Mach-E / Lightning cold weather driving tips direct from Darren Palmer

[Jdonnarumma]

Yes plugged in with a departure time set. Otherwise it's just heating the cabin, not the battery.

Does this preconditioning work when plugged into a Level 1 charger?

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[RickMachE]

Does this preconditioning work when plugged into a Level 1 charger?

See previous answer...

 

[BuckBaker]

My work has level 2 charging available. When I plug in does the battery precondition before charging on level 2?

 

[Mach-Lee]

My work has level 2 charging available. When I plug in does the battery precondition before charging on level 2?

Generally yes. It will heat up the pack to above freezing and then charge it up.

 

[chowderz21]

Generally yes. It will heat up the pack to above freezing and then charge it up.

Hi! For heating the vehicle up, how would you know that it is heating up?

 

[Mablanc]

Will preconditioning be accomplished on a Level 1 charger or is Level 2 required?

Tried it and it works on both charge type. Fuller answer with details from Mach-Lee.

 

[Mirak]

The cold weather this weekend took a major bite out of my range. My 4X rated at 270mi couldn’t even get from Wichita to KC (a 180 mile drive) on a 100% charge. Temps in the teens. No significant headwinds.

Based on projections, I would have hit empty at 170mi. A pathetic 1.9mi/kWh. I had to route through Topeka and add 30 minutes to my drive because of the lack of any fast charging options along I-35.

I tried to precondition the battery before leaving, but evidently my departure time wasn’t toggled “On” even though it had been set.

Coming home was same story, except that this time I was able to take the direct route and drive 162mi to reach the Towanda service station DCFC with 3% remaining. (1.9mi/kWh). Talk about range anxiety. Again, temps in teens and no significant headwinds.

The GOM, btw, was actually pretty accurate. It shorted my range by about 10 miles at 100%, but by the time it hit 3% the GOM read pretty accurate at 5mi remaining.

In summary, wintertime road-tripping with a shortage of DCFC… is a major pain.

 

[GuliblGuy]

The cold weather this weekend took a major bite out of my range. My 4X rated at 270mi couldn’t even get from Wichita to KC (a 180 mile drive) on a 100% charge. Temps in the teens. No significant headwinds.

Based on projections, I would have hit empty at 170mi. A pathetic 1.9mi/kWh. I had to route through Topeka and add 30 minutes to my drive because of the lack of any fast charging options along I-35.

I tried to precondition the battery before leaving, but evidently my departure time wasn’t toggled “On” even though it had been set.

Coming home was same story, except that this time I was able to take the direct route and drive 162mi to reach the Towanda service station DCFC with 3% remaining. (1.9mi/kWh). Talk about range anxiety. Again, temps in teens and no significant headwinds.

The GOM, btw, was actually pretty accurate. It shorted my range by about 10 miles at 100%, but by the time it hit 3% the GOM read pretty accurate at 5mi remaining.

In summary, wintertime road-tripping with a shortage of DCFC… is a major pain.

I'd be very curious if you take this trip again in similar weather and got it to precondition properly how much you would end up with at your destination.

 

[Mach-Lee]

The cold weather this weekend took a major bite out of my range. My 4X rated at 270mi couldn’t even get from Wichita to KC (a 180 mile drive) on a 100% charge. Temps in the teens. No significant headwinds.

Based on projections, I would have hit empty at 170mi. A pathetic 1.9mi/kWh. I had to route through Topeka and add 30 minutes to my drive because of the lack of any fast charging options along I-35.

I tried to precondition the battery before leaving, but evidently my departure time wasn’t toggled “On” even though it had been set.

Coming home was same story, except that this time I was able to take the direct route and drive 162mi to reach the Towanda service station DCFC with 3% remaining. (1.9mi/kWh). Talk about range anxiety. Again, temps in teens and no significant headwinds.

The GOM, btw, was actually pretty accurate. It shorted my range by about 10 miles at 100%, but by the time it hit 3% the GOM read pretty accurate at 5mi remaining.

In summary, wintertime road-tripping with a shortage of DCFC… is a major pain.

Yikes, that's why I like to check if the car is actually heating with the smart EVSE power graph or scan tool before leaving. Your efficiency seems low for the temperature, so I think it was possibly trying to heat the pack while you were driving. I guess you like to cut things close, I would have been slowing down or cutting back heat more if I was projecting to arrive with less than 10%!

Hi! For heating the vehicle up, how would you know that it is heating up?

You really need a scan tool to know for sure. You can also listen for the hum of the coolant pump, but sometimes it's just circulating coolant without heating.

 

[Mirak]

I'd be very curious if you take this trip again in similar weather and got it to precondition properly how much you would end up with at your destination.

Me too.

 

[Mirak]

Yikes, that's why I like to check if the car is actually heating with the smart EVSE power graph or scan tool before leaving. Your efficiency seems low for the temperature, so I think it was possibly trying to heat the pack while you were driving. I guess you like to cut things close, I would have been slowing down or cutting back heat more if I was projecting to arrive with less than 10%!

I should add, this was with keeping my use of heat at a minimum. Just enough to keep the windows from fogging up. I set the speed at 75mph - the speed limit - for most of the trip. I don't like going below the speed limit on I-35 because it isn't fun getting passed by semis. I had three kids and luggage in the car, so I was heavier than normal by about 350lbs.

And I definitely do not like cutting things that close, especially with kids in the car. My math (using 2mi/kWh) said I'd make it, but only barely. It's very frustrating that with billions allocated to DCFC, there isn't a station even slotted* to fill this roughly 150mi gap on I-35, which is a major N/S artery through the heartland from Texas to Minnesota.

*The one station under construction will still leave a 120mi gap. That will help me on the drive from KC to Wichita, but not so much on the drive from Wichita to KC due to charging curve constraints.

 

[GuliblGuy]

I should add, this was with keeping my use of heat at a minimum. Just enough to keep the windows from fogging up. I set the speed at 75mph - the speed limit - for most of the trip. I don't like going below the speed limit on I-35 because it isn't fun getting passed by semis. I had three kids and luggage in the car, so I was heavier than normal by about 350lbs.

If semi trucks are going that fast or close to it I'd be drafting behind one to improve efficiency esp if I was worried about range on the way back. Haven't seen one anywhere near that on any road trips I've taken though

 

[SashaLondon]

I’m unexcited about future updates. Outside America we don’t get the all the interesting stuff and it takes along time to get to us.

 

[chowderz21]

Yikes, that's why I like to check if the car is actually heating with the smart EVSE power graph or scan tool before leaving. Your efficiency seems low for the temperature, so I think it was possibly trying to heat the pack while you were driving. I guess you like to cut things close, I would have been slowing down or cutting back heat more if I was projecting to arrive with less than 10%!



You really need a scan tool to know for sure. You can also listen for the hum of the coolant pump, but sometimes it's just circulating coolant without heating.

what Tools and where can I get them?

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