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Thanks for the information. I was guessing that the SoC charging limit is everyday useable, not total. Since the car will charge to everyday useable capacity, folks can use my formulas above for the E53 to calculate the target actual SoC.
It looks like I can set a SoC limit in the Autel Charge app for the Autel charger. I don't have an EV yet so I can't confirm.
Level 2 chargers can't manage SoC of a vehicle or stop at a certain level. It's just not how the standard works. They're merely power relays that turn on and off based on commands received from the vehicle's battery management system. The only thing they negotiate is a current limit to the car which, again, the car's BMS will honor. There is literally no way for the charger to tell what the charge level is in the car.
The owner's manual says that if the E53 is connected to the grid it will keep the hybrid battery charged. It doesn't say if a low 12v battery will trigger the car to wake up to charge the 12v battery from the PHEV battery.
It would be nice to get 12v battery maintenance and PHEV battery maintenance by plugging in the PHEV charger.
Pretty sure it's not necessary. Once the car goes into deep sleep it hardly draws any current from the 12V battery. Unless you have aftermarket GPS tracker installed your battery should stay fine for months. And if you leave your car unused for months at a time you deserve to have to to think about a trickle charger.
Level 2 chargers can't manage SoC of a vehicle or stop at a certain level. It's just not how the standard works. They're merely power relays that turn on and off based on commands received from the vehicle's battery management system. The only thing they negotiate is a current limit to the car which, again, the car's BMS will honor. There is literally no way for the charger to tell what the charge level is in the car.
Thanks for the information. So if you want a SoC limit then you set it in the car.
Dusting off an old thread to keep this in one tidy place. What is the consensus on charging to 100% versus 80%? The owner’s manual seems to suggest that charging beyond 80% will go more slowly, which it does. However, is there any harm in consistently charging to 100%? My understanding is that the battery has way more capacity than it accessible to us, so there should be no long-term harm in charging to 100%. Curious what others are doing. Thanks!
What maintenance is required for a Plug-In Hybrid?
Most batteries can last between 100,000 – 200,000 miles when properly cared for. If the battery generally maintains between 20% and 80% state of charge and is not subjected to extremely hot temperatures, upkeep can be minimal.
You don't have to worry about going below 20% SoC if it is reading above 0% useable. An 80% SoC would be at the 73% useable mark. If you wanted to keep the battery between 20% and 80%, you would keep it in the 0% to 73% useable range.
The website link above has general information about Mercedes hybrids and is not specific to the E53. I would try to look up the answer in the E53 Owner's manual, but navigating the 1,000 plus page manual isn't quick.
My last charge was via the Webasto supplied charger 110v level 1. Worked great and regardless of state of charge - it will work for overnight charges to 100%...A level 2 isn't necessary given the smaller kw hour battery and typical overnight charging.
For anyone planning to go this route, I just want to say this is not true. With a 110V outlet it will charge at 1.2-1.4kW and take 22-23 hours from 0-100%; a couple hours less if going to 80%. It absolutely will not charge overnight to 100% with the standard 110V Level 1 plug unless you are starting at over 50% charge.
For anyone planning to go this route, I just want to say this is not true. With a 110V outlet it will charge at 1.2-1.4kW and take 22-23 hours from 0-100%; a couple hours less if going to 80%. It absolutely will not charge overnight to 100% with the standard 110V Level 1 plug unless you are starting at over 50% charge.
100%. on the 110v, it's taking 16 hours from 25%, 12 from 50%. Granted it's very cold in New england right now, but it's not going to get much better when it's warmer. My level 2 charger gets wired up next Monday.
If I had not already installed a Tesla L2 EVSE on a 40A circuit for my previous EVs, I would consider using an L2 charger which could use a NEMA 6-20 plug. One such charger is the Tesla Mobile Connector with an optional $35.00 NEMA 6-20 adapter.
The cost of a new Tesla Mobile Connector has crept up to $300, but, there are plenty of used units available on eBay for under $200.
This solution would require a 20A, 2-pole circuit breaker and a 6-20 250v outlet, but could use existing 12/2 wiring on a dedicated circuit. It would only output 3.8 kW on a 20A circuit, but that is plenty for a PHEV to charge 0% to 100% overnight. You will also need a NACS-to-J1772 adapter, but you should have one of these already to charge at Tesla destination chargers.
I installed an Autel MaxiCharger Lite 12kW hardwired charger. It can charge at 12kW but the electrical work is more expensive going from 11 kW to 12kW, so it is wired to charge at 11 kW. The E53 can charge at 9.6 kW on AC. The Mercedes app says it is charging at 7.4 kW since the battery is cold. It's 19 degrees outside. It is much warmer in the garage, but it is still cold.
I'm happy with the Autel MaxiCharger.. The Autel charger can connect to the internet by WiFi or Ethernet, so I ran an Ethernet cable to the charger to avoid taking more space on the 2.4 Ghz WiFi.
My electrical utility company starts the charging sometime after 12:30 am and finishes by 6 am.
