Vehicle battery control systems and method
System and method are disclosed for detecting and refreshing an aged battery in a vehicle with a start-stop system. An example vehicle includes an engine configured to operate in a start-stop mode and a power management system. The power management system is configured for determining that a charge acceptance value of a battery is below a threshold, responsively disabling the start-stop mode and displaying a message via a display, refreshing the battery and enabling the start-stop mode after refreshing the battery.
1. A vehicle comprising:
an engine configured to operate in a start-stop mode; and
a power management system for:
determining that a charge acceptance value of a battery is below a threshold;
responsively disabling the start-stop mode and displaying a message via a display;
refreshing the battery; and
enabling the start-stop mode after refreshing the battery.
2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the charge acceptance value comprises a charging current for the battery.
3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the threshold is based on a size and temperature of the battery.
4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is below the threshold comprises:
determining the charge acceptance value of the battery at a plurality of points in time; and
determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery at each point in time is below the threshold.
5. The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of points in time occur over two or more days.
6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the message comprises an indication that the battery will be refreshed.
7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the battery comprises the power management system entering a refresh mode, wherein the refresh mode comprises charging the battery with a first voltage, wherein the first voltage is greater than a second voltage used to charge the battery when not in the refresh mode.
8. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the first voltage is 15% greater than a battery float charge voltage.
9. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the refresh mode further comprises:
supplying the first voltage to the battery for a time period; and
determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is above the threshold,
wherein enabling the start-stop mode after refreshing the battery comprises enabling the start-stop mode responsive to determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is above the threshold.
10. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein refreshing the battery comprises the power management system entering a refresh mode that spans a plurality of vehicle on-off cycles.
11. A method comprising:
determining, by a power management system of a vehicle, that a charge acceptance value of a battery of the vehicle is below a threshold;
responsively disabling a start-stop mode of an engine of the vehicle and displaying a message via a display;
refreshing the battery; and
enabling the start-stop mode after refreshing the battery.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the charge acceptance value comprises a charging current for the battery.
13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the threshold is based on a size and a temperature of the battery.
14. The method of claim 11 , wherein determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is below the threshold comprises:
determining the charge acceptance value of the battery at a plurality of points in time; and
determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery at each point in time is below the threshold.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the plurality of points in time occur over two or more days.
16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the message comprises an indication that the battery will be refreshed.
17. The method of claim 11 , wherein refreshing the battery comprises the power management system entering a refresh mode, wherein the refresh mode comprises charging the battery with a first voltage, wherein the first voltage is at least 15% greater than a float charge voltage used to charge the battery when not in the refresh mode.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the refresh mode further comprises:
supplying the first voltage to the battery for a time period; and
determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is above the threshold,
wherein enabling the start-stop mode after refreshing the battery comprises enabling the start-stop mode responsive to determining that the charge acceptance value of the battery is above the threshold.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein refreshing the battery comprises the power management system entering a refresh mode that spans a plurality of vehicle on-off cycles.