2013 S - 80 or 100%?

[lionsfan54]

that is for 30 kwh batteries. 24 kwh is 5 years or 60,000 miles

Correct. I've acknowledged my mistake several times throughout this thread. RIF

pitfalls of this type of thread. you really should edit your post to reflect your acknowledgment.

Nah, people can read the responses

[IssacZachary]

Man! I'm loving this forum site!

So from what I read here in this thread is that 100% is ok if not left there and not done in hot weather. I think I'll start charging mine to 100% then.

I've got a 2013 SL with 12 capacity bars and 40,000 miles. I've been charging it to 80%. But especially with this winter weather, I find I'm running to charge it up at lunch time. I've got a 6.6kw charger and the proper Aeroviroment EVSE on the house. I always charge it to finish charging not long before I leave home and drive around all morning and afternoon (short distances). So it sounds like 100% isn't bad on these conditions: cold weather and charge then drive almost immediately.

[LeftieBiker]

That's right. And charging in hot weather is also fine - if the pack temp isn't high*. Remember, the pack is slow to heat and slow to cool, so it doesn't usually reflect the current outside temp.


* Opinions vary. Mine is that if it reads 6 temp bars and I can wait a few hours to charge, I will. If not I charge at 6. If it's at 7 bars, I wait for it to cool, if that's at all possible. Below 6 bars, no worries at all.

[arnis]

Man! I'm loving this forum site!

So from what I read here in this thread is that 100% is ok if not left there and not done in hot weather. I think I'll start charging mine to 100% then.

I've got a 2013 SL with 12 capacity bars and 40,000 miles. I've been charging it to 80%. But especially with this winter weather, I find I'm running to charge it up at lunch time. I've got a 6.6kw charger and the proper Aeroviroment EVSE on the house. I always charge it to finish charging not long before I leave home and drive around all morning and afternoon (short distances). So it sounds like 100% isn't bad on these conditions: cold weather and charge then drive almost immediately.

Correct. To keep things simple. You can safely charge to 100% on daily basis if battery temperature is up to 4 bars for the whole winter.

Same usage scenario here. 80% is all I need in summer for 28-29 days per month. In winter I need 100% every forth-fifth day.
So I constantly choose to charge to 100%.

It's better to charge to 100% when needed than run below low battery warning weekly.
It is better to keep it at 100% mode constantly than running below very low battery warning multiple times per week.

[lionsfan54]

That's right. And charging in hot weather is also fine - if the pack temp isn't high*. Remember, the pack is slow to heat and slow to cool, so it doesn't usually reflect the current outside temp.


* Opinions vary. Mine is that if it reads 6 temp bars and I can wait a few hours to charge, I will. If not I charge at 6. If it's at 7 bars, I wait for it to cool, if that's at all possible. Below 6 bars, no worries at all.

Man... must be a Michigan thing, but I can't remember ever seeing 7 temp bars. We're usually always around 4 and in the winter 3 is the norm. So, I'm a 100% charger. F it.

[IssacZachary]

Correct. To keep things simple. You can safely charge to 100% on daily basis if battery temperature is up to 4 bars for the whole winter.

Same usage scenario here. 80% is all I need in summer for 28-29 days per month. In winter I need 100% every forth-fifth day.
So I constantly choose to charge to 100%.

It's better to charge to 100% when needed than run below low battery warning weekly.
It is better to keep it at 100% mode constantly than running below very low battery warning multiple times per week.

Wait a minute! I've only seen four bars a few of times. Normally I'm at one or two in the mornings, although charging it up to 100% seems to warm the battery up to 2 or 3 bars and occasionally 4 the few times I've done it.

[arnis]

2 Bars should be shown if any sensor registers at least -5C. That is 23F
Depending on outside temperature there is small compensation too.
1 bar, I don't even know I Think it should be -15C or 5F
At -25C battery should not be operational (or only turtle mode). -13F

[IssacZachary]

2 Bars should be shown if any sensor registers at least -5C. That is 23F
Depending on outside temperature there is small compensation too.
1 bar, I don't even know I Think it should be -15C or 5F
At -25C battery should not be operational (or only turtle mode). -13F

That makes sense. Most days the high temperature has been between 18°F/-7°C and 32°F/0°F with it getting colder during the nights of course. The other day we awoke to -33°F/-36°C, which is typical that we get that cold or even colder for a few days each year. Good thing this thing has a battery heater.

So would that affect if I should charge to 80% or 100%?

[LeftieBiker]

When the battery heating is expected to run I'd charge to 100%, unplug it, and let the heater slowly draw it down.

[arnis]

2 Bars should be shown if any sensor registers at least -5C. That is 23F
Depending on outside temperature there is small compensation too.
1 bar, I don't even know I Think it should be -15C or 5F
At -25C battery should not be operational (or only turtle mode). -13F

That makes sense. Most days the high temperature has been between 18°F/-7°C and 32°F/0°F with it getting colder during the nights of course. The other day we awoke to -33°F/-36°C, which is typical that we get that cold or even colder for a few days each year. Good thing this thing has a battery heater.

So would that affect if I should charge to 80% or 100%?

Charging last 10-15% will take much much longer than in summer. It is not totally healthy to charge very very cold battery (1 bar).
I would suggest charging as soon as possible as battery is warmer after drive.
It's true that having battery heater in this climate is important; not to get stranded if it gets below -25C for few days in a row.
But I would charge to 100% IF you hear "low battery warning" at those temperatures. If you don't then you might consider not. You will also have better regen if you charge to 80%.


No need to unplug really. Not very convenient to do and preheating is pretty much not possible at those temperatures. Plus time limitation (15 min without plug).

If nights are that cold then I believe those are clear sky nights where heat radiates away from ground into space (literally). Usually those nights are ultra low humidity and low wind. This slows down battery cooldown (moist and windy weather cools faster). Even if it is -30C for the night battery most likely will be around -10C even without any heater activation during the first night after driving.

If you charge to 80%, let the battery cold soak down to 1 bar it barely charges above 90%. It will take forever and is not super healthy. Therefore if you run below low battery warning charge to 100% immediately after regular commute.

PS! If you want to have less range decrease due to cold battery, keep your accelerations modest. Do not draw more than 30-35kW while accelerating. Heavy discharge while chemistry cold is not good. I don't know why Nissan practically doesn't limit that at all.

PS! The real range estimation is displayed on range bubble map. There are two range values. The smaller one is the REAL estimated range!
I found out that this December. It is almost never wrong if you keep driving the way you do. You can go more if you go granny style.
https://goo.gl/photos/eyCLYdK5yhVZTUND9