OTA Software Update 10.3.0 - Powertrain, Battery, Parking Brake [PAUSED]

[RickLightning]

Tesla SCs do rip on the Ford EVs. Although, my wife is doing an Elon boycott, so not using on our upcoming FL trip (even rerouting as you can't cut through WV efficiently unless you use Tesla SCs)

Although inconvenient, her logic is sound as an unelected official should not be running our country.

If I thought not using Tesla SuperChargers would any impact or visibility, that might be interesting. We did a trip to Florida via West Virginia using almost exclusively Tesla SuperChargers back in December. Just finished a trip from Michigan to Montana through North Dakota, then back through Wyoming. In some cases there are no Tesla SuperChargers, so you have to use EA. But, we used Tesla where we could. Tesla SuperChargers are CHEAPER than EA in many places. How much does that matter? Depends on how much you charge with them.

It should also be noted that Tesla's price includes tax, EA's does not.

I charged almost 1,600kWh on SuperChargers. Prices ranged from 30 cents to 37 cents. Let's use 35 cents for an average.

EA was at least 42 cents, plus tax. Let's assume 45 cents.

1600 x .35 = $560. If I paid 45 cents, it would be $720, or $160 higher.

I also NEVER waited for a Tesla SuperCharger the entire trip. Nor did I have an issue except at one where it was charging a bit slow, and then kicked up to normal speed. I attributed it to the location being totally full.

If I owned a Tesla, I could see how getting rid of it makes a statement. But not charging there won't be noticed by anyone, and hitting an EA location with one or more broken chargers, or a line, is a killjoy.

I'll stick with insulting the man on Twitter...

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[Mashedtators]

Would it kill them to tell us this stuff?

Yes

 

[pjell]

BTW, do you think 10.3.0 contained any DC charge curve refinements? Asking because my first DC session after the OTA on an EA 350 (a 27 F day with only 10 miles of battery preconditioning) peaked at 186 kws and than sat in the 140-154 range all the way to 80% SOC. This is about 15 kws higher in all areas vs prior to 10.3.0.

I think there’s been plenty of previous DPs where people have hit max charges like this, but the second part would be a MUCH bigger deal if true. The lower part of the curve has typically been around ~120 kw until now. Getting ~140-150kw after the initial surge would be huge, since that is the longer part of most charges.

 

[klossfam]

I think there’s been plenty of previous DPs where people have hit max charges like this, but the second part would be a MUCH bigger deal if true. The lower part of the curve has typically been around ~120 kw until now. Getting ~140-150kw after the initial surge would be huge, since that is the longer part of most charges.

Agreed and that's why I posted. My truck is parked outside and granted I had 30+ miles of use with 10 miles of preconditioning for this session. It was 27 F so still cold. Lowest I saw until 80% was 129 kw which is very solid. If you removed the 80-83% at 54 kw, I'd estimate the true average rate on this charge as 140 Kw.

That is very good and having owned an 800V car since Feb 2022, I can say charging curve is what is important. Another thing never talked about (esp with Hyundai EGMP) is in summer they get so hot charging, that your first 10 miles back out on the highway are NOT efficient as coolant pump and fans are cranking and you will see only 2.0-2.4 mi/KW until things cool down. So your 240 KW rate is cool 'on paper' but due to the initial efficiency loss, your range can be hampered.

 

[luebri]

I think there’s been plenty of previous DPs where people have hit max charges like this, but the second part would be a MUCH bigger deal if true. The lower part of the curve has typically been around ~120 kw until now. Getting ~140-150kw after the initial surge would be huge, since that is the longer part of most charges.

Odd complete opposite experience for me, I have ~always maxed between 170-179 for ~10 minutes & have always held in the 140-150 range in my 2022. That said, my DCFC is fairly minimal maybe 10 sessions overall and never for more than 25 minutes.

 

[pjell]

Agreed and that's why I posted. My truck is parked outside and granted I had 30+ miles of use with 10 miles of preconditioning for this session. It was 27 F so still cold. Lowest I saw until 80% was 129 kw which is very solid. If you removed the 80-83% at 54 kw, I'd estimate the true average rate on this charge as 140 Kw.

That is very good and having owned an 800V car since Feb 2022, I can say charging curve is what is important. Another thing never talked about (esp with Hyundai EGMP) is in summer they get so hot charging, that your first 10 miles back out on the highway are NOT efficient as coolant pump and fans are cranking and you will see only 2.0-2.4 mi/KW until things cool down. So your 240 KW rate is cool 'on paper' but due to the initial efficiency loss, your range can be hampered.

Yes, curves are very important. And for those that don’t know, the Lightning’s charge curve is very unique. Most all other EVs follow their curve the same every time, and it’s all based on SOC. But with the Lightning you will usually get a 10 minute burst around 170 before it settles to ~120 until 80%. So it’s peak is lower than a lot of other vehicles today, but has this advantage.

 

[Zprime29]

Since I usually don't charge until I'm in the 15-25% range, I'm not going over 75-80% by the time I have my Chargepoint shut off at 7 am. Still, I used the Target Charge for our cottage and condo also and it was nice to not have to think about it if you didn't want to.

Just an FYI, battery life will be improved by charging more often. Plenty of data out there to back it up.

FWIW, the thing I'm most looking forward to is a pre-heating function for the battery pack. I know the newer 24s have it, but I'd love to have a button to pre-heat the pack for fast charging. Having it tied to route planning is a bit... as we used to say in the UK, Naff.

