During the daily charging process, new energy vehicle owners may have encountered the situation where the charging gun automatically disconnects when the battery is nearly full.
What is the reason behind this? Stay tuned for today’s article.
Let’s dive deeper into the charging principles of new energy vehicles.
01
SOC is Approximately 98% to Ensure Charging Safety
SOC, short for State of Charge, refers to the battery’s charging status, also known as the remaining power. It represents the ratio of the remaining dischargeable power after the battery has been used for a period to its fully charged capacity, usually expressed as a percentage.
Many vehicle owners, to prevent overcharging their beloved cars, set the vehicle’s SOC below 100%. When the charging power reaches the preset SOC value, charging will stop. At the same time, common charging operators in the market also adjust the SOC threshold for safety reasons. When the charging station detects that the vehicle’s remaining power has reached the set value, it will automatically stop the charging operation.
This leads to what people refer to as the “disconnection” or “not fully charged” situation, which is a normal phenomenon. This setting is designed to avoid potential battery short circuit issues that may occur when the vehicle’s built-in BMS (Battery Management System) fails to automatically interrupt the charging operation due to overcharging, which could lead to fire hazards and unnecessary safety incidents.
02
Achieve a Full Charge Through Slow Charging
Therefore, if the charging gun disconnects and the vehicle’s remaining power has reached the preset SOC, this can be considered normal. If the power has not reached the relevant value and the gun disconnects, you can reconnect the gun and restart charging. Of course, some charging stations may further lower the SOC setting to increase charging safety, especially in high-temperature weather. It’s advisable to consult the station administrator or customer service for specific situations.
So, if you want to pursue a 100% full charge, under the premise that the vehicle’s SOC is set to 100%, you can charge at a fast charging station until the SOC threshold is reached, and then switch to a slow charging station for trickle charging, which will achieve a “full charge.” However, it is still recommended to follow the shallow charge and shallow discharge usage pattern, as this aligns better with the normal usage state of lithium batteries.
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