I was wondering if I used Hold A/C does it cool the traction battery as well or just the cabin? Also is Hold A/C supposed to pulse on and off and on again or is something wrong with mine?
I have a scangauge that I used to monitor battery temps on my Energi (pretty much the same size battery) and, yes, running the a/c cools the cabin down WAY more than the battery (if at all) on my car. The a/c needs to run a long time to bring the battery temps down because it's such a large heatsink. Heat wise, the best thing you can do to keep battery temps in check is to not charge (especially outside at level 2 rates) during the heat of the day.
And you think you speak for everybody in the world ??? It was, and is, a serious suggestion. And it doesn't seem to be drowned out by the hundreds of other useful comments. Take a hike.
Hold A/C in OP must be about the Remote Air Conditioning System. It uses electrical energy stored in the hybrid battery (traction battery) and allows the air conditioning to be operated by remote control. It is for preconditioning cabin with climate control system. I guess, ambient temperature drops, so it will cool the battery as well. I think OP is confusing this functionality and another function “Traction Battery Cooler” When the hybrid battery (traction battery) is hot, this function protects it by using the vehicle air conditioning to cool it before charging is carried out. When the hybrid battery (traction battery) is above a certain temperature and the power switch is turned off, a check screen is displayed on the multi-information display that indicates whether “Traction Battery Cooler” is implemented. When “No” is selected, the hybrid battery (traction battery) cooling system does not operate.
I have never seen “Traction Battery Cooler function" selection screen displayed on the multi-information display that indicates whether “Traction Battery Cooler” is implemented. It never gets that hot where I live. The manual says it uses the vehicle air conditioning to cool it before charging is carried out, but how it works is not explained.
According to the manual “Traction Battery Cooler” is implemented only if battery is above certain temp at the time when car is turned off to allow battery to cool before charging can take place. I wonder what happens if the car is parked and charge completed, but the temp of battery gets above the set temp. Would it turn on AC by itself, if "Traction Battery Cooler" function was enabled?
All I know is that almost every time I turn my Prime Advanced off, I get the screen asking to operate the Traction Battery Cooler (or something like that). I always choose 'yes' and press the button, but I don't know if that does anything, because the next time I turn the car off, I get the same question, I choose "yes", and go thru the same steps over and over and over again....... In regards to the remote AC button - I began using this earlier this summer. I turn it on via the key fob 10 minutes before getting into the car in the morning, and when all dressed up for work it's very cool inside the cabin (my car is garaged, but it still gets very hot in there with the crazy humidity we can have here in Chicago).
I too get this message on a regular basis when I turn the car off in Memphis, but what I always wonder about is whether I should select yes or just move the curser to yes as I do with the "charge now" function. Is it confusing or is this just me? So far I have not observed the air conditioner coming on prior to charging. It has been regularly 90 degrees in my garage at night.
Move the cursor to "Yes" then press the center button using the button cluster on the right of the steering wheel. I see it in the heat of summer often, and use it. It makes a racket in the garage. I believe it only functions when the car is plugged in. Not sure if it runs the ac after charging if the battery is still hot.
Anything that cools the cabin also indirectly cools the traction battery, since the traction battery pulls its cooling air from the cabin. If the battery gets hot, the car will start the A/C automatically to cool the cabin and the battery. The Hold A/C is just the remote control from the A/C. It will run up to 10 minutes or until you open the door.
