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Top battery off to 90% every day?

VictorM

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I just follow the Ford recommendations for the vehicle. https://www.ford.com/support/how-to...ightning-charging-frequently-asked-questions/

There's a bunch of good stuff here. I've been charging to 90% daily since I got the truck. Tesla's recommendation of 80% for daily is because their packs are generally smaller (75 or 100 vs 130) and have different buffer amounts.
I agree. I took advantage of the virtual video, in-cab walk through, twice, and the Ford rep was adamant that 90% is the only recommended daily charging limit. No more, no less. 100% when needed for long trips and 80% while traveling that requires DC fast charging. I'm following Ford's recommendation on this one.
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drdirk

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short commute here as well. I keep it between 40 and 80, never above so far. I do NOT plug in every night. I probably plug in once or twice a week on average. No reason to always plug and unplug for my driving routine. I have also NEVER charged outside my home since we do not roadtrip much. One day I will have to try it to make sure my app works even.
 

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Ford rep was adamant that 90% is the only recommended daily charging limit. No more, no less.

Ford also says the following:

" When you park your vehicle for an extended period of 30 days or more, we recommend your battery be at an approximately 50% state of charge. Storing your vehicle's high voltage battery at higher states of charge is less favorable than storing at lower states of charge. "

I would take the rep comment about "no less" with a grain of salt.

Side Note: My SR 50% SOC Displayed is 47% actual.
 

VictorM

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Is there a thread out here that confirms that if you remote start while plugged in the power is supplied by the FCSP, like preconditioning?

Also, what steps do you take to unplug after a preconditioning and departure warmup? 1. Remote start. 2. Stop Charging. 3. Unplug. 4. Enter vehicle and finish remote start.
 

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Is there a thread out here that confirms that if you remote start while plugged in the power is supplied by the FCSP, like preconditioning?

Also, what steps do you take to unplug after a preconditioning and departure warmup? 1. Remote start. 2. Stop Charging. 3. Unplug. 4. Enter vehicle and finish remote start.
I don’t know about any thread, but that is how it works.

No need to remote start if you’ve just preconditioned.
 

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Is there a thread out here that confirms that if you remote start while plugged in the power is supplied by the FCSP, like preconditioning?

Also, what steps do you take to unplug after a preconditioning and departure warmup? 1. Remote start. 2. Stop Charging. 3. Unplug. 4. Enter vehicle and finish remote start.
If I've preconditioned, I unplug and get in. That easy.
 

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Is there a thread out here that confirms that if you remote start while plugged in the power is supplied by the FCSP, like preconditioning?

Also, what steps do you take to unplug after a preconditioning and departure warmup? 1. Remote start. 2. Stop Charging. 3. Unplug. 4. Enter vehicle and finish remote start.
While plugged in, the energy to warm the battery & cabin comes from the EVSE assuming you do not have a programmable EVSE that shuts off power feed according to a time schedule, the Ford CCS & FCSP don't do that.

This is a recent test of Departure Time, the graph shows all 7.56 KWH coming from the FCSP

Ford F-150 Lightning Top battery off to 90% every day? 1703115413758


We've talked about Departure Time ~preconditioning of the battery & cabin~ in the past, a lot of advice about when to time it, which is moot if you have received Power Up 6.5.0 which fixes a glitch with the steering wheel warmer.

As others have said, unplug, jump in, "Press to Start" if it's still "idling" within 10 minutes after the planned departure time , drive away.

If the truck went to sleep >10 minutes, then foot on brake & press to start button.
 
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Henry Ford

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There's no benefit to "run it down" to 25% before charging. It doesn't help the battery, and only leaves you at risk of having only 25% if something unexpected were to come up and you needed to drive a long way.
The benefit is you don't have to plug it in. In the summer the place where I charge is not colocated with the place where I park. Anytime I charge I have to make a short walk. If it's raining I have to walk through rain. I have to cross a road so I risk getting run over. There are often deer hanging out in the area. I don't want to get run over by a deer. I'm not going out like grandma, no way!😁
 

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The benefit is you don't have to plug it in. In the summer the place where I charge is not colocated with the place where I park. Anytime I charge I have to make a short walk. If it's raining I have to walk through rain. I have to cross a road so I risk getting run over. There are often deer hanging out in the area. I don't want to get run over by a deer. I'm not going out like grandma, no way!😁
I'd say you have a rare case there. Most folks charge where they park and there is minimal effort involved with plugging in. But fine - I'll clarify. There's no benefit to the battery to run it down to 25% before charging.
 

John Becker

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Yeah, it says, "Ford recommends that you charge to 90% for everyday driving and charge to 100% when you need the full range for a trip. Charging to 90% helps prolong the life of your battery."
Does that mean that 90% is optimal? Or does that mean that 90% prolongs the life of the battery relative to 100% SOC? My guess is the latter.
 

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MickeyAO

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The guy on here who tests batteries for a living limits his to 85% unless he needs more range that day. I follow his lead.
I hear he also has a 3 mile daily commute (one way) and plugs in every night ;)
 

MickeyAO

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That's interesting. Is 85% optimum? I was expecting something closer to 50%.
The small delta I use will cause minimal damage to the cells, and I have enough juice no matter what the day may bring.

Most of our cycling tests use 50% SOC as center point of the cycle with deltas of 30%, 60% and 90%, we have some customers using different center point SOCs. The delta of the SOC used has a greater effect than what SOC we cycle around. BTW, we use 30% SOC for long term storage and for shipping, but that is from a safety (fire risk) point of view.
 

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Your charging habits should match your lifestyle. My life is very predictable and routine during the week, and a bit more unpredictable during weekends. The truck usually moves for around 13 miles on Monday and Friday and is just sitting in between. Some weekends I put 300-400 miles on it. So my charge limit at home is 60%. Sunday night I charge it to that limit so it spends most of the week very close to 50%. Friday night usually charge to 70% or 80% and add 10% Saturday morning before heading out. We have an ICE that can go over 600 miles with a full tank and there is an EA close enough if I need fast charging if there is power failure longer than a few days or if the ICE is unavailable (That has not happened since I got the truck). This practice has been working out very well for me but if the situation changes, so will my charging habits. You should see what works for you. I wouldn't add too much hardship to your life to please the battery. Just do as much as it makes sense for you.
Glad that works for you. Seems way, way, overcomplicated. Charging to 80% and then the next morning adding 10%? Why? And, likely won't be noticeable, as compared to others, without fancy testing.

Set charge limit to 90%. Plug in when it is at home. If we know we are going back out, don't plug in.
 

MickeyAO

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Glad that works for you. Seems way, way, overcomplicated. Charging to 80% and then the next morning adding 10%? Why? And, likely won't be noticeable, as compared to others, without fancy testing.

Set charge limit to 90%. Plug in when it is at home. If we know we are going back out, don't plug in.
If you need 90%, charge to 90%. In the end, your warranty will cover the battery for 70% of the original capacity for 100,000 miles. You only need to worry if you have seen actual data or that 70% of original capacity will not do in 10 years.
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