Coolant heater power

[redgrandam]

I just picked up my 2023 Mach E select LFP today!

I have seen lots of talk about how the 5kw heater for the coolant to heat the cabin and battery may not be enough in extreme cold. I was a little hesitant based on that alone on getting the LFP. But I liked the LFP benefits when I had my Tesla so much I wanted to stick with it.

I connected car scanner to my new car today and was playing around. I saw the coolant heater get to over 10kw. It spent a fair bit of time at 8kw when I set it to precondition before fast charging.

Is it well known that they have increased the coolant heater this year? Might be only for LFP I don’t know.

I’ll check it again when it’s a little colder out, it was about 8c today when I tested that.

I will gather some more data on this battery as I can but just thought initially this was interesting.

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[Mach-Lee]

Yes, they increased the PTC heater to 7-8 kW on some of the 2023.5 models.

Most of the people that buy LFP Mach-E's are not technical, so we haven't got much data on their charging or preconditioning characteristics yet. You should get the battery up to 25ºC do a charge curve on it, nobody has done that yet.

 

[Mopey]

I wonder if you can simply replace the smaller heater with the larger one, or if there are other necessary changes needed. The heater's performance in extreme cold is one of my few complaints about the Mach E. My Lightning has a larger heater and has better severe cold weather interior heater performance.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I wonder if you can simply replace the smaller heater with the larger one, or if there are other necessary changes needed. The heater's performance in extreme cold is one of my few complaints about the Mach E. My Lightning has a larger heater and has better severe cold weather interior heater performance.

No it’s bigger and won’t fit. Plumbing was redesigned too so it’s different.

 

[redgrandam]

Yes, they increased the PTC heater to 7-8 kW on some of the 2023.5 models.

Most of the people that buy LFP Mach-E's are not technical, so we haven't got much data on their charging or preconditioning characteristics yet. You should get the battery up to 25ºC do a charge curve on it, nobody has done that yet.

Nice. I think it’s about the same size as the heater on our Bolt. We have never had heat issues with that car so it’s a good improvement that Ford made going forward.

I noticed the lack of info on the LFP before buying. It was very hard to research because of that. Honestly I’m surprised more don’t get this version. Sure, a nicer stereo and fancier lights are nice but this car isn’t really missing anything. In Canada at least it comes with heated seats, power folding mirrors, and all the driver assistant stuff.

I will definitely try to get a charge curve done when it’s warmer weather this spring. It is about 6C outside tonight, I got the battery down to 20%, and gave it time to preheat. The max I saw was 129kw, but just went down slowly from there during my 10 min test.

Hard part is getting to a charger that is actually reliable and doesn’t fault out. Will be easier once I get my charging adapter lol.

 

[GarageWarrior2023]

Nice. I think it’s about the same size as the heater on our Bolt. We have never had heat issues with that car so it’s a good improvement that Ford made going forward.

I noticed the lack of info on the LFP before buying. It was very hard to research because of that. Honestly I’m surprised more don’t get this version. Sure, a nicer stereo and fancier lights are nice but this car isn’t really missing anything. In Canada at least it comes with heated seats, power folding mirrors, and all the driver assistant stuff.

I will definitely try to get a charge curve done when it’s warmer weather this spring. It is about 6C outside tonight, I got the battery down to 20%, and gave it time to preheat. The max I saw was 129kw, but just went down slowly from there during my 10 min test.

Hard part is getting to a charger that is actually reliable and doesn’t fault out. Will be easier once I get my charging adapter lol.

Bolt had a 5kw cabin heater and a 2kw battery heater. The battery has insulation below the cold plates. Totally separated heating loops for each side. the mix of insulation and separate loops is the winning combo for cold weather. thermal efficiency.

I had a 2022 EUV. it was fantastic in the winter. more heat than an ICE vehicle.

 

[GarageWarrior2023]

No it’s bigger and won’t fit. Plumbing was redesigned too so it’s different.

@Mach-Lee do you have the diagrams of the new heating loops? I'd love to see this vs the original configuration. curious what they have changed.

 

[redgrandam]

Bolt had a 5kw cabin heater and a 2kw battery heater. The battery has insulation below the cold plates. Totally separated heating loops for each side. the mix of insulation and separate loops is the winning combo for cold weather. thermal efficiency.

I had a 2022 EUV. it was fantastic in the winter. more heat than an ICE vehicle.

Yes. Sorry. That’s correct. It’s been a few years since I monitored that car in the winter because my wife daily drives it now. I remember that now.

 

[GarageWarrior2023]

Yes. Sorry. That’s correct. It’s been a few years since I monitored that car in the winter because my wife daily drives it now. I remember that now.

All good.

I traded that car in on one of my 2023 mach-e's......man do I regret it. That vehicle never had to go back to the dealer once for a single issue in 40,000km and it worked flawlessly down to -37c and beyond. Sure it wasn't as fancy or as big as the Mach-E but it was reliable and functional.

 

[redgrandam]

Wow. Nice! Ours (Bolt) is a 2021 with almost 135,000km on it. Only dealer visit was the battery recall. Otherwise it’s never been there. Only other thing we do is yearly brake service at our local mechanic.

 

[GarageWarrior2023]

Wow. Nice! Ours (Bolt) is a 2021 with almost 135,000km on it. Only dealer visit was the battery recall. Otherwise it’s never been there. Only other thing we do is yearly brake service at our local mechanic.

That's awesome! haha and that tells me I should have kept that Bolt EUV. I could have had many more trouble free KM out of it. My regret grows even further.......

 

[Mach-Lee]

@Mach-Lee do you have the diagrams of the new heating loops? I'd love to see this vs the original configuration. curious what they have changed.

I'm just going to make a new topic rather than here because they are "involved." Stay tuned.

 

[GarageWarrior2023]

I'm just going to make a new topic rather than here because they are "involved." Stay tuned.

sounds great, thank you!

 

[Mach-Lee]

sounds great, thank you!

2023.5+ Cooling System Redesign and Larger 7 kW Heater

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