Battery pre-conditioning

[Jim Dean]

On a past trip, when I tapped on an upcoming Supercharger location, I received a notice 20 or so miles out indicating the battery was pre-conditioning for faster charging. When I plugged in, the car charged at a rate of 675 miles per hour - in contrast to prior experience without pre-conditioning, when it was closer to 325 miles per hour. However, on a recent trip, under similar circumstances, it did not pre-condition, and seemed to top out at about 425 miles per hour charging.

I was unable to find any way to start the pre-conditioning process, and another driver at the Supercharger had the same experience, Perhaps pre-conditioning has been disabled? Does anyone know any way to enable it?

 

[bjrosen]

It worked for me last weekend. How hot was the weather where you are?

 

[Matsayz]

So the rate of charge at the supercharger is dependent on a number of variables, very few of which you can control. Also, for the sake of charger speak, use kW instead of miles/hr.

Pre-conditioning is up to the vehicle, no way to force it and you you must have the supercharger AS the destination for it to even happen.

Most important for a HIGH charge rate is that you have a very low state of charge (aka low battery). If you show up to a SC (supercharger) and you’re battery is above 50% you’re going to receive a lower rate of charge compared to if you showed up with 5%. Similar to how your cellphone charges very quickly from 10-50% then tapers off for the remaining bit, the vehicle does the same.

Now those variables I spoke of… to list a few, battery temp, battery %, is the SC a V2 or V3, ambient air temp, etc.

The vehicles are capable of receiving “up to” 250kW/hr but rarely does anyone see that rate and even if they do, it’s short lived for like maaaaybe a few mins.

It’s always a good idea to select the SC as the destination so the car will pre-condition for the highest available charging rate. But also remember that when on a road trip you want to charge enough to make it to the next charger (with a safety buffer that you’re comfortable with) but no more. That’s the fastest way to charge because above a certain point you’re just wasting your time that could’ve been on the road. Remember, lower charge status(%) batteries charger faster than fuller batteries.

 

[Jim Dean]

So the rate of charge at the supercharger is dependent on a number of variables, very few of which you can control. Also, for the sake of charger speak, use kW instead of miles/hr.

Pre-conditioning is up to the vehicle, no way to force it and you you must have the supercharger AS the destination for it to even happen.

Most important for a HIGH charge rate is that you have a very low state of charge (aka low battery). If you show up to a SC (supercharger) and you’re battery is above 50% you’re going to receive a lower rate of charge compared to if you showed up with 5%. Similar to how your cellphone charges very quickly from 10-50% then tapers off for the remaining bit, the vehicle does the same.

Now those variables I spoke of… to list a few, battery temp, battery %, is the SC a V2 or V3, ambient air temp, etc.

The vehicles are capable of receiving “up to” 250kW/hr but rarely does anyone see that rate and even if they do, it’s short lived for like maaaaybe a few mins.

It’s always a good idea to select the SC as the destination so the car will pre-condition for the highest available charging rate. But also remember that when on a road trip you want to charge enough to make it to the next charger (with a safety buffer that you’re comfortable with) but no more. That’s the fastest way to charge because above a certain point you’re just wasting your time that could’ve been on the road. Remember, lower charge status(%) batteries charger faster than fuller batteries.

Thanks, that is helpful information. When it charged at the faster rate, the battery was probably below 10%. The other day, it was just below 20%, and it did charge faster than previously, when it was a higher %. Trying to figure out how best to manage charging on a longer trip, which I hope to take in a few months, COVID permitting.

 

[Matsayz]

Thanks, that is helpful information. When it charged at the faster rate, the battery was probably below 10%. The other day, it was just below 20%, and it did charge faster than previously, when it was a higher %. Trying to figure out how best to manage charging on a longer trip, which I hope to take in a few months, COVID permitting.

So for planning I recommend try throwing it in the nav on the screen, see what it tells you. Then if you want to get into the details try A Better Routeplanner that website will let you pick the model/trim vehicle you have and what adapters you also have (most likely just the J1772 that came with the car). But you can play with the amount of time or % at each location and it'll calculate how long your trip is.

As I said above, the quickest way to travel in an EV is to charge just enough to get to the next charger then move on after doing the same thing there. Sometimes getting the last 10-15% into the battery to get it up to like 99-100% will take 20-30mins on it's own... it's much faster to charge from 10-50% or 20-60% then hit the road for the next destination (charger).

 

[Shelburne]

On a past trip, when I tapped on an upcoming Supercharger location, I received a notice 20 or so miles out indicating the battery was pre-conditioning for faster charging. When I plugged in, the car charged at a rate of 675 miles per hour - in contrast to prior experience without pre-conditioning, when it was closer to 325 miles per hour. However, on a recent trip, under similar circumstances, it did not pre-condition, and seemed to top out at about 425 miles per hour charging.

I was unable to find any way to start the pre-conditioning process, and another driver at the Supercharger had the same experience, Perhaps pre-conditioning has been disabled? Does anyone know any way to enable it?

Just 2 hours ago (4PM on 7/24), I navigated to a supercharger and the car indicated that it was preconditioning the battery en route. I added about 140 miles of charge in 20 minutes. Charging rates however, are not uniform. They vary depending on the version of the supercharger and the number of cars charging at any particular supercharging station. Or as they say in TV ads, "You numbers may vary".

 

[Jim Dean]

So for planning I recommend try throwing it in the nav on the screen, see what it tells you. Then if you want to get into the details try A Better Routeplanner that website will let you pick the model/trim vehicle you have and what adapters you also have (most likely just the J1772 that came with the car). But you can play with the amount of time or % at each location and it'll calculate how long your trip is.

As I said above, the quickest way to travel in an EV is to charge just enough to get to the next charger then move on after doing the same thing there. Sometimes getting the last 10-15% into the battery to get it up to like 99-100% will take 20-30mins on it's own... it's much faster to charge from 10-50% or 20-60% then hit the road for the next destination (charger).

Thanks again - this car sure has an interesting learning curve!

 

[Matsayz]

Thanks again - this car sure has an interesting learning curve!

A little bit but it’s mostly because Tesla does a *sugar* job of explaining it, if at all, when you get the car. I highly recommend reading the manual but also just treat the car as a regular vehicle, don’t baby it.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_3_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf

 

[Jim Dean]

A little bit but it’s mostly because Tesla does a *sugar* job of explaining it, if at all, when you get the car. I highly recommend reading the manual but also just treat the car as a regular vehicle, don’t baby it.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/model_3_owners_manual_north_america_en.pdf

I did read the manual before the car arrived, only later to find out that certain features were not as described. Reminded me of computer software manuals back in the 80's. That's why I have found this forum helpful as well,