[VSAncona]

Last December, I bought a 2014 ED with just under 30,000 miles. It was sort of an impulse purchase, but I quickly fell in love with it. This is my first electric vehicle, and unfortunately there was a lot that I didn’t know when I bought it. I’ve been learning about electric vehicles and specifically the Smart, but I have some questions about range and the HV battery condition.

Back in Dec./Jan, the instrument panel would show an estimated range of 45-50 miles when fully charged. Since I live in Iowa, I figured the low number was just due to the cold temps at that time of year. When the weather warmed up though, the range estimate only went up to about 60. I tried resetting the memory on the instrument panel and that got it up to about 68-70, but that is the highest range estimate I can get. Lately, it’s been hot here so I have been using the AC and now my range estimates are down around 60 again.

Is this normal? I test drove a different 2014 Smart ED last week (with only 11,000 miles) and noticed that the panel showed a range estimate of around 76 and that was only with an 80% charge. I’m concerned that the HV battery on my car has had some degradation and/or bad cells.

 

[sokoloff]

For my two I'm at about 80 miles in summer and 70 in winter. I almost never turn the AC or heater on plus I take it as a challenge to get the best range on a charge that I can. I will pop it into "N" going down a hill or when I see a stop coming up far ahead, etc. - all of that assuming it's all safe to do of course. I also do no interstate driving and speed rarely gets above 55 mph or so.

You need to get an HV battery readout to assure yourself that your battery is okay. It is likely fine. When you do get your readout, let us know what the numbers are and what questions you have.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[VSAncona]

Okay, just charged up the battery to a little over 90% SOC and reset everything and I got an estimate of 81 miles. I don’t think I was doing the reset correctly before. I feel better now.

i will be getting the diagnostic tool soon to run a check on the battery.

 

[sokoloff]

That's good news. Not only good, but great if you are showing 81 miles with only a 90% SOC.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[Vincent Rapide]

How are you doing the reset? Never done that here.
--

 

[sokoloff]

Pull up the screen that shows miles/km since you last set it and below it shows miles/km total on the car. Push in and hold the button to the left of the cluster and it will blink a few times and then reset the trip meter to zero.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[Smart car]

Just my experience. I have owned electric cars for over 4 years, We have two and both are driven daily to work and alternately on weekends.
The "Range" (Guess-O-Meter) is actually pretty accurate but it does have a memory and after 5 or so full charges and driving conditions it does show your range the way YOU drive.
By resetting the start miles, not the trip meter, rotate the right side wiper control stick clockwise, it shows miles driven since stat, next flick shows miles driven since last reset. By resetting both of those it will increase the estimated range, but still uses the Memory and averages that with a perfect score you get around 80 miles. So the best way is to drive even speed, steady foot, try not to go On-Off-On with the pedal. I have twice hit 100%ECO while driving 45 to 55mph. I have had a Guess-O-Meter of 92 miles max. But I drive every day and 75 is my no climate range, 60 is my climate (A/C on) range.

 

[VSAncona]

Yes, I agree with what you’re saying. I reset everything and charged it up to around 92-93% and it was showing a range of 81 miles. Since then, I‘ve been very mindful of how I drive over the last couple of days and have managed to keep the eco meter in the 95-98% range. When I got home tonight, my trip odometer showed 68.1 miles driven with 13 miles left on the range meter and a 20% SOC. I‘m recharging tonight and I’ll see how the next charge goes.

 

[Smart car]

I'm glad to hear you enjoy the car. It is a fun little scoot mobile!
When I drive to work early, cooler weather less traffic I get an ECO in the high 80's low 90's driving 17.5 miles to work on surface streets 60 to 75 mph... YES In Phoenix that's how everyone drives 25 to 30 over the limit.
On my way home from work, heavy traffic 115 degrees out, A/C on I get home with and ECO of 60 and 25 miles remaining, that matches exactly with the 60 estimated. So that's why I say it is pretty accurate.

 

[VSAncona]

Well I ran the diagnostic on the HV battery of my coupe and it shows some pretty substantial degrading -- it's at 86.5% of original, if I'm reading the data correctly. The test also shows that my LV battery is due for replacement as it is only reading 12.0v. I'm kind of disappointed in the results, but I guess I learned something.

