Mach-Lee

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As most of the US will be baked with a heat wave of 100ºF+ temps in the next few days, it's important to remember a few tips for battery health:
  • Set a charge schedule so your car only charges at night (10 PM - 8 AM recommended), do not charge during the heat of the day.
  • Keep battery charged between 15-85%, do not charge to 100% unless absolutely necessary. Very high or low charge levels put more stress on the pack in extreme heat.
  • Park in the shade as much as possible. I recommend window shades or ceramic tint.
  • Consider leaving the vehicle on while you go into a store (take all keys with you and be sure the doors lock). Vehicle will not shift from park without a key present, and will shut off after 30 minutes.
  • Plug in as soon as you arrive at your destination so the battery pack can cool itself with shore power if necessary.
  • Ventilate your garage in hot weather so the heat can escape rather than building up inside, especially while charging. Charge outside if temps are cooler.
  • If you leave at a regular time, set a departure time (different than remote start) so your battery pack can cool before driving.
  • Departure time cools the battery pack, unlike remote start which is focused on cabin cooling.
  • Drive conservatively, using less regen is advised in hot weather to reduce pack heating (Whisper mode uses less regen).
  • Avoid DC fast charging if possible.
  • Consider reducing your EVSE charge rate setting to 32A or less to reduce charger heat load if you desire less fan noise or have charging errors.
  • Do not set climate temp below 70ºF and use recirculation mode in extreme heat/humidity to reduce cabin cooling demand (leaves more capacity for pack cooling).
  • Expect that your Ford Mobile Charger may start to have charging issues (amber light) in the heat due to a poor thermal design, using an aftermarket wall-mounted EVSE is recommended.
  • Some features may be unavailable (BlueCruise) and performance may be limited in extreme temps.
High temperatures of greater than 40ºC/104ºF can degrade the lithium battery pack, especially if it is accepting charge (charging or regen). The Mach-E pack is liquid cooled, with an integrated chiller that uses the A/C compressor. Both the cabin and the pack are cooled by the A/C compressor. Plugging in allows the pack to be cooled with shore power when parked, it will not cool itself while the car is parked unplugged (to avoid draining the battery).

If you have poor connections or faulty charging equipment, it will show up in the heat. Charging errors should be investigated. Feel all cords and plugs for hotness after the car has been charging a while. Anything hot enough to burn you is a red flag. Bad connections may be solved by replacing faulty receptacles, plugs, the charging port, J1772 handle, or the EVSE itself depending on the problem.

The Mach-E was designed to handle the Arizona heat (≤122ºF) provided some pack cooling precautions are taken such as plugging in. You will see a warning about plugging in during extreme temps. Keeping the pack cooler will prolong its life. The battery cells prefer a temperature range similar to humans, around 75ºF is optimal.

Avoid charging during peak demand/heat during the day (unless you have solar), 4-7 PM is the worst possible time to charge during a heat wave because that's when the electrical grid is already at its limits with A/C loads. Charging during peak demand puts more stress on the grid and costs the most money. It's important to understand that electricity used during a peak time may cost your utility 100x more than the normal rate. Therefore it's important that everyone with an EV tries to charge at night when power is cheap and abundant, otherwise the costs will be passed on to us in the form of rate hikes. This applies even if you have a fixed kWh rate all day long, your fixed rate will increase if too many people in your city charge their EVs at the wrong times regardless of rate structure. Overloading and overheating your neighborhood transformer may also be a concern charging at a peak time. Allowing the pack to rest for several hours after driving and charging when the temps are cooler outside is better for the pack as well.

Other tips/tricks are welcome.
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Crilly

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Leave car on when not plugged in.
 

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Nice tips.
For the 5th bullet item....
That will only work if the car is at a saved location and inside the charge schedule. By default, it will also charge the HVB which of course is not desired so the owner should lower the charge limit to something lower than existing. That will allow the car to cool the battery with shore power WITHOUT charging (thus avoiding excessive waste heat).

I just returned from Home Depot. Parked and plugged in and the car immediately started cooling the battery without charging because my charge limit is temporarily set to 70%. Later this evening, I will raise the limit so I have a full charge for tomorrow.

Here is what FordPass looks like when it is just cooling the battery. This is the second time today that the car has needed to cool itself when parked in the driveway...
 

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Mach-Lee

Mach-Lee

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Nice tips.
For the 5th bullet item....
That will only work if the car is at a saved location and inside the charge schedule. By default, it will also charge the HVB which of course is not desired so the owner should lower the charge limit to something lower than existing. That will allow the car to cool the battery with shore power WITHOUT charging (thus avoiding excessive waste heat).

I just returned from Home Depot. Parked and plugged in and the car immediately started cooling the battery without charging because my charge limit is temporarily set to 70%. Later this evening, I will raise the limit so I have a full charge for tomorrow.

Here is what FordPass looks like when it is just cooling the battery. This is the second time today that the car has needed to cool itself when parked in the driveway...
That's a great point Greg, and somewhat of a major oversight if you have to manage it that way. Seems like we need a "Allow Battery Conditioning Outside of Charge Schedule" option or perhaps a separate preconditioning schedule that allows heating/cooling but not charging.

People with time-of-use may not want any draw during peak rate times, but fixed-rate customers probably want the cooling to happen when necessary. Adding the above option would give the flexibility for both types of users.
 

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That's a great point Greg, and somewhat of a major oversight if you have to manage it that way. Seems like we need a "Allow Battery Conditioning Outside of Charge Schedule" option or perhaps a separate preconditioning schedule that allows heating/cooling but not charging.

People with time-of-use may not want any draw during peak rate times, but fixed-rate customers probably want the cooling to happen when necessary. Adding the above option would give the flexibility for both types of users.
Agree. The Focus Electric would cool/heat the HVB outside the charge schedule. That vehicle was developed in partnership with Magna and they know quite a bit about electric vehicles. Ford is still learning things for themselves apparently. A toggle button to enable HVB conditioning outside the schedule while parked on plug would be a welcome feature for many of us.
 


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  • Set a charge schedule so your car only charges at night (10 PM - 8 AM recommended), do not charge during the heat of the day.
  • Park in the shade as much as possible. Window shades or ceramic tint are recommended.
  • Ventilate your garage in hot weather so the heat can escape rather than building up inside, especially while charging. Charge outside if temps are cooler.
  • Drive conservatively, using less regen is advised in hot weather to reduce pack heating (use Whisper mode)
  • Expect that your Ford Mobile Charger may start to have charging issues (amber light) in the heat due to a poor thermal design, using an aftermarket wall-mounted EVSE is recommended.
  • Some features may be unavailable (BlueCruise) and performance may be limited in extreme temps.
Much of what you suggest is reasonable advice but you should be clear, these are personal recommendations.

To my knowledge:

Ford does not recommend limiting charging to the hours between 10pm and 8 am.

Ford does not recommend ceramic tint

Ford does not recommend using Whisper mode in hot weather.

Ford Mobile Charger issues have not been linked to high temperatures.

Blue Cruise availability have not been linked to high temperatures.
 
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Mach-Lee

Mach-Lee

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Much of what you suggest is reasonable advice but you should be clear, these are personal recommendations.

To my knowledge:

Ford does not recommend limiting charging to the hours between 10pm and 8 am.

Ford does not recommend ceramic tint

Ford does not recommend using Whisper mode in hot weather.

Ford Mobile Charger issues have not been linked to high temperatures.

Blue Cruise availability have not been linked to high temperatures.
Correct, it's a mixture of my personal recommendations based on engineering logic as well as Ford's. Users can chose their exact charging hours, 10-8 is a starting point that reflects a typical utility demand curve. The mobile charger can have issues at any temperature, but is more likely to overheat in hot conditions (e.g. cooling it reduces amber light faults). If the camera or IPMA gets too hot BlueCruise will not function due to the equipment being out of thermal limits, this has been observed after parking in the hot sun. Function will resume when it cools down. Other components can overheat and shut down as well including power steering, radar, parking sensors, etc. however I haven't heard of those occurring yet.

I would welcome more official recommendations from Ford, but they are usually silent in that regard.
 

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I'm on a charging schedule. Can I use the mobile charger to provide cooling or does it have to be 220?
 

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I'm on a charging schedule. Can I use the mobile charger to provide cooling or does it have to be 220?
I wonder about that myself. The Mobile EVSE is a dual voltage unit so I presume you are using yours at 120v?

The manual says the vehicle may draw additional power from the HVB to condition the car when plugged into L1. So I guess that means it will still work even if shore power is limited. ???
 

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Much of what you suggest is reasonable advice but you should be clear, these are personal recommendations.
Agreed, not sure we have enough evidence these will work or are even necessary.
 

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Not sure how to avoid DCFC in the middle of summer in Florida
 

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Leave car on when not plugged in.
I totally understand why you say this. But, the car will shut off after 30 minutes.

More importantly, I didn't buy a $60,000 car to keep it plugged in 24/7 so that it could warm or cool itself. When I get home from a drive, if it's within my off-peak charging hours (peak is 11-7 Mon-Fri), then I don't care if it uses house current to heat or cool the battery. HOWEVER, the car should be able to heat or cool itself while unplugged if it needs to.
 

