Detecting charger?

[splurge]

New user here, had an 3 for about 2 weeks now. I tried searching the forum but couldn't find the answer.

So, I got a Siemens Versicharge installed yesterday and I swear my i3 doesn't recognize that it's a Level 2 station. The electricians ran a 50amp line to the station and it is definitely charging the i3, but the time seems way off. Like it was giving me a 2+ hour charge time to fully charge the battery that was only a quarter empty.

I did make sure the Level 2 settings were at MAX. Am I missing something?

 

[jadnashuanh]

Two things come to mind...make sure that the vehicle's settings call for maximum charge rate. THen, if that is not the problem, it may be the EVSE itself. The EVSE sends out a signal that tells the EV how much power is available. THen, the car, after seeing that signal, can decide how much, up to that maximum, it wants to use.

The EVSE is essentially a smart switch, but the pilot signal may not be telling the truth. On some models, you can adjust that signal (say it could provide 50A, but you installed it on a 30A circuit, you can adjust the output signal to only say it can provide 30A rather than the 50A which would keep it from overloading the wiring to it). So, check the owner's manual on the EVSE, and see if yours has that ability. If it does, depending on the actual wiring setup to it, you can maximize that.

Depending on how cold it is...the car may want to warm the batteries up a little before it starts to charge, so that can affect the time to full.

 

[Schnort]

At ~7KW, it should take about 2.5h to charge an empty battery

Doesn't the i3 slow charging down in the final 25%?

Also, wasn't one version of the firmware limiting charging to ~5KW?

 

[I33t]

New user here, had an 3 for about 2 weeks now. I tried searching the forum but couldn't find the answer.

So, I got a Siemens Versicharge installed yesterday and I swear my i3 doesn't recognize that it's a Level 2 station. The electricians ran a 50amp line to the station and it is definitely charging the i3, but the time seems way off. Like it was giving me a 2+ hour charge time to fully charge the battery that was only a quarter empty.

I did make sure the Level 2 settings were at MAX. Am I missing something?

Time the actual charge time. I have noticed mine indicates a much longer charge time when first plugged in than what actually occurs.

 

[jadnashuanh]

Any i3 built recently should have the latest hardware and software AND, at least on mine while it was technically 'limited' in charge rate, with the colder temperatures where I live, I NEVER saw it restricted and always saw about 30A going into it from my 30A EVSE.

Depending on the charge rate, as the vehicle approaches 'full', it does slow things down. It seems that initially, when you plug the EVSE in, the time indicated is excessive, but it adjusts that once it sees how things are going. Most people don't run their batteries flat, and at a full 7.4Kw charging rate, in most cases, you should easily get a full charge in less than 3.5-hours. Power=volts*amps, and that can't exceed 7,400. The amount of amps supplied will depend somewhat on the actual voltage available, so say you have 208VAC verses 240vac, with an EVSE reporting a max of 30A, your actual max available power would vary from 6240W to 7200W just because of the supplied voltage and the amperage limits. IOW, the max amps you'll use is based on the pilot signal, and how many watts that ends up depends on the voltage that's pushing those electrons. My typical power reads 247vac, so 30*247=7410W, pretty much the max the i3 can handle. YOur results may differ. Europe tends to have closer to 220vac, and in the USA, 208vac is more common on commercial, multiphase supplies which is one reason why most of the commercial EVSE's don't output the max the i3 can use.

 

[splurge]

Thanks for the help guys!

Found out a few things. My charger was set to 75%. There is a small rotary switch inside that shows the percentage to use. I also found out that they sold me the i3 without installing the B61 31 14 KLE.

I did spend some time this weekend draining the battery completely and charging it. Times seem to be around 4 hours for a full charge now, but I do I have an appointment next week for the KLE update.

Thanks again!

 

[Schnort]

Found out a few things. My charger was set to 75%. There is a small rotary switch inside that shows the percentage to use.

Huh, I guess I need to check mine. I just assumed it was at 100%.

I also found out that they sold me the i3 without installing the B61 31 14 KLE.

How'd you figure that out?

 

[jadnashuanh]

Found out a few things. My charger was set to 75%. There is a small rotary switch inside that shows the percentage to use.

Huh, I guess I need to check mine. I just assumed it was at 100%.

That option isn't in most EVSE's, but I mentioned it earlier in case his actually did. Your owner's manual is your friend. Given that they installed a new 50A circuit...no good reason why they couldn't have set it to 100% during the install. It is intended to make sure that the unit can't draw more power from the supply wiring than was actually installed, or, if that circuit has to share power with something else. It does add some flexibility when present.

 

[splurge]

How'd you figure that out?

I called the service department and gave them my VIN. They checked and saw that I was missing it. I'm kind of annoyed that this wasn't done prior to me purchasing.

I'm not sure why the electricians didn't set it to 100%. I'm guessing they didn't notice it and it was shipped that way for some reason.