New owner, USB and 12 volt battery query

[Chrisjk]

Hi, had my ZSEV about 2 months. Range disappointing but most else great
i have tried 3 different USB music devices, each time get message about format being wrong. Cannot find anything helpful in handbook. All worked fine in previous Subaru and Nissan.
also, poor range has lead to trying different things. Like no AC However if I knew all the functions which use the 12 v battery it would help. Again no info in handbook. I know 12v operates the remote door locking, but a full list of what else would be really useful

 

[Deleted member 2439]

Everything except the traction system. There are two reasons for this:

1) Safety - the traction battery is about 450 volts & would be lethal if you were unfortunately shocked by it.

2) Commercially, there are no suppliers of normal vehicle components (locking motors, lights, wiper motors, infotainment etc) which operate on such high voltages - which also vary mage & model.

cheers

 

[Lovemyev]

Hi, had my ZSEV about 2 months. Range disappointing but most else great
i have tried 3 different USB music devices, each time get message about format being wrong. Cannot find anything helpful in handbook. All worked fine in previous Subaru and Nissan.
also, poor range has lead to trying different things. Like no AC However if I knew all the functions which use the 12 v battery it would help. Again no info in handbook. I know 12v operates the remote door locking, but a full list of what else would be really useful

Regarding the disappointment in range.
What sort of range where you expecting before you bought the car ?.
Not the WLTP figure ?.
You range should be pretty good in the warmer weather ?.

 

[Chrisjk]

Hi, between 90 and 110 and that’s with very steady driving
i was told to expect 140/150 depending on driving style and weather
the other day on a longer journey, having go down to 15 miles left and low battery warnings, 3 miles from home the mileage went blank!

 

[Chrisjk]

Everything except the traction system. There are two reasons for this:

1) Safety - the traction battery is about 450 volts & would be lethal if you were unfortunately shocked by it.

2) Commercially, there are no suppliers of normal vehicle components (locking motors, lights, wiper motors, infotainment etc) which operate on such high voltages - which also vary mage & model.

cheers

Thanks v helpful
do you have the USB problems I have?

 

[Cocijo]

Hi, between 90 and 110 and that’s with very steady driving
i was told to expect 140/150 depending on driving style and weather
the other day on a longer journey, having go down to 15 miles left and low battery warnings, 3 miles from home the mileage went blank!

I agree that the range could be better but this would involve a larger battery and increased cost. The actual mpk achievable is not that bad for a small suv. What m/kwh are you getting?
You should get around 140 miles in summer with steady driving and 110ish in winter. I got this today on a tedious journey (sse pic). As far as items that affect range - the heater will knock off about 20miles depending on how hot. The cool air button used on cold the same. Apart from that no 12v items have such a major effect. Driving style, weather and using the heater/cool air are the big 3. If you are doing a lot of high speed motorway driving this will drop your range dramatically.

 

[Lovemyev]

Hi, between 90 and 110 and that’s with very steady driving
i was told to expect 140/150 depending on driving style and weather
the other day on a longer journey, having go down to 15 miles left and low battery warnings, 3 miles from home the mileage went blank!

What is the voltage showing on the HV pack, when the car has been fully charged and balanced Chris ?.
When you check it on boot up, please ensure that all items ( HVAC etc ) is turned OFF and you boot up the car WITHOUT pressing the foot brake !.
When the car is fully booted up, use the buttons on the right hand side of the steering wheel to scroll through the menus, until you get to the trip recording screens.
You will have one that covers your current trip and another one that displays your accumulative trip.
Reset both of them by holding down the “okay” button for a few seconds.
Why am I going this - I hear you ask !.
Just trying to understand if your car is running the previous factory software, or the upgraded BMS update that’s all.
You COULD ( not saying you have ) the buggy software installed that will reduce your range.
Some owners have been badly affected by this and there range keeps reducing until the update is applied.

 

[Deleted member 2439]

Thanks v helpful
do you have the USB problems I have?

No, I just plug my iPhone into the USB & everything is good

 

[Mark Holmes]

Hi, between 90 and 110 and that’s with very steady driving
i was told to expect 140/150 depending on driving style and weather
the other day on a longer journey, having go down to 15 miles left and low battery warnings, 3 miles from home the mileage went blank!

That sounds very low and I wonder if you have been affected by the BMS software update, i would check what Lovemyev has suggested as the voltage when fully charged will give us a good insight to this known problem.

 

[Lovemyev]

That sounds very low and I wonder if you have been affected by the BMS software update, i would check what Lovemyev has suggested as the voltage when fully charged will give us a good insight to this known problem.

Thanks @Mark Holmes .
Are you thinking what I am thinking ........ ?.
Our old friend the "Buggy" BMS pops it's head up once again ( maybe ) I fear ?????.

 

[SteveP]

What is the voltage showing on the HV pack, when the car has been fully charged and balanced Chris ?.
When you check it on boot up, please ensure that all items ( HVAC etc ) is turned OFF and you boot up the car WITHOUT pressing the foot brake !.
When the car is fully booted up, use the buttons on the right hand side of the steering wheel to scroll through the menus, until you get to the trip recording screens.
You will have one that covers your current trip and another one that displays your accumulative trip.
Reset both of them by holding down the “okay” button for a few seconds.
Why am I going this - I hear you ask !.
Just trying to understand if your car is running the previous factory software, or the upgraded BMS update that’s all.
You COULD ( not saying you have ) the buggy software installed that will reduce your range.
Some owners have been badly affected by this and there range keeps reducing until the update is applied.

