Alarm system switch off on ferries?

[SueH]

I was leafing through my paper MG4 manual (thanks Sloucher!) but couldn't find how to switch off the alarm system to avoid it going off on a bumpy crossing. Portsmouth to Wooton Creek was fine, but given I've crossed the channel bouncing out of my bunk on a ferry (let alone in a number of yachts!) I can imagine motion alarms going off regularly.

Any ideas? I'm prepared to be embarassed with even the most obvious of answers..

 

[Ian Key]

I know it doesn't have interior motion sensors and I don't think it has a motion alarm so ferries won't be a problem.
You could email MG customer services. The question should be simple enough for them to answer.
[email protected]

 

[Lovemyev]

The ZS EV ( both versions ) does not have any motion sensors or internal sensors.
The alarm is only triggered when one of the doors etc is opened when it is armed.
I am fairly sure it is the same way in the MG5.
Not sure with the MG4 though ?.
You could test it yourself.
Open the drivers window then shut the door and lock ? the car with the fob to active the alarm, now using a towel etc lean into the car and wave the towel around inside of the cabin.
Or you could try the same thing when the wind is blowing, if the alarm does not sound then it’s the same system as the ZS EV and MG5.

 

[siteguru]

There are definitely no motion sensors inside the cabin on the MG4. Whether there are shock sensors I don't know.

 

[SueH]

Thanks guys, looks like I needn't worry. It's just that I've been on ferries (or even neighbour's cars when it's very windy) listening to an annoying and persistent alarm and I don't want to be that person with a flat battery and keeping everyone awake.

 

[Rolfe]

Would the 12V battery go flat though? Would the car not just recharge it from the HV battery?

Nightmare! Nothing will stop it!

 

[Lovemyev]

Would the 12v battery go flat though? Would the car not just recharge it from the HV battery?

Nightmare! Nothing will stop it!

Not while the car is powered down.
12 volt is charged in ready mode or when the car is charging.

 

[Rolfe]

Thank you for that.

 

[siteguru]

According to the manual the 12V battery can be charged from the HV battery, even when the car is powered off/locked. (Page 23).

 

[Ian Key]

There's that problem phrase again,

According to the manual

?

 

[siteguru]

Almost as ubiquitous as "During the war ..."

 

[Rolfe]

I never quite know what they mean by "when charging". Do they mean actively charging, or just plugged in to the charger? I tend to leave my granny charger plugged into the car until I next happen to go into the garage, so it's often sitting there fully charged but still plugged in.

 

[Lovemyev]

If the car is receiving a charge, this is also providing power to top up the 12 volt battery, if it’s required.
When the car is in ready mode, it is also providing a charge to the 12 volt battery, but NOT when the car is in standby mode.

 

[siteguru]

You can tell if the 12V battery is being actively charged in the iSMART app, by looking at the voltage recorded when the car is scanned. (Of course this depends on you scanning when the charging is happening. As long as the app reports 12.4V+ then the battery should be OK).

 

[IanMK]

According to the manual

One could always try asking [email protected] if they are able to confirm. They may not have any further information but, on the other hand, they might.It would also be interesting to have confirmation as to whether batter balancing only occurs at 100% SOC or whether it happens at whatever SOC charge limit has been set.

 

[Rolfe]

You could watch the app once the car has reached the 80% charge.

I just happened to catch my SR in the act this morning. I got home last night at the back of eleven with 57% battery, put the car in the garage, hooked up the granny charger, and went to bed. At that point the app told me it would be charged at 11.58 am today. I checked in the morning and it was now estimating 11.22 am, which proved to be the case. I looked in on it at that time and actually saw the power input fall from about 1.8 KWh to 0.02 KWh between two scans about a minute apart.

It then puttered along at about 20 watts input (sometimes a bit higher, I have seen 70 watts) for the next half hour. At 11.52 the readout changed to show the car was completely done, no power being drawn at all. So its balancing was complete. It's pretty much always like this, usually 30 minutes but I've seen it go on for 45 minutes.

It's presumably not so easy for people with variable tariffs and charging in the middle of the night, but if you check on the car with the app just after it's due to have reached the 80% target battery level, you should be able to see whether it's balancing or not by whether or not you get a period of low power draw before the app finally shows that the car is no longer charging.

 

[AndyL61]

One could always try asking [email protected] if they are able to confirm. They may not have any further information but, on the other hand, they might.It would also be interesting to have confirmation as to whether batter balancing only occurs at 100% SOC or whether it happens at whatever SOC charge limit has been set.

I can tell you that it balances at 90% or 80% if you have set to charge to those limits. I have tried at both these settings and if it is left plugged in and charging it continues at a very low rate until you either unplug or it finishes the balance.

 

[Rolfe]

Question answered, then. Excellent.

 

[Martinonline]

I can confirm what AndyL61 has said. For my Trophy I set a charge limit of 80% using the App and then commenced a 'granny-charge'. After the declared initial iSmart App 'finished charging' time the car continued to draw current over and above that required for the charging brick (adaptor). An inline power monitor confirmed the car was still receiving power. About an half-hour later the App declared that charging had finished and the power meter indicated minimal power being drawn.

I will monitor future charges.