Level 2 not delivering 6.6kwh‏

[chchoi]

My i3 is manufacture in 7/14. Service said it has updated KLE charger.
I have tried seven different Chargepoint level 2 stations. The display has 6.6kwh output. But I never able to have 6.6kwh delivered at anytime. Max I have is 6.0 kwh. One time I had 5.5kwh. Since I am paying $/hr, higher charge rate is beneficial to me.

Anyone have similar experience?

 

[jadnashuanh]

Where do you live, and how hot is it, plus how long had you been driving? The logic in the car will lower the charging rate if things are warmer. My, mostly short trips with ambient temperatures around freezing, I see the max from my EVSE (about 7Kw).

 

[chchoi]

I live in Bay Area, CA. When charging, outside temperature is about 60F. I start charging after I arrived at office after 9am. I wonder if chargepoint can really deliver 6.6kwh?

 

[mindmachine]

My i3 is manufacture in 7/14. Service said it has updated KLE charger.
I have tried seven different Chargepoint level 2 stations. The display has 6.6kwh output. But I never able to have 6.6kwh delivered at anytime. Max I have is 6.0 kwh. One time I had 5.5kwh. Since I am paying $/hr, higher charge rate is beneficial to me.

Anyone have similar experience?

I suspect your service advisor is wrong about you having the new KLE since people with manufacture dates in August and September are reporting that they have the old KLE and are getting them replaced. My car was built on 7/21/14 and I will be getting my KLE replaced in about a week according to my dealer.

 

[Blue20]

I just mentioned in another thread on the same.

I have the new KLE and I am getting just below 6KW from Chargepoint's 6.6KW EVSE.

Temperature shouldn't be an issue in my area. Currently it is around 5c (40F)

 

[Neil]

I have the original KLE and software update to limit charge current and have had the car for over 6 months. There's a Chargepoint system at work where I charge every day. I don't recall ever seeing charging much higher than about 5.4kw (with the Chargepoint App) even though I know my car will charge at a higher rate since at home it pulls about 6kw for a period of time. Before the software update my car charged at about 7.2kw at home (PV system monitor with EVSE on separate circuit) but I don't remember the Chargepoint being much higher than it is now and now it's cold compared to when I purchased the car in July. It would be nice if Chargepoint had more data on charging rates, not just total power and session times.

 

[jadnashuanh]

At home, most people in the USA and Canada would have nominal 240vac for their EVSE. A commercial location is more likely to have 208vac from a leg of the 3-phase transformer and many Euro countries tend to be closer to 220vac. 240vac*32A=7.6Kw (more than the i3 can handle); 208*32A=6.6Kw, which is the upper limit shown for many commercial EVSE's. Keep in mind, it's not only the amps, it's how hard they are being pushed (by the voltage) that determines the ultimate amount of power being used. The charging circuits in the i3 are current limited (as announced by the EVSE). IOW, the max current the i3 will draw is determined by it's internal logic and by what the EVSE announces it has...if that is 30A, as the voltage changes, the power changes. Another thing to consider, the Euro standard for charging an EV is based on peak current, the USA standard is max continuous, and for all practical purposes, 30A USA is equivalent to 32A peak Euro spec EVSE's.

Home service voltages can vary +/- 10% easily, so that will affect the watts available. I'm regularly seeing about 245vac, but you may not be getting much more than 220vac which, with the same 32A peak limit would be a max of 7Kw and a 30A continuous would be 6.6Kw. In a brown-out situation, the voltage could drop even more, and if you live where the transformer is overloaded, your output could be marginal as well.

So, don't blame the car (well, it could be, but I doubt it), without knowing what the supply voltage actually being applied, the output specification of an EVSE is only representing a maximum theoretical amount...IOW, you may not have ideal conditions, and it would be 'normal' to get less. If the pilot signal out of the EVSE is slightly off, it might be announcing a lower capability as well. The car won't try to use more than the EVSE announces it has.

 

[jelloslug]

Find your current software version and that will tell you if you have it or not. To find this take a USB drive and back up your profile to the stick. Take the drive to your computer and open the file with either a web browser or a text editor. It will be listed as <i-step>(your software version)</i-step>