Battery health mode

[rjkirk]

Not a cog. A nut

View attachment 28460

They are seeking assistance with their car, not their English! Don't be a pedant.

 

[fnegroni]

They are seeking assistance with their car, not their English! Don't be a pedant.

Are you for real?

 

[Alb]

The interpretation of the graphical symbol probably came from the fact that a "cog" symbol is routinely used in software HMI to depict a setting or series of settings that can be adjusted. The symbol they actually chose seems a bit quirky to me but then again this is MG we are talking about!

 

[Ian Key]

I was wondering if this common to all MG4 models, or just my trophy.


When I select “battery health mode “ in my vehicle, it always charges to 100%
And the option no longer seems available under EV management in the app anymore?
I also select 80% in the Octopus energy app and that also get ignored.
Im sure this hasn’t always been the case.

This is confusing as 80% is the recommended value to use on a day to day basis, and only 100% occasionally.

Mine does something similar. After a recent update the car will no longer stop at 80% charge despite 80% being set in the app and in the car. It's going in this morning for a software update to correct this.

 

[Kithmo]

Mine stopped at 79% last night. ?
I normally charge when the HV SOC gets below 50% and my 5 hour off peak timed schedule on my Pod Point home charger will take it to 80% or 100% from that. I let it go lower this time and it managed to get from 23% to 79% in the 5 hours (4 hours 57 minutes according to the PP app).
So that's one way of limiting it.

 

[tsedge]

The interpretation of the graphical symbol probably came from the fact that a "cog" symbol is routinely used in software HMI to depict a setting or series of settings that can be adjusted. The symbol they actually chose seems a bit quirky to me but then again this is MG we are talking about!

Interestingly, this itself is an engineering misunderstanding. Cogs are not normally adjustable at all, their use stems from the notion of the cog representing "internals" but actually adjustments are better presented by knobs and levers, such as in the alternative "sliders"-style icon that some applications use, denoting direct adjustability.

Many of these icon choices are carry overs from the early days of graphical interfaces and make little sense in today's world, such as a floppy disk icon for "Save".

Usually the analogies are directly from earlier generations of technologies, such as a "folder" for organising files or "cc" for making a carbon copy of a letter or memo.

Well I am now well off-topic but enjoying myself, I'd better shut up! ?

 

[EVentropy]

The consensus of what I have read so far is likely that the 51kW NZ/Au version doesn’t possess health mode even if it’s on the app and screen. Which is somewhat confusing as ours has stopped granny charging at low 80’s for no apparent reason a couple of times.

 

[fnegroni]

The consensus of what I have read so far is likely that the 51kW NZ/Au version doesn’t possess health mode even if it’s on the app and screen. Which is somewhat confusing as ours has stopped granny charging at low 80’s for no apparent reason a couple of times.

It will stop granny charging if the supply isn’t sufficient to run the battery heater and the battery is cold, or the battery is overheated and needs the battery cooling running. Normally experienced in winter at SOC above 95 when below 0C outside.

 

[Rolfe]

Thanks so much! That’s put my mind at rest!

Just charge your car as and when you feel like it, to 100% (and be sure to give it time to complete a balance charge too, usually 30-35 minutes beyond the finish time that shows in the app) and don't worry about it, even if you leave the car sitting at 100% for days. The LFP chemistry in the SR really doesn't care.

You can tell it's finished balancing when the app no longer shows a finish time, and reads "not charging". If you see a finish time the same as the current time and the car is still "charging", even if it's reading 0 kw, just leave it, it's still balancing. During winter you will sometimes see other things happening, like the charging power going up and down for no reason when it's close to full. It's heating the battery or something. Just leave it, it knows what it's doing, it'll be fine.

 

[EVentropy]

Cheers, good info! I'm not good at reading manuals.
I'm going to try and target 85% -25% except for long trips and regular balance /calibrate.
Its no biggy, just what I do with the boat LiFePO4. Too ingrained to deviate now.
Until I install the 32A charger in garage and clear a space for car I can't be bothered really to learn my cars charging behavior(s). Mid winter here & WET!
Probably the last car we buy so want to nurture it. Next project is to off-grid the house. I will probably leave it until the off peak discounts are removed (like govt subsidies for ev's have already gone.

Very unlikely to do 1000cycles in a 3 years so somewhat irrelevant. But green line looks attractive.
Ref: Battery university

 

[Rolfe]

I think it's fine if that's what your routine is, but everyone knowledgeable about it says that for car LFP batteries with all their battery management systems and thermal control and so on, it's not worth bothering about. I'm in it for the long haul with my SE SR and I just charge it as I please.

