Will 12V battery charge with remote start?

[plannersteve]

Thank you Shane150 and Snakebitten. I feel guilty that I am not out collecting data, but I am busy packing to drive to Utah tomorrow. We'll see how the battery likes sitting in the cold. I'll be too nervous to not go out and start the truck at some point.

Sponsored

 

[Snakebitten]

How exactly is the current being limited? Battery positive post measures 12.53V. DC/DC converter output is over 14V. Is there a variable resistor in series?

If the DC-DC is 14V, so will the voltmeter at the battery post.

I look at it like this:

There are 2 PIDs for Low Voltage Current.
(1) is described as "LV DC/DC converter current. It is shown below as 39 amps. It is the "output" of the Powerboost Alternator and is supplied to the 12V side of the truck. This current is being consumed by everything the truck is running on the 12V buss.

(2) is described as "12V battery current". This integer can be positive or negative. So it can be amps being drawn from (discharging?) the 12V battery, or current going into the 12V battery. (charging?)

I personally am convinced that the LV PID for DC/DC current does NOT include the additional amps that include the battery charging amps of the second PID. I explain why with the math below the screenshot.

Note that the INPUT to the DC/DC converter is 2.1 amps @ 278V

So V*A=Watts

2.1 A * 278 V = 583.8 watts (HV side)
583.8/14.2 = 41.11 amps (LV side)

39 + 2 = 41 ?
PID 1 + PID 2 = 41

Pretty cool stuff!

 

[Snakebitten]

Thank you Shane150 and Snakebitten. I feel guilty that I am not out collecting data, but I am busy packing to drive to Utah tomorrow. We'll see how the battery likes sitting in the cold. I'll be too nervous to not go out and start the truck at some point.

Don't feel that way.
But don't worry either.
Just make sure you have your HV battery topped off at 63% SOC

Then tomorrow morning get in the truck with the FOB. Do the 2 step startup sequence. Your HV battery will be there to make sure you have plenty of 12V current to start the truck.

 

[Gros Ventre]

You know... Aside from the computer readouts you guys speak to... What I see since I installed a system Voltmeter is just nonsense when you look out into the truck's system from the battery. For example for the system voltage to be 15.2VDC after 5 or 6 hours of highway running just is nuts. That is over charging the battery... At that point with every thing warmed up under the hood the battery should be floating along at around 13.2 VDC. Should there be a big load (heated seats, fan on high, or defrost and wipers going or maybe all of this - yep we see this in Wyoming in January & February) the system voltage will droop given the alternator programmed response to load... But to see 15.2VDC after fully warmed up... just does not pass the common sense test...

 

[Snakebitten]

I rarely see above 14.7 with the PID.
Although I have seen momentary 14.9-15.2
But not longterm.

But even if the DC-DC is providing 15V but the truck is consuming all the supplied current, is the AGM being cooked? There's little to no current for it to store.

I'm curious, that's all.
I don't pretend to understand an AGM battery.

 

[Snakebitten]

With my ICE truck you can clearly hear the alternator working during remote start in cold weather due to the heated seats, rear defrost and heat running. It also seems to run at an elavated idle to generate additional power, during the warmup. The only flaw I see here is that remote start only allows you to start the truck twice for max of 15 minutes, before you have to go and physically enter the truck and start it. At least that's the way it work on ICE trucks. It may be different on a Powerboost? @Snakebitten ?

Yes sir. The Powerboost has remote start timeouts and limits as well.

 

[Big Dog Daddy]

Yes sir. The Powerboost has remote start timeouts and limits as well.

Ok, because the OP talked about remote starting from his condo to keep the battery charged. So running it for 2x 15 minute cycles, doesn't sound like it will really help. He would still have to go out and turn on the truck.

 

[Snakebitten]

Ok, because the OP talked about remote starting from his condo to keep the battery charged. So running it for 2x 15 minute cycles, doesn't sound like it will really help. He would still have to go out and turn on the truck.

Yep.
But I do wish I could understand why Ford would consider a remote start running truck should have such a different BMS charging strategy than a truck started with the occupant in the cabin?

Seems without any obvious merit.

 

[Gros Ventre]

I rarely see above 14.7 with the PID.
Although I have seen momentary 14.9-15.2
But not longterm.

But even if the DC-DC is providing 15V but the truck is consuming all the supplied current, is the AGM being cooked? There's little to no current for it to store.

