500e Battery Coolant

[Luma3d]

Hey guys,

I would like to top off my battery coolant to the Max marker. I went to the typical auto parts stores, Oreily and Autozone and I couldn't find the required OAT ms 12106 coolant. What are you guys using and where did you buy it from? Online? Dealer?

Vince.

[map]

Mopar's OAT 12106 coolant. (See back label at top.)
https://www.amazon.com/Mopar-Year-Mi.../dp/B017DP43ZC

[Luma3d]

Great thanks...Just ordered.

[GLpuppy]

Let me add on to this thread with a question. When does the coolant turn on in heating mode or cooling mode? Is it only during charge, or on a temp sensor?

[ElectricTireShredder]

It's on temperature sensors but also runs non-stop during all charging at any temp. It's not simple, but the end result is it seems to protect the battery very well:


Fiat has two Thermal Management Systems (TMS) which are completely independent, at least very nearly - they seem to share radiator fans. One system is labeled "battery" only & includes a heater & also active chilling of the liquid by the A/C system. The other TMS is labeled "power electronics" so it is most likely what cools the motor too.

There are multiple modes including coolant-pump-only, multi-speed radiator fans, & for the battery, heating & active A/C chilling.

During L1 or L2 charging I can see my "power electronics" liquid flowing non-stop into the top of its reservoir, & OBD shows coolant pump 100%. When it's warmer the fans cycle from off to so slow that I can only tell by opening the hood to look. When it's above about 85F ambient, on L2 they cycle from off to so fast I can hear it easily with the hood shut.

During more than 5 years of pretty close observation, I have never detected my 2013 500e activating A/C to cool the battery, even with 113F on the display after driving at high-power highway speeds, low-airflow city speeds, & then immediately L2 charging. Apparently the battery is most efficient at around 125F, so active chilling may be set to only come on somewhere near that, for maximum driving range. That's well above ideal longevity temperature though, & it might be nice to have a separate setting for charging, but either way our batteries seem to last quite well, with many high-mileage users reporting so little range loss it's virtually undetectable compared to a light headwind.

Edit: 1st-gen eGolf seems to have great longevity even without liquid coolant, & I believe they have the same batteries as Fiat. If I was doing an EV project (like I just noticed the prior poster) I'd check what eGolf has. It might use a much simpler system of "just" cabin HVAC systems chilling/heating the batt compartment.

[Jiri GrandPa]

1.st gen Golf doesn’t have any cooling. But its batteries are different.
BMW i3 first generation has the same cells.
i confirm your observation about A/C not cooling battery during charging.
I think it only engages when driving hard in summer and perhaps after long braking from high speed.
Or it’s left over from the initial Bosch design with DC charging which Fiat finally dismissed before car launch.

[GLpuppy]

Thanks for the information. The A/C system is so integrated I will probably use it all including the battery and the power electronics. It is more likely that the car will want that sometime. Living in Salem, Oregon USA, I can expect temps above freezing all the time so maybe the heater won't get installed. Will that send out a code on the CAN buss? My new battery location actually favors the dimensions of the i3. Do they use the 120ah cells and would the FIAT BMS handle the larger cells? I really don't need the longer range but more is always better.

[ElectricTireShredder]

Battery heater removal will almost certainly prevent operation, since someone reported failure just from coolant being absent from it.

Someone reported Fiat A/C battery chilling during L1 charging one evening this summer, even when it wasn't particularly hot out. I'm pretty sure it was asked/confirmed that it wasn't just the rad fans loud in their high-speed mode.

Thanks for making me check eGolf. Glad I wrote "I believe": It was off by one year, having researched 2017 with Samsung SDI like ours. 2016 apparently had Sanyo/Panasonic cells, but in both cases they seem to have the same NCM/LMO hybrid chemistry, & both with very slow aging even without liquid cooling.

It may be important to differentiate between AIR cooling & NO cooling. Apparently the Leaf battery really doesn't have any cooling at all, sealed in a heat-retaining case, although that's not their only reason for rapid aging: Older Leafs allow more extreme high & low voltages than Fiat or eGolf.

[GLpuppy]

This is the information I need. Some times it is just as difficult to find a work around as finding a place to incorporate the original design. I trust the engineers. If they made a system there was a reason. Thank you ElectricTireShredder.