Newbie Question: E-CELL ???

Hi all, just got a 2016 B250e and its our first electric car. We were more comfortable with the fact that Tesla makes the batteries and motor and a mercedes is more comfy than most other affordable electric cars.

My dealer really sucked and had no clue what he is selling me, so needless to say, I got no information about anything (including him telling me I have to pay $600 for the garmin map and I found the SD card in the owners manual)..

I have searched all over and found nothing about what the "E-Cell" gauge is on the car. The dealer even told me "Oh your car is full" by looking at the E-Cell gauge and not the main battery gauge, needless to say, I almost didnt make it home from the dealership since they didnt charge it before selling it.

Can someone explain in detail what the E-Cell gauge exactly does?

Also, what is the paddle shift for? I put it on S mode and it has S Auto and S- and S+

Thanks in advance, my first post and my first electric car!

theDuke said:

Hi all, just got a 2016 B250e and its our first electric car. We were more comfortable with the fact that Tesla makes the batteries and motor and a mercedes is more comfy than most other affordable electric cars.

My dealer really sucked and had no clue what he is selling me, so needless to say, I got no information about anything (including him telling me I have to pay $600 for the garmin map and I found the SD card in the owners manual)..

I have searched all over and found nothing about what the "E-Cell" gauge is on the car. The dealer even told me "Oh your car is full" by looking at the E-Cell gauge and not the main battery gauge, needless to say, I almost didnt make it home from the dealership since they didnt charge it before selling it.

Can someone explain in detail what the E-Cell gauge exactly does?

Also, what is the paddle shift for? I put it on S mode and it has S Auto and S- and S+

Thanks in advance, my first post and my first electric car!

Click to expand...

The gauge on the right is mostly wasted space. When you are running out of power it will reduce the available power. Normally it is pegged. Paddle shift and blind spot assist are options I wish I had. From what I see most leave the paddles at auto.

When you take a 2014 in 2015 you take what is available. That said, I LOVE MY B EV!

Welcome Duke,

1. The dealers don't know jack so search this forum so you can tell them what they should but don't know.

2. I usually leave the paddles in Auto mode but based on WTZouris' post, I have tried to use S- mode in stop and go situations and S+ on highways. It affects how quickly the car tries to capture energy back, S+ is for coasting, S- is so you don't have to use the brake as much.

3. There are helpful posts on home chargers, tires, and how to eek out the longest range possible.

Enjoy the ride!

My latest hyper-miling techniques involve "drive like a grandma" in D-Auto. Never use the brakes, unless something unexpected happens in front of you. Pull the paddle for D- first. if I am on a particularly curvy road or stop and go traffic, I go to D-. I haven't used D+ much lately. Range is unbelievable in the summer. 105 miles all the time.

WTZ,

OK, will give that a try. Like you, getting better range in the hot weather. Almost to the point that I can head home from work each day with a full charge by plugging into an outdoor free outlet. Of course, if I go to a ball game or drive to the airport, that will result in a weekend full recharge as it is doing now at the garage.

Using the 1981 gas roadster these days unless weather forecast is for rain or brutally hot weather or if I have to transport four adults which the MBe does just fine, thank you.

I've only had my 2014 B for a few days, and hypermiling is quite different than it is with my Jetta TDI. Our B's are porkers...big heavy vehicles so maintaining momentum is key. Regenerative brakes work as designed, but they only recover a fraction of the energy required to get our cars up to speed, so avoiding any kind of braking is also key to long range.

With my Jetta TDI, I always shift into neutral for coasting and/or coast in gear but I don't think this is at all necessary with our cars. Further, I think the paddles are also somewhat unnecessary since all we need to do is modulate the brakes as not to engage friction braking and to keep the needle in the middle - not consuming energy or regenerating. I may be wrong, but isn't this "neutral"?

