Show battery SOC while charging?

[camaroguy]

I have been playing around with my new B-Class for a couple of days. I am wondering if there is any way to show the battery SOC while its being charged.

The manual clearly states that if the drive system is off, the power distribution display should show a cord and still show you the SOC. I cannot seem to get this screen to appear as such. Also, the buttons on the steering wheel don't do anything with the drive electronics off. Am I doing just doing it wrong, or does this really actually not work like it says in the manual?

When the power distribution screen does show up, all I see is the picture of the car with no indication of any power flow or SOC.

 

[wtzouris]

I look at the app-- on my iPhone or laptop. I also have an app called EV Access which is in beta testing for iOS and Apple Watch. it updates every fifteen minutes or so. The car does not communicate in real time, but you do see the progress when you glance at your watch. (And in general you know what's going on.) The watch shows the charge symbol and the percentage. When the watch doesn't have good data the reading is red and I launch the iPhone EV Access app, which is totally solid -- better than the Mercedes app, and faster. Future versions on EV access will send me notifications when certain SOC thresholds are met. The Mercedes app gives you one notification, via email, and I set mine for 95%. Don't use 100% as the threshold because the car app often stops at 99%. So in short, there is no way to see in on the car with the J1772 plugged in.

 

[camaroguy]

My understanding was, that Mercedes wanted to make the car as normal as possible that didn't require all sorts of smart phone apps and such to just enjoy the car. You would think a very simple SOC indication while charging would be a part of this goal, and is in fact listed in the manual as working this way.

The actual scenario is: Unplug the car -> turn the car on -> check the gauge. I mean, even the analog gage isn't active unless you turn everything on first.

Or you use the web app (that won't work on my phone or pc because they decided to use some sort of non-standard compliant code) and hope the car is communicating with the servers....IF you are even able to get the VVC from the dealer in the first place and IF the registration process actually works.

I have to say, I am not impressed with Mercedes coming from BMW here. We picked the car because the i3 was just too small, but some of these little things are unbelievable from a brand of Mercedes's stature.

 

[camaroguy]

For those who are interested, I figured out how to get this screen to show up.

You need to turn the car on, so all the warning lights on the dash are on, but not try to "start" it. This means two turns to the right but not to the spring loaded point (if you use a key in the traditional manner), or door open, press the start button twice.

Its nice to know I can get this information, but it really should just show you this when you unlock the vehicle (if its plugged in).

 

[JeffRay]

Agree. I was doing a quick 30 minute top up to ensure that I got home and sat in the car. I have a 2014 so the key was inserted but in the on position for system but not driving. I got home with 2 miles left on the GOM and 4% on the battery charge. Getting better at mental mathematics.