[LiselleD]

Hi

I’ve noticed a big change in the total miles I get when I’m charged at 100%, more so over the last week. Normally I’d get 90 miles @ 100% since I purchased it in December but the past week it’s got up to 123 miles at 100%. Anyone know why this is. It’s a run around car, doing the school run and getting me to work. The past week, I’ve been off with covid and my husbands been doing the school run and working from home and he’s gloating that his driving is better hence why there’s more charge volume….yawn 🥱😉. I don’t think that. Anyone with a none covid brain that can give me insight to why this is happening would be an angel in disguise.
Thanks.

 

[Thebriggie]

There are a lot of factors in estimated range at 100%...let me list some;
It is history based on your previous journeys
Heater on/off affects range shown
Outside temperature. Lower = less range
Right foot pressure
Paddle use
Weather...high winds, road conditions

Now with your man's use;

Terrain - is the school run flatter than your work journey
Speed..slower = greater range... see school run again

To name but a few...take your pick. I am sure others will chip in

Alan

 

[Milkfloat]

It's about ambient temperature and accelerator/brake pedal. From 0 Celsius to 5C, you will see a step change and then to 10C another step. Finally, at 15C, range is at another level. Another frosty week and you will see the range drop again. Your husband may well be better moderating his right foot but you can be better. Try keeping the power meter at just 2 graduations when you accelerate and use the left paddle to brake rather than using the brake pedal. You will be amazed at what you can achieve and you will breeze past these people saying they get 3.9 miles/kwh in winter.

 

[jceedv]

Based solely on what you posted, I would agree with your husband

Seriously though, a 20% increase like that I would guess a fairly drastic change in the temperature around your area and/or the use (or lack thereof) of A/C or fan inside, unless you Really have a lead foot

 

[seasidebaz]

Battery heater kicks in below 4°, I've noticed my range jump by 30 miles since last week.

 

[Thebriggie]

Seaside, I honestly thought the hv battery heater didn't kick in unless temp was well below 0 degrees. Is this since the software upgrade to manually turn on battery heater for dc charging that you've noticed this?

And if it is now kicking in have you seen soc drop if the car is not plugged in overnight as it must chew hv battery power?

Interesting, Alan

 

[seasidebaz]

Sorry, I was a bit vague there. We had a day last week where the car couldn't decide if it was 4 or 5 degrees outside. When it was 4° the ice warning ping would go off and the mileage was tracking 1 to 1 with SoC, when it read 5° the ice warning was no longer illuminated and the mileage was SoC + 15 (all this is one continuous drive by the way, no fiddling with air con or anything like that). The days following that were warmer so my range went up through normal driving.

I may be wrong but my observation is that the illuminating of the ice warning at 4° is linked to some kind of battery heating / preconditioning at the start of a drive which is then monitored throughout in order to keep the battery temp within a nominal range. I've not had the recent updates applied yet so they may have changed how it works but this isn't related to charging.

 

[Thebriggie]

Interesting. Do you think it could also possibly be the car re estimating milage based on temperature variations rather than the battery preconditioning? It's just I read that automatic battery heating did not click in until below 0 at best nearer -10 to 15 at worst so I am a bit confused.

Alan

 

[seasidebaz]

Could be. Unfortunately, I wasn't watching my consumption to see if that changed. I am also confused as I thought all the talk about the battery heater was to do with DC charging...

 

[Thebriggie]

Correct. AM036A patch was to allow heating to be switched on manually (by standing on one leg with a pencil up your nose and going wibble wobble rather than a settings option!) to enable dc charging times to improve during really cold weather. As far as I was aware it did not affect automatic battery heater function but I am still searching for a spec that actually states when it should kick in. 🤔

In this forum it mentions the following
"I went to our Mazda dealer about the battery not being heated. Apparently it comes on around the -20c mark (-4F), which in my mind is crazy"

"There are just the two settings, battery warmer Auto or Off. Mine is always set to auto. The dealer said that the battery heater comes on between -15c to -20c."

Alan

 

[Paul]

This thread has come at a really good time for me. I have noticed a significant drop in miles & I am putting it down to the climate control. I followed Alan’s ( Thebriggie) advice on de misting. However there is something not right but before I go ranting & raving to Mazda dealer I want to know if I’m doing something wrong. I have a/c on, circulation on ( button with reversing arrow ) eco off, rear screen heater on. temp around 16. Now clears but if I move from that right front screen button within a few miles/minutes I’m fogging up. What is the point of the other buttons ie footwell etc. I think this is causing a heavy drain on the main battery thus giving me poor battery distance & my legs are freezing. If I put my hand down to the footwell it’s blowing cold air. I think something is drastically wrong. I’ve never had this problem. I think Alan said although I’m not absolutely sure that Mazda have used a heat pump. Well god help us all if we have to use them in our homes. Anyway can someone advise.

