. He thought the cooling came on when the battery was in the 95 to 102 deg F range but wasn't sure.

I've looked through the Lightning manual and searched through Lightning and Mach-E forums, but I've only seen remarks about dashboard warnings coming on advising the owner to plug the vehicle in for cooling in hot weather. So, can the Lightning, if not plugged in, use its own battery power to cool itself, and if so, what sort of a dent in % SOC is caused by an hour or two in a hot parking lot? If the Lightning can cool its own battery when not plugged in, does the owner have any control over the temperature at which the cooling comes on, through the OBDII port or by getting the dealer to adjust the settings, etc.?

The other dumb newbie question (no truck yet) is if the truck is just plugged into a 120-volt outlet with the Mobile Power Charger, can that supply enough juice to allow the truck to cool its battery pack or would I need to use the Mobile Power Charger in 240-volt mode if I want battery cooling when visiting one of the kids?

As you may have read in other forums, I would not recommend using the 120-volt Mobile Power Charger more than one time on an ER battery. It pretty much does nothing, or in other words, it is largely ineffective. Your one-time use involves your curiosity to see what it actually does. I attempted to use it once and it estimated that the battery would be charged in five to six days...maybe it was 4 or 5? FYI, when I put the charger on, the battery was already at around 50% charged. I am now going to attempt to run a 240V service to that location in an attempt to get it to do at least something with the overpriced $500 Ford Mobile Charger.

 

[Nikos]

Sorry if I missed a pre-existing thread on this. If so, just point me in the right direction with a link. I was chitchatting with my neighbor, who has a new Tesla Model Y. He mentioned he's not worried about Texas summer heat in parking lots, etc., because his car will use some of its battery charge to keep the battery cool even when the car is not plugged in. He thought the cooling came on when the battery was in the 95 to 102 deg F range but wasn't sure.

I've looked through the Lightning manual and searched through Lightning and Mach-E forums, but I've only seen remarks about dashboard warnings coming on advising the owner to plug the vehicle in for cooling in hot weather. So, can the Lightning, if not plugged in, use its own battery power to cool itself, and if so, what sort of a dent in % SOC is caused by an hour or two in a hot parking lot? If the Lightning can cool its own battery when not plugged in, does the owner have any control over the temperature at which the cooling comes on, through the OBDII port or by getting the dealer to adjust the settings, etc.?

The other dumb newbie question (no truck yet) is if the truck is just plugged into a 120-volt outlet with the Mobile Power Charger, can that supply enough juice to allow the truck to cool its battery pack or would I need to use the Mobile Power Charger in 240-volt mode if I want battery cooling when visiting one of the kids?

Hello Jim.
As a satisfied/happy owner of a Mach E and a Lightning, you shouldn't be worried about the cooling of your battery in the hot Texas summer months. I reside in SC. Summer here is hot also. You will find out that the vehicle does everything it can to keep the battery at an optimum temperature. My Mach E will actuate the cooling louvers open and you can hear the fans working after you come to a stop in your hot summer driveway. The same is true with the Lightning. When you get your truck, look below your frunk and you will spot the louvers. Right behind them and below is the heat exchanger sitting flat down.
My first 6 months of charging my Mach E in the hot months, the sound of the fans was very noticeable. Loud to say the list. The vehicle will use the extra power to condition the battery. The loudness is what got few of us in the forum to get Ford's attention.
Ford took care of it with an OTA. Now the fans are quiet.
The Lightning is a bit different beast. If you ordered the bigger battery and if you go with the 80 amps Charger, the fans will come on while charging in a 90°+ days or evenings. They are not loud either.
If though you use a 40 or 48 amps Charger to charge your Lightning, you will barely hear the fans running.
Now.....to answer you second question.
Using your mobile charger on a 115 15-20 amps outlet to charge the larger battery, it will be a useless/loosing endeavor. Trust me, I have tried it while camping. You are going nowhere for couple days.
You need the 240V 50 amps outlet to get 26-28 mph with the mobile charger. That what I use when camping in sites that have 50-30-20 amps outlets. The 50 amps outlet is a two(2) phase capable outlet.
I will not try anything to adjust or monkey with the settings using the OBD port.
The vehicle is constant communication with Ford......yes it is.......and anything you do to it, Ford will get back to you swiftly.
In case you don't know, all of us are the testing beds for future improvements.
Another thing to consider, do not allow a third party to snoop in your vehicle's info and parameters. Ford will lock you out of your vehicle and account almost immediately.
Just get your truck, drive it around and learn from each other. Everyday is something new.
Good luck.

 

[MM in SouthTX]

As you may have read in other forums, I would not recommend using the 120-volt Mobile Power Charger more than one time on an ER battery. It pretty much does nothing, or in other words, it is largely ineffective. Your one-time use involves your curiosity to see what it actually does. I attempted to use it once and it estimated that the battery would be charged in five to six days...maybe it was 4 or 5? FYI, when I put the charger on, the battery was already at around 50% charged. I am now going to attempt to run a 240V service to that location in an attempt to get it to do at least something with the overpriced $500 Ford Mobile Charger.

