MG4 EV Battery settings / charge rate / time and level adjustment

[@KungFUcat10]

Great videos, I’m due my Trophy in the next 2 weeks. Thanks, some really good pointers and advice

[@chrismorrison1955]

Great short video telling us what we need to know. Thank you

[@BurlSolomons]

That is the format I went for. No long half hour reviews, just succinct information on specific features that people need to know about. More on KZbin right now and plenty in the pipeline.

[@michaelkashi812]

Thanks for this useful video - I don't see the option to set my charging at health mode of below 80% I have the MG4 SE model though, just wonder whether this feature is only available on trophy model. I don't have this option available on the smart app either. Interestingly I do have the option to set the % discharge but no the % charge.

[@BurlSolomons]

OK, the standard range version has a different battery chemistry called LFP (lithium iron phosphate) which does not have a problem with being fully charged every charge. LFP batteries are sightly less energy dense. The SE LR and Trophy models have the NMC battery (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) which can deliver more power, charge at higher speeds and is more energy dense. However it doesn't like being charged to 100% all the time, it does not like being left at 100% for days on end, and especially not in hot weather. Hope this answers your questions. Cheers. B

[@michaelkashi812]

Very interesting thank you! So in that case for the SE model should be no issue to full charger to 100%. Would have been good for the manufacturer to not show the battery screen with the 80% health charge (disabled) option as causing confusion to people.

[@ShadyLittleBoz]

Hi, thanks for all the videos. Straight to the point and very informative. Do you have one for the electric hand brake / hill start operation? Many thanks.

[@BurlSolomons]

I'll look into doing one but it is very straightforward - press hard on the brake pedal to activate hold, the A symbol turns green in the driver display. relese brake pedal. Then accelerate away when ready and the brakes release automatically.

[@SakuntalaAppo]

Hi Burl . I have a standard 51 kWh mg 4 ev in Thailand. I noticed that I can limit the charge rate inside the car to 6 kWh to facilitate slow charging. Because I have done several fast chargings but not even a single slow charge in between. However everytime I plug in the charge cable from the public charge station the battery starts fast charging mode. I can't get the car to get charged at slow mode. What am I doing wrong. Am I supposed to set up the charging mode to slow charge inside the car 6, kWh before I plug in the public charging station charge cable. Is that what i am not doing before I plug in the cable. Thank you.

[@mikhaelbt]

because you can only set the amps for AC charging.. public charging is mostly DC

[@CastleKnight7]

Out of interest, what would be the use of reducing the amount of current when charging your car? I’m new to electric vehicles, so I’d have thought the higher the better for faster charging. Is this about battery health and longevity?

[@james-5560]

AC charging at 16A isn't going to affect battery longevity really at all, as you've got 1,000's of cells and they're all only getting a little bit of charge. It is more about if you've only got a caravan hookup where the RCD trips at a lower amount of Amps. Practually, that setting is hardly ever useful and you may as well leave it at the maximum.

[@CastleKnight7]

@@james-5560Thanks for that explanation. I’ll leave it at maximum.

[@BurlSolomons]

Charging off your solar, if the output of your home inverter is only 3.68 kW you might want to reduce the charging power to prevent using the expensive grid power supply.

[@CastleKnight7]

@@BurlSolomonsYes, hadn’t thought about that. Good point.

[@brucet000]

The only other reason I can think of is load sharing, if you had 2 cars at home, not so relevant yet but in the near future households could easily have 2 or even 3 EVs and 2 cargers

[@andrewguy8599]

So just to clarify something, in general you should set the charge limit to 80% (health mode) but once a month change it to 100% and do a long charge to balance the battery restrictive of whether you're doing a long trip or not. And then after doing the battery balance charge set it back to the 80% health mode , correct?

[@Nekomk123]

I dont think you need to do it as you said. Just charge to full when you do long trip. Its not acid battery which needs balance.

[@russcraig1216]

@@Nekomk123 LFP needs a regular balance charge and for NMC it can be less regular. If you leave it too long then the car will remind you. I intend to just charge to 100% before long trips and rebalance my NMC then. NMC can do some balancing on lower SOC charges too.

[@Nekomk123]

@@russcraig1216 i'm interested only in lfp battery's.

[@russcraig1216]

@@Nekomk123 in that case when you charge to 100% you will rebalance if needed

[@Nekomk123]

@@russcraig1216 it have BMS

[@SergioArbaizaVallejo]

Hi and good morning. I have a MG4 standard model. I am trying to set or fix the maximum level of charging battery to 80% called as healthy mode, but I´m not able to find it. Please can you tell me how to do it??Thanks so much

[@BurlSolomons]

Standard range doesn't have a health mode - the car has a different type of liithium battery (LFP instead of NMC) that is OK to charge to 100% every day.

