High Temperature - Leave plugged in

[generaltso]

That's how it worked last year. I can tell you that my Mach-E, which is scheduled to charge from 7PM to 11AM, tried to pull power during the peak hours (11 - 7PM), but couldn't because the JuiceBox charger would not let it.

I have not re-tested this.

I know @SnBGC has tested this a lot and has several posts saying that the battery will not be automatically heated or cooled outside a charging schedule. He gets around it by lowering the total charge percentage to something below the current charge instead of setting a schedule. I don't leave my car plugged in at home, so I haven't personally tested it.

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[breeves002]

I know @SnBGC has tested this a lot and has several posts saying that the battery will not be automatically heated or cooled outside a charging schedule. He gets around it by lowering the total charge percentage to something below the current charge instead of setting a schedule. I don't leave my car plugged in at home, so I haven't personally tested it.

Since I had to make room for my 911 in the garage The Mach E has to be outside so I leave it plugged in all the time now I just adjust the % limit as I need to to start/stop charging. I used to leave it unplugged when it was in the garage (insulated).

 

[ElectrifyME]

Interesting discussion and info in this thread. Here is a related question:

I have a Tesla Model 3 and my wife's MME will arrive in the next few weeks. The cars can be plugged in at the same time, but they have to share a total of 48 amps between the two of them. If the MME is plugged in but is only able to draw 24 amps, will that be enough to power the thermal management of the HVB?

Same situation in our garage, if/when I get a MME. we just plan to alternate charging; ie I wouldn’t need to charge nightly because I don’t drive as much. Didn’t think of plugging in at the same time? We are a house divided like yours I guess! Knowing the Tesla, there are some things I will wish the ME would do, like the thermal protection. It will go the other way too though I’m sure. Interesting to compare the two brands!

 

[joebruin77]

The MME cannot be set to draw less current. If you put it on a 48A charger it will pull 48A. You'd have to use a 24A EVSE or set your EVSE to 24A max if you wanted it to only pull 24A.

To answer your question though yes I do think 24A is enough for battery thermal management.

Thanks for your reply. Yep, I have ordered the Juicebox so that I can adjust the amp level via the Juicebox app. I hope Ford does an update later so that you can adjust the level of amps in the MME and not have to rely on an adjustable EVSE.

 

[WNKent]

The MME cannot be set to draw less current. If you put it on a 48A charger it will pull 48A. You'd have to use a 24A EVSE or set your EVSE to 24A max if you wanted it to only pull 24A.

To answer your question though yes I do think 24A is enough for battery thermal management.

While my MME delivery is a few weeks off, I have a Tesla. I have 2 Tesla gen 3 wall connectors that load share between themselves and on top of that, I have a load share box that will ensure that the house always takes first priority. I live in the Bay Area, CA and we don't have many heat/cold events and as such, don't have power outages. My set up may be overkill in my area, I just don't want to start popping breakers.

 

[AZBill]

Pretty sure the way Ford has the software now the car will not regulate the battery temp if outside of a scheduled charge time. It will not turn on the charger at all.

This is my experience. My ChargePoint never shows any power usage during off-peak hours. My Chevy Bolt will use wall power during off-peak for battery conditioning, and it will also cool the battery when not plugged in. The GM software is much smarter IMO.

 

[SnBGC]

Okay so here's a question on that....

Let's say it's hot....car wants to be plugged in to manage the heat.

So I plug the car in and it's the middle of the afternoon. My charging times don't start until 1900 and end at 0700.

Is the car making use of being plugged in even when it's not within the scheduled charging times?

Mike

Nope. For whatever reason.....Ford is no longer allowing their BEVs to cool the battery when parked on plug unless it is inside the set charge window.

Their previous BEVs would do that but not the Mach-E.
I have not tested the eTransit or Lightning ...

 

[SnBGC]

Interesting discussion and info in this thread. Here is a related question:

I have a Tesla Model 3 and my wife's MME will arrive in the next few weeks. The cars can be plugged in at the same time, but they have to share a total of 48 amps between the two of them. If the MME is plugged in but is only able to draw 24 amps, will that be enough to power the thermal management of the HVB?