I have 2 PHEVs and an EV. I have 3 Emporia chargers. They are incredibly versatile and work really well for me. They can also be ran off a smaller main breaker like the two I have in my detached garage with a 60A sub-panel that also runs the pool. It will monitor the panel and limit the EV charger not to go over the panel supply limit even with the pool running. It also schedules and balances the two chargers so both my cars get optimally charged. And best part is that it integrates with Home Assistant for complete energy management and tracking.
The Mercedes app says it is charging at 7.4 kW since the battery is cold. It's 19 degrees outside. It is much warmer in the garage, but it is still cold.
The Mercedes app told me that activating ECO mode charging and the cold temperatures reduced the charging rate.
While the E53 offers DC fast-charging through a CCS-type port, it’s mostly a waste of time. Mercedes claims the car can charge at a rate up to 60 kW, which should top up the 21.2 usable kWh in a theoretical 20 minutes or so. We, however, did not see better than 21 kW, and charging took an hour and nine minutes. You could charge two EVs from 10 percent to 80 percent in that same amount of time. Tying up a precious public fast charger for more than an hour with a car that has a gasoline engine is a great way to become really unpopular, so we recommend you stick to charging at home or on public Level 2 chargers.
By default, the E53, will not charge in "fast mode." It will charge at 20 kW on a public charger. To charge at 60 kW, you need to put it in "fast charge" mode through the center screen or through the app. After the fast charging session is over, the E53 will default back to charging at 20 kW.
I am interested in other people's thoughts on fast charging the E53 at 60 kW or 20 kW on public fast charging stations.
Fast charging will degrade the hybrid battery faster than not using fast charging. Since the E53 is a hybrid, there is no need to charge the hybrid battery on a long trip.
Is it better to fast charge on the highway to get more electric range, or is better to conserve the longevity of the battery by avoiding charging at 20 kW or 60 kW?
I have 2 PHEVs and an EV. I have 3 Emporia chargers. They are incredibly versatile and work really well for me. They can also be ran off a smaller main breaker like the two I have in my detached garage with a 60A sub-panel that also runs the pool. It will monitor the panel and limit the EV charger not to go over the panel supply limit even with the pool running. It also schedules and balances the two chargers so both my cars get optimally charged. And best part is that it integrates with Home Assistant for complete energy management and tracking.
The Emporia panel monitoring feature is cool. It comes on the Pro EV charger and can be added to the Classic.
I have a whole house generator. Where I live, you need one since falling trees leave us without power multiple times per year. I asked Emporia if the monitoring system can work with a generator. At this point in time, it cannot. I think the Emporia rep was confused between a portable generator and a whole house generator, but I believe the Emporia panel monitor is not going to realize that the generator has a different limit than the grid.
The Emporia rep said they are "working on some things." He didn't say what those things are, but I suspect integration with battery storage and two-way energy transfer to power a house from the EV battery.
The EV chargers I looked at were:
The Autel Maxicharger. The Lite and the Elite have the same internals.
Emporia
Wall Box Pulsar Plus
Chargepoint Home Flex
Tesla Universal Wall Gen 3
The above EV chargers are the ones approved by my electrical utility for managed charging. They also happen to be top rated chargers. If you are new to EV charging, like I am, the above chargers are a good place to start.
I am interested in other people's thoughts on fast charging the E53 at 60 kW or 20 kW on public fast charging stations.
Fast charging will degrade the hybrid battery faster than not using fast charging. Since the E53 is a hybrid, there is no need to charge the hybrid battery on a long trip.
Is it better to fast charge on the highway to get more electric range, or is better to conserve the longevity of the battery by avoiding charging at 20 kW or 60 kW?
This is kind of a far smaller issue than you think. The electric motor on the E53 is a 120 kW motor, therefore the batteries are rated and can easily handle 120 kW discharge rates which is 2x the 60kW charge rate you're worried about. Now I understand that you seldom use 120 kW of power from the battery during normal driving for extended periods, a typical 75 mph highway speed requires about 23-30 kW of constant draw which is 40-50% of the charging rate you're concerned with. I would have zero worries about charging the car at a fast charger at 60 kW. However the beauty of PHEV is that you don't have to, you can just use gas for the trips and use the home charger as a convenience/luxury.
My daughter absolutely loves her PHEV and uses it almost exclusively in EV mode. It'll be interesting to see what she will do when the car is in college with her and she can no longer rely on Level 2 nightly charges. I'm far more worried about salt and snow in Michigan and the damage it will cause than she using 60 kW charging.
Originally Posted by Mercuccio
The Emporia panel monitoring feature is cool. It comes on the Pro EV charger and can be added to the Classic.
I have a whole house generator. Where I live, you need one since falling trees leave us without power multiple times per year. I asked Emporia if the monitoring system can work with a generator. At this point in time, it cannot. I think the Emporia rep was confused between a portable generator and a whole house generator, but I believe the Emporia panel monitor is not going to realize that the generator has a different limit than the grid.
The Emporia rep said they are "working on some things." He didn't say what those things are, but I suspect integration with battery storage and two-way energy transfer to power a house from the EV battery.
