High Battery Temp / Powertrain Malfuncion after DC fast charging

[ChrisInVegas]

Took a trip from Vegas to Southern California a month ago and noticed elevated temps in the battery. Stayed in the "normal" range, but like others said... it took a while to come down. It has been 110+ here in Vegas for a while now and even when grabbing the truck from my garage (when plugged in) the temp is somewhere between the middle and the upper normal range.

I leave the day after tomorrow to head back to SoCal. The temp in Baker (EA charger) is supposed to be 117 that day. I am nervous, but we are taking the truck anyway.

I have never gotten outside of the normal range so maybe this is just typical for an EV trying to drive across the surface of the sun (feels that way). And generally, when it is hot, the air cooling system is LOUD.

Wish me luck... I will report back how it goes.

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[Zprime29]

Took a trip from Vegas to Southern California a month ago and noticed elevated temps in the battery. Stayed in the "normal" range, but like others said... it took a while to come down. It has been 110+ here in Vegas for a while now and even when grabbing the truck from my garage (when plugged in) the temp is somewhere between the middle and the upper normal range.

I leave the day after tomorrow to head back to SoCal. The temp in Baker (EA charger) is supposed to be 117 that day. I am nervous, but we are taking the truck anyway.

I have never gotten outside of the normal range so maybe this is just typical for an EV trying to drive across the surface of the sun (feels that way). And generally, when it is hot, the air cooling system is LOUD.

Wish me luck... I will report back how it goes.

Past couple summers I've road tripped across southern AZ and NM in 110F+ temps. It handles it fine, just be prepared for slightly slower charging speeds. Even with preconditioning I quickly dropped to the 80-90kW range.

 

[NAVEWO]

I took a trip from Tucson to Phoenix this past weekend (7-20-2024) Temps in Tucson were 109F and reached 115F in Phoenix. Never DC fast charged before this trip but wanted to use some of my EA 250KwH credit. Battery temp gauge was as high as I’ve ever seen it but stayed halfway between that middle marker and the high end of the gauge. First DCFC attempt was only getting 30Kw. A Mustang Mach E on another charger said he was getting 100Kw so I moved to his stall when he left. Not so for me. Only reached 60Kw. So decided to head back to Tucson. Stopped at the Marana EA station and plugged into a 350Kw stall. Initially said 166Kw for less than a minute and steadily dropped down to 92Kw. Needed the juice so stayed there for 45 minutes to go from 32% to 80%.

After reading some of the threads here I took a look at my coolant expansion tank and like many others it is just below the MIN line. I have a call into the dealer but have not heard back yet. I have a 2023 Lariat ER with the Max Tow Package. I had hoped the extra cooling from Max Tow would mitigate the heat of living in the desert southwest.

Electric motor temp stayed pegged dead center but battery temp as noted was elevated. Speeds were kept between 75 and 77 mph as posted and cabin air was set to 77F.

So add me to the pile of concerned owners with the max tow package wondering if something is not right with that cooling loop.

 

[TaxmanHog]

After reading some of the threads here I took a look at my coolant expansion tank and like many others it is just below the MIN line. I have a call into the dealer but have not heard back yet.

That's about the correct level, most of our trucks come out of the factory with the level at that point.

 

[NAVEWO]

That's about the correct level, most of our trucks come out of the factory with the level at that point.

Makes sense I guess when you reflect it is an “expansion “ tank. If you fill it there is no room for coolant expansion. I’m still concerned about the battery temperature going high with the slow charging but will see what the dealer says. Never saw any messages or alerts as others have.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Makes sense I guess when you reflect it is an “expansion “ tank. If you fill it there is no room for coolant expansion. I’m still concerned about the battery temperature going high with the slow charging but will see what the dealer says. Never saw any messages or alerts as others have.

I'd think your truck is fine if she isn't tossing codes or a MIL lamp.

 

[NAVEWO]

I'd think your truck is fine if she isn't tossing codes or a MIL lamp.

So just got back from the dealer. They topped off the coolant tank in the frunk. I had them take a look for any codes on the Max Tow package compressor. There were none. The technician remarks indicate he pulled .276 kg freon from the system. He then filled it with .312 kg freon. After getting back home...I looked in the owners manual and it is confusing. It lists 3 variants with different freon levels. It lists "Base", then "Max Trailer Tow" and finally "Battery Cooling System". The Battery Cooling System shows .312 kg as the correct capacity. However, I have the Max Trailer Tow package and I'm wondering if the correct capacity should be .61 kg?

He did find oil on the High Side service port cap and ended up replacing three schroeder valves (his spelling) So apparently there was leaking going on but no codes or MIL lamp.

As I ponder this...the Base variant gets .765 kg total. The Max Trailer package then gets .61 kg for the cabin, motors and all but the battery...then adds .312 kg just for the battery loop or .922 kg total for the two cooling loops. So need you folks to check my logic but if correct...the technician did fill the battery coolant side to the correct level at .312 kg. Right???

 

[3rdgenfan]

Would issues like this be something only covered during the bumper to bumper warranty or would this be something that is handled by the BEV hardware 8yr/100k?

I've been relatively trouble free with my truck but would rather not eat the out of pocket costs associated with replacing all the AC system.

 

[CRAIGC540]

My truck is running higher than normal, I have never seen the temp gauge move past center. Las t few days the weather has been 105 to 110 and now I have seen the guage half way between center and the max. I checked my coolant level after a drive and level was even with the max fill line, checking this morning before driving the lever is the same. Shouldn't the level be lower when hot and my gauge showing higher temps?

 

[TaxmanHog]

Shouldn't the level be lower when hot and my gauge showing higher temps?

Fluid expands when hot, that's why they leave room in the bottle, wait for it to cool once the heat wave passes, it should contract to a lower level

 

[CRAIGC540]

Fluid expands when hot, that's why they leave room in the bottle, wait for it to cool once the heat wave passes, it should contract to a lower level

So even in the morning it will be at the max level? It is still hot in the garage, I would think fluid would contact a bit.

 

[TaxmanHog]

So even in the morning it will be at the max level? It is still hot in the garage, I would think fluid would contact a bit.

Under these hot conditions, it's not likely to drop much, is it possible the reservoir was overfilled on the last service? Ideally it should be just a bit over mid point fill line.

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