Everything you said is right, except I think the paddles are cool, especially for toggling between D- and D-Auto, which I do all the time. (Returning to D-Auto requires a pull and HOLD on either paddle). otherwise you see D-, D, D+. My car always starts in D-Auto after going into Park. When I am cruising on the highway in D-Auto or D+, and I see a traffic jam ahead, my first instinct is to paddle down to D- to start regeneration immediately, which is one quick pull on the left paddle, easier than messing with the right gear selector stalk. Then I apply brakes if necessary -- sometimes I go right back to D-Auto. Also when I approach a huge downhill I always go into D- and then back to D-Auto after the hill. I have to mess around more with it, but when using cruise control on a Mercedes if you add speed with the accelerator to go faster and then let go of the accelerator, the car abruptly applies brakes/regeneration to get you back down to your selected cruise speed. Most cars coast back to that speed. I have to see if cruise control in D+ changes that behavior.

No question D- driving as close to 1 pedal operation as possible (safely) produces the best range. Any use of the friction brakes is wasted energy. An issue here is the regen slows the car a good bit but doesn't to my knowledge kick the brake lights on. People following you get closer than you'd like before they realize you are slowing. This seems like an oversight.

I have found in traffic, Dauto can create a jerky ride especially for passengers if they are sensitive to motion sickness. D+ works much better as it doesn't regen with each lift of the accelerator.

I don't think that D- produces the best range since regenerative braking only recovers a fraction of the energy that it took to get the vehicle up to speed. The better option is preserving momentum, by anticipating signal changes and upcoming stops. I used to use cruise control, and shifting to neutral a lot while hypermiling my Jetta but the B250e makes it a lot less complicated simply by feathering the throttle to keep the power gauge needle as close to "0" at all times and lifting off for modest brake regen to slow the car when necessary.

Because the needle gives a real-time indication of regenerative braking, I think the paddles are redundant since modulating the brake pedal accomplishes the same task as any of the paddles "D" modes. This car is SO easy to hypermile.

By the way. We LOVE this car. I drove the Jetta again after a week; damn if that car feels like something out of the 70's after driving the EV for the last few days.

Hey oilerlord, what kind of range are you getting in the warm weather? Aren't you in Canada? Just a heads up this car is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in Winter/Summer. No amount of hyper miling helps when the battery heater kicks in efficiency goes way down. 66 - 82 mile range is typical even with extended range charge on the coldest days. ( I use conservative heat settings on low fan speed) Below 45 degrees outside temps, it's hard to get the car to do better than 84 miles but of course YMMV. That's when you realize as great as this car is, it is "half" of a Tesla Model S or X, and the short range starts limiting your mobility. I still LOVE the car, I just wish it (magically) had double the range and DCFC.

I've been too chicken to push the battery past 25% remaining...and that was doing an 80 mile return trip starting out at 80% and getting home with 25% remaining. At that point, the guess-o-meter said I had about 26 miles left.

Tony Williams range testing reported the following:

The following is range at 65mph (100km ground speed verified by timers and GPS) on dry, hard surface level road with no wind or cabin climate control with new condition battery at 70F, battery capacity is "useable" amount, not advertised amount. Ranges are at maximum available charge and EPA rating is the maximum published.

Mercedes
B-Class ED - 3.8*** miles per kWh (263 wattHours per mile) * 31.5kWh = 120 miles / EPA 104

*** Mercedes does some goofy BS with the economy meter... it's calibrated "from the wall", so 3.8 miles per kWh will show 3.2 on the dash

So, assuming 3.8 miles per kWh x my 28kWh battery = 106.4 miles. I'm pretty sure that with hypermiling / avoiding freeways / keeping the speed between 30-50 mph, I should easily be able to coax ~120 miles from a charge in the spring/summer/fall.

Winter is the concern though. It will be interesting to see how this car performs in -20C. Most of my clients have 120v outlets for block heaters that I can use, so that may mitigate some of the range loss.

You won't do that well. Those tests are in sunny, dry, California where the weather is basically perfect for EVs, In real world my personal best is 115 miles on range charge, 105 miles on regular charge. Summer in NYC, 95 degrees, hot and humid. Yes all the math seems correct below, but you have to allow that extra 10-15% for contingencies. Like if you get an unexpected rain storm and need to defrost, and drive in weather with much more friction (rolling resistance), things happen. WORST RANGE DAY: On a 65-mile journey with bad weather on range charge (31.5 kWh useable) last February I got home with 2% SOC left. It was a snow storm. The car was parked outside in the cold for 6 hours after the first 35 miles, then home 30 miles. I probably pre-conditioned in the morning, but maybe not. The car was definitely parked inside at the start of the day. Then outside the rest. It was probably 25 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I use heat in the cabin, like 70 degree setting and fan speed on 2. A/C switch was probably ON to keep out condensation. Summer is great for EVs, winter sucks. Did you say you live in Canada? Get some charging at work, (even Level 1) and allow that extra room for contingency, I rarely drive the car down below 20% SOC.

