Cool down high battery temperature faster using Tow/Haul mode 🌡️

[invertedspear]

It was mentioned in another thread, but I wanted to share my test. If you didn't know, Summer decided it wanted round two in Phoenix, so despite some cool days a few weeks ago, the last few days have been in the 110s, so I was able to test it out.

If my battery temp is over the mid-line, driving in normal or sport will take hours, if ever, to cool it down. Switching into tow/haul will get it back to mid-line in about 15 minutes.

I wish I knew this all summer since we know heat is slowly killing our batteries and I intend to make this last as long as possible. Oh well, for next year I guess. When I got in the truck to run some errands, my battery temp was as high as you would expect when your car registers 133F on the thermometer when you first get in, but it was back to the middle in 12 minutes.

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[TaxmanHog]

Glad you had an opportunity to test the theory, we had a our last blast of warm weather, only 83°

 

[CRAIGC540]

The GOM cuts your range in half when you push tow haul. Then takes a day or so to get back normal in my experience.

 

[TaxmanHog]

The GOM cuts your range in half when you push tow haul. Then takes a day or so to get back normal in my experience.

Only if you have selected a trailer profile in my testing, you can be in tow/haul w/o a trailer, ie. hauling a heavy load in the bed of the truck.

 

[CRAIGC540]

The first and only time I used Tow Haul was pulling my BBQ trailer and I made a profile for it. Are you saying if I don't select that profile and just press tow haul the GOM will not recalculate the miles?

 

[Scorpio3d]

It was mentioned in another thread, but I wanted to share my test. If you didn't know, Summer decided it wanted round two in Phoenix, so despite some cool days a few weeks ago, the last few days have been in the 110s, so I was able to test it out.

If my battery temp is over the mid-line, driving in normal or sport will take hours, if ever, to cool it down. Switching into tow/haul will get it back to mid-line in about 15 minutes.

I wish I knew this all summer since we know heat is slowly killing our batteries and I intend to make this last as long as possible. Oh well, for next year I guess. When I got in the truck to run some errands, my battery temp was as high as you would expect when your car registers 133F on the thermometer when you first get in, but it was back to the middle in 12 minutes.

Do you have Max trailer tow package?
I have it, but was wondering if it would work for all vehicles?

 

[TaxmanHog]

The first and only time I used Tow Haul was pulling my BBQ trailer and I made a profile for it. Are you saying if I don't select that profile and just press tow haul the GOM will not recalculate the miles?

If you don't have a trailer plugged in, that would be the case.

If you plug in a trailer, the truck will detect it and will prompt you to select a generic or customized trailer profile, then you'd see a change in the GOM to appx half normal range +/- for custom profiles.

Point of this discussion is not about trailers, but gaining an indirect method to prompt battery cooling to prepare for a upcoming charging session down the road.

 

[brgzls]

Saw this post and did some small testing, wished I knew about it earlier.
2023 Lightning with Max Tow package. All I did was 'idle' for almost 30 minutes with Tow/Haul mode on, AC at 70 degrees auto low, recirculation on, and driver cooled seats max. It was 8PM in Tucson, outside temperature at 97 degrees. I 'idle' a lot almost daily between 1-2 hours for work and on normal or sport mode the temperature is still stays high so I'm glad I saw this post.

 

[RickLightning]

Wonder why Ford wouldn't just have the truck engage the additional cooling automatically.

 

[RickKeen]

Wonder why Ford wouldn't just have the truck engage the additional cooling automatically.

The cooling uses battery power, cutting into your range.

 

[CRAIGC540]

I will try this because I had the needle move higher this summer.
Thanks

The cooling uses battery power, cutting into your range.

So then it must be ok to run above the mid temp, but a hot battery is less range also right?

 

[RickLightning]

The cooling uses battery power, cutting into your range.

The question is - will the vehicle automatically kick in this extra cooling capacity on its own when I am not towing, or do I have to do it by pushing Tow/Haul?

 

[RaspPiDude]

Checking in from Canada... Does it do the inverse for a cold battery, I wonder?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Checking in from Canada... Does it do the inverse for a cold battery, I wonder?

You'll be in winter conditions before most of us, please report back your results.

 

[Ekiehn]

Based on how this appears to work, our problem of not having a "button" to pre-condition the battery (at least for hot weather) before DCFC on long trips without using the Ford nav system would be resolved... Love hacks like this

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