E Power Display

Totally normal. The e-power is an indication of how cold (or hot?) the battery is. Once the battery get closer to normal operating temperatures it'll go back to 100%. I've had it as low as 30% from cold-soaking in very cold temperatures. It only affects two things: max acceleration and charging speed. Other than those the SE should drive normally. Charging/climatization are the ways to heat up the battery.

 

Setting a departure time (while plugged in to Level 2) is probably the most effective way. At 70% e-power I would not worry about it and just drive off.

This week I did a cold start for science at -40F cold soaked outdoors and it was brutal! My heart goes out for those who park outside with no home charging solution and LFP packs during a polar vortex.

 

To be fair, this is less of a generalization than Kyle Conner's (or Eric Loveday's paraphrasing of Kyle's) "Perhaps think twice before buying an LFP-powered EV [if you live in an area that sees extreme cold]."

 

I believe Kyle's original discussion (around 25:30) was in the video was:

First you have a throughout issue under even normal conditions, then you add cars that have you know longer charging times because of lack of preconditioning so that means your 30 minute charge may turn into a 2 hour long charge to get what you need and that’s where lines build up, throughput is decreased, and you have cars that are literally dying because you’re sitting for hours waiting to charge and then you also have drivers that don’t understand what the heck they’re doing with their cars and you have cars that maybe aren’t suited with the configurations to the coldest environment.

I’m thinking rear wheel drive (Tesla) Model 3 is an example only have that rear motor that can create waste heat plus the heat pump it can do as well, but it’s not enough to rapidly heat up the battery pack. So what I think ultimately happened here was: you (Oak Brook, IL supercharger, Oak Brook, IL EVGo, Villa Park, IL Electrify America...all 3 sites within a ~3 mile radius) were already strained but then the cold weather just really destroyed the whole thing…and I think it will probably to this level naturally with more EVs start going into the rental fleets and with ride share drivers who are doing them. We’ll see lines regardless – I see them in LA I see them in New York, I see them in Miami..it’s getting crazy with infrastructure not keeping pace with the number of vehicles sold.

Tesla is doing the best job, but even then, it’s not perfect. I think that sums it up here which is things were already strained and then the additional charging times of cold weather made it worse.​

To generalize it as: "Perhaps think twice before buying an LFP-powered EV" is rather tonedeaf to the need of affordable EVs.

 

Exactly.

https://insideevs.com/news/705075/uber-lyft-rideshare-electrify-america-charging-ev-disaster-chicago/



I'm saying that I appreciate the way you put it in the post above.

 

I don't know what MINI did for the SE, but the vehicle handles extreme cold (I've had it in -30 ºF temperatures) very well. Yes it has diminished capabilities when it gets cold-soaked, but it never stops working. Considering it doesn't have any battery conditioning it's quite impressive in cold weather.

 

Carrying over from the i3 technology, you would need to set a departure time about 150+ minutes out (let's say 3 hours) to precondition the HV battery pack. Otherwise it will just do the cabin. It does bring the e power to 100% if used correctly and last time I checked my power draw was about 4-5kWh at the main lug.

 

How does the SE precondition the HV battery pack? There are no heating elements in the battery pack are there? Isn't the only way to warm the SE's battery pack to expend its power doing something? What else can the SE do while parked to use power other than precondition the cabin? Does the SE do something different when you set a departure time in cold weather than when you set a departure time in warm weather?

 

I think Tom Moloughney had a blog post awhile back in 2015, but it is re-posted. Long story short, if it is identical to the i3, you need to have the SE plugged into an EVSE (Level 2 or Level 1) and set a departure time at least 3 hours in advance. As for the SE getting the battery heated it's probably a combination of running loads and using the water/glycol cooling line. There is a rudimentary/prehistoric octovalve like plastic assembly which can divert the heat pump into the HVAC and/or HV battery.

Generally I've only used the 3hr+EVSE departure time once, as cabin climatization is more than sufficient! No point in wasting 4-5kWh when you can just drive and let the SE heat up (assuming you don't need max range).

 

I have both a charging window and departure time set in the winter so the SE waits until just before departure time to start charging, which is usually about three hours (for me, because I park for the night with around 20-30% SoC). Even in subzero temperature my SE is almost always at 100% e-power although I do park in a garage.

Frigid winter for my area seems to be basically coming to an end in a day or two, otherwise I would have run some tests based on this new information.

 

I already ran the test on Dec 24, 2022 and it's a power hog. In the morning I was running errands and had 30% e-power the entire morning. Charged at noon and set a departure time and was at 100% e-power for 7:26PM departure.

I forgot the temps, but it was about -15F and the SE was parked outside connected to my EVSE (20A derated to match my 5kW home battery output).

 

Taking this thread slightly off topic, does anyone know when the SE will start pulling power if you start preconditioning while the car is plugged in but after the battery has fully charged? I’ve been trying to determine this but so far I’ve seen it run for 15 minutes and drop to 99% SoC without pulling any power from the wall.

 

If your EVSE is working properly then it should not run down the traction battery at all. I had an issue with my smart charger where it wouldn’t draw power from the wall to warm the interior unless it was kept off the internet. As a dumb charger it worked perfectly. Which charger are you using?

 

Weird. Mine is just a cheap Amazon charger, no connectivity.

WORKERSBEE Level 2 EV Charger, 110V-240V 32Amp, NEMA 14-50 Plug, 25ft Extension Cord, Indoor/Outdoor Portable EVSE Electric Vehicle Charger, Compatible with J1772 EVs, WB-SC-AC1.0-32AS2 https://a.co/d/fGWF4dg

It’s worked fine so far but who knows if it’s following the J1772 standard perfectly. I’ll have to try preconditioning with the Siemens 120V cable that came with the car.

 

I’d suggest that you email WORKERSBEE and ask why it’s not working like it’s supposed to. You might want to see if it charges when you set a departure time in the Mini. I think the process to draw power from the wall is similar to conditioning the car once fully charged.

 

Despite the news from Chicago, not everyone fails to charge their EV in sub-zero temps.
See this from INSIDEEVs.

 

The owner parks his Model Y LR AWD in an attached garage with Level 2 charging. This is completely different from those who have to cold soak park outside without charging, and without NMC811 + dual motors + octovalve.

At -40F during the polar vortex, my attached garage was a chilly 20F.

 

Brrrrr

 

And I too charge with a Level 2 device. I never park in my (unheated detached) garage. I would venture to say that the key is to be able to charge any time of the day without waiting (that is, at your convenience), and charging before your remaining battery charge falls beyond a certain point.