Battery Management Systems

[Paul Drawmer]

The charging advice for my BMW I3 is ABC "always be charging". The BMS monitors everything and when the battery is 100% it will than carry out cell balancing and further top ups if needed. The recommendation is to leave it on charge at 100%.

But I see plenty of advice that for some cars, for longer battery life keep the charge between 40 - 80%.

I have a cheapo samsung tablet and one of the options on that is to let the BMS stop charging at 80%.

Do those cars that recommend limited charging for better battery life also have a user option to limit the charging?

[Aunty Pasty]

Yes, most will let you set the maximum level of charge of the battery.