 

[sokoloff]

Vince - feel free to post your test results here or send them to Jim and me via a private e-mail. We'll be happy to take a look and give our input. You can get some good input in this thread too from forum members.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,000 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[VSAncona]

I’ve been combing through old threads on this topic and read that you should discharge the battery to 20%-40% and then charge fully to 100% SOC before running the diagnostic test. I didn’t do that, so maybe that will change my results? Anyhow, here are the numbers I got on my 2014 coupe:

Battery VIN: WMEEK9AA8EK758953
Time [hh:mm]: 19:21, ODO : 51243 km
-----------------------------------------
HV Battery Status: OK

Battery Production [Y/M/D]: 2013/6/26
Battery-FAT date [Y/M/D]: 2013/6/26
Rev.[Y/WK/PL] HW:2012/38/0, SW:2014/18/0
-----------------------------------------
SOC : 82.5 %, realSOC: 78.2 %
HV : 365.7 V, 0.00 A, 0.00 kW
LV : 12.0 V
INFO [12.0-12.1 V]. Consider verifying with an actual meter.
Car off for: 3432.4 minutes
-----------------------------------------
CV mean : 3931 mV, dV = 51 mV
CV min : 3883 mV
CV max : 3934 mV
OCVtimer: 1338 s
NOTICE - cell deviation over 45mV - consider balancing charge
-----------------------------------------
Last measurement : 3 day(s)
Measurement estimation: 0.710
Actual estimation : 0.640
CAP mean: 16449 As/10, 45.7 Ah
CAP min : 16931 As/10, 47.0 Ah
CAP max : 17454 As/10, 48.5 Ah
-----------------------------------------
HV contactor state OFF, for: 205946 s
Cycles left : 291486
of max. cycles: 300000
DC isolation : 16070 kOhm, OK
-----------------------------------------
Temperatures Battery-Unit /degC:
module 1: 27.7, 28.9, 28.7
module 2: 27.5, 28.5, 28.2
module 3: 27.2, 28.5, 27.5
mean : 28.1, min : 27.2, max : 28.9
coolant : 26.3
-----------------------------------------
# ;mV ;As/10
01;3933;16408
02;3933;16449
03;3933;16490
04;3933;16490
05;3932;16531
06;3933;16490
07;3932;17450
08;3932;16449
09;3933;16490
10;3933;16490
11;3932;16572
12;3932;16613
13;3933;16613
14;3933;16490
15;3932;16408
16;3932;16449
17;3882;16288
18;3931;16490
19;3932;16572
20;3932;16490
21;3933;16408
22;3932;16408
23;3932;16408
24;3932;16328
25;3932;16613
26;3931;17350
27;3933;16572
28;3932;16490
29;3932;16490
30;3933;16490
31;3932;16408
32;3932;16490
33;3931;16531
34;3934;16531
35;3933;16449
36;3934;16209
37;3933;16572
38;3933;16531
39;3933;16613
40;3932;16613
41;3931;17375
42;3933;17350
43;3933;16613
44;3932;16572
45;3931;17350
46;3933;17400
47;3932;16613
48;3932;17400
49;3932;17400
50;3931;17375
51;3932;17350
52;3931;16613
53;3932;17375
54;3933;17400
55;3931;16613
56;3933;17400
57;3931;17450
58;3932;17475
59;3931;16531
60;3933;16613
61;3933;17375
62;3932;16490
63;3932;16613
64;3931;16613
65;3932;16613
66;3931;16531
67;3931;17475
68;3933;16531
69;3932;16531
70;3933;16613
71;3932;17500
72;3933;17450
73;3932;17551
74;3932;16613
75;3932;17500
76;3933;16531
77;3932;17450
78;3933;16613
79;3932;17450
80;3931;16613
81;3932;16572
82;3931;17425
83;3931;16449
84;3932;16613
85;3933;16368
86;3930;16368
87;3931;16531
88;3930;16408
89;3932;16449
90;3931;17375
91;3932;17475
92;3933;16531
93;3932;16531
-----------------------------------------
Individual Cell Statistics:
-----------------------------------------
CV mean : 3932 mV, dV= 52 mV, s= 5.23 mV
CV min : 3882 mV, # 17
CV max : 3934 mV, # 34
-----------------------------------------
CAP mean: 16766 As/10, 46.6 Ah
CAP min : 16209 As/10, 45.0 Ah, # 36
CAP max : 17551 As/10, 48.8 Ah, # 73
-----------------------------------------
Voltage Distribution (dV= 52 mV):
------------------------------------>[]
3882 02 > [3932; 3932; 3933] < 00 3934
min [p25; median; p75] max
-----------------------------------------

