danwat1234

Crappy lead acid accessory batteries are to blame for high vampire losses of Model S's. Apparently it can charge the lead battery when not plugged in and I saw a post about the Leaf topping off the lead battery by itself as well every once in a while if not plugged in (Dave.R. "The Nissan LEAF will wake up every 5-7 days or so to top off the 12V battery if not plugged in. But no more frequently than that." http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1088929_life-with-tesla-model-s-electric-draw-vampire-slain-at-last ). The Ford might be able to do the same thing. http://slashdot.org/story/13/12/06/1848215/tesla-model-s-battery-drain-issue-fixed

I'm assuming these temperatures are all in Fahrenheit? The cars are doing well if in Fahrenheit. EDIT: Apparently the Chevy Volt can do the same, engine not running during cold temperatures, IF you mod it so the car thinks the ambient air temperature is reading above 32F all the time :) http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?31313-Dealer-resetting-the-ERDTT-to-the-lower-value-on-2012s-and-earlier&p=1171874#post1171874 http://www.sendspace.com/file/9sd3ds

10 degrees? That's better than a Volt (15F or colder engine will cycle on and off no matter what, for no real reason except cabin heating assistance). I also like the idea of the 'GO time' feature so the battery will both be charged and cabin heated as much as possible. With the Volt you are limited to two 10 minute cabin heating cycles I think, and if you're not carefully to leave some time after cabin heating, the battery isn't fully charged by the time you get in the car.

Does anybody know the exact temperature that the engine will come on with a fully charged battery with the climate control system off? With the 2013+(and some 2012s) Volts it is 15F ambient temperature and with the 2011 and most 2012s it is 25F. Maybe the Ford Energi cars are set even lower? The Volt's engine just comes on to assist with cabin heating, it doesn't directly heat the battery pack at all. I believe it is a similar tactic with the Ford Energi cars, since I believe they are air cooled so there is no way to directly heat the pack. The Volt's battery has a 1800w resistive heater but that is totally separate from the engine system and coolant lines.