Loss of Range and Battery Not Charging to Full

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camperkev

New member
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
3
Over the last 6 weeks my spark ev won't fully charge compared to when I first got it in May. After a full night's charge on the Bosch home charger the battery used to indicate 85/86 in the blue ball and 100-102 in the max range. Now it will only reach 75 in the blue ball and 85/86 in the max range. I'm not driving any differently and often drive with the heat off to try and extend range. I commute about 27 miles roundtrip each day, some days I need to go to a different site, which is further away, but I always get home with about 10-15 miles left. I ran out of juice about 1/4 mile from my house the other night. I was able to still get it home, but it freaked me out.

Anyone else experiencing a loss in charge and range??
 
What do the green bars in the battery indicate? Range will vary, particularly in colder weather. It's likely your difference is caused by changes in weather.
 
camperkev said:
I get the range variability, but I don't get the charge capacity change. Any experience with that?

What d o you mean by "charge capacity change"?

Do all of the green bars show full after charging?

If you use the iPhone app it shows you how full the battery is a s a percentage.

Other things look at are the energy screen to see how many kWH you are using, especially look at the figure just before you charge - that will be the number of kWH you have taken from the battery since the previous full charge.

Also what does the trip indicator say for the driving efficiency? In summer I usually get over 6miles/kWH but in winter it is only about 4.5mi/kWh.

I normally reset the display every time I charge but you also get a reading for each trip when you turn off the ignition.

kevin
 
Check your tire pressures. 35 PSI cold, when the car hasn't been driven for a while is the mfgr recommendation. Now that it's winter you might be down a few PSI and I've found that efficiency is affected by tire pressures more on this car than any other ICE car I've owned. Also monitor your climate control energy usage. Even without the heater there are times that it's using energy when you might not realize.
 
That's a great point about the tire pressure. http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml says you can expect about a 0.3% drop in efficiency for every psi low. Combine that with increased heater usage and that could easily add up.
 
NomadMac said:
kevin said:
camperkev" I normally reset the display every time I charge but you also get a reading for each trip when you turn off the ignition. kevin[/quote said:
Turn on the ignition. Tape a TV show. Dial a phone.

Terms we still use for redundant functions. :cool:

Agreed :)

In my defense GM still uses the term in the Spark EV service manual!

kevin
 
The difference in range between cold days and warm days is dramatic. Our ambient temperature has swung from 50 degrees to 30 degrees over the past month, and I've seen a 10 mile swing in expected range. The power management chart shows more battery management drain, and there is some heating for the windshield. I account for the drop off in my commute, and still get home with plenty of cushion.
 
I appreciate the replies. It's disappointing that mild temperatures would impact the charging ability. Just yesterday at 60 degrees, being parked and charging in my insulated garage, it would only charge to full at 71 miles range (a 16% loss in range), compared to 2 months ago. What a pile of crap. Had I known the drop in range would be so significant with the temperature change, I would have gone with the volt. So disappointed....I have 2 1/2 years left on the lease too.
 
camperkev said:
It's disappointing that mild temperatures would impact the charging ability. ...it would only charge to full at 71 miles range ...What a pile of crap.
Oh those darn laws of physics! It has been mentioned that somehow in cold temps the battery is not charging to full or there is an impact to charging ability. That is simply not the case. Your battery is still charging to 21 kWh of capacity but in cold temps a greater percentage of that energy is consumed due to loss of efficiency or to improve cabin comfort. As a result your Average Energy Efficiency (mi / kWh) goes down so you get fewer miles per full battery.

Cold temp loss of range is not specific to the Spark EV: http://www.technologyreview.com/news/522496/electric-vehicles-out-in-the-cold/

There are things you can do to minimize the loss of cold weather efficiency and gain back some range:
- Adjust your tire pressures to always maintain 35 psi cold pressure.
- Use departure based charging. This will ensure your battery is at optimum temp when you depart and uses wall energy to do the heating.
- Use seat heating. Press the Temp button to shut off the high voltage heater as much as possible.
- Watch your power gauge at rest. This is a good indication of how much power is being consumed by non-propulsion loads.
- Use remote start. You can do two 20 minute starts to heat the cabin using wall energy. However, if you're using only 110V charging you may deplete the battery slightly. Make sure it's on 12A.
- Turn off Auto Headlamps during daylight driving.
 
But I wonder if that is not what you would be getting for Miles.
Kinda like the GOM on how many miles left, it all depends on how you drive.
??


camperkev said:
I appreciate the replies. It's disappointing that mild temperatures would impact the charging ability. Just yesterday at 60 degrees, being parked and charging in my insulated garage, it would only charge to full at 71 miles range (a 16% loss in range), compared to 2 months ago. What a pile of crap. Had I known the drop in range would be so significant with the temperature change, I would have gone with the volt. So disappointed....I have 2 1/2 years left on the lease too.
 
I think this is just the car trying to figure out your range due to the weather factor. I feel like a full charge - is a full charge. If you battery is indicating 100% after you charge - and the weather drops or raises 30 deg from the ideal temp. (Not sure what this temp is but have a feeling its close to 70 deg) than the car thinks you are going to use more climate and gives you a smaller expected range.

Let me know what the outcome was - thanks
 
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