Bills_Fusion_Energi Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:25 AM Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:25 AM Immediately after use? Wait for a few hours to let the temperature drop? Try to keep it near 100% charged at all times? Try to keep it near 75% at all times? Depends on ambient temperature? Depends on the charge left – If near 0%, immediately? Depends on the charge left – If near 100%, wait for another trip? Does anyone have thoughts or opinions on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphy Posted April 10, 2014 at 09:36 AM Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 09:36 AM I charge mine as soon as I arrive home to be ready for the next trip. The battery never drops to 0 or is charged to 100%. They use a range of something like 15% to 85% to provide maximum life for the battery. I have to believe that the computer is programmed to do what is best for the battery taking all environmental factors into consideration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveEnergi Posted April 10, 2014 at 11:12 AM Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 11:12 AM At every convenient opportunity, I plug the car in. You never know when something unexpected happens and you have to run out. For example, after arriving at work earlier this week, my wife calls me saying the fire alarm is going off in the house. She thinks she left the "steamer" on, after rushing out in the morning. The steamer left on has set the alarm off before setting the alarm off. Anyway, I had to run home to verify and shut off the steamer, but that was an unexpected round trip to work and back (12 miles). In turn, that affected my after work running the kids to activities; so I ended up burning .3 gallons of gas that day. It wouldn't have mattered if I could charge at work, but the man is keeping me down. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills_Fusion_Energi Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:26 PM Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:26 PM I charge mine as soon as I arrive home to be ready for the next trip. The battery never drops to 0 or is charged to 100%. They use a range of something like 15% to 85% to provide maximum life for the battery. I have to believe that the computer is programmed to do what is best for the battery taking all environmental factors into consideration.Murphy: Yes, I agree…. I see my battery (rated at 7.6KW) OBDII values as follows: 15.65% SOC (State of Charge) and 0.0 CTD (Charge Time Remaining) and 1.12KW ETE (Energy to Empty) when the vehicle’s MyTouch screen = 0% charge & instrument panel shows 0 miles left on the Battery. I’ve also noticed that when 0%, 0 miles occur the vehicle switches to Hybrid operation and shows about 1 mile left on the battery. 99% SOC and 99% CTD and 7.15KW (ETE) when the vehicle’s MyTouch screen = 100% charge & instrument panel shows 31 miles (max value) left on the Battery. So the vehicle seems to be maintaining the charge between about 14.7% to 94%. I’ve also noticed that when I plug in the 120V charger at 0% MyTouch, the vehicle will start charging immediately at full power for about 5 minutes and THEN shutoff and wait for the GoTime to arrive before it resumes charging at full power. This only happens near 0% , never when a higher charge remains on the battery. I have yet to determine if any of the above values vary with high or low battery temperatures. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills_Fusion_Energi Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:46 PM Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 03:46 PM At every convenient opportunity, I plug the car in. You never know when something unexpected happens and you have to run out. For example, after arriving at work earlier this week, my wife calls me saying the fire alarm is going off in the house. She thinks she left the "steamer" on, after rushing out in the morning. The steamer left on has set the alarm off before setting the alarm off. Anyway, I had to run home to verify and shut off the steamer, but that was an unexpected round trip to work and back (12 miles). In turn, that affected my after work running the kids to activities; so I ended up burning .3 gallons of gas that day. It wouldn't have mattered if I could charge at work, but the man is keeping me down. SteveSteveEnergi: I also agree with your comment from a “personnel” perspective… But, I wonder if the user may be able to “help” the vehicle’s battery management sometimes. For instance, after a long trip on EV power in high ambient temperatures (I’ve seen ambient reach 1200F in the Phoenix area), possibly letting the battery cool down somewhat for a couple hours MAY be beneficial in the long term life and efficient use of the battery. I’ve yet to observe how high the temperature in the High Voltage Battery reaches in the summertime here, I’ll find out in a couple of months ! ! ! Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vett93 Posted April 10, 2014 at 05:25 PM Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 05:25 PM I think if you program the charging to a later time and plug in the power, it will turn on the fan to cool down the HVB. I think the fan draws air from the cabin to cool the HVB. If I close the windows, will it show down the cooling effect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Energitic Posted April 10, 2014 at 09:49 PM Report Share Posted April 10, 2014 at 09:49 PM I think if you program the charging to a later time and plug in the power, it will turn on the fan to cool down the HVB. I think the fan draws air from the cabin to cool the HVB. If I close the windows, will it show down the cooling effect? I don't think the fan draws air from the cabin when it's charging. At least I can't feel any air moving through the vent in the rear. Would be pretty bad when charging outside in the sun, since the interior can get much hotter than the outside air ... Generally, I try to charge overnight only, especially in the summer months. The air in my garage is cooler then (which should help to keep the battery cooler), and it'll help keep the grid from being overloaded during the peak times in the afternoon, which can be a problem here in CA in the summer. Also, since we now have two plugin vehicles, I'm considering switching to a time-of-use rate with my utility company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bills_Fusion_Energi Posted April 11, 2014 at 12:43 AM Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 at 12:43 AM I don't think the fan draws air from the cabin when it's charging. At least I can't feel any air moving through the vent in the rear. Would be pretty bad when charging outside in the sun, since the interior can get much hotter than the outside air ... Generally, I try to charge overnight only, especially in the summer months. The air in my garage is cooler then (which should help to keep the battery cooler), and it'll help keep the grid from being overloaded during the peak times in the afternoon, which can be a problem here in CA in the summer. Also, since we now have two plugin vehicles, I'm considering switching to a time-of-use rate with my utility company.According to Ford Technical Services cooling Air is from the outside of the vehicle.... 414-03B High Voltage Battery Charging System 2013 Fusion Hybrid/Energi Description and Operation Procedure revision date: 01/10/2013 High Voltage Battery Charging System - Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) - System Operation and Component Description During high voltage charging the BECM commands the outside air (OSA) duct mode door actuator to open. This allows outside air to be pulled into the high voltage battery pack to cool SOBDM . The BECM monitors the mode door position and motor circuits and sets a DTC if a fault is detected. The SOBDM monitors its internal temperature and commands the charger cooling fan speed accordingly to prevent overheating. When high-voltage charging is complete the BECM charging state HS1- CAN message switches from charging to charging complete and opens the high voltage charge contactors. The SOBDM continues to charge the 12V battery while AC input is present except when commanded off by the SOBDMC . Copyright © Ford Motor Company Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vett93 Posted April 12, 2014 at 05:33 PM Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 at 05:33 PM Thanks. Under the rear deck, there is some plastic pipe. I seem to recall that I read it somewhere about one should avoid blocking the air flow. What is this plastic pipe for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Energitic Posted April 12, 2014 at 05:53 PM Report Share Posted April 12, 2014 at 05:53 PM Thanks. Under the rear deck, there is some plastic pipe. I seem to recall that I read it somewhere about one should avoid blocking the air flow. What is this plastic pipe for?It is used to draw cabin air for cooling the battery while driving, since the driver is likely to have the A/C on when temperatures are high. vett93 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokewagon Posted April 24, 2014 at 11:52 AM Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 at 11:52 AM Yes, I have thought about these issues, the one that concerns me is returning home after draining the hvb and immediately plugging in the car in ,high internal battery temps concern me, so I have my own rule to wait one hour before plugging in, just being conservative. There are to many variables to account for, sensors, fans and programming can only do so much. So why not leave so wiggle room. smokewagon, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rexracer Posted April 24, 2014 at 03:20 PM Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 at 03:20 PM My electricity is priced time of use, so to get the best rate I start charging at 10pm. On the weekends, I will switch it to Charge now if I think I will need more electric miles. I can see the concern in hot weather and hot batteries, but I wouldn't get to worried about it, the batteries must have temperature sensors on them, that will throttle the electric flow going to them to keep them in a safe temperature range. But like said before, this may not be completely optimal for the long term life of the battery. Smoke wagon's rule of thumb "wait 1 hour" seems like a good one, but this could also be solved by setting your "value charge" times to later in the evening when the car has cooled and the outside temps have cooled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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