AC charging starts OK, but then . . .

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AlkiP0Ps

AlkiP0Ps

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My first gripe about the car after two years happy driving!

7.2 kW comes up straight away using AC type 2 charging infrastructure, but pretty soon it's bouncing around down to 0.5kW, eventually mostly staying there after about an hour.

Since I've seen this on many different public 'destination' chargers, I'll assume it's the car doing this, specifically the rectifier. It does get a little warm there, but nothing concerning.

Is mine a dud or do 'they all do that sir'?

SoC, weather, charger brand, time of day, etc. are not influences. DC charging works as expected.
 
AlkiP0Ps said:
My first gripe about the car after two years happy driving!

7.2 kW comes up straight away using AC type 2 charging infrastructure, but pretty soon it's bouncing around down to 0.5kW, eventually mostly staying there after about an hour.

Since I've seen this on many different public 'destination' chargers, I'll assume it's the car doing this, specifically the rectifier. It does get a little warm there, but nothing concerning.

Is mine a dud or do 'they all do that sir'?

SoC, weather, charger brand, time of day, etc. are not influences. DC charging works as expected.
Click to expand...
Also check max current is selected in the vehicle settings.
BTW 7.2 kW is a good rate for public charging, I usually see max of 6.4 and mostly ~5.8 kW as most of the public L2 EVSEs around these parts (that actually work) are fed 3 phase 208V using 2 phases.
The ones you are getting 7.2kW must be all single phase fed.
 
AlkiP0Ps said:
... It does get a little warm there, but nothing concerning.
Click to expand...
Certainly the rate temporarily goes to 0.5 kW for about 15 seconds after opening a door but if it stays there for an extended period it could be that the OBC is overheating. At the top metal surface (under the plastic cover) it can get up to 60°C by my measurements but should not be warmer. Of course that doesn't tell us the temps at the semiconductors. I have not seen this issue raised before in 4+ years.

Thinking aloud I have to wonder if this is connected to the crystallizing blue coolant issue currently under discussion. Do you ever see replace coolant or coolant low alerts? My inclination is to suggest having the dealer look at it because they may be able to read the actual OBC temp.
 
electriceddy said:
BTW 7.2 kW is a good rate for public charging, I usually see max of 6.4 and mostly ~5.8 kW as most of the public L2 EVSEs around these parts (that actually work) are fed 3 phase 208V using 2 phases.
The ones you are getting 7.2kW must be all single phase fed.
Click to expand...

I believe a lot of them are rated 22 kW three phase. However they can be set up as either single phase or 3 phase depending on the supply available. Most EVSEs at shopping centres around here are type 2 'bring your own cable' and many offer complimentary charging.
Only 5M length 3 phase cables were easily available when I bought mine and my wife finds it to be a bit heavy to lift out of the car. With the port being on the front of the Kona I would prefer a 2.5M single phase cable if it had been available.
Nominal phase to neutral voltage is 230V but this drifts up to ~245V during the sunlight hours. When I was shopping yesterday, I noted 7.2kW initially. When I came back the adjacent port on the EVSE was in use and the rate had dropped but only to 7.1kW which was probably because of voltage drop with the extra load.
 
The OP is in Australia.

Yes, public Type 2 AC chargers are often 32A per phase and can do 22kW if all three phases were used, only found in the Renault Zoe which was not originally equipped with DC. One model could do 43kW and chargers that could provide that are rare beasts. I was told by our lines company that's it's not worth wiring an AC charger up and not providing all three phases.
 
I wonder how the OP is getting along with resolving the problem. How does the timer to restore charge rate after unlock work?
 
wlbugle said:
I wonder how the OP is getting along with resolving the problem. How does the timer to restore charge rate after unlock work?
Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone who responded.

The problem is not yet restored. Energy transfered over time suggest it's not just 0.5kW when the door opens. So far I really like the temperature theory, so I'll get the dealer to check when it goes into a service next month.
 
electriceddy said:
Also check max current is selected in the vehicle settings.
BTW 7.2 kW is a good rate for public charging, I usually see max of 6.4 and mostly ~5.8 kW as most of the public L2 EVSEs around these parts (that actually work) are fed 3 phase 208V using 2 phases.
The ones you are getting 7.2kW must be all single phase fed.
Click to expand...


FWIW, I charge mainly at L2 FLO chargers in our city. Most of them are on 3 phase 208v and operate at 5.7 to 5.9 kW power. There are a couple that are hooked up to 240 VAC and operate at 6.8 to 7.0 kW. The charging rate is constant up to 95% SOC and then seems to drop off gradually as the SOC approaches 100%. Occasionally I charge at my nephew's house where the NEMA 14-50 outlet is less than two meters from the electrical panel. This operates at a consistent 7.4 kW charging power. Not sure if the charging power drops off after 95% SOC.
 
AlkiP0Ps said:
DC charging works as expected.
Click to expand...

AlkiP0Ps said:
Thanks to everyone who responded.

The problem is not yet restored. Energy transfered over time suggest it's not just 0.5kW when the door opens. So far I really like the temperature theory, so I'll get the dealer to check when it goes into a service next month.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. What is your work-around? Do you have DC chargers convenient to your travels or are you doing a lot of very slow AC charging at home?
 
Rickker said:
The charging rate is constant up to 95% SOC and then seems to drop off gradually as the SOC approaches 100%.
Click to expand...

This is the report from my ChargePoint charger from the last time I charged my 2023 Kona to 100%. During the final 35 minutes the charging power ramps down from 7.6 kW to zero, this translates to the last 3.5% of battery capacity during that time. At other times I've never seen a lower rate than the likely max output of the charger, 7.6 kW at home, 6.6 on the one public Level 2 charger that I've used.

20230408-chargepoint-100percentcharge.webp
 
I’m pretty sure that’s what I saw 4 years ago when I bought my Kona. It certainly didn’t stay at 7.4.
 
Again, thanks for all the repies and the tip about the door opening. Problem solved.

The destination chargers that I commonly use have a quirk that they automatically reduce the output when the other stations at the same location are in use. Acutally saw the charge rate jump briefly from 3.5kw to 7.1kw when another station became vacant (the one in my avatar, actually). These are VERY busy charge stations, so this is a rarity. This feature is commonly deployed in my municipality, apparently.

Sorry for any angst this may have caused.
 
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