Unexpectedly low range

[TaxmanHog]

I did a round trip run to Southern NH this evening, chilly low 30's

The drive up maintained 75 MPH most of the way with heavy fast moving traffic, cabin at 70 degrees since I was driving alone and I knew I had a long trip, I conserved on the heat. I started at 90% with a projected range of 272, imputed ranged max range after this leg was 213.4 {130+83.4}, or 216.9 {130/.54*90%} Only burned up 7% for cabin heat 16.5 miles, 6% for battery losses or 14 miles of potential range at 1.8 MPK

The drive home, I maintained 70 MPH with a few spirited bursts with less traffic, lowered the cabin to 65 degrees, slowed to 65 the last 3 miles. outside temps were lower at 28 degrees, my climate and battery took the same amount, driving went up to 86%, note the MPK dropped to 1.6

Totals for the night:

 

[LightningShow]

That pencils out to:

83.4/((0.9-0.54)*131*.85) = 2.08 driving mpk

76.5/((0.54-0.18)*131*.86 = 1.88 driving mpk

Interesting that the Trip 1 energy dropped to 81% for the entire trip. That must include another trip with a pre-condition?

Anyway, those numbers for driving mpk are closer to what the OP is seeing. Probably in line with what to expect for straight out 70-75mph highway driving in ~30 degree weather.

 

[RaptorEV]

Didn't they tell you at the dealership? The battery gets to stay warm in winter, but you do not. Also, about half of the battery's energy will be used to keep the battery warm. Pray that it doesn't get any colder. I've been in Utica during the depths of February, and at that point the vehicle may refuse to even move, with 100% of the battery power being used to warm the battery. So you'll just have to leave it plugged in at home until spring.

 

[TaxmanHog]

That pencils out to:

83.4/((0.9-0.54)*131*.85) = 2.08 driving mpk

76.5/((0.54-0.18)*131*.86 = 1.88 driving mpk

Interesting that the Trip 1 energy dropped to 81% for the entire trip. That must include another trip with a pre-condition?

Anyway, those numbers for driving mpk are closer to what the OP is seeing. Probably in line with what to expect for straight out 70-75mph highway driving in ~30 degree weather.

The first leg 83.4 miles was to Nashua (95n, 495n, 3n), I thought I was averaging 75 indicated, but there was congestion in section which slowed me down lessening speed impact, looking at the time lapse & miles overall speed was 59.93 MPH , I did have the truck in the garage plugged in & warming up.

Skipped photos of leg from Nashua to Salem bike event via back roads~18 miles @ 35-45 MPH
Skipped photos of leg from Salem back to Pheasant lane mall EA ~18 miles @ 35-45 MPH
DCFC 22 KWH of juice in 16 minutes

Last leg 76.5 miles was from the Nashua EA to home (3s, 495s, 95s), cold soaked for a couple of hours, my driving was more spirited in some sections, likely contributed to my reduced MPK, overall speed was 65.11 MPH

Speed kills efficiency!

 

[mb0220]

OP, as @TaxmanHog mentioned I think you'll get better results once you are able to use a Level 2 EVSE to precondition. It'll make a big difference in getting the battery warmed up prior to a long drive. That Level 1 charger is going to struggle to put any real heat into the battery pack in cold temperatures.

Also, is it windy where you are? A 10mph headwind driving at 70mph is going to hit efficiency like driving at 80mph on a calm day. I've found the Lightning really starts losing efficiency due to its aerodynamics above 65mph speeds.

This is important. I read somewhere that the F150 drag coefficient is something like 0.44 and the Rivian is 0.28. I have both and I can see at highway speeds I do observe a significant difference in efficiency between the two vehicles, even though they are similar in power and weight.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

How do you precondition the battery?

 

[Maquis]

How do you precondition the battery?

Set a departure time and plug the truck in to a level 2 EVSE.

 

[TaxmanHog]

How do you precondition the battery?

Be plugged into an AC/BASIC EVSE level 2 is the best, set a departure time in the cold season, the truck will calculate how early to start the battery warming process such that it's ready to drive by your leave time, in my experience set the time for about 30 minutes prior to actual leave time to overcome a glitch with the steering wheel warmer.

The Lightning will warm the battery prior to pushing HV-DC into the pack, it's helpful during cold driving to select a DCFC station in Ford Navigation if a mid trip charging session is needed, the truck will start the battery warming process approx 20 miles prior to arriving at the charging destination.

Given the ZIP code in your profile, the seasonal conditions probably won't require much battery warming

 

[rdr854]

It looks like you are in one pedal mode? That kills the range on my Lariat SR, I get around 2.1 which is still nothing to write home about compared to EV6 at 4.2. For some reason one pedal affects the range even more on the Ford than the Kia (which also loses range but not by as much). Coasting might be more important with all this weight.

My average since August 2022 over 11,000 miles is 2.7 miles per kilowatt hour. i have been using one pedal driving since the truck was first purchased.

i also do not precondition my battery. I just hop in the truck and go!!

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Be plugged into an AC/BASIC EVSE level 2 is the best, set a departure time in the cold season, the truck will calculate how early to start the battery warming process such that it's ready to drive by your leave time, in my experience set the time for about 30 minutes prior to actual leave time to overcome a glitch with the steering wheel warmer.

The Lightning will warm the battery prior to pushing HV-DC into the pack, it's helpful during cold driving to select a DCFC station in Ford Navigation if a mid trip charging session is needed, the truck will start the battery warming process approx 20 miles prior to arriving at the charging destination.

Given the ZIP code in your profile, the seasonal conditions probably won't require much battery warming

Thanks.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Set a departure time and plug the truck in to a level 2 EVSE.

Thanks.

 

[MichaelCA]

please report back to see if the tesla charger/preconditioning works out!

 

[RickLightning]

My average since August 2022 over 11,000 miles is 2.7 miles per kilowatt hour. i have been using one pedal driving since the truck was first purchased.

i also do not precondition my battery. I just hop in the truck and go!!

To get 2.7, you must do a lot of low speed driving.

 

[RickLightning]

The battery DOES precondition on level 1. Two trips on the same day, for the first I had preconditioned and I had 100% power available. For the second I did NOT precondition and had 97% power available. It does work, but does slightly drain the battery. I am more concerned about losing half of the range than I am about the 2% I lose from the precondition process.

Did you monitor the battery temperature? That is the only way to prove that preconditioning happened.

 

[LightningShow]

It's so crazy that the truck doesn't pre-condition the battery when you aren't plugged in. I wish I could ask the Ford engineers what went into that decision. All I want is for my damn battery to start warming up when I start my truck. Is that too much to ask?

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