Drive Battery Cooler?

[jc95aerot]

I am a new owner of a 2023 Outlander PHEV. While going through Settings on Multi-Info Display, specifically under Vehicle Settings, I noticed there is the option to turn OFF/ON the Drive Battery Cooler function.

The default of the cooling system was of course set to ON. I am trying to figure out what exactly the cooler is designed for, and why Mitsubishi allows users to even turn this function OFF? I assume the cooler is in some forms of air conditioner with fans or heatsink, and may be primarily responsible to operate during charging, if the car deems the battery temperature is warm enough. (I seem to recall hearing sound of fans operating the other day right after I plugged in the charging cable). From the user manual, it mentioned hearing sound like that during charging is normal.

The manual did not elaborate further on the possible choices of turning the drive battery cooler OFF or ON though. (at least I did not seem to find it there anywhere). Does anyone know if the cooling system is that important to the battery, why the users are even allowed to turn this thing OFF in the first place? Is there any advantage of choosing to turn it OFF? Perhaps just to save some energy or charging time? Is there any potential danger of damaging the battery system if it stays OFF? It will surprise me in a very bad way if Mitsubishi allows us to turn the cooler off ourselves, and really let the cars get into a catastrophic state...

 

[roussir]

First, there is no safety issue - the manual is clear that if the battery overheats, the car will stop (or have reduced power).
Regarding turning the battery cooling off, my understanding is it is a trade-off between maintaining the health of the battery (by cooling it) and the comfort of the passengers (not enough cooling in the cabin). This is based on the recommendation of the manual that in order to cool the battery quickly, you have to turn the heat up in the cabin (and open to windows to vent, of course). Apparently, the heat pump collects the heat from the battery and dumps it into the cabin (which is an efficient way to heat the cabin when needed).

Short version: the cooling of the battery and the cabin is shared. Either you or the battery suffers from the excessive heat, so the option to control it.

 

[jc95aerot]

Thank you very much for the response. This is very interesting... I guess I will give it some experiments myself on warmer days, and see how if I can feel any effects from the cabin air, while monitoring the drive battery temperature gauge.

Is it safe to assume that manually turning the cooler Off this way does not turn off Battery Management Unit's decisions on when the Cooler should run during charging though?

 

[Grandad]

First, there is no safety issue - the manual is clear that if the battery overheats, the car will stop (or have reduced power).
Regarding turning the battery cooling off, my understanding is it is a trade-off between maintaining the health of the battery (by cooling it) and the comfort of the passengers (not enough cooling in the cabin). This is based on the recommendation of the manual that in order to cool the battery quickly, you have to turn the heat up in the cabin (and open to windows to vent, of course). Apparently, the heat pump collects the heat from the battery and dumps it into the cabin (which is an efficient way to heat the cabin when needed).

Short version: the cooling of the battery and the cabin is shared. Either you or the battery suffers from the excessive heat, so the option to control it.

So roussir, is it the case under cold conditions, the battery would build heat more quickly with the heater off? If so is this true when ambient temperatures are below what I've seen discussed as the minimum operating system temperature of the heat exchanger of -15C?

 

[roussir]

So roussir, is it the case under cold conditions, the battery would build heat more quickly with the heater off? If so is this true when ambient temperatures are below what I've seen discussed as the minimum operating system temperature of the heat exchanger of -15C?

I would expect so (battery to heat faster with the heat pump off) but I don't know, based on available information; it may be designed not to take heat from the battery at cold temperatures, and just take from ambient (and engine, of course). In that case, the -15C limit would matter and turning off the cabin heat would not matter for the battery temperature. May be with sufficient high temperature of the battery, it will be used eventually as a heat source; IDK, not enough information.

 

[Grandad]

I would expect so (battery to heat faster with the heat pump off) but I don't know, based on available information; it may be designed not to take heat from the battery at cold temperatures, and just take from ambient (and engine, of course). In that case, the -15C limit would matter and turning off the cabin heat would not matter for the battery temperature. May be with sufficient high temperature of the battery, it will be used eventually as a heat source; IDK, not enough information.

I would expect so (battery to heat faster with the heat pump off) but I don't know, based on available information; it may be designed not to take heat from the battery at cold temperatures, and just take from ambient (and engine, of course). In that case, the -15C limit would matter and turning off the cabin heat would not matter for the battery temperature. May be with sufficient high temperature of the battery, it will be used eventually as a heat source; IDK, not enough information.

"not enough info" is a pretty key element in this whole situation

 

[vs2]

I live where it never gets below zero. It is Summer here 25-30C and I do not notice any difference in cabin cooling whether the battery cooler is off or on, even in 'Eco' mode. When my car is plugged in inside my hot garage the battery cooler cycles off and on. My battery temperature is always around 60 to 80% on the gauge in Summer no matter what. Surely Mitsubishi have built-in safety parameters especially with the battery so I'm wondering why the option to turn on/off the battery cooler is even there?

 

[gandamuir]

I live where it never gets below zero. It is Summer here 25-30C and I do not notice any difference in cabin cooling whether the battery cooler is off or on, even in 'Eco' mode. When my car is plugged in inside my hot garage the battery cooler cycles off and on. My battery temperature is always around 60 to 80% on the gauge in Summer no matter what. Surely Mitsubishi have built-in safety parameters especially with the battery so I'm wondering why the option to turn on/off the battery cooler is even there?

I agree with your comments. I am using the car in 25 degree temps and suffering high battery temps (near red) often. Obviously I have air conditioning on windows up. Surely mitsubishi have an option for the battery to cool in summer when the ac is on. Maybe not however. Perhaps the only cooling method is to suck the heat from batt compartment into the cabin by way of turning heat up. This is a poor design