Battery Preheat.

[Pauli363]

When should I use it, under what circumstances, is it on a timer, should it be left on all the time or is it manual operation?

All questions I have put to one side since we got the ZS in May as its been summer months all the way. Now with the temperature falling, I am interested in what this does. Cheers

 

[Nutnut]

This board is a great resource, and a number of questions have probably been tackled already in some way or another:

Traction battery heating?

Any ideas on when I should turn on traction battery heating? E.G. 20 minutes before arriving at a 120 kwh CCS charger for example?

www.mgevs.com

Worth also reading this thread: MG ZS EV Long Range - Rapid Charging Test - 76kW Peak?

 

[Pauli363]

I would have concerns about this. So, you only really use it when you know you are going to a fast charger and want to maximise the charge in the shortest time. You need to switch it on for 30-40 mins prior to the charge. However, when on a journey, you wouldn't know really the state of the charger until you get to it. IE, is there a long queue to use the fast charger? Or is it even working. In the meantime, you have burnt through 7kw or so of energy to pre heat the battery which may mean you have not got enough reserved power to reach another charger.

Does the battery not heat up sufficiently when you are out and about driving anyway?

 

[drmcw]

Does the battery not heat up sufficiently when you are out and about driving anyway?

Only if you drive like a boy racer and even then unlikely to be enough!

 

[Pauli363]

Only if you drive like a boy racer and even then unlikely to be enough!

But how do you know? is there a battery temp indication anywhere?

 

[drmcw]

But how do you know? is there a battery temp indication anywhere?

No, stupid isn't it? Unless you connect up to the OBD port and get the temperature data from there.

 

[rpannell]

Here is the advice on this website - Electric car battery in winter: Heating, please! - electrive.com
"a non-tempered cell ages four times (!) as fast during the charge and discharge cycles at below five degrees Celsius as one that is charged and discharged at high heat. This is the result of so-called lithium plating,"

So, if the above is correct, on the LR, we should be using the battery heating to minimise battery degradation when driving in the cold as well as pre-heating before charging to improve the charge rate.

I think I will pre-heat if the battery temperature is below +5C, as long as I have spare power available.

 

[rpannell]

Today, it was cold enough to try out the battery heater. It draws 3.5KW so a 10 minute pre-heat uses about 2 miles of range. In 10 minutes, the battery had warmed by 5C.
Initially, the battery stays cold but the coolant warms to around +25C and then it appears to go around the battery and warm the battery.

 

[bookie clare]

What does it mean when the app is asking me to pre heat my battery before driving

 

[N2STY]

Have you got a screen shot of it asking you?

 

[bookie clare]

No It's not there now but I will take one if it returns
This is all it says at the moment.

 

[N2STY]

New android app came out today to remove bugs if you go to play store find app it should have update the new one is 1.1.8 now

 

[Whiskery]

Updated app and the red warnings have gone. Not able to start battery heating from the app though. Says "battery heating system failure".

 

[Deleted member 9196]

Updated app and the red warnings have gone. Not able to start battery heating from the app though. Says "battery heating system failure".

That's probably waiting for a matching car software update.

 

[Susanna]

I am using iOS, so didn’t have those red warnings, but I did try to initiate battery heating via the app, and had the same “battery heating system failure”.
Anyone had any luck with this?

 

[REDLeader]

Just updated app for android and overheating messages have now gone

 

[Deleted member 9196]

I am using iOS, so didn’t have those red warnings, but I did try to initiate battery heating via the app, and had the same “battery heating system failure”.
Anyone had any luck with this?

It's probably awaiting some sort of software update on the car to complete the feature. Everyone's the same.

 

[Proteus123]

It's probably awaiting some sort of software update on the car to complete the feature. Everyone's the same.

On ios app my battery heating works fine, I am on version 1.0.9.

 

[Gooose]

Where is everyone find the battery heating option in the iOS app? I can’t find it in mine?

 

[Proteus123]

Select "Charging Management" from the main menu
Select "Scheduled Charging" from the bottom of the screen
Select "Start Heating" from Battery Heating at the bottom of the screen
Once it is active, the "Start Heating" button changes to "Stop Heating" and you will get a message saying "Command Executed Successfully"
If you aren't seeing the Battery Heating option I suspect you will be on an old version of the app, so need to go to "My Profile" on the main menu and select "About" and then "Update"