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[Cardonman]

Hey everyone!
I’m on my return leg from Atlanta back to Winston-Salem for the annual Battery Recertification. It’s a 275 mile trip. The car is performing flawlessly. (Even came alongside a new Audi e-Tron that, for a few seconds at least, left him dumbfounded.) MB also did a 30 point inspect at no charge. I’m able to cut down on some chargetime by using the Tesla destination chargers. It seems the Tesla/Bosch OS can pull in 11kWs without any problems. Ive been using all the available EV charging station apps. (IE. Tesla, Charge Point, Voltan, Plug Share, Blink, ABRP and EVgo) For the most part these are pretty accurate when it comes to locations. Thank you to all who post charger conditions through those apps for others to see.

I’m sure most of you know that if you display your total mileage screen and place the key in position one; while placing your thumbs on the L “OK” button and your R thumb on the “telephone answer” button you access the internal menu when pressed simultaneously. At first glance you can see the current state of voltage and what is being drawn by the accessories from the small 12V battery. One click down from there you’ll see the a white box on the right of the screen. After a few seconds the box goes away and you see the current state of charge for the main battery; is shown and when charging “the amp rate” is also displayed. (IE 340V @20 amps). There are some other settings that I don’t dare mess with but you can also get the motor number, etc.

I know that these cars operate at up to 400V. What I don’t understand is what does the Volts displayed mean? Are there 340 V left in the battery? Does the OS convert the 240 V AC charge to DC 400 V’s? The lowest I’ve seen so far was 306V@ 25 amps. Any ideas?

Yeap, have had to spend 2.5 hrs at least once to make it to my next recharge on one occasion. Also, my speed has averaged about 65 mph - crazy on these highways! The car really holds its speed going up hill compared to the fossil slushees as you see them change gears(!) It has been a lot of fun getting to see “these here parts”. I’m sure this is nothing new to you “old timers” and current Tesla owners but I didn’t think of taking a trip like this 2 years ago. The infrastructure is now there. All this is prep work will pay off when I pick up my EQC or Model Y - Q2 2020.

My $.02,
C

 

[JeffRay]

Hey C,

Thanks for your post. Interesting, never knew about this internal data screen. Never been talked about on this forum to my memory. Thanks.

What the heck is a Tesla destination charger and how do I get one in the great Northeast? I would love to charge at 11 KwH as the most I get at a L2 charger is 6 KwH, even at the dealer.

So you will laugh, I brought mine in today for the annual battery certification. The service guy says to me that there will likely be a charge and I calmly reply that he should doublecheck that as this is a required MB service and generally no charge. I will bring him my invoice from last year to show him just in case.

I guess you have to make the trek to Atlanta. Can't believe that there isn't a MB dealer near you in NC to do the annual certification.

Safe drive home.

 

[Cardonman]

My question to everyone was:
“What I don’t understand is what does the Volts displayed mean? Are there 340 V left in the battery? Does the OS convert the 240 V AC charge to DC 400 V’s? The lowest I’ve seen so far was 306V@ 25 amps. Any ideas?”

While passing through Atlanta a fellow PlugShare member helped clarify my question. Yes, the system does operate up to the 400V under max conditions. The OS does convert AC to DC but does not draw power (240V) and upgrades it to 400V. What your reading on the screen is the current IN THE BATTERY that’s available and at what rate your charging at. (IE 306V x 25 amps = 7.6kW’s. So in this case I was charging at 7.6kW’s. I also discovered as the temperature dropped the ability to charge faster also dropped. That I believe, as you know, is a BMS safety feature to protect the battery from freezing. At 48 F the charging speed dropped down to 5kW’s hence increasing the time to charge. The opposite is also true when the temperatures are higher than the 68-77F range, in my experience.

Also, many of the places that I stopped to charge at had the chargers detuned to lower settings. This makes it harder to charge faster. I used as many Tesla HPDC (destination chargers) as I could but many of those were not set at 80 amps or 16 kW’s. (Tesla HPDC’s have ajustable amp setting screws inside.) Instead only at 1/2 the speed. To me the OS seems to work very well with those type chargers compared to the other types. You will see a reading on your screen like “+25 amps”. I think that means it (OS) will adjust once pre set conditions are met for faster and/or slower charging speeds.

