Charging to 100%

[Keapana]

Question. Charging at 4.37kwh per hour. Will it damage my truck battery if I'm charging truck once every 7 days to 100%. 220v 24amps

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[Grease Lightning]

Question. Charging at 4.37kwh per hour. Will it damage my truck battery if I'm charging truck once every 7 days to 100%. 220v 24amps

No it will not “damage” your truck. Yes it will promote additional battery degradation then not doing it.

Once a week 100% likely won’t be the end of the world, but if there are alternatives, such as charging at the destination. That way you accomplish what is needed but don’t prematurely degrade the battery.

 

[Firn]

Question. Charging at 4.37kwh per hour. Will it damage my truck battery if I'm charging truck once every 7 days to 100%. 220v 24amps

On L2 chargers speed isnt nearly as important.

Every lithium battery suffers degredation. How MUCH is the question. Things like temperature, big charges (10% to 100%), and having the battery at 100% all cause that to happen somewhat faster. However we are talking 10, 15, 20 years down the road here.

With these batteries small charges more frequently is preferred. Charging once a day, heck twice a day, is preferred to charging a big charge every few days. If that works for you it is the recomended approach, if not, do what fits your lifestyle. You won't damage anything or ruin anything by charging to 100% once a week. But, in 20 years you may have 85% battery capacity, instead of 91% (numbers completely made up).

 

[Thudson]

Personally, I probably don't plan on keeping my truck long enough to notice the battery degradation, so I charged to 90% everyday. I figure if my charging habits make the battery go bad before the warranty's out then I get a new battery before the warranty is done lol.

 

[Chillguy]

I've been driving electric for the past 14 years... 1st and 2nd generation Chevy Volt + two Chevy Bolts and now my Lightning. I always charged my cars at home (L2 50 Amp) to full 100% and never experienced any battery degradation.. I used all my Chevys for in-town driving and never held them for longer than 3 years.. Fact is that I also use Tesla Superchargers and never push it past 80% but that is only because it dramatically slows down the charging rate... And I don't intend on keeping my truck past the battery warranty expiration anyway so I never really worry about battery degradation.

 

[Joe Dablock]

I typically charge 60/70 % to 100%, because the vehicles are useless to me if I can’t leave in a moments notice and drive 200 plus miles. My 22 MME now has 60k and my 23 Lightning has 30k and I haven’t noticed any battery degradation on either. I’m guessing that by the time I need to address battery degradation, I will be wanting a new vehicle or there may be some battery aftermarket options. As the MME passes 100k it will also have saved me $10k plus in fuel and maintenance, and the Lightning a little less due to less efficiency. If they surpass 100k with little degradation, I may just charge on to 200k. I just think fast chargers (for me) are not part of the equation because I use them so infrequently. But ultimately, it is all one great experiment we are running in real time! The data keeps coming in!

 

[HOTAS]

Question. Charging at 4.37kwh per hour. Will it damage my truck battery if I'm charging truck once every 7 days to 100%. 220v 24amps

No, it’s not gonna have much adverse affect at all, if you drive soon after it’s finished charging to 100%.
Remember 100%, in this truck, Is NOT really 100%.
Letting it sit at high LOC is when the degradation happens.
If you need it, take advantage of the capacity you bought and make the most out of it !!

Charging at 240V (any amperage) is much preferred over 120V.
it’s easier & more efficient for the onboard charger.

 

[htobin]

This is one of the most considered topics on the form. As stated above, only time will tell. I doubt, at this point if anyone really knows the exact answer.

 

[HOTAS]

I've been driving electric for the past 14 years... 1st and 2nd generation Chevy Volt + two Chevy Bolts and now my Lightning. I always charged my cars at home (L2 50 Amp) to full 100% and never experienced any battery degradation.. I used all my Chevys for in-town driving and never held them for longer than 3 years.. Fact is that I also use Tesla Superchargers and never push it past 80% but that is only because it dramatically slows down the charging rate... And I don't intend on keeping my truck past the battery warranty expiration anyway so I never really worry about battery degradation.

So true, I’ve done the same thing for 20 years.
And in all of those cars 100% is not really 100%.
When I bought my first hybrid electric, so many people were telling me I’d be buying a new battery every 2 years, and they cost 10’s of thousands of dollars.….blah blah.
Never happened. I drove it for 200,000 miles, never saw degradation and sold for just under 50% original price! Talk about a car that paid for itself, yes it did. Similar results with theVolt and Tesla that followed.

 

[Heliian]

Everybody needs to read the owners manual.

 

[chl]

I've been driving electric for the past 14 years... 1st and 2nd generation Chevy Volt + two Chevy Bolts and now my Lightning. I always charged my cars at home (L2 50 Amp) to full 100% and never experienced any battery degradation..