That test was done in perfect conditions, however also at 65 mph where aerodynamic drag is a factor. We've been at 70-75 degrees lately too, so also perfect for EV driving. I do think that 120 miles with a 28kWh charge (4.28 miles/kWh) is possible in lower speed city driving with a little hypermiling in spring/summer/fall. We'll see. Winter will be a different ballgame altogether.

Well they replaced a coolant pump on my B. I was given a GLE as a loaner. The dash cluster is the same except for the markings. The power remaining is the gas gauge. The useless E-Cell gauge is temperature gauge. It looks like the gauge was there and they struggled to find a use for it.

Caliber Motors had it done in two days. Good service since I purchased the car at Long Beach Mercedes. I am retired from Long Beach City and Caliber is now the closest dealer.

I am sure happy to be back in my B. The GLE was just too large! I had to fill it up with gas before returning it. I actually had to set foot in a gas station. Oh the horrors!

Coolant pump -- what kind of warning did the car give you? Was it drivable? Did you get stranded?

It was drivable. On my 240V 40A charger it kicked off. On the dealer's 208V? 30A? charger it charged up. It did set a bunch of error codes including charger failure codes in the Tesla charger. Every thing works fine now. I think my EVSE was overwhelming the poorly cooled battery. I must say I am happy with Caliber Motors and their service department. I chose the nearest dealer with the error message and they treated me right!

I plugged in my EVSE and noticed it did not charge the car the next morning. I drove to the dealer on 3/4 charge so it was fine. I usually charge at that point.

wtzouris said:

Hey oilerlord, what kind of range are you getting in the warm weather? Aren't you in Canada? Just a heads up this car is like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in Winter/Summer. No amount of hyper miling helps when the battery heater kicks in efficiency goes way down. 66 - 82 mile range is typical even with extended range charge on the coldest days. ( I use conservative heat settings on low fan speed) Below 45 degrees outside temps, it's hard to get the car to do better than 84 miles but of course YMMV. That's when you realize as great as this car is, it is "half" of a Tesla Model S or X, and the short range starts limiting your mobility. I still LOVE the car, I just wish it (magically) had double the range and DCFC.

Click to expand...

This is the first time I've had the courage to run down the battery to "reserve level". I went 170.9 km (106.19 miles) when the reserve warning came on. The GOM reported I had 19km (11.8 miles) remaining. This was mostly city driving, with some A/C, stereo on, and a 0-75 MPH drag race against my friend's Jaguar last night (his car won).

Other than the careless slaughter of electrons in the NHRA session, I was reasonably careful to accelerate smoothly; keeping the needle in the "economy" range, and anticipate stops and signal light changes to preserve momentum when possible - essentially some modest hypermiling was involved, but nothing over the top. The temperature has been between 70-80 degrees F.

This gives me a realistic baseline range of 120 miles in the summer. It will be interesting to see how the car does in winter with snow tires, -10 degrees, and heater blasting. If my range goes down to ~80 miles, I'm ok with that.

EDIT 8/3/16: Have been doing some combination freeway (70MPH) / city driving with the B. GOM now down to ~140KM (87 miles), which I think is probably about right. Speed murders electrons.

Oilerlord,

I would be surprised if you got 80 in those cold conditions but you sound like a more careful driver than moi. I live in NYC so purely urban driving. With snow tires and in the cold, I did not sniff 80 in my 2014 wo range extender. Watch you range closely as temperatures drop and let us know what you are able to get. Good luck to you sir.

Jeff,

Yeah, I do tend to hypermile and it's a lot easier to do with the B than it was with my Jetta. Instead of having to constantly shift to neutral, the EV is just an exercise in watching the power needle where "0" is neutral - driving for efficiency is a simple one-pedal operation.

If we get a cold winter, then you're probably right that 80 miles is optimistic. For winter tires, I may go with 205/55-16 sizing that might help.