Battery Preconditioning for Supercharging

[adsheff]

I'm looking for an overview of how this works on a Model 3. We went on a long trip using the sat nav, and on approach to a charger a notification appeared saying it was preconditioning the battery. All good.

However, it hasn't done it since, so I'm wondering is there a certain combination of things you have to do to make this happen, for example do you have to set the charger as your destination, or do you have to let it choose it automatically on a long route?

 

[WannabeOwner]

do you have to set the charger as your destination, or do you have to let it choose it automatically on a long route?

Should work in either of those scenarios

You also need enough spare juice for the pre conditioning ... not good to run out before you get there but with a perfectly pre-conditioned battery

Also if you have been driving a while then I suppose the battery might already be warm enough?

If you are going to arrive with high SOC then maybe it doesn't bother? You'd be tapered anyway, so warming the battery probably wouldn't help get a better charge rate.

But like many such things-Tesla it's a black art.

 

[TM3PTN]

AFAIK the pre-conditioning for supercharging only occurs if the battery isn't at the temperature required to take such high voltage as a supercharge session. If it is then you won't see the notification. If it isn't then you will - simples

 

[MrBadger]

2 scenarios...

• You head for supercharger and battery pre conditions, but when you get there, you do not start charging immediately - what is the effect of this delay on charging?
  
• You fool car into thinking its going to a supercharger so it preconditions. Whats the effect on a cool day?

 

[TM3PTN]

2 scenarios...

• You head for supercharger and battery pre conditions, but when you get there, you do not start charging immediately - what is the effect of this delay on charging?
  
• You fool car into thinking its going to a supercharger so it preconditions. Whats the effect on a cool day?

Let us know when you try it

I tend not to think about these things too much and just enjoy the incredible machine I've been blessed to be able to own.

 

[MrBadger]

You head for supercharger and battery pre conditions, but when you get there, you do not start charging immediately - what is the effect of this delay on charging?

Well this happened to me, after 31 minute delay before charging, charge rate seemed about half of other charges at similar SoC. But only one point of reference, so not conclusive, so hoped someone else may confirm how long the effects of pre conditioning last.

[edit]added bit in bold for clarity cos I forgot to write what I was thinking first time around

 

[TM3PTN]

Well this happened to me, after 31 minute, charge rate seemed about half of other charges at similar SoC. But only one point of reference, so not conclusive, so hoped someone else may confirm how long the effects of pre conditioning last.

Wow - That's interesting.

It would be good to hear other people's views/experiences.
The three times I have used a supercharger I have been able to charge at full power so cannot speak from experience.

The first time was on day 1 of car ownership and the car started to pre-condition the battery on the way. The other two times was during a trip to and from Leicester - stopped at Keele (Stafford) both times so the battery was sufficiently warm.
All three occasions were easy with plenty of CCS-ready stalls available

 

[ewoodrick]

You have to be headed to a Supercharger. i.e. the car needs know your intentions.

 

[EchoVictor]

Is preconditioning just to ensure the fastest charge rate? If so, and time is not the prime factor, then isn’t it more efficient/cheaper not to precondition? I suppose not navigating to a supercharger and just pulling in anyway would be enough to trick the car to not start heating the battery.

 

[TM3PTN]

Is preconditioning just to ensure the fastest charge rate? If so, and time is not the prime factor, then isn’t it more efficient/cheaper not to precondition? I suppose not navigating to a supercharger and just pulling in anyway would be enough to trick the car to not start heating the battery.

I think it is that, and also to reduce any potential risk of damage to the cells from such a high powered charge.
The preconditioning does more wizardry than just warming the battery, maybe .

(although don’t quote me on this).

 

[WannabeOwner]

Is preconditioning just to ensure the fastest charge rate? If so, and time is not the prime factor, then isn’t it more efficient/cheaper not to precondition?

The car will charge at a rate safe for the battery at the temperature it is currently at. So a conservative approach, either way, but maybe? pre-conditioning battery to optimum temperature for fastest charging is also best conditions for battery longevity?

I suppose not navigating to a supercharger and just pulling in anyway would be enough to trick the car to not start heating the battery.

Its the destination set on SatNav that triggers it, (rather than actually having to drive there), and if there is sufficient reserve in battery and battery temperature not already at optimum temperature (from driving / ambient)

to reduce any potential risk of damage to the cells from such a high powered charge

No (increased) risk of that either way, the charge rate will adjust according to condition of the battery. For example, if the battery is very cold (below 0C) you won't get any charging at all, at Supercharger, until the battery has heated up enough to not be damaged. Similarly if the battery is very low SOC when you arrive (below 10%) initial charge rate will be low

 

[NorfolkMustard]

Worth adding too that IME if you set a supercharger destination from the mobile app, it’s not the same as selecting it from the incar map. The former seems to just send lat/long coordinates to the car which doesn’t register as going to a supercharger and therefore doesn’t precondition for it.

 

[rotor2k]

Question about the route planner: is there a way of specifying what % charge I want at the end? I did a test route from London to Glasgow, and it was saying I would get there with 11%, which seems fairly risky for a 500 mile trip (to clarify: there were 2 supercharging stops in the trip).

 

[MrBadger]

Nope, apart from finding a route, it doesn't do anything much else useful.

I would like arrive with more than % and return trip calculation. No point if you finish your trip but don't have enough % to get back to first return charge. At moment, all it does is display this info.

Would also like it to work when offline.

Thankfully third party solutions to all. abetterrouteplanner.com and copilot live for me. But there shouldn't need to be. This is basic stuff. #halfbaked

 

[arg]

The car will charge at a rate safe for the battery at the temperature it is currently at. So a conservative approach, either way, but maybe? pre-conditioning battery to optimum temperature for fastest charging is also best conditions for battery longevity?

I think it isn't, as it appears higher than the normal target temperature while driving. But it's hard to be completely sure - maybe the preconditioning just burns power to get to what is otherwise the target temperature for passive heating (ie. heating through waste heat). However, if that was the case then the pre-conditioning would have no effect in summer.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Question about the route planner: is there a way of specifying what % charge I want at the end?

Might not be the answer to the question, but you can do that in A Better Route Planner.

If you are charging, and want e.g. 20% on arrival, you can set destination in SatNav (or, if already set, then use "Continue journey" so that SatNav moves on from the Supercharger location to the next stop) and then view Energy : TRIP and wait until the Predicted becomes the 20% arrival percentage you need.

This is basic stuff.

I disagree. All that "stuff" adds complexity, takes up space in the system (which may be critical for other processes) and runs the risk of introducing collateral-bugs - not helped by the fact that Tesla has repeatedly shown that its QA s lousy, and will make operation more challenging. For some people that complexity is fine, for many people it would become a major turn off. I am certainly not critical of the car for not doing X where that is readily available in a 3rd party solution.

 

[rotor2k]

If you are charging, and want e.g. 20% on arrival, you can set destination in SatNav (or, if already set, then use "Continue journey" so that SatNav moves on from the Supercharger location to the next stop) and then view Energy : TRIP and wait until the Predicted becomes the 20% arrival percentage you need.

Ah, that makes perfect sense. Thanks.

 

[CMc1]

Replugg app is a supercharger dedicated app with arrival SoC options.

Could also use Navs itinerary on RHS. It shows estimated arrival SoC at the bottom of itinerary.