Preconditioning battery for L3 charging

[WoodduckMN]

Hopefully, they will add the functionality and notification on screen similar to how Tesla does. My Tesla will start conditioning the battery about 30 miles from the charging station so it is at optimal temp when I start to charge. There are messages on the screen telling me that is is preconditioning.

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[mb0220]

Hopefully, they will add the functionality and notification on screen similar to how Tesla does. My Tesla will start conditioning the battery about 30 miles from the charging station so it is at optimal temp when I start to charge. There are messages on the screen telling me that is is preconditioning.

Rivian does this as well. Clearly it can be done.

 

[luebri]

Hopefully, they will add the functionality and notification on screen similar to how Tesla does. My Tesla will start conditioning the battery about 30 miles from the charging station so it is at optimal temp when I start to charge. There are messages on the screen telling me that is is preconditioning.

100% agree. Some feedback to the user is absolutely proper UX in this instance.

That said, I dont do a lot of DCFC, but I have yet to witness charge derating due to temp conditions. When on a EA 350 or a Tesla Supercharger I get the 170kw 10 minute max every time before tapering to ~150. This has not been in super fridgid conditions but definitely in the 20f to 40f range so not warm either. In recent attempts I have made no effort to use Ford NAV as I despise it and again from my experience havent witnessed the need for DCFC-preconditioning with my truck.

 

[TomB985]

That said, I dont do a lot of DCFC, but I have yet to witness charge derating due to temp conditions. When on a EA 350 or a Tesla Supercharger I get the 170kw 10 minute max every time before tapering to ~150. This has not been in super fridgid conditions but definitely in the 20f to 40f range so not warm either. In recent attempts I have made no effort to use Ford NAV as I despise it and again from my experience havent witnessed the need for DCFC-preconditioning with my truck.

I think the cold weather charging performance is why people think we have preconditioning. We have large batteries with mediocre charging speeds. Rivian has a similar-size pack that charges over 200 kW, so there’s probably lots of headroom at the cell level. That means we’re less-likely to see thermal throttling than other vehicles with similar speeds and smaller packs.

I’ve noticed slower speeds in hot weather when the battery was above 90º F rolling into the charging station. Preconditioning would have been useful, but my speeds were still reasonable.

 

[bmw325_num99]

Hopefully, they will add the functionality and notification on screen similar to how Tesla does. My Tesla will start conditioning the battery about 30 miles from the charging station so it is at optimal temp when I start to charge. There are messages on the screen telling me that is is preconditioning.

I do love the way Tesla does it on my Model 3. Give time for the Ford, maybe we will get the same thing.

 

[TomB985]

I think I was wrong about preconditioning.

I left on another trip this morning, this time pulling my camper to Las Vegas. The battery has been warm since my first charge this afternoon, and I had to slow down in the face of a 30 MPH headwind to stretch to the Sioux City Supercharger.

On a whim, I flipped to the factory nav when I was about five miles out and navigated to the Sioux City EA station. The A/C was manually switched off, but my compressor started spinning up and I noticed the battery inlet temperature dropping below ambient. I shut the climate off and the compressor was still going, and it stayed that way until I pulled up to the Supercharger a few minutes later.

My battery was a toasty 98º F when it activated and cooled to 94º by the time I got there, and I didn’t notice any throttling. I didn’t see this before when my battery was 95º down in Texas, so maybe it has to be somewhere above that to trigger active cooling? I’ll experiment with this more tomorrow and grab some screenshots.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

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[hturnerfamily]

While 'pre conditioning' seems to be a relative cold-weather concern, it probably doesn't strike a need with most drivers who have already driven many, many miles before arriving at a charge station - and, really, there's little need or concern unless you are going to a DC Fast Charger right at the start of your trip. Your battery will already be 'warm' for charging, otherwise.

 

[TaxmanHog]

Whether you're already an electric vehicle expert or you're just getting plugged in, we're only a text away.
https://www.ford.com/support/yfa-invited

Please note that this program is exclusive to new owners, a VIN is required to participate.

I guess us, old timers can wait, being a SME like many early adopters, I can wait, hopefully you get some good interactions with the first time BEV customers onboarding at this time.

 

[TomB985]

While 'pre conditioning' seems to be a relative cold-weather concern, it probably doesn't strike a need with most drivers who have already driven many, many miles before arriving at a charge station - and, really, there's little need or concern unless you are going to a DC Fast Charger right at the start of your trip. Your battery will already be 'warm' for charging, otherwise.

That’s true for cold weather, but not when it gets warm out. I’m coming back on a cross-country trip with my small camper, and I’ve seen lots of thermal throttling down to 100-110 kW when I roll into the chargers with my battery at 95° F.

The truck won’t trigger active cooling unless Its above 93° or it’s plugged in and charging.

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