Leafdom said:
One of the topics covered in this long thread is the hiding of capacity below LBW and VLBW for the 13 Leafs, which I have. I do have the LeafDD but don't use it very often. I have read a lot of these threads, but certainly not all. In so doing, I have gotten thoroughly confused about how many miles I may have left below low battery warnings. What I would like to do is utilize my low end capacity more, and not always charge up too early.
So, can anyone kindly just give me the basics on how to figure out for my car how to drive at levels below the low battery warnings? How should I figure out what is left, how many miles I can drive, what the specific signs are (gids, battery bars, SOC, etc), what is best to monitor and trust? Sorry if you think this is covered and clear, but I'm confused by lots of posts that seem to say different things.
Cheers!
Leafdom
OK, here it is---- (I drive below VLBW at least once per week, below zero fuel bars at least once a month).
If you don't want to use the min cell voltage info you can just set your trip indicator to zero miles when the last fuel bar disappears and assume you will hit turtle when you hit 6 miles.
Conditions: driving at 4.5mi/kwh, 5 temperature bars, 2013 LEAF with capacity showing 59-61 AHr. (I don't know if any of this applies to any other LEAFS except the "low capacity" 2013s)
Estimate range to turtle by using the formula SOC-4= Distance to Turtle (DTT) use this formula from full charge clear down to when the last fuel bar goes. This works at LBW, VLBW and until the last fuel bar disappears. SOC is measured by LeafSpy, etc (NOT dash indication). Subtract 10% if 4 temperature bars or driving 4mi/kwh (ie 65 indicated speed), subtract 30% if driving 3.0-3.5 mi/kwh (i.e. 70 indicated speed).
DTT when last fuel bar disappears is 6-7mi
DTT for last few miles, when NO fuel bars are showing, best estimated by using the minimum cell voltage measured by LeafSpy. Driving distances at 30-35mi/hr (5mi/kwh or better). Presumably if you are in the zero fuel bar range you are getting nervous about getting home and driving very conservatively.
3.53 V= 6mi
3.43 V 4
3.34 V 3
3.23 V 2
3.14 V 1
3.10 V 1/2
Voltage measured when stopped for more than 5 sec (i.e. pull off to side of road or at stop sign/light).
This is much simpler in use than the description above indicates. This formula (SOC-4) will give you an estimated DTT of 22miles from LBW (which occurs at 26% SOC) and 12 miles DTT from VLBW (16% SOC), under conditions listed above.
I put the above information on a large index card that I put in the glove box, in large letters, so that I can easily refer to it while traveling.