Anyway to stop the battery drain

[dlb92]

When I go to work I always lose 2-4 miles with the car sitting for 8-9 hours.  Anyone know how to stop that from happening?

[larryh]

The range is only an estimate based on the outside temperature, how warmed up the car is, the HVB temperature, and many other factors.  It takes a lot more energy to propel the car when it is cold vs. when it is warm.  In addition, the HVB cannot provide as much energy when it is cooler vs. when it was warmer.  So as the car cools down or the outside temperature falls, the range should decrease. 

 

You should monitor the state of charge of the HVB using MyFord Touch  But that too is only an estimate based on HVB temperature, voltage, how much energy you have used from the HVB, and many other factors.  The estimate will change as conditions vary.  The accuracy of the estimate is at best 5%. 

Edited December 19, 2014 at 09:47 AM by larryh

[stevedebi]

The range is only an estimate based on the outside temperature, how warmed up the car is, the HVB temperature, and many other factors.  It takes a lot more energy to propel the car when it is cold vs. when it is warm.  In addition, the HVB cannot provide as much energy when it is cooler vs. when it was warmer.  So as the car cools down or the outside temperature falls, the range should decrease. 

 

You should monitor the state of charge of the HVB using MyFord Touch  But that too is only an estimate based on HVB temperature, voltage, how much energy you have used from the HVB, and many other factors.  The estimate will change as conditions vary.  The accuracy of the estimate is at best 5%. 

Not sure about the Fusion Energi, but the 2014 C-Max Energi has the HVB % in the charge settings display on the MFT. You could check that before turning off the car, and look at it when you get back in.

[dlb92]

I always get a longer range if I were to drive straight through..when I am at work I always lose a couple miles.  I live in Florida so the temperature doesn't vary that much.

[jeff_h]

I always get a longer range if I were to drive straight through..when I am at work I always lose a couple miles.  I live in Florida so the temperature doesn't vary that much.

 

Before you park, hit the little leaf icon on the bottom of the center screen and see the percentage of HVB remaining, then check it when you get back in the car.  Theoretically that should remain unchanged despite the different number in miles, right?  I haven't checked mine on a regular basis to check the difference when stopping and restarting, but you may want to give it a shot.

[Russael]

Do you drive uphill one way and downhill the other?  That would mess with your estimates a bit.  Same goes with wind (headwind vs tailwind).

 

As Steve mentioned, you can check the actual battery percentage remaining when you hop out, and check it again when you jump in.  If that doesn't move, then the car is trying to estimate how many miles you'll have left, inclusive of your most recent trip.

 

Today, my car estimated I'd have 21 miles of range before I turned the heat on.  It then dropped to 17 enabling heat.  I also remote started the car today (35F in the garage, 28 outdoors, plugged in to 240, and the ICE fired as well, as I left the car in EV Auto).  I managed to get barely 16 miles out of it.  Got home in Hybrid mode and managed to get EV+ JUST before the ICE kicked on.

 

The car is currently estimating 22 miles for me now.  I have a 20 mile round trip tonight and I know I'm not getting 22. :)  I might if I leave climate off though, but I did the bundle up thing and froze my nubs off the first year I had the car.  Now, I like being comfortable.

[openair]

When monitoring the actual percentage don't be surprised if it drops a % or 3 over 8 or 9 hours too.

[larryh]

This is an example of what I see letting the car sit for nine hours at work.  

 

Time    Outdoor Temp   HVB Temp  HVB SOC   HVB Energy

Arrive  59 F           88 F      77.0%     5.46 kWh

at Work

 

Leave   63 F           72 F      73.8%     5.24 kWh

Work

 

As the temperature of the HVB falls, so does the SOC and Energy.  I see about one less mile of range when leaving work than when I arrived. 

 

The HVB conditions have changed during the nine hours that the car sat at work,  so the car is going to come up with a different estimate of the SOC and Energy in the HVB.   In addition, the values computed for SOC and energy are only estimates, and as such, have errors associated with them. 

 

Note that, in general,  the chemical reactions in the HVB slow down as it cools and energy capacity is reduced. 

Edited December 20, 2014 at 01:45 AM by larryh

[larryh]

Also, it is impossible to predict the amount of energy that you will obtain from the HVB.  The actual amount of energy that can be obtained from the HVB varies based on many different factors external to the battery.  You can only estimate the energy that you will obtain based on the current state of the HVB and on past driving history, assuming that future driving conditions will be similar. 

 

If you drive faster, you will get less energy from the HVB than if you drive slower.  The HVB cannot deliver as much energy at high power levels as it can at low power levels.  That's the way all batteries work.  If the battery is colder, you will get less energy than if it were warmer.  There is no way to predict the future, so there is no way to accurately take these factors (and the other factors that affect the amount of energy that can be obtained from the HVB) into account to come up with the precise amount of the energy that will be obtained the HVB.  The reported SOC and energy in the HVB is only an estimate.  The actual energy that you will obtain from the HVB will differ. 

Edited December 20, 2014 at 12:54 PM by larryh

[murphy]

When the Energi is turned off the HVB is disconnected from the system.  The only possible drain is to the 12 volt battery.

[dlb92]

Lots of good info, I didn't know you could check the HVB %.