howardbc Posted September 10, 2013 at 08:15 PM Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 at 08:15 PM I had been charging my car with the majority of the cord still wrapped around the reel for many months, but recently someone pointed out that the owner's manual says to fully unwind it. Since I started doing this, I have noticed quite a dramatic increase in the EV miles showing on the battery icon to the left of the steering wheel. Whereas before it would show 23-25 miles most of the time, now it shows 30-32 EV miles available via the HV battery. I have not been following the actual EV miles I get, but will do so today if I can get to it,. Has anyone else noticed an impressive increase in the available EV miles showing before one starts out on a trip after charging with a fully unwound cord? The only other recent change has been that the weather has been a little cooler here than previously, so this may also be the reason for more EV miles showing on the battery icon prior to a trip. It's come down from 110 to the 90's or 80s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric4539 Posted September 10, 2013 at 10:38 PM Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 at 10:38 PM Well, here is the weird thing for me. I have always charged my car with the cord unwound. When I was using the 120v charger I would have 20 miles showing on MFM and in the battery icon on the left of the speedometer. When I got the 240v charger, I still always charge with the cord unwound, but the miles on MFM increased to 23 miles, but the battery icon only shows 18. If I turn off the AC then the miles increase to 23 in the battery icon. Someone on this forum asked me to check that. I just thought it was odd that this changed when I started using the 240v charger. I wonder what would have shown on MFM and in the battery icon had I been charging with the cord wound up?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted September 11, 2013 at 12:07 AM Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 at 12:07 AM MFM always shows the full battery capability with heat and A/C turned off.The icon in the car always shows the capability with the current climate setting included. How it was charged has nothing to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Depauwler Posted September 11, 2013 at 02:11 AM Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 at 02:11 AM The state of the cord has nothing to do with how much charge your battery can hold or how far that charge can take you. I've been doing it with the cord unwound because there is a thing that can happen to unshielded wire, although I doubt the charger is unshielded, I just do it to be safe. Although its probably more likely a heat issue. If the cord gets warm and it's all tightly packed, it can't radiate the heat. It's just a precaution and shouldn't affect the actual charging. Makes me wonder about the fancy auto-coiling stations, though. Is it a pain to make them fully extend the cord? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TX NRG Posted September 13, 2013 at 01:39 AM Report Share Posted September 13, 2013 at 01:39 AM Since I started doing this, I have noticed quite a dramatic increase in the EV miles showing on the battery icon to the left of the steering wheel. Whereas before it would show 23-25 miles most of the time, now it shows 30-32 EV miles available via the HV battery. The only other recent change has been that the weather has been a little cooler here than previously, so this may also be the reason for more EV miles showing on the battery icon prior to a trip. It's come down from 110 to the 90's or 80s. I unwound the rest of my cord yesterday and had the exact same starting EV range today as the rest of the week. I've found that my starting EV range drops 7 miles instantly by just turning on the AC when leaving in the morning. If you have had the AC off recently, that could explain difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy314 Posted September 16, 2013 at 07:47 PM Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 at 07:47 PM (edited) Heat... it's the only reason. Wound up you have the opportunity to keep the heat in the charger and the cable, which is bad. Unwound, the cord is able to better dissipate the heat that the less efficient 110 charger generates. EDIT: grammar police Edited December 16, 2013 at 09:08 PM by shaggy314 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdoconn Posted September 25, 2013 at 06:23 AM Report Share Posted September 25, 2013 at 06:23 AM Unwinding the cord is an electrical heating safety issue and has nothing to do with final state of charge the car receives. The surrounding temp and initial battery temp when charging could play a favorable role in increasing what that final state of charge would be but generally is outside your control. On a cool night 65F-70F with the car cooled off, I've noticed the same increase in final SOC ~26-28. A good practice with