Bought a 2021 Pacifica PHEV today

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

First longer trip in the Pacifica.

when the motor is running it also is giving power to charge the battery some. I wish I could force exactly how much it would do that. Sometimes it seemed to push 15kw into the battery and other times it was using the battery to assist the gas even on flat roads. I wish it would .

The Volt allows you to run
Automatic
Hold (gas hybrid mode)
Mountain (charges and holds the battery at about 50%)

This means you can engage the motor at will, sort of the opposite point of the Chrysler Hybrid

Generally using your motor to recharge the battery to drive motor off is fun but pointless since using your motor to charge does not improve efficiency

[redpoint5]

I have a strong preference to be in control of when EV range is utilized, but I understand why a company would choose to simply the operation. They don't want service calls from people who didn't RTFM, or inadvertently pushed a button and didn't realize it.

My engineering solution would be to bury the controls somewhere so that the option exists for those interested enough to find it, but too obscure for someone to clumsily mess with. Heck, I might even have a code that must be entered that is found in the manual in the section relevant to the operation of that feature.

[Ecky]

I'm most curious to keep track of your long-term reliability. Everything else on paper looks perfect.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by Ecky

I'm most curious to keep track of your long-term reliability. Everything else on paper looks perfect.

I'll certainly let you know of any problems. There has been a couple glitches. One the rear hatch is supposed to time out when left open but it seems to do it after only about a minute of leaving it open. Then it wont close with power, has to be closed by hand. Supposedly that's the design but I could see after 20-30 min not 1 min. The other thing it has done about 6 times is just throw the check eng light and parking brake light on startup and then not allow to go into drive or reverse. Just turn it off and back on and everything's fine. I don't know what that is but common on the forums. Seems not going super quick from unplugging, to starting, to gear, keeps it from happening. I sometimes do all those things in less than 30 seconds when going to work. Also my driving history on the uconnect wasn't updating for the last 3 weeks but just started again yesterday. All of this stuff seems like programming bugs so hopefully they can all be over the air fixes which the uconnect system allows. So far none have been available.

[redpoint5]

The hatch thing doesn't sound right to me. My friend has a PACHY and I've left the hatch open for many minutes and still used the button to close it.

I don't have high hopes for apps and web-based features as it seems many manufacturers neglect these systems.

[Hersbird]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If it were me though... and this goes against code and would blow up 120v appliances if you connected them... I would simply wire a NEMA 5-20 receptacle to the 240v circuit and plug your EVSE into it. I'd put a red warning sign on it that says not to use the outlet because it's 240v. I'd have a fire extinguisher rated to put out electrical fires nearby in case someone still decides to disconnect your EVSE, not pay attention to the warning sign, and plug in a 120v appliance. I'd do this because it's electrically safe so long as nobody ever tries to plug a 120v device into it, and it's the cheapest since the only expense is a $3 receptacle. I'd get a single receptacle instead of dual just to minimize the temptation to plug anything else in.

NEMA 5-20 on Amazon

Well I finally got around to doing your suggestion. I also wrote in a sharpie all over the plate not to use for anything but car charger and 240 V. Nobody else around here usually messes with anything and there is an open regular 120 dual outlet 2 feet down the wall so I think that will be safe.

First try it had said 2 hr 40 mins to charge on the 120v. Plugged it in to the 240 and it says 1 hr 5 mins so it's more than twice as fast. Well worth the $5 this cost.

Although now I'm thinking about getting a real EV and if I do I'll add a new 50 Amp 240 breaker with it's own dedicated new wiring probably just in surface mounted conduit. I was looking at the Lightning (put a $100 order deposit actually) an think I'd just stick with the standard range which comes with a 32 amp level 2 charger. If you spring for the extended range you get an 80 amp dual charger but I'm not sure how that's wired at the wall. I know it has 2 charge cables from there to plug in to both side of the truck at the same time. So I assume that needs a 100 amp breaker.

Oh and they issued a recall on the rear hatch programming so someday I'll take it in for that. It still sometimes doesn't "start" and has to be turned off and back on to go into gear.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I was looking at the Lightning (put a $100 order deposit actually) an think I'd just stick with the standard range which comes with a 32 amp level 2 charger. If you spring for the extended range you get an 80 amp dual charger but I'm not sure how that's wired at the wall. I know it has 2 charge cables from there to plug in to both side of the truck at the same time. So I assume that needs a 100 amp breaker.

The F-150 Lightning is currently the first electric truck to offer dual onboard chargers for Level 2 charging. However, it’s only offered on the extended-range model and has a max rate of 19.2 kW. The standard-range model has a single 11.3-kW onboard charger.

As for DC fast charging, Ford hasn’t released the Lightning’s maximum charging rate, but it’s at least 150 kW...

There are several at-home charging options for the F-150 Lightning. Both standard and extended range models come with a low 32-amp charger...

A faster 48-amp charger is available...

Although, the home charger you want is the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro charger which comes with the extended-range model but is optional on the standard range...

https://insideevs.com/news/508228/fo...lectric-truck/

The extended range has 2 onboard chargers... but it seems only 1 EVSE connection is required. That means it needs a hardwired 100 amp circuit to deliver the 80 rated amps.

The standard range has a single 11.3 kW charger, which means it can handle up to 47 amps, and the provided 32 amp EVSE doesn't quite deliver its full potential. Again, you'd need a hardwired circuit to the EVSE to get the full 47 amps.

A 50 amp NEMA-14/50r is the highest rated standard residential electrical outlet, so if you want to get the full charging speed out of either the standard or extended range, you'll be needing to hardwire the EVSE.

[freebeard]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

I also wrote in a sharpie all over the plate not to use for anything but car charger and 240 V.

Get an empty plug to fit and epoxy a death's head onto it. If they remove the plug it's on them.

[Hersbird]

Vroom offered me over $40k for the Pacifica so I started the sell process. Never in my life have I made more than a few grandson a car, and that was something I had to fix up. This is basically them paying me $4000 to drive a van 6 months and then pay my entire year of federal income tax to boot come January, another $7500. I'll get all the final economy numbers up in a few days.

This is actually a huge blessing. I lost my wife of 32 years last week to the covid and things have changed 1000% around here. I'm not strapped financially, but we sure don't need 2 minivans for just my daughter and I.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

This is actually a huge blessing. I lost my wife of 32 years last week to the covid and things have changed 1000% around here.

Sincere condolences. I had no idea you were facing that battle.