Quantifying overnight ("phantom") drain

[Knucklehead]

Just a side point…. You should be arriving closer to 85% (maybe a little less), depending on weather, elevation change, speed, etc.

I am assuming I drive like I normally drive. Most of the trip will be at 80 mph on the highway. I doubt it will only use 15%, but you could be correct. Regardless, a two week trip to Italy will have me returning to a dead truck, or one that must be charged before I can make it home.

That is a complete deal breaker for me. There is no way I am getting a vehicle I can't drive to the airport or leave at home unplugged for any significant length of time.

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[cybercoffee]

I just did a 9 day trip, decided to take a shuttle to the airport since I didn't want to leave my CT in the lot. I have Sentry turned off when at home. Started with 80%, was at 43% when I got back.

Also, I'm pretty sure there was at least one, if not two, different updates so far that reduced the overnight drain from 2-3% down to 0%. But then the next update would go back to 2-3%... Anyone else notice this?

Yes, I also remember the drain being less around maybe April May and then it going back to the present behavior after that.

 

[Sirkevin]

would it be smart to turn off sentry and data-sharing, updates ect. when left at the airport or not being used to avoid the drain?

 

[Sirkevin]

i use the app when i travel to start the charge as needed while in the garage plug in if the battery is getting low. it would be nice if it would start charging again when the battery get low instead of stopping at 80 percent and then draining down to zero

 

[mbeltran]

Super simple solution that works for most situations, power down the truck over night. Most convenience features still work. Drastic reduction in vampire drain. The power button is one aspect I truly dislike of all other EVs, but when in use I still use walk-away locking without powering down. Works great.

 

[Mal]

Just adding a data point: Left the truck unplugged last night, with sentry mode off at the house. Went from 63% battery to 62% battery in about 8 hours. (App said truck had been sleeping for 6 hours when I checked it).

 

[mongo]

Just adding a data point: Left the truck unplugged last night, with sentry mode off at the house. Went from 63% battery to 62% battery in about 8 hours. (App said truck had been sleeping for 6 hours when I checked it).

Was cabin overheat protection turned on?

 

[carsly]

I left my truck for three days, sentry off, and lost 1%. CT was asleep per the app the entire time, I did not do anything to wake it up as opening the app now does not wake up the truck until you interact with it - e.g., unlock doors, turn on climate, etc. Wasn’t even plugged in as I wanted to test vampire drain.

 

[Texarado]

I left my truck for three days, sentry off, and lost 1%. CT was asleep per the app the entire time, I did not do anything to wake it up as opening the app now does not wake up the truck until you interact with it - e.g., unlock doors, turn on climate, etc. Wasn’t even plugged in as I wanted to test vampire drain.

That’s excellent to hear. My experience has been varied, but it’s possible that the most recent update fixed the phantom drain again. My experience has been a roller coaster with some updates seemingly fixing it and then it’s out of whack again. Might be software download related.

 

[Outdoors]

Phantom drain is when car isn't being used and stuff is turned off. Including sentry.

For instance I left my truck for 4 days. Said truck was asleep for 4 days. It lost 1%. That was phantom. As it wasn't energy used for any purpose. Hence the phantom of loss and it's name.

If I left the door open and heat on in truck. That wouldn't be phantom. That would be me doing that. Just like sentry isn't phantom. Switching on sentry is an act one does while knowing it. At least I hope some of you folks consciously know that when you turn it on.

 

[Mal]

Was cabin overheat protection turned on?

Ah, yeah, it was.

 

[Bjhracer]

I would say it has a lot to do with it being a new model and Tesla is uploading as much data as possible and that’s causing some of the drain. Hopefully it something that will improve drastically with time and software updates.

 

[Woodrick]

If people are really worried about phantom drain, they should turn off all the conveniences that most cars don't even have. For example:

1) Phone as Key requires the radio receivers to constantly listen for your phone transmission.

2) Data sharing requires the wifi radio to transmit GB's of data collected during your drives.

3) Cabin overheat protection requires the running of the heat pump to lower interior temperatures.

4) Sentry Mode requires running and processing of at least four cameras.

Personally, these things improve my life and the power consumption doesn't add up to a hill of beans at the end of the day. I like these conveniences and can't figure out why some people expect to have their cake and eat it too. If you want to be a minimalist, just turn those things off! Your vampire drain will be cut to a fraction of what it was with all those services running.

Phone as Key and Data Sharing are minimal if not negligible drain. Do you have any idea how low Bluetooth and Wi-Fi drains are?

Cabin Overheat and Sentry are indeed pigs and shouldn't be used unless rally needed.

And as someone said, you never needed them before.

 

[Woodrick]

What happens when you park it at the airport for two weeks? Do you come back to a dead battery?

The airport is about 40 miles from my house. I would arrive at the airport with around 75% charge assuming I charged to 100%. Seems like with what everyone is reporting, my CT would be dead before I return from the trip. That is totally unacceptable if true. Is it?

My Mach-e loses 0% while sitting at the airport for two weeks. I never even think about it. Of course it doesn't have a "sentry mode".

Sentry will turn off at 20%, as is mentioned in the manual.

 

[Outdoors]

Phone as Key and Data Sharing are minimal if not negligible drain. Do you have any idea how low Bluetooth and Wi-Fi drains are?

They are now. Before the simple act of looking at the car or truck in the app started the wake up procedure. Finally years later the app fix was made.

Wifi and cellular should go off along with data sharing if one is really going to leave the car in the wilderness for a couple weeks where it can't be plugged in.

It always has been funny for me. Coming back from a 4 or 5 nights backpacking with a friend. They all seem amazed that an EV just starts up. I tell them to stop. Starting to worry about their intelligence.

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