What I did with my MG ZS EV Today.
 

I was filling it up with electrons whilst quaffing a cold Henry's with my feet up :D:p::D


https://i.imgur.com/VN7wmbyl.jpg




https://i.imgur.com/9JBkBd8l.jpg

Errrrr, "The Lady Boys of Bangkok"??????????????:getmecoat::getmecoat:

LOL:D:p::D

Joined the wrong forum?

I have a ZS auto 1Lt 3 cylinder TURBO facelift :}a very nice drive I expect the EV to be fair . Good room in the car which will be the same in the EV

Took ours out for a spin

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...1&d=1646694177

That time of the month again:eek: well 7 weeks :o Time to balance the traction pack.
I put it on charge around dinner time on the lowest setting of 10amp on the Fenkee adjustable charge in the garage to charge it up slowly from between half to three quarters full to full, It took 14.366kWh to fully charge it well 96.2% which is the upper buffer to protect the battery pack which cost £2.80:bowdown:


https://i.imgur.com/D9gzDHYl.jpg




The car will get used first thing tomorrow to go & pick our daughters car up so as not to let it sit with a 100% charge for too long. The cells are balanced perfick reading Min 4.2 / Max 4.22 :bowdown:



https://i.imgur.com/cS5im9Al.png


Still being in Winter months but with milder weather lately the range is creeping back up with just 6 miles off the original range of 163 miles. :}





https://i.imgur.com/NRqs67xl.jpg

I’m looking to go EV next as I’m due to change the main car later this year and I can’t get my head round the cell balancing when charged to 100%. I work with another manufacturer and cell balancing is happening all the time whilst the battery has charge. I can’t seem to find an answer why MG’s only do it at 100%?

MG Motors recommend balancing the battery pack around once a month in the handbook, You will get a warning message on the dash to slow charge the vehicle to balance battery pack or words to that effect, The longer you leave it the longer it will take to balance.


We don't use the car daily so the only time I fully charge to 100% is to carry out this procedure although not strictly on a monthly basis.



All the other times it's kept between 70%-80% charged. If you're plugging in every night to fully charge it for the next days usage it will do the balancing automatically,



Once the car reaches 100% the pulsating MG logo goes to fully lit to show it's balancing the pack, Depending on how out of balance it is depends on the length of time it will take, From reading other peoples comments it seems to take longer if you have been rapid charging it frequently. :shrug:


Edit: Just found this which explains it better than I did.


Balance charge.


The manual also states on page 292-293 in the Maintenance section paragraph 3, that it is "recommended" "where possible" to carry out a "9-hour slow charge every month to extend the service life of the high voltage battery". This is a maintenance Balance charge which allows the Battery Management System or BMS to balance the voltages across the cells in the pack (108 cells in the ZS). In reality this can take upwards of thirty minutes (30 minutes) after Fully Charge State of Charge (100% SOC) has been reached. [There is a maximum voltage difference that can be Balance in any on session and I believe the maximum time in one session the BMS will do the Balance charge is 6 hours but @MilesperkWh can correct me on that]. During this "Balance charging," the charge rate drops the charging rate from 7 kW to trickle of about 300 watts (as I have described in other threads) and this allows the cells with lower voltage to continue to be trickle charged to "Balance up" or "Equalise" cell voltages in the pack. There is also a degree of balancing when driving from 100% SOC down to about 97% SOC. Balancing when charging though Only happens on AC charging ie on your Type 2 Cable and NOT on CCS DC Rapid chargers. A "Granny Charger" is also an AC charger.

To be honest I don't really put too much thought into charging, just plug in and go. Ours does get charged to 100% every night so has plenty of chance to balance.

https://i.imgflip.com/6a3jeq.jpg




I will be charging up to 100% before the cost of electricity goes up in price on April 1st :eek::D:p:

Snowfoam time & charged it up from 70% to 80% using 10kWh at 28p/kWh £2.80 :bowdown:
Sure enough as soon as I finished washing it the showers appeared :mad:





https://i.imgur.com/4HdXU73l.jpg

The manual also states on page 292-293 in the Maintenance section paragraph 3,

Just read this in your Post regarding the charging your EV "Page 292/293" Just how big is the Hand Book??:shrug:

Yeah it's pretty comprehensive covering all these newfangled electronic/radar systems. We don't use the car everyday so I don't need to have it charged to 100% sitting there for two or three days which is not good for the main battery pack.


