Remote Start vs. Preconditioning

[ZuleMME]

I tested this today with my Mach E GT. I started the car with Fordpass, without it plugged in. After about 10 minutes when I got in the car, the power meter showed that I had access to the full power (no gray bars.) Previous experience tells me that when I do a cold start without it being plugged in and charging, it most certainly has restricted power while the battery warms up. In fact this can last at least 5 minutes or several miles. So it seems to me that starting the car DOES in fact warm the battery, at least in a GT. The car is always in a garage, for what its worth.

Been telling people this fact for months but no one listens... "Ford says otherwise" and other nonsense replies.

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[Murse-In-Airy]

What is the rule of thumb if only driving short distances, like one mile to the grocery store in 20 degree weather? Remote start to heat the battery, or don't bother. Specifically wondering about what's best for battery health, not interior comfort inn this case.

I think all this talk about preconditioning is a moot point for most of us. Preconditioning is great to warm the battery and have it ready for long drives so it doesn’t use up energy from the HVB to do so. With the main point being to maximize range by not devoting energy to warming the battery.
I drive 8-10 miles to work. Then 8-10 miles back home. Then plug back in. Even at -20°, I really don’t need to worry about using my HVB to warm my HVB. The range lost doesn’t matter one iota.
I remote start to warm it up inside the car. Because Active-X material at -20° is cold. But not because I’m trying to preheat my battery. If I ever need max range in winter… THEN I’ll set a precondition time.

 

[SnBGC]

Slightly off topic...

Has anyone else noticed the car charging outside of the scheduled charging time if you have departures scheduled mid-day? Example:

My car is scheduled to charge between 11pm and 7am (weekdays) and anytime on weekends.
I added departure timers for some afternoon trips I do and noticed the car charging during the day.
When I removed the afternoon departures, the day charging stopped.

Yes. I observed same on my car. Apparently the car prioritizes departure times over the schedule. Makes sense. It wants the car to be fully charged prior to your trip.

 

[SnBGC]

Been telling people this fact for months but no one listens... "Ford says otherwise" and other nonsense replies.

Question everything.....including Ford's documents. There are lots of things that Ford say should function a particular way that doesn't appear to be the case in the real world.

I can't speak for battery heating during remote start bit I am nearly positive it cools the battery when warm out. I think I remember the chiller activating during remote start during the summer. That component is HVB only.

 

[dano]

Yes. I observed same on my car. Apparently the car prioritizes departure times over the schedule. Makes sense. It wants the car to be fully charged prior to your trip.

It makes sense, but I wish there was a choice or at a minimum a disclaimer.
I think a lot of people won't notice that it's going to charge while preconditioning outside of allowed charging hours and could end up with high power costs.

 

[mpshizzle]

About 50% of the time, when I press remote start, the app does the indeterminate progress graphic around the start button for about 15 seconds, then it turns red and says "Remote Start Failed".
I've considered just setting departure time around 6:00 am as that's the earliest I would leave for work, but sometimes I don't leave until 8:00 am. I'd think the battery would just get cold by then again and the the attempt would be a waste of electricity.

This thread may apply to you if remote start isn't working
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/no-remote-start-when-car-is-asleep-fixed.10250/

[Edit: link wasn't working before but now it's fixed]

 

[MachEGTPilot]

I don't drive work at a consistent time every day. So schedule doesn't make sense for me. But I usually know that I'm going to head out in 5-10 min. If the car is plugged in, why wouldn't the car heat the battery if I tell it to heat the cabin with remote start? Also, I think the car won't remote start through FordPass, but why would it deep sleep while it's still plugged in? - Maybe @Ford Motor Company can clarify this.

I took my MME to the dealer for the deep sleep issue, had the same on our hybrid escape and they changed the 12v battery in the escape, they put the MME 12v battery on their "super charger" for an hour and it hasn't gone to sleep since. Taking it back this week to get modules updated they think have something to do with the battery not charging.

update: Having posted this my car is now asleep.......... argh

 

[fritzmt]

My challenge is that Ford doesn't have a "Pre-Condition" button on the FordPass app -- only "Remote Start." What is the best thing to do if my car is sitting on a charger (at home or work) and I know I'm going to depart in an hour (and at a time that I didn't previously program into my departure settings to auto-start a preconditioning cycle)? In a perfect world, and if such a button existed, I could simply hit "Pre-Condition" and then head out to the car in 30-minutes to find it warmed up and ready to roll. Unfortunately, if "Remote Start" and "Pre-Conditioning" are truly separate things....then I'm missing out on the benefits of pre-conditioning by doing a remote-start and letting it sit for a while before departing, correct?

 

[RickMachE]

My challenge is that Ford doesn't have a "Pre-Condition" button on the FordPass app -- only "Remote Start." What is the best thing to do if my car is sitting on a charger (at home or work) and I know I'm going to depart in an hour (and at a time that I didn't previously program into my departure settings to auto-start a preconditioning cycle)? In a perfect world, and if such a button existed, I could simply hit "Pre-Condition" and then head out to the car in 30-minutes to find it warmed up and ready to roll. Unfortunately, if "Remote Start" and "Pre-Conditioning" are truly separate things....then I'm missing out on the benefits of pre-conditioning by doing a remote-start and letting it sit for a while before departing, correct?

Correct. You would have to set a departure time for an hour from now, which in some cases is not long enough.

 

[fritzmt]

Correct. You would have to set a departure time for an hour from now, which in some cases is not long enough.

How do we petition for the addition of a "Pre-Condition Now" button. With heating and battery issues like we have on the Mach-e, it would be a great addition to the app which could help save range, extend battery life, and provide flexibility for Mach e owners.

 

[RickMachE]

How do we petition for the addition of a "Pre-Condition Now" button. With heating and battery issues like we have on the Mach-e, it would be a great addition to the app which could help save range, extend battery life, and provide flexibility for Mach e owners.

This has been mentioned for 2+ years.

Petition for anything. Open Record Feedback in the car.

 

[Benny’66]

Correct. You would have to set a departure time for an hour from now, which in some cases is not long enough.

What is interesting to me is the Amp draw on remote start. My GTPE will pull 46amps while plugged in when I hit remote start. I don’t know many space heaters that pull that many amps if all I’m trying to do is warm a few square foot space.

 

[Mach-Lee]

What is interesting to me is the Amp draw on remote start. My GTPE will pull 46amps while plugged in when I hit remote start. I don’t know many space heaters that pull that many amps if all I’m trying to do is warm a few square foot space.

The heater is 6 kW, and the extra draw goes into charging the battery.

When you remote start, basically the charger goes into constant voltage mode. The battery may absorb some charge at the same time the heater is run. Usually it tapers down after a couple minutes.

 

[Benny’66]

The heater is 6 kW, and the extra draw goes into charging the battery.

When you remote start, basically the charger goes into constant voltage mode. The battery may absorb some charge at the same time the heater is run. Usually it tapers down after a couple minutes.

I guess that would be close. 46amp, single phase 208V is around 9.6kW. The vehicle had already hit my 90% SOC 2 hours earlier, but I can see some loss between the EVSE output and the car too.

 

[Kmp14]

What is interesting to me is the Amp draw on remote start. My GTPE will pull 46amps while plugged in when I hit remote start. I don’t know many space heaters that pull that many amps if all I’m trying to do is warm a few square foot space.

I have seen the same thing. It would "seem" logical that all that juice might be going toward warming the battery and the cabin, but I guess 14-30 minutes of remote start wouldn't be enough to time to get the battery warm enough to make much of a difference?

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