* All measurements captured *

 

[VSAncona]

And for comparison, here is the readout on my 2014 cabrio:

Battery VIN: WMEEK9AA8EK758953
Time [hh:mm]: 18:40, ODO : 18394 km
-----------------------------------------
HV Battery Status: OK

Battery Production [Y/M/D]: 2013/11/4
Battery-FAT date [Y/M/D]: 2013/11/4
Rev.[Y/WK/PL] HW:2013/29/0, SW:2014/18/0
-----------------------------------------
SOC : 83.5 %, realSOC: 82.5 %
HV : 370.1 V, 0.00 A, 0.00 kW
LV : 12.5 V
GOOD [>= 12.4 V]
RECHECK after car off for >60 mins
Car off for: 48.0 minutes
-----------------------------------------
CV mean : 3979 mV, dV = 32 mV
CV min : 3951 mV
CV max : 3983 mV
OCVtimer: 1292 s
-----------------------------------------
Last measurement : 1 day(s)
Measurement estimation: 0.741
Actual estimation : 0.705
CAP mean: 18761 As/10, 52.1 Ah
CAP min : 18483 As/10, 51.3 Ah
CAP max : 18751 As/10, 52.1 Ah
-----------------------------------------
HV contactor state OFF, for: 2881 s
Cycles left : 295947
of max. cycles: 300000
DC isolation : 28125 kOhm, OK
-----------------------------------------
Temperatures Battery-Unit /degC:
module 1: 29.8, 30.9, 30.9
module 2: 29.6, 31.3, 31.1
module 3: 29.4, 30.9, 32.4
mean : 30.7, min : 29.4, max : 32.4
coolant : 28.1
-----------------------------------------
# ;mV ;As/10
01;3980;18716
02;3977;18580
03;3979;18447
04;3979;18536
05;3979;18716
06;3979;18625
07;3980;18536
08;3980;18536
09;3976;18536
10;3979;18536
11;3977;18491
12;3979;18625
13;3981;18716
14;3982;18580
15;3980;18447
16;3980;18580
17;3978;18625
18;3979;18625
19;3979;18625
20;3978;18536
21;3979;18625
22;3978;18670
23;3978;18447
24;3977;18403
25;3977;18580
26;3980;18716
27;3980;18625
28;3979;18625
29;3980;18625
30;3978;18536
31;3980;18625
32;3981;18625
33;3980;18536
34;3980;18625
35;3981;18536
36;3981;18716
37;3980;18580
38;3980;18536
39;3979;18491
40;3981;18625
41;3981;18536
42;3980;18625
43;3979;18670
44;3980;18625
45;3980;18536
46;3979;18580
47;3979;18625
48;3980;18625
49;3979;18580
50;3980;18447
51;3950;18536
52;3979;18491
53;3980;18580
54;3980;18403
55;3980;18670
56;3980;18491
57;3980;18491
58;3979;18536
59;3980;18536
60;3978;18491
61;3980;18447
62;3979;18447
63;3980;18625
64;3979;18536
65;3980;18625
66;3979;18536
67;3979;18716
68;3980;18625
69;3980;18536
70;3979;18491
71;3980;18447
72;3980;18536
73;3980;18447
74;3979;18447
75;3979;18447
76;3979;18447
77;3978;18491
78;3979;18447
79;3980;18447
80;3979;18447
81;3981;18447
82;3980;18625
83;3980;18625
84;3980;18536
85;3980;18625
86;3977;18580
87;3978;18403
88;3978;18491
89;3978;18447
90;3979;18447
91;3980;18536
92;3980;18536
93;3979;18447
-----------------------------------------
Individual Cell Statistics:
-----------------------------------------
CV mean : 3979 mV, dV= 32 mV, s= 3.21 mV
CV min : 3950 mV, # 51
CV max : 3982 mV, # 14
-----------------------------------------
CAP mean: 18552 As/10, 51.5 Ah
CAP min : 18403 As/10, 51.1 Ah, # 24
CAP max : 18716 As/10, 52.0 Ah, # 1
-----------------------------------------
Voltage Distribution (dV= 32 mV):
---------------------------------->[|<-
3950 06 > [3979; 3980; 3980] < 00 3982
min [p25; median; p75] max
-----------------------------------------

