Can you charge the car while driving?

[DeltaDelta]

I know this is a stupid question and I'm not going to attempt it but I'm curious if it's possible.

The idea I have in mind is running a generator in the trunk and plugging it in while driving.

Or, even more fun (read: dumber), plug it into my friends F150 lightning and charge while following him (very closely).

Is this possible or will the car not charge while in drive?

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[mkhuffman]

It will not let you drive if it is plugged in. I don't think you can defeat that safety feature.

 

[HuntingPudel]

The car will not come out of Park if charging the HV battery. ??

 

[Mache_Nor]

But is it possible from a technological standpoint? In terms of the battery both being drained quickly while slowly getting some charge from a source?

 

[Snakebitten]

But is it possible? In terms of the battery both being drained quickly while slowly getting some charge from a source?

I monitor a bunch of OBD PIDs on my Hybrid F150 and the PID for electrical current in/out of the HVB is a negative/positive integer for Amps.

At the same time there is a PID for the High Voltage current being supplied to the DC/DC converter, which is the source for providing low voltage current to run the 40+ modules in the truck.

Even with all that real time information it's difficult to prove whether current is traveling in & out of the HVB simultaneously. I could argue that it doesn't, based on the HVB being charged anytime the current integer is negative. And you can witness the simultaneous increase in the SOC of the HVB since it's so small (1.5KWH) and the PID supports 2 decimal points.
However, at the same time the current integer is -amps, the DC/DC converter is still receiving HV input!
Is that current coming from the HVB simultaneously to it being charged by the traction motor? Or is the traction motor supplying the DC/DC converter current while it is also supplying the charging current to the HVB?

It's an interesting question. And I'm no expert regarding such things. Just a hopeless nerd fiercely curious about how the whole ensemble of components is providing 450HP and ~600 ft lbs to an absolutely amazing version of the American 1/2 ton land yacht.

That truck is by far the biggest influence to me crossing over into the EV space. I am not the stereotype for EVs. ???

But I've been snagged and having so much fun driving the vehicles of this revolutionary era. (my opinion)
What a great time to be a car guy.

 

[Sikkun]

Let’s say you could. You’re going to at best Level 2 charge ~20 mph while losing range from extra weight, and a cord hanging off the side of your vehicle. And the amount of money you’d been spending in gas to do said thing…..isn’t going to get you much.

I guess if you could figure out some way to hook to a semi capable of allowing you to DC fast charge while moving down the road at 70 mph like some type of fighter jet refueling, that I mean sounds cool but still isn’t practical.

 

[Norcolboulder]

Yes a long downhill in Colorado - continental divide to 5000 feet - no charge used over 60 miles. Or Tahoe to Sacramento or Reno

 

[Mach-Lee]

I know this is a stupid question and I'm not going to attempt it but I'm curious if it's possible.

The idea I have in mind is running a generator in the trunk and plugging it in while driving.

Or, even more fun (read: dumber), plug it into my friends F150 lightning and charge while following him (very closely).

Is this possible or will the car not charge while in drive?

Not possible (car will instantly lock up the park pawl if you plug in something), and not worthwhile either. If you figure your can drive for about 3.5 hours max before stopping at a DC charger, that means you'd only gain about 3.5 kWh of energy from a Level 1 charger being run off a generator during that drive. That would only net you an additional 12 miles between charging stops. Not that much.

The car takes like 25 kW to keep moving at highway speeds. So your proposed generator would have to be close to that output before it would really function as a range extender. That would be a huge generator making a ton of noise stinking up your cabin, plus the car can't accept more than 11 kW. It would just be such an absurd thing to do.

There's a guy that made a battery trailer and hooked it up to his RAV4 EV with DC cables, that was crazy but it worked to get him like an extra 100 miles.

 

[Maquis]

I monitor a bunch of OBD PIDs on my Hybrid F150 and the PID for electrical current in/out of the HVB is a negative/positive integer for Amps.

At the same time there is a PID for the High Voltage current being supplied to the DC/DC converter, which is the source for providing low voltage current to run the 40+ modules in the truck.

Even with all that real time information it's difficult to prove whether current is traveling in & out of the HVB simultaneously. I could argue that it doesn't, based on the HVB being charged anytime the current integer is negative. And you can witness the simultaneous increase in the SOC of the HVB since it's so small (1.5KWH) and the PID supports 2 decimal points.
However, at the same time the current integer is -amps, the DC/DC converter is still receiving HV input!
Is that current coming from the HVB simultaneously to it being charged by the traction motor? Or is the traction motor supplying the DC/DC converter current while it is also supplying the charging current to the HVB?

It's an interesting question. And I'm no expert regarding such things. Just a hopeless nerd fiercely curious about how the whole ensemble of components is providing 450HP and ~600 ft lbs to an absolutely amazing version of the American 1/2 ton land yacht.

That truck is by far the biggest influence to me crossing over into the EV space. I am not the stereotype for EVs. ???

But I've been snagged and having so much fun driving the vehicles of this revolutionary era. (my opinion)
What a great time to be a car guy.

There can only be a single, net current flow in any conductor. In simplest terms, a battery connected to both a charging source and a load with have a current that is the vector sum of load and charger.

 

[Mach1E]

I know this is a stupid question and I'm not going to attempt it but I'm curious if it's possible.

The idea I have in mind is running a generator in the trunk and plugging it in while driving.

Or, even more fun (read: dumber), plug it into my friends F150 lightning and charge while following him (very closely).

Is this possible or will the car not charge while in drive?

Nothing wrong with a little creativity!

Although that is the same kinda thinking that got us the turbo drag axle:

Before you think “where can I get one?,” it had a few flaws:

“Being based on rocket fuel and technology, there were a number of safety issues with these devices. For instance if the operator let off the throttle, then reapplied it, the device would essentially become a bomb.[10] In 1967, after a few reported incidents and fatalities, the NHRA banned the use of Turbonique turbines for drag racing.”

 

[dalola]

As I understand it, in theoretical terms, no, this cannot be done (simultaneous charge/discharge). However, it is possible for the battery to be discharging at a slower rate because of a charge influence, simultaneously. So, in practical terms, it sounds similar, but is technically not the same. But I could be all wrong....?

 

[JJR]

Yes a long downhill in Colorado - continental divide to 5000 feet - no charge used over 60 miles. Or Tahoe to Sacramento or Reno

Downhill from Estes Park to the town of Lyons via US 36, a 20 mile drive, did gain 3 miles of charge.

 

[Phil-Springs]

11Kw on board charger I think limits this to extending the range by around 22-33 miles depending on driving conditions. Generators of this class I think will fit in the trunk but leave no room for anything else…. There is a reason why hybrids rely on ice for the drive train and the battery to help out and not the other way around.

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

There are range extender hybrids in which the ICE provides electrical power to the system while driving. This results in slowing the rate of discharge of the battery. Those hybrids are designed with that application in mind. The Mustang is not designed for this. As already mentioned, the Mustang will not engage its drive motors while plugged in.

If you were brave/dumb enough, you could probably tap into some part of the HV system to push energy while driving, but you should probably wear an asbestos suit while doing so.

 

[JamieGeek]

Is it theoretically possible: Yes (re hybrid discussions above).

A battery is either charging or discharging: Thus if your charger cannot provide enough current to move the car then all of its current will go to moving the car plus some from the battery (a net discharge from the battery). If your charger provides more current than required to move the car then the excess current would go to charging the battery.

However, the Mach-E (as pointed out above) is not designed for such a use case.

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