[dblackfl]

Someone else posting how their EV was seemingly commanded to remote start and not by them, that reminded me to relate...

Occasionally I've caught my PHEV sitting in the driveway, unplugged and locked, with the cooling fan running. That's just as if it was actively charging or "on." Has anyone else encountered that, and if so, do you know for certain why it's happening?

My tentative theory is it became warm enough in the cabin that the HV battery exceeded some relatively low threshold temperature, the car woke up and started the fan. In my experience that fan runs only when the HV connector would also be energized. I am pretty sure the 12V could not run it for any period of time and not discharge. The aux battery saver does not appear to be kicking in.

 

[atc98092]

That's probably the battery conditioning system kicking in. I'm pretty sure that system is powered by the traction battery, so wouldn't have any reason to trigger the battery saver.

 

[dblackfl]

That's probably the battery conditioning system kicking in. I'm pretty sure that system is powered by the traction battery, so wouldn't have any reason to trigger the battery saver.

Interesting possibility, thanks! My current and possibly incorrect understanding of battery conditioning is... it only happens at the end of a charge cycle and requires a connected charger. I.e. the HV battery doesn't condition itself because that process requires external energy input. Are there any informative articles, posts etc. you can share that explain more or differently?

I mentioned the aux battery saver only because it too requires the HV battery to be connected (for a period of time). I've yet to see a dashboard message to the effect it was activated.

 

[atc98092]

I mentioned the aux battery saver only because it too requires the HV battery to be connected (for a period of time). I've yet to see a dashboard message to the effect it was activated.

In my 2+ years with my PHEV, I don't think I saw the battery saver message more than 2-3 times. Unless there's some unexpected power draw, it isn't triggered very much.

 

[FredO]

In my 2+ years with my PHEV, I don't think I saw the battery saver message more than 2-3 times. Unless there's some unexpected power draw, it isn't triggered very much.

I do not recall seeing a dashboard message in my 13 months of owning a 2020 PHEV. Unfortunately, the manual description of the battery saver, which describes a light under the windshield, is quite poor (see attached screenshot).

My car has 3 green lights there, not one. Perhaps 2-3 times I've seen a fairly rapid blinking of the center light. Is that the battery saver? Also, at the end of a charging session, after the 3 lights go out, I've seen the center light blink slowly for a couple minutes. I do not know what this signifies.

 

[atc98092]

Mine would post an alert in the info screen when the car was started if Power Saver had been triggered while it was parked. I can't recall what lights mine had on the dash. I remember something there, but old age has erased it from my immediate memory.

 

[dblackfl]

Mine would post an alert in the info screen when the car was started if Power Saver had been triggered while it was parked. I can't recall what lights mine had on the dash. I remember something there, but old age has erased it from my immediate memory.

I caught it again the other day and this time spotted the particular blinky light on the dash associated with the aux battery saver. From mostly passively collected telemetry I also knew the 12V at the time was getting a little low (78%) that day as it sat there in the driveway. However, there was no "battery saver activated" message when I next got in and started the engine. This has me wondering if the message only appears with a certain number of cycles, or perhaps only when the cycle count has exceeded the maximum number (10?, I don't remember).

Anyway, case closed on this thread as far as I'm concerned: It's the aux battery saver and the fan is running because the HV contactors are closed and charging is occurring.

That the saver is kicking in at all with zero known changes to the car's config/use, and with essentially a new battery installed is a different matter. I'll privately pursue that.

 

[atc98092]

his has me wondering if the message only appears with a certain number of cycles, or perhaps only when the cycle count has exceeded the maximum number

Kia made some minor changes with the 2020 model year, so perhaps they eliminated the dash message and stuck with just the light alert.