Lightning ER DC Fast Charge Deep Dive

[tommolog]

Do we know if the boost is present on second rapid charge following rapid charge and battery depletion from driving? What about unplugging after boost is complete and plugging back in? Apologies if you addressed and I missed it.

Yes, you'll get the boost as long as the battery isn't too hot. You can unplug and plug back in and get an additional boost for a shorter period, though. However, I don't recommend it because 1) there's a reason Ford only lets the vehicle accept the high charge rate for the set period, so you're possibly risking accelerating battery capacity loss prematurely and 2) it won't charge any faster because of the time you lose stopping the station, unplugging waiting for the station to reset, plugging back in and beginning the charging again - in fast, it will probably take longer to charge if you do that.

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[tommolog]

I had seen the same thing (or read something similar), thus my genuine curiosity regarding the short synopsis I watched of the OP's video.

I'll keep my eyes and ears open, can't wait until I get my truck soon and can start testing myself.

That's really when the additional cooling loop will be of benefit when you're really stressing the battery by towing long distances or it's very hot outside, north of 100F. If you're charging after normal driving and it's not exceptionally hot, it won't make any difference.

 

[greenne]

So a good rule of thumb with the Lightning is A-B-C... Always Be Charging. Worth it to plug in for a 5-10min top off with boost while you use the bathroom and grab a SLURPEE....

 

[Tony Burgh]

So a good rule of thumb with the Lightning is A-B-C... Always Be Charging. Worth it to plug in for a 5-10min top off with boost while you use the bathroom and grab a SLURPEE....

MUST…….NOT……MAKE…….CRUDE……..COMMENT

 

[lightspeed]

Related to Tom's tests, the Lightning appears to take the same time to charge as the Rivian even though the Rivian has a much higher peak rate of charge (210-ish kW). The charge curve of the Rivian only holds 210kW for a short period of time.

 

[LightningShow]

Pretty cool video. There are so many factors in DCFC it's difficult to really get a hold of them all but having more data is always better. One of the more interesting things is that Ford seems to have optimized charging from a 15-20% starting point. The very long shelf at 130kW with those starting points was very different than the other starting points. @tommolog mentioned that the temperatures may have been more ideal for those particular recordings so it may not be the starting point that is the key factor but it was interesting that those two were the best performing.

 

[greenne]

MUST…….NOT……MAKE…….CRUDE……..COMMENT

Wow..I hadn't realized how that sounds. Implead innocence. The fact it was unintentional makes it that much more funny...

 

[LightningShow]

Related to Tom's tests, the Lightning appears to take the same time to charge as the Rivian even though the Rivian has a much higher peak rate of charge (210-ish kW). The charge curve of the Rivian only holds 210kW for a short period of time.

Haha, that's the EA at Manchester, NH. I charged on the same 350kW as they are using. Well, I tried. The station bricked after 2 minutes and I had to move to the 150kW.

 

[tommolog]

Related to Tom's tests, the Lightning appears to take the same time to charge as the Rivian even though the Rivian has a much higher peak rate of charge (210-ish kW). The charge curve of the Rivian only holds 210kW for a short period of time.

Yeah, I'll have a video on this soon.

 

[ChrisCon]

Yeah, I'll have a video on this soon.

Hey Tom,
Excellent video and analysis of the "boost" period of the lightning charge. After watching your video, I decided to document all of my boost charges and I wanted to share a specific one with you today that demonstrates how long the boost can be.

37-63% charge / 34.711 KWH / 13:00minutes / 2.67 KWM or 160.2 kwh .. I stop charging now whenever the boost ends (once I see speeds below 150 on the EA charger)

I woke up this morning to 33 degree temperatures and drove all morning. I ended up at a 350KWH Electrify America station by myself... ambient temperature was 51 degrees. I don't have max tow.. Had been driving truck continuously since 6:30am, and had gone down from 90% to 37%.. Anecdotally, I seem to get the longest period of boosts when I'm in the 30-39% SOC on the truck.

You've noted in your videos that boost is typically 5ish minutes, but as temperatures are getting cooler out here, I'm getting longer sustained boosts. Happy to send you more data about my charges if you ever plan on doing a follow up video.

 

[thecoloradokid]

I realize that my first post will not go over well, but good karma dictates that you should not be charging an F-150 Lightning at a 350kW charger, if there are available and functional 150kW units.

I realize with Electrify America it is a crap shoot on how many charging cabinets will be functional at any given location, but as someone who also owns one of the faster charging EV's on the market, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a vehicle use a 350kW cabinet when the vehicle can be accommodated by a 150kW cabinet. In the Lightning's case, it's max charge rate of 170kW can be accommodated by an EA 150kW cabinet, if it is working properly. More often than not, it will be a Chevy Bolt using a 350kW charger when there are available 150kW chargers!

Obviously, my opinion will change if Ford updates the max charging speed and charging curve of the Lightning, as recommended by Tom in his video.

That being said, I am two days into F-150 Lightning Lariat spec ownership and very happy with the truck so far. There have been a number of great threads on this forum I have read, including this one, so glad be part of the group.

Rant over!!!

 

[ChrisCon]

I realize that my first post will not go over well, but good karma dictates that you should not be charging an F-150 Lightning at a 350kW charger, if there are available and functional 150kW units.

I realize with Electrify America it is a crap shoot on how many charging cabinets will be functional at any given location, but as someone who also owns one of the faster charging EV's on the market, there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a vehicle use a 350kW cabinet when the vehicle can be accommodated by a 150kW cabinet. In the Lightning's case, it's max charge rate of 170kW can be accommodated by an EA 150kW cabinet, if it is working properly. More often than not, it will be a Chevy Bolt using a 350kW charger when there are available 150kW chargers!

Obviously, my opinion will change if Ford updates the max charging speed and charging curve of the Lightning, as recommended by Tom in his video.

That being said, I am two days into F-150 Lightning Lariat spec ownership and very happy with the truck so far. There have been a number of great threads on this forum I have read, including this one, so glad be part of the group.

Rant over!!!

I agree . I mainly charge at home , but when o use the 350kwh chargers nearby , I’ll only hook up if all chargers are empty and Im aware of what vehicles can charge faster so if let’s say a Taycan showed up , I’d immediately switch chargers out of courtesy . That being said I had sustained 170kwh charging for a full 16 minutes today so I’m not sure “state of charge “ is exactly correct with their boost data . Also my ea chargers got a software update today with less variation showing up on the kWh display as it charges.

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