[Dah-ditdit-dahdah]

I read the hybrid supplement and it states that if the ambient temp is lower than 5F it requires that it be plugged in for the battery to condition itself. It also states that at below -22F it will not start.


I'm parking in the garage at home but outside at work where it will occasionally (5-10 days per year in my climate) be near or below zero. I have no ability to plug in at work. So if I don't plug it in at 5F or below, what happens? Do I risk being stranded or choosing between being stranded and damaging the battery?

 

[SnB4xe]

I think you are okay still. Keep reading the next section of the supplement. It explains how it will warm the battery enough so you can start the engine. It might take a few minutes but you shouldn't be stranded.

 

[Shakes]

Maybe drive to work on the really cold days in e-save so the battery has plenty of power to condition both batteries.

 

[Horse_Power]

Might need to light a little fire under the block like they did under the tanks in WW2.

 

[Avocado]

I just checked the 4xe supplement again.

If you read the bullet points after the temperature warnings on page 7 it says the vehicle may need to condition the high voltage battery in extreme cold and the vehicle will need to be plugged in to do this.

I interpret that as saying so long as the vehicle is plugged in and I have conditioned the battery, the vehicle should start.

I wonder if this will work on a level 1 charger…

I will find out soon enough!

Fortunately I can plug in at home and at work, but, this is concerning if it’s very cold out and I turn the vehicle off temporarily, for example, to fuel up or pick something up from a stor

Presumably, if the battery cells are warm at shut down and still warm at start up then this should be ok … hopefully.

Otherwise, like Horse_Power said, light a fire or carry a tiger torch - that’s what we used to use to heat up the oil pan/engine on our large trucks.

 

[Nathan]

At least on Telsas, it takes a while to freeze the battery - like, overnight+. The 4xE battery is in the car rather than under it too so I expect that you need to be out in cold temps for a while before the cells are too cold to run.

I'd also be really surprised if FCA didn't test this, but well, this is the first winter for many of us, so...

 

[SnB4xe]

I just checked the 4xe supplement again.

If you read the bullet points after the temperature warnings on page 7 it says the vehicle may need to condition the high voltage battery in extreme cold and the vehicle will need to be plugged in to do this.

I interpret that as saying so long as the vehicle is plugged in and I have conditioned the battery, the vehicle should start.

I wonder if this will work on a level 1 charger…

I will find out soon enough!

Fortunately I can plug in at home and at work, but, this is concerning if it’s very cold out and I turn the vehicle off temporarily, for example, to fuel up or pick something up from a stor

Presumably, if the battery cells are warm at shut down and still warm at start up then this should be ok … hopefully.

Otherwise, like Horse_Power said, light a fire or carry a tiger torch - that’s what we used to use to heat up the oil pan/engine on our large trucks.

If you leave it plugged in while parked, then it will condition the battery itself. Presumably. Supplement is slightly vague in that regard.

If the internal temp of the HVB is -22F then the Jeep won't start. It would have to be left alone for a long time for the battery to get that cold. Stopping at the store isn't enough time for the battery to lose all its heat.

L1 should be enough to keep the block and battery warm.

If you can't plug in while ar work and it gets that cold then you probably want to remote start once or twice during the work day. Same as an ICE vehicle. I think our colleagues in Wisconsin have to start their cars during lunch or else it might not start at the end of the work day.

 

[Avocado]

Agreed the wording is vague and maybe misleading.. the part that made me think of there being an issue with a quick stop was the following excerpt from the supplemental manual saying “at vehicle shut down”. This seems to be odd wording and also doesn’t mention battery temp, rather it’s talking about ambient temp - this is probably just a reminder to plug-in message and the actual start/won’t start temperature reading is coming from sensors in the battery.

From manual:
“If the ambient temperature is 5°F (-15°C) or below at vehicle shut down,”

 

[SnB4xe]

Agreed the wording is vague and maybe misleading.. the part that made me think of there being an issue with a quick stop was the following excerpt from the supplemental manual saying “at vehicle shut down”. This seems to be odd wording and also doesn’t mention battery temp, rather it’s talking about ambient temp - this is probably just a reminder to plug-in message and the actual start/won’t start temperature reading is coming from sensors in the battery.

From manual:
“If the ambient temperature is 5°F (-15°C) or below at vehicle shut down,”

Yes. I think the intent is for the car to remind the driver to plug in when it is cold. My BEVs would ask to be plugged at 32F so it surprises me a bit the Jeep waits until it is much colder to issue the "please plug in while parked" message.

At any rate. If it is 5F when you park then perhaps it might get much colder overnight hence the message asking to plug in? I guess that makes sense and could be what the supplement is trying to communicate?