Electrical draw of Mach-E when charging is complete

[OH2AZ2OH]

Honest question Sir (not challenging you). Won’t the car use power to cool the battery on a hot summer day as well? I know it pulls power to warm the battery in the winter time. Is it possible OP kept the car plugged in and the car used power to keep the battery temp reasonable?

Battery heating in the winter only happens if a departure time is set. I never tried a departure time when it was warmer. But since OP is Milwaukee, the battery is probably not getting hot enough to require cooling anyway, except during active charging.

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[Space_Pony]

Too much gaming this summer, indeed. Also more use of the electric mower, blower and trimmer due to my son doing work for the neighbors. Still, that’s a lot more of usage so I must have a vampire somewhere, time to track it down.

Thanks for the insight.

It's sure a lot easier keeping track of your usage with a smart charger. My Autel makes it easy.

 

[rbertonieresr]

Zero watts. If the car continues to draw power after the charge target has been reached, you have a software glitch and you need to visit your dealer for a software update. Reference the TSB 24-2141 posted above.

Check if the blue charging indicator lights stay on or turns off. It should be off when charging is completed. I had this issue, dealer fixed it while In the shop for a different issue.

 

[Bradn]

I have a 21 and GrizzlE charger. I can confirm that after charging is complete, there is essentially zero additional draw. Does the GrizzlE show a steady green light when charging is done or does it continue to blink? If it is a steady green light, then your extra electrical usage is from something else. If the light keeps blinking, then you need to get the car in for the TSB mentioned earlier.

Just checked when I left the house this morning. Fully charged (85%) and green light blinking on Grizzl-E as well as blinking top left segment of charging indicator light on the vehicle. Just as described on the TSB. I thought this was normal behavior. I'll bring it in next week. Thanks!

 

[medriver]

The behavior is more subtle then the TSB makes it out to be. What actually happens is the car will stop asking for full load at the proper charge limit but it never actually terminates the charging session and your EVSE will keep its contactors closed and in the charging state forever. The car WILL randomly ask for energy in this state but I'm not sure its actually charging, (as is the literal wording of the TSB, which I am skeptical actually occurs), its probably just wasting whatever the idle load of the system is.

Updating the modules will make the car properly interact with the charger and open the contactors when its reached its charging limit and allow the EVSE to go into a communicating but idle state.

Cant trust ford pass for the KWH after charging limit is reached before OR after updating, but miles added while a surrogate seems to be accurate.

But I would just say if the charging session never ends just remain ignorant and ask them to do it.

 

[Bradn]

Just scheduled an appt for Monday. They told me that the TSB is not "on the vehicle" so they have to do a diagnostic, which I have to pay ~$170 for. If that confirms the issue, I "should" be able to get the cost refunded. Unless it's related to another issue, etc etc. Sounds fishy. Should I call Ford? What is the Ford EV number?

Edit: Called a 2nd local dealer. He said that the TSB is on my vehicle, and that there should be no charge for a diag since I'm under bumper to bumper. Scheduled with them instead, and they're also much closer to my house.

 

[Bradn]

But since OP is Milwaukee...

We get all extremes here - it's been hot. Regardless, I haven't had regular departure times set since winter.

 

[medriver]

Just scheduled an appt for Monday. They told me that the TSB is not "on the vehicle" so they have to do a diagnostic, which I have to pay ~$170 for. If that confirms the issue, I "should" be able to get the cost refunded. Unless it's related to another issue, etc etc. Sounds fishy. Should I call Ford? What is the Ford EV number?

Edit: Called a 2nd local dealer. He said that the TSB is on my vehicle, and that there should be no charge for a diag since I'm under bumper to bumper. Scheduled with them instead, and they're also much closer to my house.

This is business as usual from the dealer.

You can search the TSB's for yourself, be absolutely sure it applies and then bring a copy in case the service advisor wants to pretend they don't know what a TSB is or where to find them, they would love to charge you that diagnostic fee if you are wrong and have very little interest in you being right. (https://www.ford.com/support/service-information/)

 

[migmig420]

For instance, my bill for July 2023 was 486kWh and July 2024 was 1104 kWh.

Average temperature for July 23 was actually a degree higher than July 24. Granted, I have two teenagers who didn't really get summer jobs this year...

You answered your own question with the teenagers. My wife went back to work last year and our electric use is halved and she’s one person!

 

[AKgrampy]

Battery heating in the winter only happens if a departure time is set. I never tried a departure time when it was warmer. But since OP is Milwaukee, the battery is probably not getting hot enough to require cooling anyway, except during active charging.

I believe if you park your car outside plugged-in during the winter and your battery hits a certain temp the car will warm the battery. This is not the same as preconditioning. He is suggesting the car will do the same to protect the battery in high temp situations.

 

[SonicBlue]

After owning my first EV for ~10 months, I'm a little surprised comparing my electric usage from last year to this year. My usage has essentially doubled, on average. I have a dumb charger (Grizzl-E).

The app's charging history appears to just provide made-up kWh numbers based on how long the vehicle has been plugged in. Without a smart charger, is there any way to get accurate information on real energy used from the vehicle, by charging and by sitting "idle" after charging is complete?

How much power does this thing draw when it's just sitting there, plugged in but charged?

Edit: Forgot to mention, no crazy mileage being driven, I'm on track to be just under 10k for the year.

The math is pretty simple. If you’re driving around 10,000 miles a year, let’s call it 900 miles per month for round numbers. If you average 3mi/kWh, and you charge exclusively at home, you’re eating 300kWh per month - actually a little more because of charging loss. But it’s not 200kWh more. Not even close!

So a little more than half of the increase is due to your car. The rest is due to two teenagers living at home, running the AC colder, leaving lights on, and playing video games.

 

[AtomicInternet]

If you want to keep your dumb charger this is useful to see live draw
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCR13JL8

My 3kW Shockflow only pulls .8w when it's at 80% (stopped) charging.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Honest question Sir (not challenging you). Won’t the car use power to cool the battery on a hot summer day as well? I know it pulls power to warm the battery in the winter time. Is it possible OP kept the car plugged in and the car used power to keep the battery temp reasonable?

The car might wake up periodically and engage the EVSE to heat or cool the battery pack for short periods of time. But when charging it done it should fully stop and wait until the battery gets out of temp spec.

 

[Elmst-e]

After owning my first EV for ~10 months, I'm a little surprised comparing my electric usage from last year to this year. My usage has essentially doubled, on average. I have a dumb charger (Grizzl-E).

The app's charging history appears to just provide made-up kWh numbers based on how long the vehicle has been plugged in. Without a smart charger, is there any way to get accurate information on real energy used from the vehicle, by charging and by sitting "idle" after charging is complete?

How much power does this thing draw when it's just sitting there, plugged in but charged?

Edit: Forgot to mention, no crazy mileage being driven, I'm on track to be just under 10k for the year.

I have a wallbox evse which will show usually around .75 kWh more than the Fordpass app shows on a charging session of 15-20 kWh. This would be the difference Between the power put into the battery and the power used by the inverter and evse. Not much, but at the end of the month it can be 25-30 kWh. I find the Fordpass app very consistent in its recording when checked against the wallbox app. I do not believe the Mach-e draws any current after a charge is complete, at least I have not noted any.

 

[Mach-e Husband]

Too much gaming this summer, indeed. Also more use of the electric mower, blower and trimmer due to my son doing work for the neighbors. Still, that’s a lot more of usage so I must have a vampire somewhere, time to track it down.

Thanks for the insight.

Kids are crypto mining.

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