DCFC preconditioning is it coming????

[Johnny572]

It'll be interesting to see how much difference it really makes in practice after the update. I was still getting ~80kw at 12F yesterday with no en route preconditioning. But I did precondition at the hotel for about 45 minutes 2 hours prior to that. Not sure if there was much left over by then (135 miles later of driving 75 MPH in freezing temps), but I assume not much. Anyway, ~80kw is roughly a third slower than what I would normally get in the summer (~120kw).

Plus, I suspect the charger itself may also be affected by the cold. Even if the battery was warm, I'm not sure I'd have gotten a full ~120 out of a freezing charger and cable.

Other DCFC charges on our trip saw lower power too (80-100kw), but the temps at those were usually 20's and 30's. But no preconditioning.

Everyone is different on their tolerance to slower DCFC, of course. For us, it wasn't all that noticeable. But we're very used to the slower pace of road trips with DCFC charging now. The difference between a 30 minute stop and a 40 minute stop is kinda 'eh' at this point. Plus as Tim noted above, it also uses up some juice to precondition en route, reducing range a bit and requiring a few more kWh to be re-added (which adds a few minutes back to charging time). Not sure the net difference will really be worth it.

From the hotel your

It'll be interesting to see how much difference it really makes in practice after the update. I was still getting ~80kw at 12F yesterday with no en route preconditioning. But I did precondition at the hotel for about 45 minutes 2 hours prior to that. Not sure if there was much left over by then (135 miles later of driving 75 MPH in freezing temps), but I assume not much. Anyway, ~80kw is roughly a third slower than what I would normally get in the summer (~120kw).

Plus, I suspect the charger itself may also be affected by the cold. Even if the battery was warm, I'm not sure I'd have gotten a full ~120 out of a freezing charger and cable.

Other DCFC charges on our trip saw lower power too (80-100kw), but the temps at those were usually 20's and 30's. But no preconditioning.

Everyone is different on their tolerance to slower DCFC, of course. For us, it wasn't all that noticeable. But we're very used to the slower pace of road trips with DCFC charging now. The difference between a 30 minute stop and a 40 minute stop is kinda 'eh' at this point. Plus as Tim noted above, it also uses up some juice to precondition en route, reducing range a bit and requiring a few more kWh to be re-added (which adds a few minutes back to charging time). Not sure the net difference will really be worth it.

In the winter with a cold battery I was seeing 47khw at DCFC…..in-route preconditioning would help and it’s better for the battery also.

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[Johnny572]

seems like a good argument not to have a manual button. If automatic only comes on if there is excess heat capacity.

It will, apparently it's imminent and part of 3.6.2, but not activated yet. Insiders confirmed.

Who’s the insider? Hope this true.

 

[ktn]

Well I have 4.1.2 and have a 200 mile trip tomorrow in 25 degrees. We’ll see. I never use Ford Nav but I guess I will tomorrow!

What temp should the battery be and how can I track it? What’s the best app? I have the OBDLink MX.

Might be working.. 26F out.

1:24 - 52F
1:44 - 54F
1:56 - 59F - rolling into Electrify America charger.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Might be working.. 26F out.

1:24 - 52F
1:44 - 54F
1:56 - 59F - rolling into Electrify America charger.

That could just be normal heating from regen, you need to monitor coolant inlet temp to verify it’s being heated. Should be 60+°F usually while heating.

 

[Pioneer74]

Ah ok, not sure where I missed that, thread is off the rails haha, but it is coming* so point stands.

*soon in Ford time

Knowing Ford, they will implement it in late spring or early summer when people won't need it as much anymore. If we get it at all.

 

[Johnny572]

Knowing Ford, they will implement it in late spring or early summer when people won't need it as much anymore. If we get it at all.

Hyundai is getting criticized on its roll out of the new preconditioning and how it works. So you cannot win…get it to early and people will complain.

 

[Johnny572]

So, Hyundai gives their users a way to charge faster and get on their way, and Ford gives their users YouTube and more games to distract them while having to sit for hours to charge in the cold. ?