I always keep it within the 20%-80% state of charge which works out for our needs. There's a lot of stuff in that manual that goes way over my head so I just read what I need to know and about all the dashboard signs (keep away from all the orange high voltage parts under the bonnet :p:) I can bluetooth up the OBD scanner to my phone & Decipher certain parameters but don't bother with all the bells & whistles multiple menus for this that & t'other, I've not even tried the sports mode on it yet or the Sat-Nav or the Adaptive Cruise Control :eek:, As long as it plays BBC radio Manchester & wafts along in silence I'm happy as Larry :D

It's that time of the month to balance the main traction pack again to 100% well 96.4%, took less than 10 minutes to balance & all fine & dandy with readings of 4.2 volts min to 4.22 volts max :bowdown: 157 miles on 'Normal 3' mode, Just 5 miles short of the 162 miles Summer range as the weather warms up & 172 miles on ECO mode. :}


https://i.imgur.com/lLcpnttl.jpg




https://i.imgur.com/vFjyEZUl.png


https://i.imgur.com/1GA2LsCl.jpg

What is the purpose and how do you 'balance' the traction pack? My wife has recently got a 2020 ZS EV, had to use the charger in the boot for the first couple of weeks, but now got a pod point fitted and using that. Her range seems to be around 155. 3 days a week for work, 100 miles per day, and then just running around short trips for the next few days.

It's something MG motors UK recommend doing, Slow charge the traction pack up to 100% on AC charging, (Home 7kw charger or the slow charger that comes with the car)



It doesn't balance the pack on DC (fast/rapid chargers) The MG logo light on the charging flap pulsates when charging, Hard to see in bright daylight but remains solid lit when it's balancing the pack, It goes out automatically when the balancing is done.


If you're plugging in every night & charging it up to 100% then it will balance automatically, It's mainly for people who don't charge to 100% regular or use a lot of DC charging (rapid charging) .

Ah right thanks. She charges it up to full using the podpoint charger at the house each day after work, for 3 days, and then the last charge is used over the next 4 before being fully charged again ready for work. She only occasionally charges when she pops into Tesco. I’ve noticed the pulsating lights when charging at night, but I’ve not noticed it go solid when charged, I’ll try and take notice next time it’s on charge.

Snowfoam wash time again & Demon shine polish time :cool:


https://i.imgur.com/j46D5iNl.jpg

What's the range on one of the things, driven properly, not like Mis Daisy.

That's hard to say, I've never ever driven it anywhere near from full to empty, You can ask a dozen people who own them & you'll probably get a dozen different answers, So many things come into play. Winter driving has a less range than driving in Summer or whether you have the heating/AC on or whether you drive just around town mostly making use of the regenerative braking or at motorway speeds.

My wife does about 100-105 miles a day in hers, starts fully charged and usually says it's got around 45 miles left when she gets home. So for her I'd say at this time of year it's got a range of between 140 and 150 miles. A/C seems to knock about 15 miles off the range. She's learned it's better for range to use the heated seat to warm her up when cold, rather than use the heater to heat the whole car.

A couple of things that are irritating/surprising. She previously had the 1.5 petrol exclusive model, which had front foglights. But the exclusive EV model, despite having a lot of other extra features, doesn't come with front fogs.
As mentioned above, the A/C knocks about 15 miles off the range, so they've fitted a full glass roof, which makes the car heat up a lot worse than her other one with a normal metal roof.
And presumably because it's a budget brand, none of the glass (with the exception of the roof) has any sort of tint to it, so it doesn't reflect any sun at all, again making it very hot in the sun.


Lancpudn, sorry for hijacking your thread

Oh No worries :) It's all good info. We don't use ours every day & I only charge it twice a month so I cant really tell people what sort of range to expect.

I forgot to mention this thread is for anybody that has a MG ZS EV, Post up what you're doing with them. :}


A few people have been in contact with me regards this Fenkee adjustable charger I got from their site on the AliExpress site.

They've asked me how it's been performing over the 17 months I've been using it. It hasn't skipped a beat & performed flawlessly every time I've plugged it in.:cool:


They've been asking about the price of it as they're finding home chargers on the expensive side. I've told them it's not a smart charger but a "dumb" charger, I'm retired & don't use the car everyday nor do I need to program a charging schedule to be fully charged at a certain time or be heated/cooled by the time I use it.


I really cant grumble at paying £162 for it, It's cheap as chips compared to smart chargers & works perfectly for our needs.
Most of the charging is done on the lowest settings of 10 amps as I'm never in a hurry for owt :D There's always at least a charge of 50% in the car & most of the time I only use it to top up to 70-80% if I need it.


https://i.imgur.com/eW21mgQl.jpg

MG pulls it's electric cars from sale in the UK market due to the unprecedented level of demand for the MG ZS EV & the MG5 :eek:
MG's BEV's are selling so well the lead times are getting longer & longer with 2022 orders already full.

With more BEV models due for release in the UK/Europe later this year I can see the waiting lists getting longer & longer. https://www.electrifying.com/blog/ar...cars-from-sale

It's that time of month again :eek: to charge to 100% & let the battery pack balance, It took fifteen minutes after the 100% charge stopped.


