Remote start while plugged in

[Twilloo]

I can test this for you right now if you want. My car is in a cold garage. I’m hooking up my OBD2 dongle and I’ll monitor cabin and battery temp.

I know some on here get upset at simple questions that they think we should know the answer to but if it upsets them then they should just not jump in. I have known what Ford says about remote start does not condition the battery but generally I felt like they were talking about an FP remote start or Amazon echo, I just was not sure when it is plugged in, then you have shore power to condition the battery. Things are different when plugged in vs not plugged in so I thought it was a good question. Also if it does not then Ford should be listening up since many have said that they do not have regular schedules and it would be nice if you could just remote start while plugged in and it would condition everything.

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[mkhuffman]

I know some on here get upset at simple questions that they think we should know the answer to but if it upsets them then they should just not jump in. I have known what Ford says about remote start does not condition the battery but generally I felt like they were talking about an FP remote start or Amazon echo, I just was not sure when it is plugged in, then you have shore power to condition the battery. Things are different when plugged in vs not plugged in so I thought it was a good question. Also if it does not then Ford should be listening up since many have said that they do not have regular schedules and it would be nice if you could just remote start while plugged in and it would condition everything.

It is a good question, and don't worry about asking questions.

People who spend a lot of time here (including me) often see repeat questions, especially from new members, and we just have to remember how much we have learned about the MME over the past two years, and how most people do not spend as much time learning about their cars as we do. Some people just want to get in a go, like my wife. And when there is a question, she just wants it answered.

Anyway, you can help me give new members a warm welcome instead of mocking their questions. It is hard to do sometimes, especially the winter range one, but it is the right thing to do.

 

[Twilloo]

It is a good question, and don't worry about asking questions.

People who spend a lot of time here (including me) often see repeat questions, especially from new members, and we just have to remember how much we have learned about the MME over the past two years, and how most people do not spend as much time learning about their cars as we do. Some people just want to get in a go, like my wife. And when there is a question, she just wants it answered.

Anyway, you can help me give new members a warm welcome instead of mocking their questions. It is hard to do sometimes, especially the winter range one, but it is the right thing to do.

Appreciate that. Only owned the mme for a couple of weeks but I have learned a huge amount of info from this forum and it is much appreciated.

 

[mkhuffman]

Appreciate that. Only owned the mme for a couple of weeks but I have learned a huge amount of info from this forum and it is much appreciated.

Same here. If not for this forum, I would not know 80% of what I know about my car. In fact, I knew more about my car before I picked it up than I have ever known about a car before getting it, maybe even after.

There are so many smart people contributing to this forum. We just need to ensure it is a welcoming place. New members may offer the best contributions yet, if we don't scare them off.

 

[generaltso]

On short drives (like most of mine) I only use 10% or less of my battery anyway, so any additional range does me no good but I’m paying for 6kwh of additional electricity each morning to warm my battery.

Yup. That's why I don't use departure times. If you're going on a trip and want to get every last mile of range, it makes sense. But for daily driving, it's a waste of electricity in my opinion.

 

[Twilloo]

Same here. If not for this forum, I would not know 80% of what I know about my car. In fact, I knew more about my car before I picked it up than I have ever known about a car before getting it, maybe even after.

There are so many smart people contributing to this forum. We just need to ensure it is a welcoming place. New members may offer the best contributions yet, if we don't scare them off.

Same goes for me regarding reading before I got it. A special thanks to you too Mike as you have helped me on several occasions.

 

[dj_stang]

Ok here’s the chart. Sorry the scale is messed up. When the car shut off after the 15 min remote start period, the temp values defaulted to like 400F since the ECU was no longer providing data.

Summary:

- HVB temp, external temp, and interior temp were all 46F to start.
- Coolant heater power seemed to spike on and off.
- HVB temp after 15 min was 48F, interior temp was approx 65F.

I ran the same data feed yesterday while the car preconditioned for 30 min before my scheduled departure. At that time, the HVB temp increased to over 65F, and the coolant heater power was at a continuous 6 kw.

My Remaining questions:

1) Would this hold true even if outdoor temps were significantly colder, or was 46F in my garage deemed “warm enough”. I.E, what happens if you remote start a car that’s been sitting in 0F or colder?
2) What exactly is the “HVB coolant heater power” sensor measuring? From discussions here I was under the impression that the cabin heater and HVB heater shared the same resistive heating elements. However, I’m pretty sure when I tested it yesterday, this sensor only reported data when the actual battery was preconditioning. It dropped to 0 kW even though the cabin heat was still running. I’ll go try another test to see what it reports when I have cabin heat on max but nothing else running.
3) Does the car actually keep the battery warm while driving after preconditioning? I glanced at the live data feed yesterday while driving after my scheduled departure, and the battery temp started to drop pretty much instantly. It started at 65F, then dropped down closer to 50F, implying that the car heated it before I left but didn’t actively continue to warm it while I drove. This still needs to be investigated further.

Interesting graphs, thanks for running the experiment. I can chime in with my observations, I’m actually not convinced that remote start climate control even necessarily runs off the plug. I have mine set to stop charging at 90% and have an EVSE with a light that indicates charging.

When I remote start and run the air conditioning the EVSE does not indicate that the car is pulling any current. But in this graph am I incorrect in interpreting that the EV Charger Power (orange) line shows that it is actually pulling power from the wall?

 

[mkhuffman]

Interesting graphs, thanks for running the experiment. I can chime in with my observations, I’m actually not convinced that remote start climate control even necessarily runs off the plug. I have mine set to stop charging at 90% and have an EVSE with a light that indicates charging.

When I remote start and run the air conditioning the EVSE does not indicate that the car is pulling any current. But in this graph am I incorrect in interpreting that the EV Charger Power (orange) line shows that it is actually pulling power from the wall?

Yes, you are correct. The orange line is charger power and it is pulling power from the wall. You can also test this with a EVSE that allows you to chart power delivered and see it is definitely providing power when you remote start.

That said, if you are L1 charging it might not be pulling power from the EVSE. I have not tested it personally but I suspect L1 might not provide enough power for the car to utilize when remote started. I would need to test that to confirm, but it could explain what you are seeing.

 

[awp0]

Yes, you are correct. The orange line is charger power and it is pulling power from the wall. You can also test this with a EVSE that allows you to chart power delivered and see it is definitely providing power when you remote start.

That said, if you are L1 charging it might not be pulling power from the EVSE. I have not tested it personally but I suspect L1 might not provide enough power for the car to utilize when remote started. I would need to test that to confirm, but it could explain what you are seeing.

My non-scientific anecdotal experience has led me to believe that remote start with L1 charging is nice for convenience, but it will drain the battery. You're probably right that it's smart enough to not even attempt getting L1 power from the wall.

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