Since I got a PowerBoost, I've been trying to figure out how much the battery really contributes. This image is from driving up a long (for SW Michigan) hill with the cruise set at 60 mph.

I used an ODBLink+. I assume that the values are reasonable, since I got the PID's with the purchase.

Top Left is Battery Charge. You can see the battery draining until it flat lines at ~42%, which is as low as Ive seen it drain, so I assume that the truck won't let it go lower than that for whatever reason. Battery longevity, maybe? I've never had the battery higher than 72% from regenerative braking, so I do not know what the high limit would be. Maybe 80 or 90%? I'd need a much bigger hill than I can find around here to test that out.

Bottom Left is Current: The battery had been contributing ~16kw (275 volts x 60 amps) until it flat lined at 42%, at which point it changed to the alternator trickle charging the battery at ~1 amp.
Edit: I was reading the PID for Hybrid Battery Current A, so this number should be doubled. 275 volts x ~120 amps = 33kw

Top Middle is Boost: It appears that part of the function of the battery is to keep the truck from needing boost in certain situations? Boost jumped to ~3psi when the battery flat lined.

Bottom Middle is MPG: When battery flat lined, MPG dropped from 18mpg to 11mpg.

Top Right is vehicle speed: Not necessary for this situation. Just shows that I had the cruise set, I guess.

Bottom Right is Gallons per Hour: When battery flat lined, GPH jumped from ~3 to ~5.x mpg.

So, 16kw is equal to about 7mpg for a short time. Does that sound reasonable?

 

This is super cool info, thanks for sharing it!

 

That is great. Do you happen to have the PID numbers for the various items shown? I tried to look at something like this but was overwhelmed by the possibilities.

 

~72% is the upper charge limit, even with a longer hill, you're not getting any higher. You can get below 42%, but only under load, possibly more load than you were using. I've seen mine as low as 36%, but under normal charge/discharge cycling, 42% is the min.

 

It is common for lithium batteries to have floors above zero but why the upper limit?

 

Interesting stats.

I deal with data for a living and don't understand why Ford doesn't include simple stuff like the battery charge level in the info screens.

I do know that electric vehicles operate the battery in a tight range basically never reaching anywhere near 100% capacity potential.

The flip side to all you see is the charging side which again as the opposite in a parasitic mechanism to the the ICE total fuel consumption.

 

Lithium battery chemistries tend to dislike deep discharge and being fully charged. IIRC optimal storage charge is around 50% for the least damage to the cells. I think this is why Ford keeps it between 40-70%

 

Agree, and also don't understand why Ford doesn't give you this. It seems like the infotainment system would be the perfect place to have info like this, maybe an "engine" or "performance" screen that you can swipe through like all the other screens.

What would the parasitic draws be?
More mechanical resistance maybe?
8%, due to the heavier (500 lbs.) weight. Hurts you when moving, but helps you slightly when regenerative braking.
Normal running, negligible, if it's just putting 1 amp / 275 watts into the battery. That's about 1/3 of what it uses when in park with lights/heat/infotainment running.
Coasting with engine running, it's putting ~5 amps / 1,400 watts into the battery
Coasting with engine off, it's putting ~15 amps / 4,100 watts into the battery (although I cannot feel that it slows down any faster than when the engine is running)
The biggest one I've noticed is coasting down hills. The PowerBoost gets worse mileage going downhill than a standard 3.5 EB F-150. I assume that it makes up for it when it is drawing from the battery.
Am I missing anything?

 

I had guessed 80% - 90% based off of talking with others who own EV's. Seems like 80% was the old upper limit, but now they're saying 90%. Appreciate the info.

Edit: intended to quote @imnuts

 

To that end, good laptop computers will notice if they are always plugged in and ask if it’s ok for them to “discharge” down to a more battery-friendly zone and hold until told otherwise.