Here's another opinion:

Edit: My mobile charger started delivering about half the power it used to, and showed a fault light, after about 16 months of use. I found that is a common theme. They don't hold up to repeated use. I ended up getting it replaced under warranty and buying an Emporia that plugs into my 240V outlet. Cost about $400 and puts in about 9kWh per hour.

I used the 120V portable charger for 5 months. It charges about 10% or 13 KWh overnight, more or less. That should take you about 30 miles a day. For in town driving, that was enough for me. If you drive 80 miles one day, it takes a few days to catch up.

In those initial 5 months, only about 3 times did I have to drive to a DC charger because the 120V did not keep up.

During this time, I got quotes and assessed what would work for me for long-term. I went with a 50a 240V outlet. The portable charger stays connected to that. I get about 50% charge overnight with this setup. I sold the FCSP that came with the truck, and that paid for the electrical work for the 240V outlet.

 

[RickLightning]

Besides the slow charging speed of 120v, it also will not precondition the battery in very cold weather. So, if you set a departure time, you're not gaining anything but a warm cabin.

 

[Zprime29]

Y'all be hating on the 120v charging speed something fierce. It is NOT useless, as @MM in SouthTX just mentioned, you can get a non trivial amount of charge overnight. I used it for 2 months while waiting for my FCSP. I averaged about 16-17% charge for my daily commute and would get around 10% over night. It was tight, I had to limit trips over the weekend to catch up for Monday but it is doable. For those with short commutes it would absolutely be sufficient.

Its all about knowing your charge rate and planning ahead. On my trip to El Paso, I knew I was returning after one night so I planned to get enough charge at the DCFC so that I could get back the next morning. Charging overnight on 120v gave me a 12% additional buffer for my return trip. I'd hardly call that useless.

 

[Jim Lewis]

Thanks for all the great answers. On using the Mobile Power Charger cable at 120 v, I didn't want to charge the vehicle so much as just keep it cool while parked for a day at my daughter's house (she lives in a rented 1950s ranch house in Austin with no 240 v except for the AC compressor). I was hoping that if I set the charging limit to whatever the SOC the truck was at when I parked at her house for the day, then I could use the MPC cable to help the truck keep its battery cool on a 110 to 115 deg F day without consuming the truck's battery power.

Thanks especially for the warning that Ford is watching and not to muck with truck settings via the OBDII port!

 

[Peddyr]

Bumping this thread because I had the same question myself yesterday. No shade at my office and the temp was close to 90 when I came out. Driving back roads to the highway with the windows open, I was curious about how the weather might effect the battery and sure enough when I checked, 11% usage due to external temp. Once on the highway it went down to about 2% after about 10 miles. Should we be preconditioning in hot weather as well or is this typical behavior that in the long run has no real impact?

 

[Pod]

I only use the 120v charger at home. Have a short commute. Works fine for me.

 

[Zprime29]

We've had a couple 100+ days already, definitely feel the efficiency hit on these days. I average 2.7 in good weather, 2.4 on these hot days. I haven't seen any %SOC lost during the day yet while I'm parked. I'll keep an eye on it when we get over 110 in July/Aug.

I have noticed a few times while plugged in, there will be some energy used from the FCSP outside my window around the time I depart in the morning. I have a departure time set (I think) but its usually in the 60's by morning so I'm not sure why it needs to precondition.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I have noticed a few times while plugged in, there will be some energy used from the FCSP outside my window around the time I depart in the morning. I have a departure time set (I think) but its usually in the 60's by morning so I'm not sure why it needs to precondition.

What is is your cabin temp strategy [Off, cool, medium, warm] for the departure time?
It's either getting the battery and/or cabin prepared for the drive.

 

[Zprime29]

What is is your cabin temp strategy [Off, cool, medium, warm] for the departure time?
It's either getting the battery and/or cabin prepared for the drive.

Usually set to auto at 70, sometimes I turn it off when I park as I don't use climate control in the morning, just crack the windows. I'll try to pay attention to see if that's it. I didn't realize it did both when you set a departure time.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Usually set to auto at 70, sometimes I turn it off when I park as I don't use climate control in the morning, just crack the windows. I'll try to pay attention to see if that's it. I didn't realize it did both when you set a departure time.

The settings I'm referring to are in the departure time setup menu:

 

[Zprime29]

I just looked, turns out I don't have departure times set. Which confused me even more. Then I just remembered that the FCSP logs energy usage when you unplug, which is when I depart .

The reason it was random is sometimes it finished charging before midnight and sometimes it goes past. The times it goes past I see the amount charged since midnight...but at 5 am....

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