 

[Milkfloat]

I've never commented on and never understood this thread. I do just the same as every car in the last 20 years. Manual control with AC on. Flow to screen and floor with fan on 1 or 2 generally dependent on outside temperature. 1 above 8C and 2 below it. Temperature set at 19C. And just like all the other cars, everything works fine with no misting. (And make sure not to use recirc)

 

[Thebriggie]

Paul, don't have to have circulation on. You are recycling damp...take air from outside until you are stuck behind a manure truck. Switching climate control on will automatically reduce your potential range by about 20 miles...try sitting in the car and try switching it on and off. You can now save ac for warmer weather. The heat pump control system is ok but I do find that you need higher temperature setting to feel a difference on your hand in the footwell. As per Milkfloar I sit about 19c but to feel a real immediate difference in the footwell you need to go to the mid 20's at least. Milkfloat, you could possibly answer this, I don't think higher temp settings make too much of a difference on heat pump power draw...

Alan

 

[Paul]

Thanks for your help Milkfloat & Alan, you have both hit what I thought could be the problem, the re circulation button, sorry guys I called it the reverse arrow button. As I say I did think to myself exactly what you said drawing in damp air but thought I’d get another opinion. The footwell heater is absolutely zilch though wonder if either of you have any ideas on that part. Thanks for all your help guys so much appreciate.

 

[Milkfloat]

Alan, you will have realised that I am somewhat of a tech head. Work done by a heat pump (which equals power used plus inefficiency) is proportional to delta T, the difference between the inside and outside. That is an oversimplification but is good for this explanation. So, if you have 19C inside and 5C outside then the Delta T is 14 degrees. Now, 25C inside and the Delta T is 20 degrees. The heat pump will use 20/14 times as much power. So, 42% more. On the other hand, turning down by 1 degree only saves 14/13 = 7.7%.

 

[Paul]

Hi guys again, feel a right ole dummy now, as I said I was thinking about the re circulation button but for some reason I genuinely thought it would circulate the warm air around the car. The other thing is the paddles, I do use them but should probably try & use them more. Try to keep light pressure on peddle & I also try to think ahead, but must look back on my school reports “must try harder” .

 

[Thebriggie]

Milkfloat, what does that 42% increase in power mean in reality? What do you reckon the base draw is from the heat pump? If it only takes, and I don't know, say a draw of .5kw from the battery I assume that increases to roughly .72kw. Would that be correct? I suppose what I am asking is that if the draw starts at a low point then any increase is relative?

Alan

 

[Paul]

Milkfloat you & Alan are well into the technology of these cars, I’m so glad you are both ready & willing to share your knowledge. As far as I can gather a heat pump sources any heat in the outside air & basically puts it inside. Tell me if I’m wrong as I am not a tech. It’s like a/c in reverse. What I don’t understand is, if the temp is minus outside then surely there is no warm air to source.

 

[Thebriggie]

How do heat pumps work?
Put simply a heat pump takes the available heat from the air surrounding a car and increases it to a more useful temperature for use in the car. The colder the air is the more the heat pump has to work with relative power draw increase.

Milkfloat probably has a better understanding given his knowledge base and can help us all understand a bit better!

And Paul, paddle use is critical to improved range and learning to use them correctly is absolutely essential.

Alan

 

[Paul]

Thanks for that Alan. I find that inside temp of the car is comfortable at 16/17. Always thinking the higher the temp the harder the engine or in our case the battery has to work. This is something a lot of people don’t realise & I must admit I didn’t until a few years ago until I bought a Kia Niro. There is so much info on electric cars for the main how efficiently you are driving. Will be going to my daughters tonight & will switch off the recirculating button. Obviously lights will be on more hard work for battery. I have now even stopped using the indicators if safe to do so ie nothing around. Sounds daft I know but as Tesco say every little helps. Basically we have to learn to drive again with electric cars. I don’t excelerate hard. In our area when I hit a 20 limit I stick to it because where I live the powers that be would book you at 2 in the morning. Two or three years ago they booked people for being in the bus lane on Xmas day!!! The buses weren’t even running dur. Has anyone out there changed the way they drive since taking up their electric car. I must try harder with the paddles. What a fantastic forum this is.