One more thing, I love using the paddle shifters! As is commonly known you can adjust REGEN up or down by clicking to your desired setting manually. However, did you also know that if you pull back on both pedals at the same time the REGEN setting will return to ”AUTO”? If you hold Just one of the paddles down it will also return to AUTO. Lastly, while driving if you select ”D” (DRIVE) AGAIN - it will also reset to AUTO(!).

Temperatures and mal adjusted charging stations are the enemy. Had it not been for that, I think I could have shaved off at least 6-8 hrs off this trip. All in all it was awesome! Due to my problems, I find the ergonomics, handling, suspension in my car are what I need and BETTER riding than the Model 3 that I test drove. There are so few around that many people asked me if this car is ”new”. (Ha-ha!) MB and Tesla had a good thing going but ruined it by not adding the proper battery range capacity and putting in an “Achilles heel” instead. (No DC charging) Great for around town and not too far of a commute. Long distance? Not so much.

My .02,
C

 

[hallcp]

There must be more to accessing this screen than what you described. I tried it many times and only got to it once. The rest of the time it told me to "remove the ignition key" or offered to reset my odometer. Is your foot on the brake for any of this? (I tried both ways) Can you do this after turning the car off, or do you have to wait? My car seems the be reluctant to turn off the lights and go to sleep until I've walked away and left it alone for a bit.
I must say the one time I got in it seemed to have a lot of interesting information!

 

[FordAnglia]

Greetings,

I’m sure most of you know that if you display your total mileage screen and place the key in position one; while placing your thumbs on the L “OK” button and your R thumb on the “telephone answer” button you access the internal menu when pressed simultaneously. At first glance you can see the current state of voltage and what is being drawn by the accessories from the small 12V battery. One click down from there you’ll see the a white box on the right of the screen. After a few seconds the box goes away and you see the current state of charge for the main battery; is shown and when charging “the amp rate” is also displayed. (IE 340V @20 amps). There are some other settings that I don’t dare mess with but you can also get the motor number, etc.

Seeing this for the first time. I was unable to follow your instructions. Can you post clearer details for this Easter Egg? A video would be great!
There must be some trick you've not shared...


Is this the right starting screen?
Are you connected to an EVSE while doing this trick?


I don't have a key, just a big silver button.

What year is your B250e? Have you (or the MB service techs) updated the firmware on your vehicle? Not sure if we have the same starting point.

Thanks In Advance,

Peter,

 

[Cardonman]

Peter:
In most MB platforms that have the silver start button - it can be removed. It simply slides out- it’s a plug. If you have the infrared remote key insert it to position one. Then use your digits as described. If your connected to a EVSE you can see the charge rate as in the example. There is another way but I’m not sure if it works with this particular model. (Researching...) Other than that I’m not sure - for now.

C
B Klasse ‘14

 

[Cardonman]

The trick is in pressing the two buttons ALMOST simultaneously. If you depress the right button first by 1/2 a second then the ok button for about 2 seconds you’ll notice a 2-3 second delay. Continue to hold the two buttons until the service screen menu appears. It does matter if you have the drivers door open. (You won’t be able to see the screen.)

One feature is releasing the electronic parking brakes when servicing the brakes. There is a “Dynometer(?)” test that can be activated and a few other Bosch related battery info.

CAUTION- you’ll have access to some features that are intended to be used by trained technicians. I would not recommend altering ANY settings. This is simply for information purposes.

 

[FordAnglia]

The trick is in pressing the two buttons ALMOST simultaneously. If you depress the right button first by 1/2 a second then the ok button for about 2 seconds you’ll notice a 2-3 second delay. Continue to hold the two buttons until the service screen menu appears. It does matter if you have the drivers door open. (You won’t be able to see the screen.)

I've made some progress! Removing the silver Start-Stop button and using the key to select the first position, followed by pushing the two buttons for a couple of seconds did the trick.

Starting a new thread, as I have many PIX of the screens found in the Secret Menu.
The vehicle was charged and removed from the EVSE, I'll try this again during the next charging session.

CAUTION- you’ll have access to some features that are intended to be used by trained technicians. I would not recommend altering ANY settings. This is simply for information purposes.

Good advice. Wouldn't want to create a problem.

Peter,