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My thermal management system runs while charging with JuiceBox (40 amp > 9.9kw). I am not using climate control for cabin while charging. I also assumed this was normal to cool battery. Temp has been around 78F (26C) at night. I will check if the same happens when charging in morning.

Might be design or code issue?
It just started happening this week. It has warmed up a little of late. 60's at night vs 50's. It just doesn't seem very efficient to me to have it run constantly.
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
I am going to try reduced AC setting and see if thermal stays off.
Keep me informed please - mine is still at the shop - a loaner ID3 never started the thermal management once in 4 weeks. The current (newer) model ID3 I am using as a lonaer ran Thermal management through the entire 2.30 hours charge time ( 20 degrees Celsius) in my garage
 
Keep me informed please - mine is still at the shop - a loaner ID3 never started the thermal management once in 4 weeks. The current (newer) model ID3 I am using as a lonaer ran Thermal management through the entire 2.30 hours charge time ( 20 degrees Celsius) in my garage
When I select reduced current mode from the car charging screen the power drops from 9.9kw to 2kw. The fan continues to operate. Unclear if AC is running, but lets assume yes. State of charge started at 54%. Air temperature was at 26C. The charging time went from 3 hours to 14 hours so not acceptable. I really need to try on cold morning.

Maybe someone at VW can advise what is logic behind the AC running at these relatively low ambient temperatures. (Guess we need to make sure AC is included as part of the Battery warranty 8yr / 100K miles in USA ! )
 
I noticed some literature from GE regarding their refrigerators. They say it's normal for their compressors to run 80 to 90% of the time because it's more efficient than cycling.

I wonder if this is what's going on with the ID.4? The info we're missing is the battery temp, but when two cars are parked side by side at the dealership and behaving differently, it makes me doubt this is intended behavior. Yet still... could it be?
 
Mine runs the front fan regularly when charging and it will cut off and on at various times. For the environmental data, it is in an enclosed garage in Florida so the ambient temp right now is in the mid-80s, EVNotify shows the battery temp as 84F. I have felt the A/C lines and they are at ambient temps, so the A/C is not running, at least when I check. And even if the A/C runs I don't think it is a big deal and it is working as designed. I would rather the A/C run as it needs to, and the system do what it needs to, the keep the battery happy. I actually think running the A/C to keep the battery cool is a pretty good idea.
 
It starts at battery temps of 86°F (during charging): cooling by the heat exchanger for heat condenser (AC) so check it again when its a little hotter. The AC compressor is variable speed so may not make much noise until fairly hot battery temps.
At a temperature of 59°F (15°C) or higher the thermostat opens, allowing battery coolant to flow to the radiator (passive cooling). You may hear the coolant circulating pump. The fan you hear is also on whenever charging and the radiator+battery hits another thermostat temp that I have not seen yet. By looking at EVNotify you may be able to confirm if VW is right about the above, and also if yours is working as designed.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Lars, any further updates? I have an appointment next Wednesday to bring my car in to be checked. Jon
No real solution yet. They have discovered that 2 probes, measuring some incoming and outgoing temperatures had been switched during manufacturing. The ID3 I am driving as a loaner does the same - what baffles me is that it seems to be a “timed” interval rather than a temperature controlled interval - with the excact same timings between in and off - yet the ID3 ran thermal management battery cooling full 2 hours and 30 minutes yesterday non stop. Some settings are warped somewhere - that’s my claim.
 
On US models we still have the BMS that runs the AC compressor (also a heat pump) to cool the battery whenever it exceeds 77F. Normally this would only be needed during DCFC or really hot weather. Its a part of what allows the ID.4 to charge DCFC at such an impressive rate. During hot weather it may kick in the battery cooling on US models, but only at a high charging rate. Does anyone else have a 11kw home charger and heard the AC compressor come on during charging? (or during DCFC?)
Yes, it’s hot here so not surprised. Using L 1 that came with the car And I hear the cooling cycling while the charger is connected. I don’t think this is a problem, but have not read anything from VW describing the charge cooling process.
 
Yes, it’s hot here so not surprised. Using L 1 that came with the car And I hear the cooling cycling while the charger is connected. I don’t think this is a problem, but have not read anything from VW describing the charge cooling process.
I am tempted to start charging in the middle of the night to try and minimize cooling requirements.
 
This week my thermal management system has been running when I charge with my JuiceBox in the evening. I start it at 11pm and charge for about 2 hours and it runs the whole time. When I charge in the morning it doesn't run at all. It has been cool here at night, mostly in the 60's. Anyone else have a similar issue?
I brought the car in for the 2 month check and asked them to check this issue. They found a fault code and are addressing it. It will take about an hour. I'll update later.
 
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I am also bringing my car in today for the 2 month check and will be talking to the service rep about this issue. Will follow up.
At first the rep dismissed it saying well,it depends on many things, temperature, charge percentage, etc, but I asked them to look at it anyway. I explained it was my feeling that the system should be robust enough to bring it to the temperature required and then shut off, and not run for 2 hours straight. I'll update later.
 
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At first the rep dismissed it saying well,it depends on many things, temperature, charge percentage, etc, but I asked them to look at it anyway. I explained it was my feeling that the system should be robust enough to bring it to the temperature required and then shut off, and not run for 2 hours straight. I'll update later.
This gets back to VW being more communicative to set customer expectations.

Like in my GE refrigerator example, there is customer "concern," to put it mildly, and so they published a FAQ and plainly address the topic, and explain why the compressor runs 80-90% of the time.

I hate using a cheap fridge to try to justify an advanced vehicle charging / cooling behavior, but VW isn't leaving us with much.

But it does seen to make sense that since charging creates a steady heat output, cooling would be more efficient running at a continuous low level, rather than intermittently running at a higher, less efficient level.
 
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