Charging 10%-100% every 3-6 months

[MGFour]

Don't fret it, its recommended to charge to 100% include balancing at least once a month more if you want. In addition carry out a 3-6m 10% or under to 100% charge to help calibrate the BMS so it displays more accurately the remaining miles. If you did non of these things the car will be fine its just optimum.

 

[Amun]

It says the same thing in the MG5 manual as well, though, which AFAIA isn't LFP

 

[siteguru]

The <10% to 100% is almost certainly just for BMS calibration - not for battery health.

 

[salty]

About as clear as Mud.

 

[pecker]

Would be great if they could clarify for the 2 different battery types

 

[Adam C]

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I'm totally confused, from mg Ireland a few weeks ago is to fully charge once a week,reply last August is to fully charge once a month, trophy owner

Don’t do what I did ( not no more ) & watch a number of YouTube videos & everyone advised something different, gave myself a headache ?

As I’ve posted, before I picked up my Trophy Long Range all the dealer told me that it was best to keep the battery between 20-80% but charge it to 100% if I plan a long journey. He didn’t mention anything about balancing, slow charging etc

& I know right now most EV owners ( according to what I’ve read ) can charge at home but theres still people who can’t have a home charger & will rely fully on public charging & that number will grow so many can’t ( & a lot probably won’t bother ) to follow every guideline

But it all doesn’t help when you get so many mixed messaging about it all from the manufacturers themselves

 

[Archev]

Don’t do what I did ( not no more ) & watch a number of YouTube videos & everyone advised something different, gave myself a headache ?

As I’ve posted, before I picked up my Trophy Long Range all the dealer told me that it was best to keep the battery between 20-80% but charge it to 100% if I plan a long journey. He didn’t mention anything about balancing, slow charging etc

& I know right now most EV owners ( according to what I’ve read ) can charge at home but theres still people who can’t have a home charger & will rely fully on public charging & that number will grow so many can’t ( & a lot probably won’t bother ) to follow every guideline

But it all doesn’t help when you get so many mixed messaging about it all from the manufacturers themselves

I use Rihanna’s solution.

Shut up and drive.

?

 

[Adam C]

I use Rihanna’s solution.

Shut up and drive.

?

??

 

[Rolfe]

The <10% to 100% is almost certainly just for BMS calibration - not for battery health.

I think so. I'm planning another drive to Sussex in May, so I'll do a <10% to 100% charge again not long before I leave, to be belt and braces certain that the GOM is as accurate as it can be. I'm intending to head for Forton for my first charge, nearly 150 miles at motorway speeds, and I don't want any nasty surprises on the M6.

After that I hope to get to the NEC charging hub, though that will mean charging to about 85% at Forton, and going down close to 10%. I've got a good plan worked out, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it if I couldn't reasonably trust the GOM.

 

[pecker]

Hey all,

Purley out of interest how often are Long Range owners doing the below.

1. Charging to 100%
2. Completing the 10-100% charge and balance.

Me personally, I only charge to 100% when I need the range so once every couple of months and I've done the 10-100% once but I've only had the car for a month.

Thanks

 

[Ian Key]

Just for clarification here is a copy of my original email and the reply from MG.

I have an MG4 Trophy and it is recommended to do a balance charge from 10% to 100% every 3 months to look after the health of the battery.

My question is, has this charge got to be completed in one session or can it be split over two nights?

The reason I ask is I don't get enough hours on the cheaper rate of my EV tariff to go from 10% to 100%

And MG replied:

Thank you for contacting MG Motor UK Ltd.

The recommendation from MG Motor UK Ltd. is to charge to 100% and carry out an equalisation charge thereafter, as often as you can manage. It would be better to complete this action weekly or bi-weekly rather that every 3 months.

I apologise, but I do not know where the 3 months comes from, and this is an essential part of keeping the individual cells balanced and healthy.

To which I replied:

Thank you for getting back to me.

The 3 months charge comes from page 295 of the owner's manual which states:

"When using the vehicle on a daily basis. it is recommended to fully charge at least once a week, which is conductive to the health maintenance of the high-voltage battery pack; every 3 months to half a year, a low power (less than 10% or 1 grid) full charged is performed.

I am waiting for a reply.

I have now had a reply. Make of it what you will.

As per my email, this is asking you to charge the vehicle to 100% at least once a week.

It then states that once every 3 months, to allow the charge to drop below 10%, then charge to 100%.

At no point do MG Motor UK Ltd. recommend that the vehicle is only charged to 80%.

A rapid DC charge will regularly charge the vehicle to a maximum of 80% (at a rapid rate). As this can quickly affect the balance of the individual cells, we suggest that the car is regularly charged to 100%, left on charge for 2 hours following this, so that an equalisation charge can take place.