Hyundai is getting criticized on its roll out of the new preconditioning and how it works. So you cannot win…get it to early and people will complain. No OTA and how it works…to many restrictions.

 

[RedRocker]

Its definitely there for 3.6.2, just played around with a veepeak scanner i bought for x-mas. As soons as I set a DCFC as a nav destination, with climate off, I saw ~6kW pop as "coolant heater", coolant temps rose pretty quick, battery temps were much slower. Going to let it sit overnight so I can start after a cold soak and see how climate settings impact it.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Its definitely there for 3.6.2, just played around with a veepeak scanner i bought for x-mas. As soons as I set a DCFC as a nav destination, with climate off, I saw ~6kW pop as "coolant heater", coolant temps rose pretty quick, battery temps were much slower. Going to let it sit overnight so I can start after a cold soak and see how climate settings impact it.

It should work with HVAC on though. If you plug in and turn off HVAC it will heat the battery automatically with no nav destination (this isn't new functionality).

 

[RedRocker]

It should work with HVAC on though. If you plug in and turn off HVAC it will heat the battery automatically with no nav destination (this isn't new functionality).

Yep, car was off-plug. I turned off the climate to remove any load fluctuations from the climate system. When I cancelled the route, the "coolant heater" load immediately went from ~6kw to 0, so it was clearly tied to adding the DCFC as a destination in NAV. Will take more data tomorrow to understand how fast the battery warms up after a cold night.

 

[rcechinel]

I did a quick search in the thread and didn’t see this video posted. It's from out of spec. External temp was 33 degrees and battery was like 35. Did the preconditioning in the ioniq 5 and went to the charger. Around 45% SOC it charged at almost 200kw. Another ioniq 5 at the same station and similir soc was charging at 48kw.

 

[generaltso]

I did a quick search in the thread and didn’t see this video posted.

Post #25.

 

[Maquis]

Yep, car was off-plug. I turned off the climate to remove any load fluctuations from the climate system. When I cancelled the route, the "coolant heater" load immediately went from ~6kw to 0, so it was clearly tied to adding the DCFC as a destination in NAV. Will take more data tomorrow to understand how fast the battery warms up after a cold night.

Does ”adding DCFC as a destination” require selecting “Chargers” in the nav menu, or can you input the address of the charging location? Just curious.

 

[RedRocker]

I re-ran this morning, car sat outside overnight, off plug, 31F outside temp.

1. Did a remote start and waited 10min, car was warm inside, all glass clear.
HVB temp 35.6-39.2F, charge pwr limit 86.1kW, coolant heater ~2.6kW, HVB coolant inlet temp 37.4F

2. Started car, 70F Auto-1, set NAV to DCFC location, car parked but running for 10min (no motor power/regen).
HVB temp 37.4-44.6F, charge pwr limit 90.7kW, coolant heater 4-5kW, HVB coolant inlet 44.6-73.6F (cycling)

3. Drove car with DCFC as NAV destination ~10miles/13minutes (mostly 70mph).
HVB temp 44.6-53.6F, charge pwr limit 99.5kW, coolant heater ~5kW, HVB coolant inlet 68F

4. Drove back same way (flat) - no change in HVB temps, charge power limit reduced 1kW.

Conclussions:
1. There is battery warming when NAV is going to a DCFC, but no obvious indicators
2. battery warming from hwy driving alone was negliglible under these conditions
3. battery warming was 9-15F, charge powr limit increased ~15%/13kW over the 23min
4. battery warmed faster the 2nd half of the test, could be a number of factors: battery thermal mass, cabin heater load. I suspect battery heating would be more effective in a fully warm car (like on a longer drive).

PS: I didn't actually do a DCFC, as battery was ~75% SOC. Would be interesting to run in colder conditions with a lower SOC, as my charge pwr limit started at 86kW (not terrible).

 

[Logal727]

Does ”adding DCFC as a destination” require selecting “Chargers” in the nav menu, or can you input the address of the charging location? Just curious.

It’s gotta be through the chargers menu, I don’t see any other way they would identify it was DCFC

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