charge limit

[jasdf2345]

Looking for the 90% charge limit recommendation as I remember seeing it somewhere. Now though, when looking in the manual I see this:


Overnight Charging
You can increase the longevity and performance of your high voltage battery by using the charge scheduling and departure and comfort settings on your touchscreen or in the FordPass app.
With charge scheduling, you can improve the high voltage battery's longevity by delaying the start of charging and setting a maximum charging limit. Set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.


Seems all other manufacturers recommend charging to 80%, but Ford did say 90%. Now they say "eh, just don't charge to 100% every day, we think".

Anyone else kinda confused by this?

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[Travlcub]

I use the 20% 80% guideline. Occasionally 100% if I know I need that extra range for a trip

 

[RickMachE]

Looking for the 90% charge limit recommendation as I remember seeing it somewhere. Now though, when looking in the manual I see this:


Overnight Charging
You can increase the longevity and performance of your high voltage battery by using the charge scheduling and departure and comfort settings on your touchscreen or in the FordPass app.
With charge scheduling, you can improve the high voltage battery's longevity by delaying the start of charging and setting a maximum charging limit. Set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to be less than 100% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.


Seems all other manufacturers recommend charging to 80%, but Ford did say 90%. Now they say "eh, just don't charge to 100% every day, we think".

Anyone else kinda confused by this?

Less than 100%, and 90%, are close enough that no, I'm not confused.

 

[Ghost Ryder]

I think it also come down to how much Ford store in reserve. Ford is pretty conservative in this case. So if Ford say it's safe to charge up to 90%, then by all means do so.

 

[TheVirtualTim]

I keep my car in the 20-80% range. But let's talk about it in a more practical way...

I don't have any long commutes. I work from home. The car is how I get my groceries, run errands, and anything else I want to do. Most of my running around results in me using less than 20% of the battery capacity. It's unusual for me to even use 50% of the battery capacity. HOWEVER ... in the summer I have regular weekend trips that DO use most of my battery capacity.

This means I set my daily charge limits to 80%. If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of running around ... I'll bump it up to 90%. If I'm doing a road trip (but those are rare), I'll let it go all the way to 100%.

So it's not so much "what percentage is right" ... but more "what's right for YOU based on how you use the car on the daily-basis".

The amount of stress on the battery due to charging depends on the temperature (more stress is hot weather). The battery pack takes a tiny bit of stress north of 70% -- not really enough to even think about. Above 80% it's more noticeable. And above 90% it's a lot more noticeable. It also takes some stress at the low end (battery pack below 15%) but that's not as sever as it takes when charging above 90%.

If you can keep the battery pack between 15-80% ... so much the better. If you need to go beyond that range, it's fine ... do it when you need to do it. But if you don't NEED that range on a daily basis, then set more conservative charge limits and you'll be rewarded with better long-term battery pack health.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

Ford doesn’t really do a good job explaining the nature of batteries and charging. No one really does.
My knowledge is in cell phone batteries, but the technology is the same; only the scale differs.
Batteries work by migrating metal ions back and forth between two plates: the anode and the cathode. Every time you move them all the way to one plate or the other, some of them decide to just stay put and are no longer available to hold energy. This is battery degradation, and all rechargeable batteries suffer from it.
The key technology to make batteries last longer is keeping those ions in solution *between* the plates.
Knowing that is the key, what it says is: you want an average state of charge = 50% of the capacity. The closer you stay to that average, the more ions you keep in solution.
If you set that as your goal, your ideal charge level is 50% + 1/2 of your average drain. If you use 10% of your battery’s capacity daily, you want to charge to 55%. If you use 20%, then charge to 60%, and so on.
In reality, the difference in degradation speed between optimal charging and just trying to generally keep it somewhere in the middle is a fraction of 1% per year. It’s usually not worth the headache to have an extra 5-7 percent after a decade.

So what’s the conclusion?

 

[GatorGrowl]

So what’s the conclusion?

The closer you keep your average SOC level to 50%, the longer your battery will last. I was just explaining why.
In practice, over the life of the car you may only see a couple percentage points improvement charging to 80% instead of 90%. Climate and driving style will have a greater impact.
I say charge to whatever level makes you feel confident you’ll get home at the end of the day.

 

[tfitzgex]

Did Ford unlock the batteries for 2021 job 1 cars? 88 vs 91 isn't that big of a deal, but it would be nice to know. I hope they didn't do it without telling people.

 

[4sallypat]

100% every time - once a week.

Don't believe in shortchanging myself like filling your ICE gas tank 80% which is ludicrous IMO.

 

[RickMachE]

Did Ford unlock the batteries for 2021 job 1 cars? 88 vs 91 isn't that big of a deal, but it would be nice to know. I hope they didn't do it without telling people.

Yes and Yes. Did it, and didn't tell.

 

[ArthurDOB]

Ford doesn’t really do a good job explaining the nature of batteries and charging. No one really does.
My knowledge is in cell phone batteries, but the technology is the same; only the scale differs.
Batteries work by migrating metal ions back and forth between two plates: the anode and the cathode. Every time you move them all the way to one plate or the other, some of them decide to just stay put and are no longer available to hold energy. This is battery degradation, and all rechargeable batteries suffer from it.
The key technology to make batteries last longer is keeping those ions in solution *between* the plates.
Knowing that is the key, what it says is: you want an average state of charge = 50% of the capacity. The closer you stay to that average, the more ions you keep in solution.
If you set that as your goal, your ideal charge level is 50% + 1/2 of your average drain. If you use 10% of your battery’s capacity daily, you want to charge to 55%. If you use 20%, then charge to 60%, and so on.
In reality, the difference in degradation speed between optimal charging and just trying to generally keep it somewhere in the middle is a fraction of 1% per year. It’s usually not worth the headache to have an extra 5-7 percent after a decade.

I appreciate your knowledge. Thank you. I'm guessing this is probably too much work for most people to stick to, though.

 

[PA27]

To answer your actual question, my 2023 manual says this in the “preserving your high voltage battery” section:

“Extended Range Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) Batteries
Set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to 90% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.”

 

[Mach1E]

Keep in mind you lose horsepower the lower your state of charge.

Decide for yourself if that matters.

 

[Mirak]

Did Ford unlock the batteries for 2021 job 1 cars? 88 vs 91 isn't that big of a deal, but it would be nice to know. I hope they didn't do it without telling people.

It is believed that Ford did, but I don't know that Ford has ever confirmed this. I think the consensus on this board was that Ford expanded the capacity via OTA, but did not change the State of Charge meter, so the extra capacity is now "hidden" below 0% on the SOC. Which sounds cuckoo bananas, or exactly par for the course with @Ford Motor Company. Ford could clear this mystery up at any point, but Ford ain't saying.

 

[jasdf2345]

To answer your actual question, my 2023 manual says this in the “preserving your high voltage battery” section:

“Extended Range Nickel Cobalt Manganese (NCM) Batteries
Set your preferred charging times to be at least 2-3 hours after your typical plug in time. This allows the battery to cool before charging begins. Additionally, setting the maximum charge level to 90% for everyday usage reduces strain on the battery.”

That's why I started the thread. It USED to say that. It no longer does. At least I cannot find it in the online manual.

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