Note: If you own an EV 14 years there will be some degradation just from age. The estimates are about 2% per year. So it would be noticeable after a few years.

My 2012 Leaf bought in Dec 2011, never fast charged, low mileage, now has around 80% (between 76% and 84% based on the dash bar indications per Leaf table) of it's original capacity after 13 years of ownership. Still a useful vehicle for local driving which is all I ever did with it.

I have about a 1.8% per year loss of capacity on average over the 13 years - the loss may not be linear over time.

The Ford Lightning battery warranty is 8yrs/100k miles, infrequent fast charging probably wouldn't push the battery into warranty territory (below 70%). But somewhere Ford the recommendation/best practices is to 100% before a long trip, but to no more than 90% for daily use, among other things.

From the manual:

PRESERVING YOUR HIGH
VOLTAGE BATTERY
When using the battery at a low state of
charge, your vehicle could start disabling
accessory features to protect battery life.
If your vehicle reaches a 0% state of
charge, recharge your vehicle as soon as
possible.
In everyday use it is acceptable to use the
full state of charge window, however there
are a few best practices we recommend
in order to maintain the health and life of
your battery.

Overnight Charging
You can increase the longevity and
performance of your high voltage battery
by using the charge scheduling and
departure and comfort settings on your
touchscreen or in the FordPass app.
With Charge Scheduling, you can improve
the high voltage battery's longevity by
delaying the start of charging and setting
a maximum charging limit. We recommend
you set your preferred charging times to
be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug
in time. This allows the battery to cool
before charging begins. Additionally,
setting the maximum charge level to be
less than 100% for everyday usage reduces
strain on the battery.
You can improve driving range and
performance by scheduling departure
times and cabin comfort level with the
Departure and Comfort feature. This not
only warms or cools the cabin but also
conditions the battery to ensure the best
driving range and performance by the set
departure time.

DC Charging
Frequent use of DC charging could result
in reducing your battery's efficiency and
lifespan. This is more pronounced on the
standard range battery pack versus the
extended range battery pack. See What
is DC Charging (page 198).



Ford warranty excerpts:
-----
As is the case with all batteries, the high voltage lithium-ion
battery capacity will decrease over time and with use. While
gradual capacity loss with time and use is considered normal
wear and tear, Ford Motor Company warrants the high voltage
battery against excessive capacity loss for a period of
8 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first. If an authorized EV
Certified Ford Dealer determines that the battery capacity is less
than 70 percent of the high voltage battery’s beginning of life
capacity,... The measurement method used to determine the high
voltage battery capacity, and the decision of whether to repair,
replace, or provide reconditioned or remanufactured parts, and
the condition of any such replaced, reconditioned or
remanufactured parts, are at the sole discretion of Ford Motor
Company....Following the recommendations in the Preserving Your High Voltage Battery
section of the Owner’s Manual may help lower the rate of capacity
degradation and optimize battery life....

What is Not Covered

...abuse and/or misuse of the vehicle and/or high voltage battery
pack, such as driving over curbs, overloading, racing or using
the vehicle as a permanent stationary power source [Emphasis added]

• failure to observe and resolve vehicle warnings and indications
of battery concerns within a reasonable amount of time,
typically 30 days

• failure to complete Ford Power-Up software updates within a
reasonable amount of time, typically 30 days

• the use of incompatible charging devices or methods

• modifications to the high voltage battery assembly, high
voltage system, or associated wiring

• exposure to direct and/or intense heat sources outside of
normal use, such as collision repairs that subject the vehicle to
paint booth conditions that exceed Ford’s recommendations

• allowing the high voltage battery assembly to remain in a fully
discharged, or near zero state of charge, for more than 14 days [Note: Leaf warraty had similar language back in 2011]

• improper vehicle storage resulting in high voltage battery damage

(See Owner’s Manual for vehicle storage recommendations)
In order to maintain your warranty coverage, be sure to follow the
recommendations in the Owner’s Manual under Preserving Your

High Voltage Battery....

PROPER MAINTENANCE PRESERVES YOUR WARRANTY...

...In order to maintain optimal battery life and functionality of your
vehicle, it is imperative that all high voltage battery software
updates are installed. You are responsible for ensuring all software
updates are installed within 30 days of software availability. You
can most easily accomplish this by keeping Automatic Updates set
to “ON”. If you are unable or choose not to use your vehicle’s
connectivity features to update software, your Ford Dealer can
determine if software updates are available for your vehicle and
perform these updates. Software updates will be installed at no
cost to you during the warranty period. Damage resulting from
failure to install battery system updates will not be covered under
your New Vehicle Limited Warranty.

 

[Riverant]

Love the emphasis on all of us being responsible for installing OTAs. I’ve had updates available in FDRS for several months that have never made their way to my car. Guess I lost the warranty

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