extension cords as well is to lay them out unwound especially with high loads. Wound extension cords, say 100', have been know to generate enough heat to catch fire when drawing heavy, 20amps, loads. Most chargers has short cords, mine is 18' and I doubt you can wind that heavy cord enough times to really become a safety concern. However, it's a good safety practice and any energy that goes into heating the cord, the charger or your battery is paid for all the same and is ultimately wasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctwomey Posted December 8, 2013 at 08:24 AM Report Share Posted December 8, 2013 at 08:24 AM Umm, I'll start another thread too--can't believe it hasn't been started--but unwinding is good. Gets me most of the way to the car. But I need an extension cord... 20amp, as short as I can buy, that's my goal, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meyersnole Posted December 10, 2013 at 03:08 AM Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 at 03:08 AM (edited) Umm, I'll start another thread too--can't believe it hasn't been started--but unwinding is good. Gets me most of the way to the car. But I need an extension cord... 20amp, as short as I can buy, that's my goal, right? Resistance is the enemy here. The longer the run the lower the gauge of the wire should be, and yes the goal would be to keep it as short as possible. http://electrical.about.com/od/wiringcircuitry/a/extensioncordchart.htm Edit: Make sure you have it sized properly, that is a lot of current drawn. I am pretty sure the manual recommends against using an extension cord. Edited December 10, 2013 at 03:10 AM by meyersnole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted December 10, 2013 at 10:57 AM Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 at 10:57 AM Edit: Make sure you have it sized properly, that is a lot of current drawn. I am pretty sure the manual recommends against using an extension cord.The manual does recommend against using an extension cord. IMHO that is because the vast majority of extension cords that people may already have use 16 gauge wire which is totally wrong for this use. A 100 foot, outdoor rated, 10 gauge, 3 wire extension cord would work fine. That would cost around $140 to purchase given the price of copper today. frbill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frbill Posted December 10, 2013 at 04:09 PM Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 at 04:09 PM A 100 foot, outdoor rated, 10 gauge, 3 wire extension cord would work fine. Murphy what about a 100 foot 12 guage 3 wire rated at 15 Amps? It is about half the price. Or should I go for the 10 gauge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted December 10, 2013 at 05:08 PM Report Share Posted December 10, 2013 at 05:08 PM Murphy what about a 100 foot 12 guage 3 wire rated at 15 Amps? It is about half the price. Or should I go for the 10 gauge?12 gauge will work. There will be more loss due to heating the wire than with 10 gauge. The result is it will take longer and cost more to charge the car. How much longer? I don't know. As long as the cord is stretched out and not in a coil it should be fine. If it is going to be used outdoors make sure it is an outdoor rated cord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy314 Posted December 16, 2013 at 09:10 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 at 09:10 PM I'm also thinking 100' of 10 gauge or less is starting to get heavy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted December 16, 2013 at 09:20 PM Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 at 09:20 PM I'm also thinking 100' of 10 gauge or less is starting to get heavy...Two 50 foot 10 Gauge cables weigh 16.5 pounds. http://www.amazon.com/Century-Contractor-Grade-Gauge-Extension/dp/B000BMDQHQ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctwomey Posted May 11, 2014 at 01:04 AM Report Share Posted May 11, 2014 at 01:04 AM I need to listen to the guidance offered here better. My 14 gauge "heavy appliance" extension cord (6', that is all I need) stopped working after 4 months or so. Just upgraded to a 12 gauge, 15 amp six footer w a breaker in there, so moving into compliance with the wisdom from here... anyhow, my rec is don't bother with the 14 gauge even if they look heavy duty... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaggy314 Posted May 14, 2014 at 10:06 PM Report Share Posted May 14, 2014 at 10:06 PM This is what I use for those times I'm too far from a plug (friends and Mother's houses): US Wire 74025 12/3 25-Foot SJTW Yellow Heavy Duty Lighted Plug Extension Cordhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002HWRS7W/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 $24 for 25' and $35 for 50'. So far in a year, I've not been more than 40' (Ford's + extension) from a plug so I'm happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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