Switching to Tow/Haul or Sport mode will condition the battery. I've tested this with my ODB adapter. Which means folks who like to drive in Sports mode in good weather are taking a small hit to their efficiency, as the coolant pump is running while in this mode.

On the charge curve, I've never managed to hold 140+ kW after the initial boost phase (which also rarely lasts more than 5 min for me). Maybe it's the older chargers I'm stuck using in my neck of the woods. Tesla is building some v4 in Lordsburg, I can't wait to give those a go. An OTA to improve the charge curve would be huge, I often take 35-40 min to get 50% due to speeds dropping to 100kW after the boost. Good weather, bad weather, doesn't seem to matter much.

 

[pjell]

Just an FYI, battery life will be improved by charging more often. Plenty of data out there to back it up.


Switching to Tow/Haul or Sport mode will condition the battery. I've tested this with my ODB adapter. Which means folks who like to drive in Sports mode in good weather are taking a small hit to their efficiency, as the coolant pump is running while in this mode.

On the charge curve, I've never managed to hold 140+ kW after the initial boost phase (which also rarely lasts more than 5 min for me). Maybe it's the older chargers I'm stuck using in my neck of the woods. Tesla is building some v4 in Lordsburg, I can't wait to give those a go. An OTA to improve the charge curve would be huge, I often take 35-40 min to get 50% due to speeds dropping to 100kW after the boost. Good weather, bad weather, doesn't seem to matter much.

Interesting, I’ll have to try the trick to switch to sport mode. I’ve got the adapter so I can monitor if the battery starts to heat up.

I never held 140+ either. And my initial boost is usually 10-12 min, so maybe that is due to chargers?

 

[Zprime29]

Interesting, I’ll have to try the trick to switch to sport mode. I’ve got the adapter so I can monitor if the battery starts to heat up.

I never held 140+ either. And my initial boost is usually 10-12 min, so maybe that is due to chargers?

Sounds like it. I've had varied experiences at Tesla SC as well. Had one location never give me the boost and settled at 90kW. No idea what was up, I tried swapping stalls and got the same rate.

I prefer to switch to Tow/Hual mode, as it doesn't change the regen when "coasting".

 

[astrand1]

Ford should just get rid of this stupid “you have to charge first to set a location” crap. You ought to be able to pull up to a location and truck has gps and you can then save that location and the charge level that you desire. This really is not that hard. Ford is over complicating a situation that is not complicated.

 

[Karlos]

Switching to Tow/Haul or Sport mode will condition the battery. I've tested this with my ODB adapter.

What sensor are you reading on the ODB to see battery conditioning ? I've driven exclusively in Sport mode in both my 2022 & 2023 LER and only notice HVB coolent inlet temperature rise when get close to a DCFC in Navigation screen. Normally driving around, HVB coolent inlet temp is close to OAT, with highway driving and high OAT's driving it higher.

 

[Zprime29]

What sensor are you reading on the ODB to see battery conditioning ? I've driven exclusively in Sport mode in both my 2022 & 2023 LER and only notice HVB coolent inlet temperature rise when get close to a DCFC in Navigation screen. Normally driving around, HVB coolent inlet temp is close to OAT, with highway driving and high OAT's driving it higher.

Further discussion about it here: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/...perature-faster-using-tow-haul-mode-🌡️.21558/

All that testing was done while it was still very hot and only confirmed it would cool the battery. I saw the HVB coolant inlet temp drop upon switching to one of those modes. It doesn't get especially cold here to test if it warms the battery. There wasn't any follow up in that regard.

 

[Horsey]

Further discussion about it here: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/cool-down-high-battery-temperature-faster-using-tow-haul-mode-.21558/

All that testing was done while it was still very hot and only confirmed it would cool the battery. I saw the HVB coolant inlet temp drop upon switching to one of those modes. It doesn't get especially cold here to test if it warms the battery. There wasn't any follow up in that regard.

so we're still stuck with no way to pre-condition the battery whilst using CarPlay/AA for navigation? I totally intended to never use any of the stock nav on my truck because it's inferior to CP/AA and also will cost money in the future.

 

[Firn]

Further discussion about it here: https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/cool-down-high-battery-temperature-faster-using-tow-haul-mode-.21558/

All that testing was done while it was still very hot and only confirmed it would cool the battery. I saw the HVB coolant inlet temp drop upon switching to one of those modes. It doesn't get especially cold here to test if it warms the battery. There wasn't any follow up in that regard.

I think there is caution needed here.

Switching to Sport or Tow/Haul does not appear to "precondition" the battery. I do not believe that it will warm the battery at all. I do see it somewhat cooling the battery but in my testing, which was a while ago now, I believe it just lowered the max operating temp from 40C to 30C, with active cooling taking place until it reached that level. I have not monitored to see what "preconditioning" does exactly temp wise to the battery, and if it is the same as other temp control efforts.

 

[Zprime29]

so we're still stuck with no way to pre-condition the battery whilst using CarPlay/AA for navigation? I totally intended to never use any of the stock nav on my truck because it's inferior to CP/AA and also will cost money in the future.

Yes and no. There's an OTA (I forget which one) that enable's battery pre-condition in AA. CarPlay TBD???

If you need to cool the battery (a major concern for those of us in the south/south west) then switching drive mode can help. As @Firn pointed out, this is not full on pre-conditioning. That said, when I travel in the summer, I have noticed my average charge rate is lower than in the spring/winter. I'll lose my Nav subscription this June and will plan to use the mode switch when I travel for the July 4th weekend as a proxy for pre-conditioning the battery.

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