I'm curious, that's all.
I don't pretend to understand an AGM battery.

You know... I'm still trying to figure this out. A 12VDC lead acid battery that is fully charged and is presented with an input voltage of 15.2 VDC is being charged and at a fairly significant current. A flooded cell battery would "boil" away its water and kill the battery in a few hours. AGM Batteries do have the capability to recombine the H2 & O2, so maybe that's part of the picture. You know, a short time after installing the replacement battery, I found a couple of the cell caps popped up, as if pressurized. Just pushed them back in... But I'm now wondering. More home work. I cannot make sense of the voltages I'm seeing in the system since I installed the voltmeter... Obviously what I'm seeing has been going on for the life of the battery I put in Late November, '21. Since it's still going and after a couple of Wyoming winters so far, I clearly haven't made sense of Ford's programming...

 

[Samson16]

If the DC-DC is 14V, so will the voltmeter at the battery post.

I look at it like this:

There are 2 PIDs for Low Voltage Current.
(1) is described as "LV DC/DC converter current. It is shown below as 39 amps. It is the "output" of the Powerboost Alternator and is supplied to the 12V side of the truck. This current is being consumed by everything the truck is running on the 12V buss.

(2) is described as "12V battery current". This integer can be positive or negative. So it can be amps being drawn from (discharging?) the 12V battery, or current going into the 12V battery. (charging?)

I personally am convinced that the LV PID for DC/DC current does NOT include the additional amps that include the battery charging amps of the second PID. I explain why with the math below the screenshot.

Note that the INPUT to the DC/DC converter is 2.1 amps @ 278V

So V*A=Watts

2.1 A * 278 V = 583.8 watts (HV side)
583.8/14.2 = 41.11 amps (LV side)

39 + 2 = 41 ?
PID 1 + PID 2 = 41

Pretty cool stuff!

That is very likely the case regarding the two PIDs. Well done sir.
“If the DC-DC is 14V, so will the voltmeter at the battery post.”
Yes. I was trying to convey the application of over 14V to the positive post that read 12.83V prior.
I need to research the OEM AGM manufacturer data. I have seen 12V AGM charts that show 12.8V is 100% SOC “resting”. The battery itself may be current limiting due to nearing 100%.

 

[Snakebitten]

That is very likely the case regarding the two PIDs. Well done sir.
“If the DC-DC is 14V, so will the voltmeter at the battery post.”
Yes. I was trying to convey the application of over 14V to the positive post that read 12.83V prior.
I need to research the OEM AGM manufacturer data. I have seen 12V AGM charts that show 12.8V is 100% SOC “resting”. The battery itself may be current limiting due to nearing 100%.

I sometimes grab random screenshots from OBDlink (I have an insane number) to make a point.
I may have unwittingly used voltmeter screenshots to make one point, and OBDlink screenshot to make another point, and they both would not represent the same moment in real time.

Having said that, I do get a .1V difference in voltage between my Bluetooth voltmeter and Ford's PID for LV Battery Voltage.

 

[Gros Ventre]

I sometimes grab random screenshots from OBDlink (I have an insane number) to make a point.
I may have unwittingly used voltmeter screenshots to make one point, and OBDlink screenshot to make another point, and they both would not represent the same moment in real time.

Having said that, I do get a .1V difference in voltage between my Bluetooth voltmeter and Ford's PID for LV Battery Voltage.

A point 1 voltage difference would just strike me as data scatter... One voltmeter reads a given voltage and another shows the same voltage a tad different... Still, tuck that thought away, may lead somewhere...

 

[JJSnell]

Not really an answer to your remote start question but I think every person should own one of these and have it sitting in the glove box.
I've gotten a handful of these over the years and have given them out as Christmas gifts or to my kids when they turned 16 and got their cars. Why Amazon says only four I don't know, I have to have almost 10 of these under my belt...
In our boat, in one of our jet skis, all our cars, (5) and gifts...
Anyway, I recommend them, they are great.

 

[Shane150]

Around 12 minutes of remote start run time.

 

[Samson16]

I think it's a crap shoot with remote start. Maybe the ICE kicks on, or maybe after 30min the last useable portion of your HVB is drained away. I hope you guys figure out a way to force it. I went 3 weeks last march with mine parked and it was fine when I got back. Good weather with a new truck so?

Sponsored