Balancing charge for MG5 SR

[Dekkerb]

Another newbie question. I've seen mentions of a balancing charge. What is this, how do I do it and when/how often should I do o it. Many thanks

 

[AdamMGEV]

Another newbie question. I've seen mentions of a balancing charge. What is this, how do I do it and when/how often should I do o it. Many thanks

It's basically when the battery cells level off. So the car may say 100% but its one of the cells that is 100%. So if you charge it beyond full for I guess a couple of hours all battery cells will level off to 100%.

They say once a month, I do it probably every 2 months because I don't do a crazy amount of miles.

It will do it automatically when it gets to 100% charge.

 

[AdamMGEV]

Oh and I believe it won't do this on fast chargers, only your home ones. Probably wouldn't want to do it on a public charger anyway as it would probably fine you for staying there too long and it would annoy the hell out of people.

 

[Dekkerb]

Appreciate the response Adam. Thanks

 

[Alb]

The car will nag you if it's required and hasn't been done for a while.
From the handbook:

If an equalisation charge has not been carried out for some
time the message centre in the instrument pack will display
'Please Charge for BMS Balance'.

 

[Jomarkh]

Oh and I believe it won't do this on fast chargers, only your home ones. Probably wouldn't want to do it on a public charger anyway as it would probably fine you for staying there too long and it would annoy the hell out of people.

Hi, it does battery balance on fast chargers as they are AC but not on rapids as DC.
I do one once a month.
If you plan to use mainly rapids this puts the battery cells out more so will definitely need a monthly balance.

 

[Dekkerb]

Thank you Alb and Jomarkh. Cheers for the posts

 

[Les burrows]

Hi as has been said above you can charge and then balance on anything that is AC this also includes the granny charger that you get with the car but you can not balance on a Rapid DC unit.
Les
P.s. as your a newbie you might be wondering which is which so just in case you don’t know to AC charge and balancing you will use only the top socket I:e just the top bund is remove from the car charging point, for DC Rapids you need to remove both rubber bungs

 

[Dekkerb]

Thanks Les. Appreciate you explaining everything and you are right to assume I'm starting from knowing nothing about any of this so your detailed explanations are especially helpful.

 

[Dekkerb]

Looking at a different thread which talks about tethered and untethered home chargers. Can someone explore in newbie terms the difference and which one I should go for please?.Awaiting Rolec survey/installation.

 

[Jomarkh]

Tethered means cable is fixed. Untethered means you connect your type2 lead to the wall box and car

 

[AdamMGEV]

I'd personally go for tethered, saves you plugging it in and out, just take it off the wall and plug it in, simple.

 

[weedavemac]

Get a tethered one.

 

[smokie]

Really? I couldn't think of any circumstances where I wanted a tethered one. Why would you want one? I like having the portable cable - and if you change the car to one which uses a different plug then you don't have to have it changed at the wall unit - just get a new cable (and sell the old one for good money!)

 

[Jomarkh]

With a untethered one you also get to choose the length of cable and don't have to have it hung outside your house

 

[biffo]

With a untethered one you also get to choose the length of cable and don't have to have it hung outside your house

You can choose the length with a tethered too (depending on manufacturer) - and not carry an excessively long cable about with you - and my 10m cable wraps neatly around the unit.

I guess that's why both tethered and untethered are available - different people want different things.

 

[weedavemac]

Really? I couldn't think of any circumstances where I wanted a tethered one. Why would you want one? I like having the portable cable - and if you change the car to one which uses a different plug then you don't have to have it changed at the wall unit - just get a new cable (and sell the old one for good money!)

I have the portable one too. The tethered one is simply quicker. Unplug it, put the end cap on, place on ground, and jump in. The untethered one takes much longer, and when it is cold, raining etc not much fun. Just my opinion.

 

[Petriix]

Really? I couldn't think of any circumstances where I wanted a tethered one. Why would you want one? I like having the portable cable - and if you change the car to one which uses a different plug then you don't have to have it changed at the wall unit - just get a new cable (and sell the old one for good money!)

My car spends a lot of time plugged in at home (waiting for then trickle charging from surplus solar) so the cable gets quite dirty/wet. It would be a real hassle to have to coil it up, clean it, and put it in the boot every time I go out. I have a separate type 2 cable which I carry with me for public charging. Best of both worlds.

 

[smokie]

I rarely charged my previous EV away from home (and probably even less so the MG when I get it) so my cable was left plugged into the EVSE most of the time. However I too will have 2 cables, one for carrying and one to be permanently plugged in.

I was going to go for an OHME cable to be the permanently plugged in one but they have just jacked the price up by £100 and I don't need the functionality as I can do what I need with the WiFi switch inside my EVSE, and Home Assistant.

I still don't really get why a tethered charger is better, though it's obviously horses for courses. I suppose it's cheaper maybe. than an untethered EVSE plus cable (until you need a different cable!)

 

[Prof1967]

I thought type 2 and CCS were becoming the standards for EV charging. Only older Leafs and possibly Teslas use a different type of connector so if you go for a tethered cable and newer EV you should be covered.