* All measurements captured *

 

[sokoloff]

The cabrio numbers certainly do look better, but there are some things that I need to ask/clarify. Your cabrio last self test was one day ago. Your coupe's was three days ago. The standard way to set up for the test is to take the charge down under 40% - even lower is better. Then let the car sit for four hours. Then charge it to 100% and take your reading. Neither of your cars was charged to 100% when you took your test. Curious why? When you did the test, did you turn the key on? Your tests show the contactor state as OFF, but the test should show the contactor state as ON when testing the HV battery?

The contactor should be OFF to test the 12v battery, so I'd be a little concerned about the 12.0v reading in the coupe. But I'd still want to redo that test with the car not being driven and being off the charger for several hours.

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[VSAncona]

I just received the testing tool in the mail this afternoon and immediately went out to check both vehicles. I didn’t know about discharging/charging the battery before testing. I have been driving the cabrio the past few days. The coupe hasn’t been drive during that time. I also was unsure as to what position the key should be in, or if it should be in the ignition at all. I did not have the car turned on, but I pushed the door lock button in the dash just to wake it up.

i have a new 12v battery that will be going into the coupe tomorrow. Then I’ll drive it around with the A/C on to run the charge down and recharge before testing again.

 

[sokoloff]

Key in your pocket to test the 12v battery. Click the lock/unlock button and run your test.

Key in the first ON position to test the HV battery. Ignore the 12v battery number - it will likely show 14.0v or more, because the HV battery is sending it some juice..

Len
2014 EV Coupe 20,500 miles
2014 EV Cabriolet 19,000 miles

 

[jimsokoloff]

On the coupe, I’d re-do the test by driving the car down around 20-30%, letting it rest a few hours, then letting it charge to 100% plus several more hours if you’re able (more will not hurt), then re-check. That battery has more “delta-V” (spread in voltage from cell to cell) than we usually see. EVs have a process to balance those voltages from cell to cell by using small shunt resistors to bleed off the higher-charged cells to let the lower charged cells “catch up”. I don’t personally know how Smart manages it, but I would keep driving, using, enjoying, and charging the car and see how that progresses over time. In other words, I wouldn’t be too worried or disappointed just yet. It may get slightly better with regular use and as the battery cells become better balanced. (The capacity of a battery stack is limited by the weakest cell, which is one reason the BMS tries to keep them all balanced.)

These cars generally show remarkably little degradation with use because of excellent temperature management, especially as compared to my air-cooled Nissan LEAF battery. Let’s watch yours a while before concluding yours is a slight outlier. No promises, of course, but I’d urge a little patience.

Sokoloff is right about the testing methods but your tests all appear valid. The cars were shut down long enough to bleed off the surface charge on the 12V battery and the high-voltage health tests are stored in the BMS (1 and 3 days ago as indicated on the report). I’d confirm the coupe’s 12V battery with a half-decent or better multimeter before changing. It looks like you have the latest firmware and that reduces the risk of the low voltage battery issue as best as we know.

 

[Vincent Rapide]

Excellent postings and kudos on the 451_ev purchase, everyone should have at least 2 of these classic beauties imho.

But why 93 cells; I thought only the EQ had 93, up from the 91 in the ED?

Testing 12v batts: I love my "ship n shore Schumacher SSC-1000A" microprocessor controlled 10/6/2 amp charger. I have several others but this one does it all. It will attempt to fully charge any 12v batt and if it eventually says 'bad' then that indeed is a bad one to be recycled. This lightweight unit I now take with me everywhere, [end shameless plug].
--

 

[VSAncona]

I will try discharging/recharging the battery and retest. It may be a few days before I can get to it though.

 

[jimsokoloff]

But why 93 cells; I thought only the EQ had 93, up from the 91 in the ED?

The 451/ED3 traction battery has 93 cells.
The 453/EQ4 traction battery has 96 cells.