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As most of the US will be baked with a heat wave of 100ºF+ temps in the next few days, it's important to remember a few tips for battery health:
  • Set a charge schedule so your car only charges at night (10 PM - 8 AM recommended), do not charge during the heat of the day.
  • Keep battery charged between 15-85%, do not charge to 100% unless absolutely necessary. Very high or low charge levels put more stress on the pack in extreme heat.
  • Park in the shade as much as possible. I recommend window shades or ceramic tint.
  • Consider leaving the vehicle on while you go into a store (take all keys with you and be sure the doors lock). Vehicle will not shift from park without a key present, and will shut off after 30 minutes.
  • Plug in as soon as you arrive at your destination so the battery pack can cool itself with shore power if necessary.
  • Ventilate your garage in hot weather so the heat can escape rather than building up inside, especially while charging. Charge outside if temps are cooler.
  • If you leave at a regular time, set a departure time (different than remote start) so your battery pack can cool before driving.
  • Departure time cools the battery pack, unlike remote start which is focused on cabin cooling.
  • Drive conservatively, using less regen is advised in hot weather to reduce pack heating (Whisper mode uses less regen).
  • Avoid DC fast charging if possible.
  • Consider reducing your EVSE charge rate setting to 32A or less to reduce charger heat load if you desire less fan noise or have charging errors.
  • Do not set climate temp below 70ºF and use recirculation mode in extreme heat/humidity to reduce cabin cooling demand (leaves more capacity for pack cooling).
  • Expect that your Ford Mobile Charger may start to have charging issues (amber light) in the heat due to a poor thermal design, using an aftermarket wall-mounted EVSE is recommended.
  • Some features may be unavailable (BlueCruise) and performance may be limited in extreme temps.
High temperatures of greater than 40ºC/104ºF can degrade the lithium battery pack, especially if it is accepting charge (charging or regen). The Mach-E pack is liquid cooled, with an integrated chiller that uses the A/C compressor. Both the cabin and the pack are cooled by the A/C compressor. Plugging in allows the pack to be cooled with shore power when parked, it will not cool itself while the car is parked unplugged (to avoid draining the battery).

If you have poor connections or faulty charging equipment, it will show up in the heat. Charging errors should be investigated. Feel all cords and plugs for hotness after the car has been charging a while. Anything hot enough to burn you is a red flag. Bad connections may be solved by replacing faulty receptacles, plugs, the charging port, J1772 handle, or the EVSE itself depending on the problem.

The Mach-E was designed to handle the Arizona heat (≤122ºF) provided some pack cooling precautions are taken such as plugging in. You will see a warning about plugging in during extreme temps. Keeping the pack cooler will prolong its life. The battery cells prefer a temperature range similar to humans, around 75ºF is optimal.

Avoid charging during peak demand/heat during the day (unless you have solar), 4-7 PM is the worst possible time to charge during a heat wave because that's when the electrical grid is already at its limits with A/C loads. Charging during peak demand puts more stress on the grid and costs the most money. It's important to understand that electricity used during a peak time may cost your utility 100x more than the normal rate. Therefore it's important that everyone with an EV tries to charge at night when power is cheap and abundant, otherwise the costs will be passed on to us in the form of rate hikes. This applies even if you have a fixed kWh rate all day long, your fixed rate will increase if too many people in your city charge their EVs at the wrong times regardless of rate structure. Overloading and overheating your neighborhood transformer may also be a concern charging at a peak time. Allowing the pack to rest for several hours after driving and charging when the temps are cooler outside is better for the pack as well.

Other tips/tricks are welcome.
Can you please elaborate on the 5th bullet (Plug in as soon as you arrive at your destination so the battery pack can cool itself with shore power if necessary.)? Reason I ask is that there was another thread discussing that it is better to let it cool down after a drive before charging. So are you saying, plug in right away but don’t start charging? Thanks!
 

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I totally understand why you say this. But, the car will shut off after 30 minutes.

More importantly, I didn't buy a $60,000 car to keep it plugged in 24/7 so that it could warm or cool itself. When I get home from a drive, if it's within my off-peak charging hours (peak is 11-7 Mon-Fri), then I don't care if it uses house current to heat or cool the battery. HOWEVER, the car should be able to heat or cool itself while unplugged if it needs to.
A huge AMEN on that last part Rick.
 

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A huge AMEN on that last part Rick.
Sometimes I scratch my head.

My utility and Ford work together on a program, it pays $50 at the start and $50 like 3 months later. Purpose of program is to force charging when the utility has surplus energy, and cut off charging when they are tight. Makes sense. Maybe it happens once every 6 weeks, and doesn't last more than 2 hours.

However, they try to force charging even during peak electricity cost periods. I don't think so! My Juicebox of course prevents this because while they can override the car (as part of the plan) from the Ford side, they can't override my Juicebox which prevents any peak hour charging (I can easily override with my JB app).

Who in their right mind would want to be forced to charge during peak rates if they didn't have to charge?
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