In HV mode battery continues to deplete in - 4 F weather
- Thread starter T Zabo
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petteyg359
Well-Known Member
If it was -4°, then you probably had the heater on. You may have noted that even plugged in, preconditioning eats quite a bit of power. If you're running the heater enough to counteract -4° and moving at highway speeds at the same time, I expect the gas engine may not produce enough power to keep up*. Did you try HV Charge, in case it forces higher power output?
*A gas generator from Home Depot that looks to be bigger than the Clarity's engine produces 8 kW. I'm not going to copy a bunch of math, but that looks somewhat lower than what a Tesla needs to move at highway speeds on a nice day. On top of that, you've got the heater running. So the engine can't keep up with demand, and the remainder is discharging the battery.
*A gas generator from Home Depot that looks to be bigger than the Clarity's engine produces 8 kW. I'm not going to copy a bunch of math, but that looks somewhat lower than what a Tesla needs to move at highway speeds on a nice day. On top of that, you've got the heater running. So the engine can't keep up with demand, and the remainder is discharging the battery.
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I don't have the heater on as well.
I notice when I use HV mode; the battery level depletes to about 50% and then stays at that level and the car is running in 'hybrid mode' - it almost never runs ICE alone (except at 70 mph flat ? where it direct drives the wheels)
Sandroad
Well-Known Member
For sure that's not the case. The HP of the Clarity is more than enough to keep the car up to speed and warm the cabin. That genset you saw at the HD most certainly does not have a 103HP engine! If the ICE wasn't enough to run the car and it's systems, we would all be at the side of the road with a stalled car this winter!
I tried the HV Charge mode and a message came up saying it couldn't go into charge mode and I needed to plug the car in to charge it. I usually drive in EV mode even when the temperature is low and have no issues with that, I get 48 miles on a charge. I only use the seat heater which produces enough heat to keep me warm during my drive.
petteyg359
Well-Known Member
There's a difference between running and getting the cabin up to a livable temperature at startup. OP didn't originally specify whether he had heat on or not. Also hasn't said whether it was an uphill drive or anything. Based on no info, I made a wild guess. And yes, the car absolutely *can* draw more energy than the engine can put out in some circumstances. The giant reserve on the low end of the battery is giant because you *can* dip into it in bad driving conditions.
For me - summer or winter - if I full charge the battery; and then turn on HV; the battery will reduce to 50% and hold around there..
If then I forget to press HV next time I start up; obviously the battery depletes; and does not recover what I used. I have only used HV charge a couple of times - once when I forgot to start in HV in the morning; and when I noticed I was very low on EV and heading for the hills; so used HV charge to get the battery to 50% before the hills. Winter has been the same experience; just noticed if I turn the heat to the lowest 15.5 C; then the HV does not come on so quickly/easily - (outside temp - 20 C; used to have cabin at 19C).. I preheat 10-15 min before starting out. Hope that helps
LegoZ
Active Member
Heat is used from the gas engine when the car is in HV mode. What I’ve started doing on road trips where I want to preserve EV range is immediately go to HV Mode (ECON Always) and when going in somewhere we rotate through so we can keep the car on (climate off). I’ve also been refueling when the car is in in HV but hurry to make sure it’s done with the engine not running. So far I haven’t been gifted a CEL so it seems not to care if the engine isn’t on.
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