Hi, what do you mean by balanced, and booting up the car without pressing the foot brake? Cheers

 

[Chrisjk]

That sounds very low and I wonder if you have been affected by the BMS software update, i would check what Lovemyev has suggested as the voltage when fully charged will give us a good insight to this known problem.

Thanks everyone for replies. Car now going in Wednesday. Software problem has been mentioned

 

[Mark Holmes]

Thanks @Mark Holmes .
Are you thinking what I am thinking ........ ?.
Our old friend the "Buggy" BMS pops it's head up once again ( maybe ) I fear ?????.

Oh yes it sounds like it as the range quoted is not as it should be with the current temperatures, way short from my personal experience.

 

[Mark Holmes]

Thanks everyone for replies. Car now going in Wednesday. Software problem has been mentioned

Do please fully charge your car and check the voltage with everything switched off and that will certainly give us a good idea if that is your problem.

 

[ARealHuman]

For USB audio you need a FAT32 formatted USB drive. I have successfully tested these formats in the MG:

mp3
m4a
flac
wma
ape
wav
ogg
aac

Make sure the USB stick is in the left-hand port at the front (I think that's right, I'm not in the car at the moment!).

As others have said, the biggest drain - apart from driving - on the main battery is heating/aircon.

 

[Chrisjk]

Thanks USB info v helpful
Re AC r u saying that runs off the Hv battery, not 12 v ?

 

[Fishettibean]

Re AC r u saying that runs off the Hv battery, not 12 v ?

It kinda both. The HVAC is linked to the 12v system, but the DCDC converter (the alternator for EVs) will supply enough power from the HV battery to the 12v before the 12v battery runs out. However if the car isn't in ready mode (green power button), the DCDC isnt on and the 12v battery will be flat in minutes if the HVAC is running.

 

[Mark Holmes]

It kinda both. The HVAC is linked to the 12v system, but the DCDC converter (the alternator for EVs) will supply enough power from the HV battery to the 12v before the 12v battery runs out. However if the car isn't in ready mode (green power button), the DCDC isnt on and the 12v battery will be flat in minutes if the HVAC is running.

I’ve noticed you only use about 1 amp of power for cold air and about 3 amps for actual air con, heating seems to make the amp meter go crazy….

 

[Lovemyev]

Thanks USB info v helpful
Re AC r u saying that runs off the Hv battery, not 12 v ?

I am of the opinion that the HVAC system uses both the 12 volt battery and the HV battery, as stated by others.
The 12 volt battery will be used for providing power to the blower motor in the unit ( the thing that provides the air though the vents ) and the HV battery provides the power to provide the heat or the cooling.
You can see this divide some what, if you have the car in the “Ready” condition and with the blower motor turned off and the heat control set to no heat or cooling.
Now - Turn on the blower motor only and keep an eye on the GOM and select the power consumption screen, by scoring though the menu’s on the right hand button on the steering wheel.
With the blower motor ONLY pulling a load, the drop on both gauges will be next to nothing, because the demand is coming from the 12 volt battery.
Now - Turn on the demand for heat to Max setting and watch what happens to the range on the GOM and the amp gauge !.
This proves that the power required to heat or cool the car IS coming from the HV battery.
You can see this when you are travelling as well.
With the HVAC turned completely off.
Firstly, check out your remaining mileage on the GOM.
Then turn on the HVAC and ask for Max heat, almost instantly you will see a 8 - 10 reduction in your predicted range straight away.
HVAC systems are a big consumer of stored energy in your HV pack.
This is one of the reasons why your winter range is never as good as your summer range.
Using “Eco” mode lowers the heat & cooling ability of the HVAC system in an attempt to preserve your range a little.
If you are running short of range while on a trip or looking for a charger, then turn off your HVAC to save your remaining range.

 

[Lovemyev]

Hi, what do you mean by balanced, and booting up the car without pressing the foot brake? Cheers

After your car has charged to 100% it will them perform a balancing of the cells in the pack IF left to do it’s on thing.
Some EV companies call this “optimising” also, same thing really.
If you are only charging your pack to say 70% most of the time, because you are only carrying out small trips, then the recommendation is to full charge and balance about once a month.
This helps prevent the cells in the battery becoming too far out of balance.
This is why they refer to it as “Balancing The Pack” I think ?.
The second part of your question about “Full Booting Up The Car” with out your foot on the brake pedal, simply means putting the car into the full “Ready” to drive state.
Not pressing the foot pedal and only pressing the “Start” button avoids powering up any other electrical items, if you are looking to check your voltage in your HV pack after a full charge and balance.
Owners with the latest BMS update have learnt that they should be seeing a voltage of around 448 - 450 volts and a estimated range in the default mode of around 160 - 163 miles.
This gives a rough estimation of the level of imbalance in your pack.
I hope this makes some sense at least Steve !.