-20F to -30F performance and experience

[TheWoo]

Charging is now completed 49% to 85% 3 hours [131 * .36 = 47.2 KWH}

Emporia says I've used 54.3 KWH so far today, 1.6 for the morning warm up and 52.7 to charge.

The FP charging Session monitor says the battery took in 49.4 KWH, so that leaves 3.3 for conversion losses.

Note the DTE is now 254 using an optimistic 2.28 MPK.

Only 3.3 loss on 52.7 kWh is impressive, imo. Just over 6%.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Screenshot just as we were heading out at 1300 hrs for lunch, full power Scotty!!!!

I did another 15 minute remote start warm up at 1245, interestingly the SOC dropped to 84% and the charge controller kicked in again, Emporia shows the current ramping up to 18KW for 10 minutes, then slowing the last 5 minutes.

Total energy today with the morning and afternoon warm ups as well as the battery charging.

 

[TaxmanHog]

We're in the middle of a cold blast in central Montana so I ran to town yesterday morning and this morning to see what the Lightning and extreme cold would do. There is no reason to be out in this weather if you don't have to. I do, I spent the rest of yesterday in a 1 ton diesel with a hydraulic bed to feed large round bales to cattle. One thing I do know is the Lightning was warmer in the cab than the diesel was all day.

Bill, sorry for camping on your thread with yet another power study, I find experiences like yours and many others this past week provide great examples of how coordinating charging just before a short or long distance road trips are great ways to condition our batteries, just short of an actual scheduled departure timed event.

 

[MTcowpoke]

I posted the pics of the displays during cold weather operation just so others could see the results. Living in rural America where a lot of people get there ev information from a certain "news" channel, they thought that my truck wouldn't even "start". You guys get in the weeds of the details but the bottom line is the truck works fine in cold and we are just at the beginning of this tech.

Little things I have since noticed. In my pics the battery temp gauge rises slightly and the power available increase as I drove my short trip. The wind was blowing during the first pics and our wind chill was -55 and yet the battery heater warmed it. Also, you'll notice the accessory power use, I have a Lasco 1500 watt ceramic construction heater on the back floor. I've been using it for the last couple months, usually on the 850 watt setting. We get lots of sunshine here so with the UV light and the 120v heater I rarely need to turn on the trucks heater. When it's cold like this I have it plugged in all the time with the charge anytime setting. My truck is always outside so there was no protection from a garage. Here is a pic of my Grizzl-e on a pole. What I'm trying to say is these things are tough and you don't have to baby them, just understand them. A good friend had the first ev in town, a Tesla 3 and left it on the street in town the night of the -41. He drove it home the next day and said the cold soaked battery would only let him go 20 to 25mph. He's got well of a 100,000 miles on it and had never experienced that before.

 

[RedLightning86]

ICE car might not run at -40, but my Dodge Rams and F150 hybrid did. And towed no sweat in that cold weather. There is no question that if you need to drive far and fast in the winter, gas or diesel is the way to go.

That being said, I don't need to tow far in the winter, not more than 60 miles round trip. My Lightning is still way nicer to use for that kind of job.

Plus, I love freaking people out when I pull up somewhere to do photography, and pull my pre-chilled camera and lens out of the Frunk. And with them safely at close to ambient temp in Frunk, I'm not worried about them getting stolen, like can be when in the bed.

 

[Maxx]

I am not experiencing any extreme cold but today I drove off with HVB temp at 21.2F. But Regen still seem to work as normal: With harder breaking putting higher amps into the battery. I thought that is not a good thing for the battery (higher current and lower temp bellow 41F). I thought Ford would have the truck use more friction breaks until battery temp goes above 41F. Am I misunderstanding lithium plating here?

 

[USA EV]

This morning was about the same result except the overnight low. I have a Mesonet weather station close to my house and here is a pic of the temp at 2am. Kind of crazy to think that it's "warmed" up about 20 degrees and is still 20 below.

Proof that the motor temperature gauge doesn't work! (At least to the cold side.)

 

[mr.Magoo]

I can see slight variations as the day rolled on

I think he meant the motor gauge on the right, not the battery.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I think he meant the motor gauge on the right, not the battery.

Ofooof, smack me in the head .... it's Sunday, ya that's locked solid in the middle, I wonder where the sensor is physically on each motor, I wonder if it's in the glycol / oil transfer can's ? Maybe just enough cabin heating is distorting the fluid temps to mask the true cold conditions in each transaxle ?

 

[mr.Magoo]

I wonder where the sensor is physically on each motor, I wonder if it's in the glycol / oil transfer can's ? Maybe just enough cabin heating is distorting the fluid temps to mask the true cold conditions in each transaxle ?

The OBD sensor is called "Coil Temperature" (and they have a separate one for the inverter).
Over the past six months mine have ranged from 6F to 130F and I've yet to see the gauge move.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The OBD sensor is called "Coil Temperature" (and they have a separate one for the inverter).
Over the past six months mine have ranged from 6F to 130F and I've yet to see the gauge move.

So the real data is there but the IPC logic isn't displaying it correctly, "Idiot Light" type logic