The EV chargers I looked at were:
The Autel Maxicharger. The Lite and the Elite have the same internals.
Emporia
Wall Box Pulsar Plus
Chargepoint Home Flex
Tesla Universal Wall Gen 3
The above EV chargers are the ones approved by my electrical utility for managed charging. They also happen to be top rated chargers. If you are new to EV charging, like I am, the above chargers are a good place to start.
I am almost certain it can work with whole house generators. The issue you're going to run into is that for you to change the monitored circuit for EV management will need to be altered and its limit changed depending on whether you're using grid (you can use panel limit) or generator (you must use generator limit). This requires a config change and that requires a PIN which is meant to be locked out by your electrician. Also, every time you change it, it gets logged and an email generated that you have changed it.
I have a whole house battery/solar system and I would like to be able to adjust the charging to use solar excess which you cannot combine with the grid input limit, which is a missing piece for me. Also, you cannot really use it effectively in a whole house system where the battery is on the DC side since it can't tell whether you have solar excess or you're draining the whole house battery. These are the issues I have with Emporia, otherwise I've been using their classic charger for 4 years with zero issues. I bought two more for the other garage for the two PHEV as I was that happy with it. I bought classics and paid for the firmware upgrade to get the power management feature enabled on them.
For anyone planning to go this route, I just want to say this is not true. With a 110V outlet it will charge at 1.2-1.4kW and take 22-23 hours from 0-100%; a couple hours less if going to 80%. It absolutely will not charge overnight to 100% with the standard 110V Level 1 plug unless you are starting at over 50% charge.
Example...It's 21:20 now. car will be charged tomorrow at 22:00 on 110v:
Picked up my wife's E53 Wagon on 12/31. We've been limited to 110V/Level 1 charging so far. Installing a Level 2 charger in the garage next week; will work better for her usage...several short trips during the day.
The posted PDFs are helpful. Should we have received some sort of PHEV manual with the car? I went through all of the paperwork and there was:
1. Standard E-Class owners manual. I didn't see any PHEV/charging information.
2. Quick Overview Guide
3. Maintenance manual/logbook
4. Very limited manual with the included Webasto charging cable pack (sort of a short pictorial of the two plugs and then legalese).
I think we have everything figured out but I do want to make sure we have a complete set of manuals...for the next guy.
I think you got all that you were supposed to get. PHEVs are kind of easy if you have a level 2 at the house. Just plug it in when you get home. Everything else is marginal.
I think you got all that you were supposed to get. PHEVs are kind of easy if you have a level 2 at the house. Just plug it in when you get home. Everything else is marginal.
Picked up my wife's E53 Wagon on 12/31. We've been limited to 110V/Level 1 charging so far. Installing a Level 2 charger in the garage next week; will work better for her usage...several short trips during the day.
The posted PDFs are helpful. Should we have received some sort of PHEV manual with the car? I went through all of the paperwork and there was:
1. Standard E-Class owners manual. I didn't see any PHEV/charging information.
2. Quick Overview Guide
3. Maintenance manual/logbook
4. Very limited manual with the included Webasto charging cable pack (sort of a short pictorial of the two plugs and then legalese).
I think we have everything figured out but I do want to make sure we have a complete set of manuals...for the next guy.
Just got our level 2 charger wired up this monday after using the 110v charger for a month. The level 2 is a game changer, as mentioned above, plug it in and forget about it, and you know the car is ready to gomuch sooner than later.
I think you got all that you were supposed to get. PHEVs are kind of easy if you have a level 2 at the house. Just plug it in when you get home. Everything else is marginal.
Originally Posted by geektoad
Just got our level 2 charger wired up this monday after using the 110v charger for a month. The level 2 is a game changer, as mentioned above, plug it in and forget about it, and you know the car is ready to gomuch sooner than later.
Thanks. I really am not too worried about figuring it out...I just wanted to make sure I had all of the OEM paperwork while it is top of mind. I like to keep everything "whole". Makes for an easier sale down the road.
Thanks. I really am not too worried about figuring it out...I just wanted to make sure I had all of the OEM paperwork while it is top of mind. I like to keep everything "whole". Makes for an easier sale down the road.
it doesn’t really impact a sale. Cars are commodities- it’s a vin number and mileage and carfax. That’s about it.
Level 2 chargers can't manage SoC of a vehicle or stop at a certain level. It's just not how the standard works. They're merely power relays that turn on and off based on commands received from the vehicle's battery management system. The only thing they negotiate is a current limit to the car which, again, the car's BMS will honor. There is literally no way for the charger to tell what the charge level is in the car.
The managed charging program from my utility allows me to enter a "Charge Limit" on the website. They say this works by "We have a connection to your vehicle, so your maximum charge limit is in sync between the [managed charging app] and your vehicle's app. When you change it in one place, it will automatically update everywhere."
I haven't seen it synchronize like it says it will, so I have resumed entering the SoC limit in the Mercedes app or directly in the car.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
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