Cold weather battery tips

[borski]

Yes and no, during the cold snap I did plug the car in at night. Yesterday evening I went and picked up a pizza and rather than park under the carport (charger is under the carport) I parked in the driveway for an easier exit with pizza in hand, in any event I knew it was going to drop to 27F and left the car in the driveway overnight; according to the first sentence below that would seem to be OK according to the owners manual, but then the second sentence states 41F, in my mind anything between 15F and 95F is not extreme.
The owners manual is somewhat confusing, in the extreme weather we had last Friday (-2F) I drove to work in a car that was on the charger overnight, I consumed 8% (80% to 72%) the car was only going to be parked five hours; according to the owners manual should I have plugged in or not?

CAUTION: Do not expose your vehicle to extreme temperatures for long periods without driving or connecting to a charging cable, as this can negatively affect battery pack life. When temperatures are below 41°F (5°C) and you are not driving your car, connect to a charging cable.

When in doubt, plug it in.

 

[Electrified]

When in doubt, plug it in.

Agreed!

 

[Volund]

Yes and no, during the cold snap I did plug the car in at night. Yesterday evening I went and picked up a pizza and rather than park under the carport (charger is under the carport) I parked in the driveway for an easier exit with pizza in hand, in any event I knew it was going to drop to 27F and left the car in the driveway overnight; according to the first sentence below that would seem to be OK according to the owners manual, but then the second sentence states 41F, in my mind anything between 15F and 95F is not extreme.
The owners manual is somewhat confusing, in the extreme weather we had last Friday (-2F) I drove to work in a car that was on the charger overnight, I consumed 8% (80% to 72%) the car was only going to be parked five hours; according to the owners manual should I have plugged in or not?

CAUTION: Do not expose your vehicle to extreme temperatures for long periods without driving or connecting to a charging cable, as this can negatively affect battery pack life. When temperatures are below 41°F (5°C) and you are not driving your car, connect to a charging cable.

But what about the second part of my post?

I notice that if I don't wake the car, it won't charge, so after it hits 80%, mine doesn't really look like it's doing anything. Anyone have an answer for that? It'll drain until I wake it up again

 

[Electrified]

But what about the second part of my post?

I notice that if I don't wake the car, it won't charge, so after it hits 80%, mine doesn't really look like it's doing anything. Anyone have an answer for that? It'll drain until I wake it up again

I don't have an answer for the second part of your post.

I do have some info regarding winter charging; I was gone this past week and left the car plugged in and while it wasn't stupid cold here in Chicago it was below ideal battery temps, in any event I did recieve two notifications from the car and when I opened the app the car was at 78/79% of battery, upon opening the car would go into charging mode to bring it to 80%

 

[Volund]

I don't have an answer for the second part of your post.

I do have some info regarding winter charging; I was gone this past week and left the car plugged in and while it wasn't stupid cold here in Chicago it was below ideal battery temps, in any event I did recieve two notifications from the car and when I opened the app the car was at 78/79% of battery, upon opening the car would go into charging mode to bring it to 80%

Yeah that's what I mean, I feel like it's not really charging until you wake it up
That doesn't make sense to me when lucid says "keep it plugged in"

 

[borski]

Yeah that's what I mean, I feel like it's not really charging until you wake it up
That doesn't make sense to me when lucid says "keep it plugged in"

It does actually wake up and charge once it gets below a certain percentage, or if the battery temp drops too low. It doesn’t trickle charge the entire time it’s plugged in but it will do so if it drops more than a few percent, even if you don’t wake it.

 

[Volund]

It does actually wake up and charge once it gets below a certain percentage, or if the battery temp drops too low. It doesn’t trickle charge the entire time it’s plugged in but it will do so if it drops more than a few percent, even if you don’t wake it.

Okay, that's good info. But doesn't it still do this even if it's not plugged in? To keep battery health optimal

 

[joec]

Okay, that's good info. But doesn't it still do this even if it's not plugged in? To keep battery health optimal

If it's not plugged in, it can't trickle charge.

 

[Volund]

If it's not plugged in, it can't trickle charge.

No, I mean the first sentence.
Where the car will wake up automatically to warm the battery to ensure battery health, plugged in or not

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

No, I mean the first sentence.
Where the car will wake up automatically to warm the battery to ensure battery health, plugged in or not

Is that what it's doing? You mean my car is NOT possessed and the weird noises it makes in the cold, dark garage are normal?

 

[BJR]

I had my first experience today with the cold battery warming noises. It does sound like it is possessed!

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I had my first experience today with the cold battery warming noises. It does sound like it is possessed!

What makes you think it’s not possessed?

 

[GearHead]

No, I mean the first sentence.
Where the car will wake up automatically to warm the battery to ensure battery health, plugged in or not

My car never wakes uninitiated to warm the battery. Should it?

Pete

 

[Bunnylebowski]

It depends on how cold. It may be a software bug though. I've noticed since the last OTA or the one before it's not 100% consistent in using the L2 plug to maintain battery temps and have occasionally gotten into the car, which had finished charging, and it had the blue line on the battery indicating it was cold.

 

[GearHead]

It depends on how cold. It may be a software bug though. I've noticed since the last OTA or the one before it's not 100% consistent in using the L2 plug to maintain battery temps and have occasionally gotten into the car, which had finished charging, and it had the blue line on the battery indicating it was cold.

It’s 38 in my garage right now. When I went out this morning, the car woke up because I had my phone and it started charging. I got a warning on the app saying “power is limited due to a cold battery.” It charged from 78% to 80% and stopped. Never seemed to do any maintenance or warming. I might have to call service and ask.

Pete

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Good idea, I'm curious to know what they say. If you're plugged in, I didn't think the vehicle would allow the battery to get cold enough to result in a cold battery warning, but it has done that twice to me.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I plug my car in when it's cold but haven't noticed if it's warming the battery from the house, or the "cold battery" line mentioned.
I noticed the noises started when I unplugged at full (80%) charge.

This week will be the test: cold air moving lows into the teens Fahrenheit.

 

[Volund]

I've spoken with my tech, Lucid customer service, and numerous other owners, they all say it's best to keep it plugged in for the reason of maintaining battery temperatures and health.

But I have just never seen any specific examples of it actually doing that, so could be a bug

 

[new owner]

What if your traveling in cold weather with no access to a plug overnight?

 

[joec]

What if your traveling in cold weather with no access to a plug overnight?

Then your battery will likely be cold in the morning. Not a huge deal. It just won't be working under optimal conditions until it can warm up. And it may use some energy getting up to that temp.

I've taken roadtrips with the car parked overnight in negative temperatures. Drove hundreds of miles just after waking it up and getting the snow off with no adverse effects that I could tell.