Eighteen months in & still 100% SOH, Car scanner showing 96.9% when car is charged to 100% :shrug:


https://i.imgur.com/NtaWFnnl.png


Showing 161 miles in mode 3, not bad as from brand new the mileage was 162 in mode 3 :bowdown:




https://i.imgur.com/yRM0Tpxl.jpg

Regularly showing 165 at this time of year

Looking forward to the drive to Gretna this weekend in zsEV luxury

Bootiful day here so SnowFoam time again as I'm bored & the heel section of the drivers carpet has come unstitched, They were out of my Kia Niro which fit surprisingly well to the MG ZS EV :bowdown: so I've gorilla glued it down :p:, Putting a charge in it from 72% to 80% as I have quite a few Dr/Clinic/Hospital appointments next week. :D


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Hey Simon if you're reading this is this the same software version as yours? I'm not sure if I have the latest version. Sorry about the bad reflection picture as it's a sunny day but hopefully you can see the lettering.




https://i.imgur.com/Gq2Bk1Kl.jpg




https://i.imgur.com/jPorU5Kl.jpg

Just a small thing re. Battery range. My wife went to visit her friend in Manchester last weekend, a journey of approx 145 miles. She said it was bad traffic most of the way, motorway clogging up and slowing, then clearing and back to normal speed before slowing again etc. When she got to her friends the dash was still showing 23 miles. And very similar on the return journey. By that it gives a range of 168 miles.

Still not great though is it, How long to charge it back up? My ZT deisel has a range of 600 consistent miles, sometimes higher and takes me about 3mins to fill and I'm on my way, if I need a per at the services, I have one, 5min, if I want a coffee, I buy one and stick it in the cup holder and progress my journey, none of this waiting for a charger and then waiting for the car to charge stuff, just progress. I do like my deisel motors, 2.0 ZT CDTI and 2.5 Sorento CDTI both Remapped.

That's good going, What are you averaging for miles/kWh? I'm averaging over 4miles/kWh regular & as much as 4.8 miles/kWh on a urban run, Last trip was 4.2miles/kWh.



https://i.imgur.com/39EUIvll.jpg

For most people range just isn't an issue. We do 60 - 80 miles a day in our ZS and it gets plugged in when home so it's always at 100% the following morning. For us it's more convenient because we no longer have to drive out of our way to get to a petrol station.

Cant believe it's almost two years I've had this car, Just booked my MG ZS EV in for it's second service for the first week in December. I asked her if there are any software updates available for it but she said they're not sure until it gets plugged into the MG motors computer system, If it needs them it will get them.

Range/Cost
 

This guy writes a good article.

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/new...c-car-25989706

Up to date and make sense.

Not really fair comparing the running costs of a basic diesel BMW with a 400bhp SUV that can do 0-60 in 4.7 seconds!

For a slightly fairer comparison I recently did a run to Stanstead and back and the total cost including a few minutes on the Tesla supercharger was £11. Even in our diesel Mini it would have been at least £25 for the same journey and we would have been far less comfortable.

Charging away from home has always been the most difficult aspect of owning an EV however things are getting better pretty quickly now. We regularly drive from Bath to Norfolk and when we first got the ZS 2 years ago heading up the M11 there was only 1 slow charger (50Kw) at Birchanger and then nothing until we got to our home charger so we had to make sure we could take enough power to make the journey which took ages. Now there are 4 additional 150kw+ chargers between Birchanger and our house so loads more options. We've also now switched from the ZS which charged at 50kw and had a real world range of 130 miles at motorway speeds to an MG4 long range which can easily do well over 200 miles and charges at 135kw.

It's that of month to do a battery pack balance, Haven't done one in over two months. :eek:I put the charger on the lowest 10 amp setting & let it charge to 100%. If the MG grill badge light stays on solid (which it does) instead of pulsating then it's carrying out a pack balance.
It's been balancing for over an hour up until now.



https://i.imgur.com/oBQAcBVl.jpg





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Time for a charge today & the pack is looking nice & toasty :eek:


https://i.imgur.com/AknK2zCl.jpg

I don't think that's the battery pack temp, but rather the charger temp as there's no bi-directional comms between the BMS and the charger on AC.

My Ohme charger has also been showing pretty high temps as it's in the full glare of the sun in the afternoon, seems OK though.

Ah right! Thanks, I wasn't sure, I think that's the highest temp I've seen on the charger.

I did a 100% charge yesterday & let the car do a battery pack balance, It's the first time in months I've charged it up to 100%, You're supposed to do it monthly :o to keep the cells balanced. I usually keep it charged to around 80% for our usage, The balance after 32 months is almost perfect using the OBD car scanner. :bowdown:



https://i.imgur.com/93yak4il.png

And yet people will insist that the battery will be useless and have to be replaced after 7 years :duh: