Once you precondition battery - how long does it stay preconditioned?

RedDragon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Threads
22
Messages
392
Reaction score
298
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
22 Mach E AWD Premium Ext Bat - Rapid Red
Country flag
Ok so i know this is a bit of a strange question but here is my situation.

-At home currently have 120 v only - in process of upgrading
-I have a L2 charger within walking distance of my house that is free
-My understanding (please correct if im wrong) is that preconditioning the BATTERY (not just the cabin temp) does not work under 120v
So my question:

If I precondition my battery on the L2 charger, drive back home, plug back in, leave the car on, and leave an hour later - will my battery stay preconditioned? Im thinking of doing this sunday AM when the weather will be about 30ish degrees and car will be put back into my garage after the precondition - so probably a bit warmer in the garage. My end goal is just to maximize range on my tripl

thanks all
Sponsored

 

Jbkimmel

Well-Known Member
First Name
Judson
Joined
Nov 5, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
232
Reaction score
297
Location
Saint Paul MN
Vehicles
Mach-E Premium
Country flag
I think either approach - with or without a remote start at home - will work just fine given that it won’t be terribly cold and car will be plugged in. You could always split the difference with a shorter remote start.
 

Nklem

Well-Known Member
First Name
Norm
Joined
May 20, 2021
Threads
105
Messages
1,318
Reaction score
1,688
Location
Coast of Maine
Vehicles
Subaru Solterra
Occupation
Mechanical Engineer
Country flag
Yes. Your car actively conditions the battery when running in ON. If you look on the trips screen, the last section on the right of the bar “ext temp” is your Battery heating /cooling load. It’s really not a big deal to do it while not plugged in and you can do it while unplugged in your FordPass settings. All that plugging in does is saves a little battery power to used precondition by using your home power instead. It uses about 1-2 KWh total energy to precondition on a very cold, 0deg F morning. So very little of your overall battery. The attached graph, the power spike on the right is preconditioning my car to 70F on a -3F morning.

4DB5B1EB-1D01-47E2-9136-1B111A6E2599.jpeg


43CB3A20-AB3F-41CC-94F1-6E825C72843A.jpeg
 

RickMachE

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Threads
200
Messages
13,132
Reaction score
17,846
Location
SE MI
Vehicles
2022 Mach-E Premium 4X, 2022 Lightning Lariat
Country flag
As stated, driving to that L2 charger is a waste of time and electricity.
 


hybrid2bev

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 4, 2019
Threads
75
Messages
4,070
Reaction score
11,091
Location
USA
Vehicles
2021 Job 1 Premium4X - EAP Member
Country flag
Ok so i know this is a bit of a strange question but here is my situation.

-At home currently have 120 v only - in process of upgrading
-I have a L2 charger within walking distance of my house that is free
-My understanding (please correct if im wrong) is that preconditioning the BATTERY (not just the cabin temp) does not work under 120v
So my question:

If I precondition my battery on the L2 charger, drive back home, plug back in, leave the car on, and leave an hour later - will my battery stay preconditioned? Im thinking of doing this sunday AM when the weather will be about 30ish degrees and car will be put back into my garage after the precondition - so probably a bit warmer in the garage. My end goal is just to maximize range on my tripl

thanks all
In order to precondition the battery you would have to schedule a departure time, get your car plugged into the L2 charger about an hour before that departure time. Then at the departure time when the car is ready, drive home. You may get some benefit but it won't be much or worth your time.

If you skip all of this you'll just have to add a couple minutes to your next charging stop.
 

Motomax

Well-Known Member
First Name
Max
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Threads
4
Messages
970
Reaction score
983
Location
California
Vehicles
VW GLI, 4Runner
Country flag
Just time your L2 charging to finish within a couple hours of leaving if you can.
I’ve look at preconditioning during similar temperatures. If I’m within 2-3 hours of my battery being charged on L2, my preconditioning uses around 1kWh. On the one day I don’t charge, my preconditioning is about 5-6kwh of energy used.
Based on those findings I’m assuming there is not much battery conditioning going on after a charge cycle. In a colder climate the battery will cool off faster though.
 

RMoore

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2021
Threads
61
Messages
996
Reaction score
684
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
Audi Q5, Toyota Sienna, 2022 Mach e
Country flag
Funny, I had the same exact question for a different reason and was going to ask about this. In my case it would be because of lack of a consistent schedule--some days I might leave at 7 some days 7:30, some days at 8 or even 9. But my garage doesn't get too cold in winter (typically at least 20 degrees warmer than outside temp no cold days) and most of my trips are within 5-10 miles. My guess is that if I wanted to precondition by setting a 7AM departure each day, I'd be fine, but not clear given how short my trips are (and the temp of my battery in the garage) that there would be much need to do it all, other than to warm up the cabin (though remote start would do that as well). As is that right?
 
OP
OP
RedDragon

RedDragon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Threads
22
Messages
392
Reaction score
298
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
22 Mach E AWD Premium Ext Bat - Rapid Red
Country flag
Thanks all - and just to confirm i am correct that even if you are plugged for a VERY long time on 120v, that a 120v outlet is not strong enough to provide enough power to precondition the BATTERY (using a departure time) solely from shore right? It will still draw on the battery's own power?
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,812
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
The whole "precondition while plugged in" thing is overstated, IMO. It's still electricity either way, whether it comes directly from the wall, or from the battery (that later gets refilled from the wall). Unless your drive that day is so long that you're pushing the range limits and really need to save battery power, of course.

If it's easy (i.e. you plug in overnight in your garage anyway), then sure, stay plugged in during remote/scheduled start. But otherwise, I just remote start the car about 5 minutes before I'm ready to drive it, whether [lugged in or not. If it uses 2 kWh from the battery to warm everything up, so be it. Just means it stays on the charger a bit longer at the next charge.
 

sockmeister

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
1,879
Reaction score
2,992
Location
Pennsylvania
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E4x
Occupation
SW Engineer
Country flag
Thanks all - and just to confirm i am correct that even if you are plugged for a VERY long time on 120v, that a 120v outlet is not strong enough to provide enough power to precondition the BATTERY (using a departure time) solely from shore right? It will still draw on the battery's own power?
I think it's a design choice -- it's probably not worth the time and energy draw and would be a losing battle against losing heat to the environment, at the rate at which it could warm the battery on 120v.

It won't precondition the battery at all until you start to drive (or turn the car ON), on 120v.
 

dbsb3233

Well-Known Member
First Name
TimCO
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
54
Messages
9,298
Reaction score
10,812
Location
Colorado, USA
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E FE, 2023 Bronco Sport OB
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
I think it's a design choice -- it's probably not worth the time and energy draw and would be a losing battle against losing heat to the environment, at the rate at which it could warm the battery on 120v.

It won't precondition the battery at all until you start to drive (or turn the car ON), on 120v.
That begs the broader question -- does the car actually ever precondition the battery? Or does it only heat/cool the battery coolant when it's ON and being driven?

We know it preconditions the cabin, of course (when you remote start or scheduled departure), but does that also ever heat & circulate the battery coolant?
 

sockmeister

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Threads
6
Messages
1,879
Reaction score
2,992
Location
Pennsylvania
Vehicles
2021 Mustang Mach-E4x
Occupation
SW Engineer
Country flag
That begs the broader question -- does the car actually ever precondition the battery? Or does it only heat/cool the battery coolant when it's ON and being driven?

We know it preconditions the cabin, of course (when you remote start or scheduled departure), but does that also ever heat & circulate the battery coolant?
It definitely does, on level 2 charging! I believe that is Ford's official stance, although I don't know where I read it. But there have been several posts on the past here about the differences between departure times and remote starting -- with departure times actually, truly, conditioning the battery.
 

Crilly

Well-Known Member
First Name
Dale
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Threads
3
Messages
374
Reaction score
283
Location
Hartland, Wi
Vehicles
Livewire prius prime Mach e. In 3 weeks if it was built yesterday
Occupation
Retired
Country flag
Charge the battery on the level 2 to 90% then put in the garage and charge to 100%.

Use the Paak to start the car before you leave. I use 120 volt to charge from 90 to 100 all the time. Don’t forget to extend the time the car is on after starting. When I push the start button, I get a failure to start message. Just push it again then push extend.
 

Neil4Real

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2021
Threads
15
Messages
3,223
Reaction score
2,919
Location
Southern California
Vehicles
Mach-E GT Performance Edition - Shadow Black
Country flag
Charge the battery on the level 2 to 90% then put in the garage and charge to 100%.

Use the Paak to start the car before you leave. I use 120 volt to charge from 90 to 100 all the time. Don’t forget to extend the time the car is on after starting. When I push the start button, I get a failure to start message. Just push it again then push extend.
Definitely shouldn’t be charging to 100% unless a road trip. Remote start is not the same as the departure schedule, which preconditions the battery. A 120v outlet cannot precondition the battery. You would have to use your battery power.
Sponsored

 
 




Top