Battery Equalisation

[Headgas1]

MG ZS how long does the equalisation typically take & do you have to wait for the car to tell you to do it or is it good practice to just do it once a month ???

 

[Gomev]

MG ZS how long does the equalisation typically take & do you have to wait for the car to tell you to do it or is it good practice to just do it once a month ???

How long depends on how out of balance the cells are. The car will eventually tell you to do it but by that time the cells will be really out of balance, hence it telling you to do it and so will take a long time. Possibly several long times.
So yes it is good practice for both you and the car to do a balance regularly, once a month, one every 6 weeks, whenever you can, whatever depending on your mileage and charging habits.
Only you can really decide for you ....but don't wait for the car to tell you to do it.

 

[Lovemyev]

How long depends on how out of balance the cells are. The car will eventually tell you to do it but by that time the cells will be really out of balance, hence it telling you to do it and so will take a long time. Possibly several long times.
So yes it is good practice for both you and the car to do a balance regularly, once a month, one every 6 weeks, whenever you can, whatever depending on your mileage and charging habits.
Only you can really decide for you ....but don't wait for the car to tell you to do it.

Totally agree !.
Balance cycle times will also vary depending on which BMS software version you are running on.
Original factory BMS ( Around 456 volts ) can take as little as 30 mins to 1 hour to balnace the pack, while generally with the latest BMS update ( 448 - 450 volts ) this tends to take around 1 hour 30 mins / 2 hours to complete a balance cycle.
It is thought that the increased buffer size created at the top of battery, by the latest update has some direct bearing on this increased cycle time.
MG recommend a balance cycle to be carried out about once a month.
Some owners just plug in their cars and let them charge to 100% and then if left alone, the car will Automatically enter into a balance process.
When the charge / balance has completed the car will signal the wall box / Granny to stop providing power.
I tend to charge to a SOC that will suit my shorter upcoming trips, plus with a little extra redundancy built in.
This tends to be around the 80 - 85% mark.
There is no facility on the ZS EV to set the car to charge up to required percentage.
But it is pretty easy to work out fairly close.
Each hour spent charging on a 7kw wall box, will see you gain roughly about 25 miles of extra range.
Simple bit of “Man Maths” required .
If we have a longer journey to make, I will allow the car to charge & balance, then use the car the following morning.

 

[Headgas1]

Cheers both @Gomev & @Lovemyev some sound advice

 

[MG Brian]

Totally agree !.
Balance cycle times will also vary depending on which BMS software version you are running on.
Original factory BMS ( Around 456 volts ) can take as little as 30 mins to 1 hour to balnace the pack, while generally with the latest BMS update ( 448 - 450 volts ) this tends to take around 1 hour 30 mins / 2 hours to complete a balance cycle.
It is thought that the increased buffer size created at the top of battery, by the latest update has some direct bearing on this increased cycle time.
MG recommend a balance cycle to be carried out about once a month.
Some owners just plug in their cars and let them charge to 100% and then if left alone, the car will Automatically enter into a balance process.
When the charge / balance has completed the car will signal the wall box / Granny to stop providing power.
I tend to charge to a SOC that will suit my shorter upcoming trips, plus with a little extra redundancy built in.
This tends to be around the 80 - 85% mark.
There is no facility on the ZS EV to set the car to charge up to required percentage.
But it is pretty easy to work out fairly close.
Each hour spent charging on a 7kw wall box, will see you gain roughly about 25 miles of extra range.
Simple bit of “Man Maths” required .
If we have a longer journey to make, I will allow the car to charge & balance, then use the car the following morning.

My car was registered in June 2021. My voltage with a 100 percent charge is 456v does this mean I don't have the latest BMS update? How can I check which version I'm on?

 

[Lovemyev]

My car was registered in June 2021. My voltage with a 100 percent charge is 456v does this mean I don't have the latest BMS update? How can I check which version I'm on?

With a voltage of 456 volts it appears you are running on the original factory software.
You are unable to check your version unless you had a OBD device.
The dealer has the facility also, of course.