Turtle came on, 80% charged. Temp showing 124* F

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jcaz2019SoulEV

Active member
Joined
Mar 23, 2024
Messages
42
Location
Arizona, USA
Doing some shopping, got under 30 miles range remaining and headed to a charge station. Waited 15-20 minutes for a Chademo to free up but one car was unoccupied and the other was having charge/disconnect issues every few minutes. So we drove to the next nearest and where down around 10% at that point.

Fast charged, just over 80 by the time we disconnected) and all seemed well. A few blocks away in construction zone (25-35mph) I glance down and the turtle light is on. We were about to get on the freeway where there's an extremely short merge and I decided against it. When I looked down again I see the temp thinks it's 124* F outside (only 108*) leading me to think that wasn't outside temp. Frantically search the manual which confirms it's air temp.

We pulled over to a store and let it sit for about 10 minutes. While I was waiting, I had the thought that parking in the shade would be better and looked for the closest self carwash. Started it back up and it said 122*, no turtle light. Didn't figure we were out of the woods, it climbed again to 123* before dropping into the teens (117, 118).

Parked at the car wash, ran 3 minutes of spray under the car, and reduced pressure into the intake scoop while the hood was up.
Started the car and it dropped from the upper teens to 108* and kept dropping, 103 I think the lowest. Made it back to the house but down to about 40% when I was expecting at least 50-60 remaining.

What to do next, slow charge overnight when it's cooler and see how it does? We generally don't fast charge, overnighting at home every other day or so.
Soul Spy still isn't showing SOH, it's been plenty charges since the BMS software update. Is there an update or another tool to try?

Thank you in advance,...
 
Here's my comment to you from April. :- SoulSpy no longer displaying SOH?
I just noticed you are in Arizona. No wonder you mention the heat.
The original 27kWh version of the Soul EV did really badly in Arizona.
New batteries were needed every 2 years.
Kia never sold the Soul EV in Arizona for this reason.
No one has ever reported a 30kWh version in Arizona before.
The battery cells in the 30kWh version supposedly are much more heat tolerant.
It seems that the battery cells in the 30kWh version are not heat tolerant enough to survive fast charging in Arizona heat.
The best evidence we have that air cooling the battery does not work well is from TeslaBjorn in Norway. He manages to overheat the battery by fast driving and multiple fast charges. Even extreme fixes don't work.
Battery Cooling fan Service/Cleaning

I recommend using the OBD apps for entertainment only. I have no faith that any of them will show correct data.
 
was the battery fan running, what speed. I run my AC toward the floor to help cool it
 
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