3 Common Mistakes That May Harm Your EV Battery - Engineering Explained

[roddiaz1]

Your truck does not have LiFePo battery chemistry.

Well that's hugely disappointing. :-(
I guess no off-roading for me. That sucks!

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[Maquis]

Well that's hugely disappointing. :-(
I guess no off-roading for me. That sucks!

Huh?

 

[Maxx]

Well that's hugely disappointing. :-(
I guess no off-roading for me. That sucks!

LFP has lower discharge rate and lower density. Lightning is a heavy vehicle designed to do heavy duty work while having a ridiculous acceleration and good payload. They picked a chemistry that is a better fit for intended use of this vehicle despite the fact that it costs more. I think I got a deal and wouldn’t want an LFP in mine despite it’s advantages.

 

[Lightning Rod]

OBDII sensor gives you a battery health percentage. Mine is at 98.5% after 17k miles.

I bought the OBD Link EX about a year and a half ago and I've never used it. Is mine outdated, or can it do what the newer OBD scan tools can do?

I also wonder if I can clear a code that pops up upon every start. After getting a dashcam installed, a message "SERVICE CHARGING SYSTEM SOON" pops up and it goes away after I hit OK on the steering wheel. I'm hoping my scan tool can clear that code.

 

[Jim Lewis]

One thing that is still a question for me after watching all of these is if I operate in 30%-50% SOC range in summer and 50%-70% in winter, is it the same as doing 30%-70% all year or it is still only a 20% worth of expansion and contraction damage.

I think the thing to remember about all this stuff is that it's the cumulative integration of small or modest effects, not a life-or-death one, two, or three strikes and UR OUT (well, maybe you'll literally be blown away if you rapid charge a 160 deg F battery whose BMS has failed!).

So, the transition between your summer and winter hypothetical charging plans might be a small hit for an infrequent big change of delta, but otherwise, during the summer or winter, you'll have smaller delta changes within your allotted ranges. Same for me, normally staying within a few percent of 50% SOC but using 80% to 20% SOC for round trips between San Antonio and Austin without recharging en route.

And the same concept of summing modest effects over time applies to your expected truck lifetime use. If you're going to trade in 4 or 5 years unless you DCFC to 100% every day at 150 kW, a reduction in battery capacity may not amount to a whole bunch and take a big hit on your resale value, or maybe you could care less, you're so well off. If you'd like a really decent battery 15 years from now, the integrated effect is a different story. Since the ICE F-150s are said to last 150K to 300K miles when driven ~15K miles/year and well-maintained, hopefully, our EVs should last even longer since they don't have the complexities of ICE engines to maintain.

 

[Maxx]

SK Innovation has developed a new battery cathode that uses 90 percent nickel, and just 5 percent each of manganese and cobalt. The high nickel content helps deliver great energy density while the low cobalt content reduces the environmental and ethical problems involved with cobalt mining

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-ford-f-150-lightning-battery-tech-cobalt/

I am a little confused about this. Some articles make it sound like Gen2 will have this and some make it sounds like ours have it already. Which is it? Does my truck built in Dec of 22 have a pack with this chemistry?

 

[Grumpy2]

I am a little confused about this. Some articles make it sound like Gen2 will have this and some make it sounds like ours have it already. Which is it? Does my truck built in Dec of 22 have a pack with this chemistry?

This article was published June 18, 2021.

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/...st-powerful-li-ion-cell-available-163458.html

 

[Maxx]

This article was published June 18, 2021.

motor trend link you shared includes the following:

”the batteries using this chemistry to power the Ford F-150 Lightning will be produced by a newly announced joint venture between Ford and SKI, called BlueOvalSK, which hopes to have facilities up and running by mid-decade.”

 

[Grumpy2]

There has been so much noise on this topic about future plants, postponed plants, ... but I believe we have the NCM9 chemistry.
Here is a similar forum discussion
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...lithium-iron-phosphate-says-jim-farley.10366/

 

[Maxx]

There has been so much noise on this topic about future plants, postponed plants, ... but I believe we have the NCM9 chemistry.
Here is a similar forum discussion
https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...lithium-iron-phosphate-says-jim-farley.10366/

Thanks for sharing the link on LFP. You very well may be correct. I will keep looking for the evidence of it. I basically am trying to see if I should behave any differently in caring for the battery if I have NMC9,.5,.5 in my truck. I appreciate you spending the time and sharing the info

 

[JRT]

Fascinating data and theory of EV batteries. I do think this does more harm for EV adoption as if further adds confusion and excuses to avoid buying. While obviously the battery is major, I'm not convenience that far more expensive failures are more likely in long term EV ownership.

 

[Maxx]

It sounds like if we do have a high nickel content battery, it may be even more important to stay out of high SOC range:

 

[PXA]

Great info! I'm lowering my charge level from 90% to 75% today!

 

[Howard_Scott_Warshaw]

~ 4 minutes - mentioned Dr. Dahn. I've brought his name up before as he is in the same class of legends as the late Dr. Goodenough (last at UT) and Dr. Judy (formally at NASA, now with UL). I have a friend that has managed to work under all three in his young career. I have replicated several of Dr. Dahn's papers to confirm and build on.

Legit did not ever think I'd see his name ever mentioned outside of academic circles. Fun fact for those of us in MA, he attended the Groton School way back in the day and provided angel funding for many of their projects on campus.

https://www.groton.org/news-detail-title?pk=1136591

 

[Lightning Rod]

So, is there a way to set my Fordpass app to always charge to 75 percent? In the app, the options are 50, 60, 70, 80, 85, 90, 95, and 100 percent settings. I want 75 percent but I have it set to 70.

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