Methods to reduce battery degradation?

Chevy Spark EV Forum

Help Support Chevy Spark EV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

user 1908

Active member
Joined
Jan 20, 2019
Messages
30
I’ve had my 2016 Spark EV a little over a year, and I’ve seen a drop in battery capacity of 1KwH. The first few months I varied a lot between Level 1 and 2 charging. In my current job I’m charging entirely Level 1 at home. During the last year I saw my capacity actually go UP for a couple of months. Baed in that I wonder if there’s a way to restore some capacity with a mixture of Level 1, 2 or DCFC charging?

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
 
Mesasand said:
I’ve had my 2016 Spark EV a little over a year, and I’ve seen a drop in battery capacity of 1KwH. The first few months I varied a lot between Level 1 and 2 charging. In my current job I’m charging entirely Level 1 at home. During the last year I saw my capacity actually go UP for a couple of months. Baed in that I wonder if there’s a way to restore some capacity with a mixture of Level 1, 2 or DCFC charging?

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
My experience with my 2014 and 2016 Spark EVs is there "ain't nothin" you can do. It is what it is. Starting in June 2018 I started tracking the TorquePro data for both cars. Both cars have shown degradation in battery capacity over time. Others have reported it as well. You can expect your measured capacity to drop in cold weather and rise a bit in warm weather. Regardless, the overall trend line is DOWN. My 2014 has dropped 2.4 kWh in 8356 miles. My 2016 has dropped 1.1 kWh in 8516 miles.

My 2014 is 100% charged at home using L1 and L2 EVSE equipment. My 2016 is charged at home using L2 EVSE equipment and on the road using EVgo and Electrify America DCFC charging stations.
 
I've had my 2015 for 16 months. Have gone from 14000 miles to 21000. I don't track battery degradation. I charge at home a few times a week and depending on temperature, I live in Arizona, the car continues to charge to the high 80's, low 90's. When it was cold I got high 70's.

Charged yesterday to 88 miles. Is it starting to degrade?...don't know, don't care. It gets me to work and back while leaving everyone in a cloud of dust. I'm more concerned with the axles lasting than the battery dying. it starts and stops, the A/C is cold. I've replaced the wiper blades in that time and am about to do it again...the sun bakes them even though it's in the sun at work 4 days a week.

Still enjoying this car and plan on keeping for years to come.

note to self...check the 12 volt battery
 
I think if the battery is warm it can charge to a higher capacity which is why we see increases in very warm weather. If you want to track it we can all compare. Like MrDRMorgan said "It is what it is" and I'm not sure you can really get it to make a measurable increase through different charging techniques since the BMS is designed to take care of that for us.
 
Kermit said:
I think if the battery is warm it can charge to a higher capacity which is why we see increases in very warm weather. If you want to track it we can all compare. Like MrDRMorgan said "It is what it is" and I'm not sure you can really get it to make a measurable increase through different charging techniques since the BMS is designed to take care of that for us.
In May of last year, my battery capacity, as measured by TorquePro, was a low of 15.4 kWh. In July it rose to 15.8 kWh and then dropped steadily to 14.5 kWh in Feb 2020. My graph now shows a bit of flattening out at 14.5 kWh. I expect it to go up about 0.4 kWh by July or August and then slowly start dropping again. The linear trend line shows I should be at 11.4 kWh when the car reaches 60,000 miles - current mileage is just under 30,000 miles. Current GOM is going up too with full-charge values ranging from 85 to 90 miles. I usually see about a 25 mile drop in cold weather. Yes, I do use the heater.
 
Back
Top