 

[Romeo77]

Just charge your car as and when you feel like it, to 100% (and be sure to give it time to complete a balance charge too, usually 30-35 minutes beyond the finish time that shows in the app) and don't worry about it, even if you leave the car sitting at 100% for days. The LFP chemistry in the SR really doesn't care.

You can tell it's finished balancing when the app no longer shows a finish time, and reads "not charging". If you see a finish time the same as the current time and the car is still "charging", even if it's reading 0 kw, just leave it, it's still balancing. During winter you will sometimes see other things happening, like the charging power going up and down for no reason when it's close to full. It's heating the battery or something. Just leave it, it knows what it's doing, it'll be fine.

Sorry Rolfe
but that might not be right about LFP.
seen this video.

Now, to be clear, neither catl nor byd cells are used in the laboratory for checks, so hopefully MG SR 51 kWh or anyone who owns a byd brand car with lfp blade cells shouldn't worry.
but after cycling mine atto3 for 1 year, 95-100%, I get SOH calculated by the car scanner at 95,71%.
and some Chinese-made app told me that I have 2% degradation (probably another 2,5% is the bottom buffer that the car scanner can`t see).
In the video, they say that cycling 75–100% causes more degradation than cycling 0–100% or 0–25%.
Anyone interested can read the pdf that the channel owner used and the link added below the video.
If that is true, LFP has only one benefit: less dangerous chemistry.
And from now on, I have stopped topping up the battery every day to 100% because I have so low mileage that one full charge is sufficient for me for a month.

 

[siteguru]

I charge to 100% and balance.
I use the car over several days (even weeks sometimes) until the SoC is 30% or lower (or until I know I have a long trip planned the next day).
Repeat.

 

[fnegroni]

my usage/charge pattern with my LFP SE SR has always been in line with what’s in the video, mostly out of necessity.

I charge to 100% and balance on a Sunday.
Drive the car to and from work using about 25 to 30% each day, or locally using maybe 10-15% each day.
When I get to 25% or less, I charge to 100%. Normally at work on their 7kW chargers.
If I plan to do a long journey the next day, charge to 100% no matter what percentage I’m at. That’s rare though.
If I suddenly need to cover more miles than I have available, I drive till I’m at or below 30% (sometimes even as low as 5%) then fast charge to between 50 and 80% depending on how far I still have to go or how much time I’ve got.

Basically it’s identical to if I had an ICE car, taking advantage of the fact I don’t have to worry about maximum state of charge, avoiding having to plug in every day which isn’t possible for me anyway, and taking advantage of the fastest charging speeds at around 20 to 50%

In winter this also helps because with a cold battery even slow charging sometimes requires the battery heater to kick in at above 95%, and in the summer the battery cooling kicks in at above 70% if it has been fast charged frequently.

 

[Rolfe]

Sorry Rolfe
but that might be not right about LFP
seen this video

now to be correct - in laboratory not used for check neither catl or byd cells so that hopefully should not worry MG SR 51 kWh or someone that have byd brand car with lfp blade cells
but after cycling mine atto3 for 1 year 95-100% i get SOH calculated by Car Scaner 95,71%
and some china made app told that i have 2% degradation (probably another 2,5% is bottom buffer that car scanner unavare of existence)
in video they say that cycling 75-100% causes more degradation then cycling 0-100% or 0-25%
anyone intrested can read pdf that channel owner used and link added below video.
if that true lfp have only one benefice - less dangerus chemistry.
And from now i stopping topping up battery every day to 100% because have so low mielage that one full charge can by sufficient for me for month.

Could I have that in English please?

 

[Rolfe]

When I first got the car the village 50 kW charger cost 30p/unit while my home electricity was 31p/unit. I used to wait until the car was below 30%, give it the 55-minute maximum time allowed on the DC charger (which is 5 min walk from my house) then top up to 100% at home on the granny charger. Last summer was pleasant and I enjoyed the walk.

Then autumn and winter came and the walk wasn't so attractive and they put the price of the village charger up to 60p/unit while my home electricity went down to 28p/unit then lower. I switched to using the granny charger exclusively, perhaps once or twice a week.

Then in May I had solar and a Zappi installed, and had no export tariff to be paid for the excess solar. So the car got as much solar as I could get into it, and ran on solar only for three months. (Other than the occasional DC charge on a road trip.)

Then a couple of weeks ago the export tariff came through and the car will be charged on the Octopus Intelligent Go scheduled charge. Maybe once or twice a week depending on usage. I'm certainly not going to bother plugging it in if it's only gone 10 miles since the last charge, but when I decide to charge it, it will be at my convenience not the car's, and it will be to 100%.

I will be fine.

 

[Rolfe]

I've posted this several times, but it's always worth repeating. This is an actual expert in battery chemistry rather than a YouTuber who has read up about it, and he's both realistic and reassuring.