Yep.
We power share at work. 24A will be fine. However, the car will ONLY cool the battery within the charge schedule. @macchiaz-o found a work around to that issue which is to open your schedule to anytime and then set your charge limit to something lower than your existing S.O.C. Then the car will sit there and when it gets hot enough, it will cool the HVB. Of course you will then have to remember to raise the charge limit before you go to sleep (or whenever your off peak rates begin).

It sucks but that is what I have to do each summer for as long as I own this car.

 

[SnBGC]

Pretty sure the way Ford has the software now the car will not regulate the battery temp if outside of a scheduled charge time. It will not turn on the charger at all. This is a gross oversight IMO. Because of this I don't set charge times I just set the limit lower if I don't want it to charge but want thermal management.

It probably should be an option to allow battery thermal management outside of scheduled charge times but it should be on by default. Just like the option to regulate battery temp when unplugged. In the summer it really doesn't use a whole crazy amount of energy to do this. Unless you don't drive the car much or don't plug it in much it shouldn't be an issue.

Correct.

In addition.....many MME owners here have noticed that once HVB cooling starts, it runs for 30 minutes exactly. No more, no less. @macchiaz-o measured the kWh usage for a 30 min cooling session. Hopefully he will see this and chime in...

Our previous Ford BEVs (3 Focus Electrics) would cool the HVB even outside the charge schedule. And the duration of the cooling event was variable. Sometimes only 5-10 minutes....sometimes longer. I liked that method better than what the MME does. Although.....the MME has a MUCH larger battery pack so it stands to reason it would take much longer to cool down as well. ?

 

[SnBGC]

I personally haven't tested it but I heard from others the way I described it is how it works. I guess I should try. I know it will pull power if you remote start though.

Since we are talking about remote starting......

Again, not to sound like a broken record but our Focus Electrics would cool the HVB when remote started (either on plug or off). The MME does not. It will cool the passenger cabin, but the HVB chiller does nothing. The only way to force HVB cooling when it's hot out is to set a departure time. At least that is what I have discovered so far anyway. I verified this with a scan tool and a thermocouple temperature device.

 

[SnBGC]

While my MME delivery is a few weeks off, I have a Tesla. I have 2 Tesla gen 3 wall connectors that load share between themselves and on top of that, I have a load share box that will ensure that the house always takes first priority. I live in the Bay Area, CA and we don't have many heat/cold events and as such, don't have power outages. My set up may be overkill in my area, I just don't want to start popping breakers.

Those gen 3 units are pretty nice. The load sharing feature set up and user management is one of the better ones that I have seen so far.

 

[macchiaz-o]

Correct.

In addition.....many MME owners here have noticed that once HVB cooling starts, it runs for 30 minutes exactly. No more, no less. @macchiaz-o measured the kWh usage for a 30 min cooling session. Hopefully he will see this and chime in...

kWh consumed for parked conditioning is something like 0.5 to 2.0 kWh for 30 minutes of effort. The exact amount depends on how hot it is, in shade or not, etc etc.

I found one of my posts about it:

https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/cabin-conditioning-power-consumption.9475/post-242903

 

[WNKent]

Those gen 3 units are pretty nice. The load sharing feature set up and user management is one of the better ones that I have seen so far.

I agree. I'm not an electrician, but some things make sense and some do not. When the company that I chose to install the gen 2 pitched the idea of the load sharing box between the gen 2 and the house, THAT made sense, then when I placed the order 12/21, I called their project manager back and told him that I ordered a MME and I needed to charge it ah home, he pitched the gen 3s and their capabilities, it was a no brainer; they even bought back my gen 2.

 

[ZuleMME]

Interesting discussion and info in this thread. Here is a related question:

I have a Tesla Model 3 and my wife's MME will arrive in the next few weeks. The cars can be plugged in at the same time, but they have to share a total of 48 amps between the two of them. If the MME is plugged in but is only able to draw 24 amps, will that be enough to power the thermal management of the HVB?

You should consider a dual EVSE OR get what I did, a Neocharge. Then it will intelligently cut off the secondary port if the combined total exceeds what the outlet can handle.

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