New MG ZS EV Driver ... some questions

[Cricketer007]

Hi All. Picked up my brand new ZS EV a few days back. Loving the car. Beautiful. I do only about 5000 miles a year and 80% is pure stop start city driving.

I have a few questions please. The dealer charged it for me to full and it was a pleasant drive home.

I haven’t charged it yet myself as it still has more than 100 miles range left. I will take it to my local Pod-Point to do this as I live in Terraced Housing.

1. Do I need to wait for the battery to get reasonably depleted before I plug in the charger? Is there any good practice or does it make no difference if I charge whenever I get a chance, no matter how small the charge?

2. What does battery equalisation mean? Is there something I need to do after the battery is charged?

3. I have read on this forum that the voltage should read 455V? Mine is currently 420V? Is 455V only after a full 100% charge? So it decreases as miles are used up?

Sorry if these are silly question, I am completely new to the EV world and have been trying to educate my myself via YouTube videos and forums!

Thanks

 

[Cocijo]

Hi, welcome. It’s great that you like your new car. The team podcast is well worth a look - they discussed this week EV charging best practice

MG EVs Podcast Monday 8th February 2021 @ 7:30pm UTC

Join MG EV owners for news and opinions plus ask your questions live. Please reply below with any questions or suggestions for discussion topics.

www.mgevs.com

 

[Cocijo]

Btw - great test win!

 

[Cocijo]

Hi All. Picked up my brand new ZS EV a few days back. Loving the car. Beautiful. I do only about 5000 miles a year and 80% is pure stop start city driving.

I have a few questions please. The dealer charged it for me to full and it was a pleasant drive home.

I haven’t charged it yet myself as it still has more than 100 miles range left. I will take it to my local Pod-Point to do this as I live in Terraced Housing.

1. Do I need to wait for the battery to get reasonably depleted before I plug in the charger? Is there any good practice or does it make no difference if I charge whenever I get a chance, no matter how small the charge?

2. What does battery equalisation mean? Is there something I need to do after the battery is charged?

3. I have read on this forum that the voltage should read 455V? Mine is currently 420V? Is 455V only after a full 100% charge? So it decreases as miles are used up?

Sorry if these are silly question, I am completely new to the EV world and have been trying to educate my myself via YouTube videos and forums!

Thanks

2/the car does this automatically after a full charge to balance the battery cells. just leave your car plugged in and it will equalise if needed. It only equalises on AC charging I believe (so home 7kw and granny charger for example) Pulsing MG badge = charging. solid light = equalising. No light = finished. You don‘t need to do anything.
2/ when fully charged a ZS car will show either 450v or 455v - as you know there’s loads on this on here! Your 455v is fine. ?? enjoy

 

[Cricketer007]

Many thanks for this. Really helpful.

charging related ... the dealer told me the “rapid” chargers only charge to 80%. A friend of mine told me that the rapid chargers may well take your car beyond 80%. Does mean I need to be on the alert and manually disconnect myself when it gets to 80% and then change the charger to the slower 7Kwh one to get it to 100%?

I will listen to the podcast as well !

 

[SCB86]

The car can charge upto 76KW from a DC charger. It will charge rapidly upto about 80% and will then slow down to charge the rest. All EV's are the same, it's to protect the battery.
So you can leave it on a DC until fully charged, it will just take longer when it gets to about 80%.

 

[Cocijo]

On the high rate DC chargers ramp the charge rate is reduced when 80% charge is detected to protect the battery pack. They continue to charge after that but at a slower rate. It is considered good etiquette to charge to 80% and move on - especially if the charger is in demand - but you can continue if you need to. This is why you see manufacturers generally quote a time to 80%. The 7kw charge will also slow when it nears full charge but at around 97% of charge. In both cases it’s fine to continue to 100% charge if you really need to. ?

 

[2of3]

I do believe that fast charging will not give you battery balancing. That needs to done at home either with the granny charger or AC charge point.....just thought I'd add that.

 

[Kithmo]

I do believe that fast charging will not give you battery balancing. That needs to done at home either with the granny charger or AC charge point.....just thought I'd add that.

I think you mean "rapid" not fast. A 7kW home charger is a fast charger.

 

[Kithmo]

@Cricketer007 If you're using local chargers, just charge it whenever you can, no need to let it run right down or to charge it to full every time. Just make sure you charge it up to full now and again to balance the cells.

 

[2of3]

I think you mean "rapid" not fast. A 7kW home charger is a fast charger.

potatoes, potaatoes ........no, of course you are quite correct.

 

[Cricketer007]

Appreciate all the advice. Many thanks