 

[pecker]

I have now had a reply. Make of it what you will.

As per my email, this is asking you to charge the vehicle to 100% at least once a week.

It then states that once every 3 months, to allow the charge to drop below 10%, then charge to 100%.

At no point do MG Motor UK Ltd. recommend that the vehicle is only charged to 80%.

A rapid DC charge will regularly charge the vehicle to a maximum of 80% (at a rapid rate). As this can quickly affect the balance of the individual cells, we suggest that the car is regularly charged to 100%, left on charge for 2 hours following this, so that an equalisation charge can take place.

Confused even more now

 

[Matt x power]

When I picked my x power up the dealer said just charge to 100% and don't worry about it

 

[Ian Key]

Having read all the points in this thread and as a low mileage driver I'm going to carry on charging my Trophy how I have been doing.

Charge to 80% for normal day to day use
Once every month, or thereabouts, charge do a 100% balance charge and go for a drive so it's not sat at 100%
Once every 6 months do the 10% to 100% charge split over two sessions on two consecutive nights.

 

[pecker]

Having read all the points in this thread and as a low mileage driver I'm going to carry on charging my Trophy how I have been doing.

Charge to 80% for normal day to day use
Once every month, or thereabouts, charge do a 100% balance charge and go for a drive so it's not sat at 100%
Once every 6 months do the 10% to 100% charge split over two sessions on two consecutive nights.

Sensible and very close to how I plan on charging mine.

 

[Adam C]

Confused even more now

I’m going into my dealer today because I ordered a set of car mats & they contacted yesterday evening to say they were there so I hope the guy I dealt with is there

As I’ve posted, he knew I didn’t have a home charger straight away & when I was informed due to unforeseen circumstances that I can’t have one fitted to April/May I let him know before I picked car up. Again he told me ( I have Long Range Trophy ) he would suggest keeping the battery between 20-80% but if I was planning a long journey just charge it to 100%, he never mentioned anything else, balancing, letting the battery drop to 10% etc etc

So let’s hope he is there today as I will show him the reply you got & ask why this suggests something different to what he told me.

 

[salty]

Seems to me, reading this thread that everyone's guessing what to do, as there's no definitive answer. including MG themselves. ?

 

[gredie]

I concur with salty, it's confusing.
IMHO, balance every # of charging sessions would be more informative than time intervals like "once a week",

 

[fnegroni]

I concur with salty, it's confusing.
IMHO, balance every # of charging sessions would be more informative than time intervals like "once a week",

I find ‘once a week’ more helpful.
The need to balance charge at 100% as well as recalibrating the BMS has to do with the fact that charging patterns are very complicated, but usually people have set patterns. Provided people have those set patterns, weekly or monthly cadences allow for those patterns.

 

[Adam C]

I’m going into my dealer today because I ordered a set of car mats & they contacted yesterday evening to say they were there so I hope the guy I dealt with is there

As I’ve posted, he knew I didn’t have a home charger straight away & when I was informed due to unforeseen circumstances that I can’t have one fitted to April/May I let him know before I picked car up. Again he told me ( I have Long Range Trophy ) he would suggest keeping the battery between 20-80% but if I was planning a long journey just charge it to 100%, he never mentioned anything else, balancing, letting the battery drop to 10% etc etc

So let’s hope he is there today as I will show him the reply you got & ask why this suggests something different to what he told me.

My dealer wasn’t in today but managed to talk to one of their technicians

He said like any car manufacturer these are recommendations but they know many can’t run their cars like this & just said don’t panic

He said the 10% - 100% is to balance the system ( his words ) so the car shows a more precise mileage you have left. I know someone on this forum mentioned similar before, apologies I can’t remember who but he said again don’t worry if you can’t, the car is built to cope with the different ways people will run & use them

He still recommended to keep it between 20-80% but said others say different. Apparently there’s videos on YouTube where for many they say the absolute optimum way to keep a battery healthy is keep it between 40-60% but who’s got the patience to do that? Not sure if he meant MG batteries or others as well

We finished the conversation by him basically saying he understands this is all new to so many & theres a lot of mixed messaging & people get concerned but just be sensible, charge the car when I need to & don’t worry & enjoy the car …..

Obviously this doesn’t really help but it did give me a bit more piece of mind. Being my first EV I’m still getting to grips with it all but I don’t want the car to become a headache where I’m worried if I’m not following every last recommendation, yes I’ll be as sensible as possible, look after it ( it’s getting its first proper wax today if the rain holds off ) but mostly I want to enjoy it.

Hope you all have a great weekend folks.