[@danielcolceru3840]

Hello, I've just got my car today an MG 4 SE and it was at 83% and tried to use my granny charger but even though it connects to the car, the charging won't start. What I am doing wrong? See some pictures. Thank you!

[@BurlSolomons]

Is it a standard or long-range version? No pictures visible

[@danielcolceru3840]

@@BurlSolomons Standard version and can't see on the main screen the settings for the Amps or anything else.

[@BurlSolomons]

So standard range has a LFP battery that doesn't mind being charged to 100% all the time. Thus the long trip / everyday charging options are not peesent on the Standard Range version. You might have a fault with the granny lead or the plug you bare using at home.

[@SuperMarktastic]

If you set to ‘AC’ in the settings does this mean you can then only use AC? What if your charging DC ?

[@BurlSolomons]

The AC settings only affect AC charging using the car's on board charger. When DC charging, the charging unit is the large box on the pavement, and that controls the charge speed based on your battery's level and temperature.

[@niceboy60]

Is there a Setting to charge the 12v battery , EVs are having issues with 12v batteries in extreme cold weather 12v batteries become dead

[@BurlSolomons]

It's true that it seems as though many EVs don't manage their 12V batteries very well. The reality is that a lot of the cars don't get charged for very long periods after manufacture and during shipping, which can permanently damage the 12V battery that was fitted by the manufacturer, so that it fails as soon as the weather turns cold and the car hasn't been charged for a while. Also these batteries often only carry a 1yr warranty, and are sometimes of questionable quality to keep the factory costs down. The 12V battery is usually topped up while the car is switched on and driving via a DC-DC converter. It is also charged during the normal charging of the main HV traction battery. Some vehicles charge the 12V at the end of a 100% charge cycle. Many EV owners find that after the original battery fails, a replacement battery is lasting 5 or more years, just like it should, and just like in an ICE car. Hope this is of some help.

[@ShortBetter]

I just bought MG4 and I don't see how can I set the charging limit. I saw how you did it, but I just don't have that function. Any ideas what's happening?

[@BurlSolomons]

Try doing it in the app?

[@ShortBetter]

@@BurlSolomons Will try later, can't use the app yet

[@BurlSolomons]

@@ShortBetter that might be your issue...

[@chrispack3131]

I have the same issue, I think it’s only the LR & Trophy models that allow you to set the charging limits. I have the SR ( short range) version X in Thailand.

[@ShortBetter]

@@chrispack3131 can you use the app now?

[@barryclark2659]

Whats regen benefits?

[@BurlSolomons]

Im not sure what you are asking, but around town, and on country roads, about 15 - 20% of your range comes from regen braking. Obviously a lot less on motorways where you ought to be driving at a constant speed as much as possible

[@CharlieParkinson-uq4kk]

Hi, please may someone help. I have the SE standard range and I don't appear to have the ability in the car or on the app to change the charging to Battery Health mode. Has anyone found a way to do this yet please?

[@BurlSolomons]

The standard range has an LFP battery and doesn't need a health mode like the LR which has a NMC battery. LFP batteries like being fully charged, NMC batteries don't.

[@CharlieParkinson-uq4kk]

@@BurlSolomons Thank you so much!!! I'm completely new to the whole world of an electric car so this was super helpful :)

[@martinvisslund6133]

Why can I not tap in the battery bar? Just makes a sound, but can’t move the bar

[@dottorpalmito]

Maybe you have standard version with 51kwh LFP battery?

[@BryanEderyMusic]

Hi Burl and all. What's the view on charging to 80% or 100%? Most of the guidance info recommends charge up to 80% most of the time but 100% on trips where you need that range. Its a shame that it seems the car should generally only be charged to 80%. I've had an eGolf for 4 years and always charged it to 100% - and after 4 years I haven't noticed any drop off in range. I wonder what MG's official position is on the charge to 80% v 100%. I'm about to buy an SE LR. Wouldn't buy a SE SR as that's not enough range for me, but the only slight shame is the SR has LFP batteries which apparently can - and should - be charged to 100% whereas the LR has the standard lithium batteries. Makes you wonder why they couldn't just put LFP in the LR versions. Tesla are doing this now I believe with the LFP batteries. Thoughts?? Thank you!

[@BurlSolomons]

It's all about energy density and performance. Give the small car and thus small battery pack size, a current LFP battery would be too big at 64KWh to fit in the car. Also NMC batteries can charge and discharge at higher rates giving the better performance of the long range vehicles. LFP batteries are catching up though!

[@AJISH20]

Hi have my excite 64 and my phone is binded with my car and i use it to stop and start charging when i plug in the charger. Weird thing is i cant do without my phone ??? Why ? So .. if am not home and ask my husband to charge it he cant because he plugs in and the car isnt charging..i need to go to the app and click start charging... so annoying... or am i missing something?? Pls help

[@SMARTY65]

Should be able to start charging on the infotainment screen.. pressing the charging part and press start charging.