Testing Drive Battery SOC in temps below -18'C

[PHEV07]

I picked up my 2018 PHEV GT Model on Jan 19, 2018 and noticed that while charging when the temp reached -18'C the Warming Battery Operation appeared on my Cell Phone Screen of the PHEV Remote II App.

So tonight I decided to test to see how long the Drive Battery stays fully charged with the Charge cable disconnected with temps below -18'C.

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada. My Local Time is UTC -6 hrs

I do not as of yet have the ODB so I cannot use the PHEV Dog or the EVBATMON app. I will use the Battery displayed on my phone screen. 16 Segments is a Full Battery

1) 10 PM after fully charging the PHEV I unplugged it. Outside temp was -20'C
2) 11 PM Battery still fully charged. Outside temp -21.0'C
3) 12 AM Battery still fully charged. Outside temp -21.5'C
4) 01 AM Battery still fully charged. Outside temp -22.0'C
Ambient temp went down to -23.5'C overnight
5) 07 AM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -22.0'C
6) 08 AM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -21.5'C
7) 09 AM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -20.0C Noticed Icicles under car by Rear Wheel
8) 10 AM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -21.0C
9) 11 AM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -20.5'C
10) 12 PM Battery still shows Full. Outside temp -19.5'C

I turned on the Vehicle around 12:30 PM with Heater off. Guesso-meter indicated a range of 49 kms and Battery had all Segments lit up on the MMC. Yesterday after full charge, unplugging and Turning on with Heater off it showed 50kms. Much too close to make any determination but the Battery was not as low as I had expected to be

 

[PHEV07]

8AM UTC -6 hrs update. Battery still shows Full, with 16 Segments. Not sure if the Warming Feature kicked in overnight or not

Stay turned.

 

[jaapv]

It may well remain fully charged - however its capacity to provide power will be severely reduced. A soon as it warms up capacity will increase to normal.

 

[PHEV07]

9AM Battery still Full. Outside temp -20.0'C

Now that it is daylight, I noticed some Icicles in the front of the Driver's Side Rear Wheel. So the Warming feature must have kicked in overnight.

Here is a photo. Hope it can be Zoomed in.

 

[PHEV07]

It may well remain fully charged - however its capacity to provide power will be severely reduced. A soon as it warms up capacity will increase to normal.

Yes I suspect that will be the case.

But I am hoping that the Warming Up Feature to keep the Main Battery from getting too cold will help maintain the Battery Effectiveness. But I wonder how much power will be used up to keep the Battery Box Warm.

I will see what the range is when I use the vehicle later this afternoon.

This is where the PHEV Dog or the evbatmon will come in handy when my OBD arriives.

 

[PHEV07]

I turned on the Vehicle around 12:30 PM with Heater off. Guesso-meter indicated a range of 49 kms and Battery had all Segments lit up on the MMC. Yesterday after full charge, unplugging and Turning on with Heater off it showed 50kms. Much too close to make any determination but the Battery was not as low as I had expected to be.

Will try this again tonight for a longer period of it being disconnected after Battery is fully charged.

Forecast indicating temps of -21C to -27'C overnight.

 

[anko]

To my knowledge, my 2013 PHEV does not have active battery heating, just cooling. Maybe this has changed over time. If it has, do you think it is wise not to plug it in overnight, just to test this?

GM explicitly advises to keep the Bolt EV plugged in overnight when temperatures are near or below freezing to allow the battery to be heated. I guess there is a good reason for this. Why not keep it plugged in and try to monitor power usage over night?

 

[PHEV07]

Do you think it is wise not to plug it in overnight, just to test this?

GM explicitly advises to keep the Bolt EV plugged in overnight when temperatures are near or below freezing to allow the battery to be heated. I guess there is a good reason for this. Why not keep it plugged in and try to monitor power usage over night?

I am Testing things for different reasons.

For me since this information is not in the Manual I would like to known, rather than wonder what may or may not happen.

It is not uncommon for power to be interrupted for several hours at a time in my side of the World and the Colder and more Humid it is outside, the higher the chances. The colder it gets out the greater the Demand for Power since many ppl use Electric Heat in their Homes). The higher the demand for power the greater the odds are for Powerlines and Transformers to Blow up.

Over the last 10 years I can say that I have had power outage at least 4 times. Twice in the extreme of Summer and twice in the Winter when the Humidity was close to 100% and temps in the low -30'C.

Also since I park my Vehicle Outdoors, the Charge Cord is in plain view and there is a possibility that someone could walk off with it.

So I am testing for various reasons as you can see.

In Canada, Mitsubishi offers a 10 Year Warranty on Drive Train, Motors and Drive Battery so if any of these items should fail due to the extreme Temperatures or loss of Power or Charge Cable, I would like to know how well the PHEV has been designed to circumvent any of these or other possibilities. I also took a 5 yr Lease on the Vehicle.

I just find it difficult to properly do any testing without the ODB Device. Should be here next week, but then I will be in Mexico for an additional week.

Further testing will have to wait till I return, unfortunately.

 

[Trades46]

Also in Canada here, greetings from Markham, Ontario.

I notice on the brochure the car comes with a "battery warmer", though it hasn't gotten that cold enough I seen the phone App use that function yet (coldest here is -14deg celcius). Seems like the European cars don't have it & the technical articles Trex posted don't have any signs of a heater in the battery TMS system.