It was so hot today that DC chargers apparently overheated..

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FloridaSun

FloridaSun

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Went to charge my Kona EV at 4pm today at a 50kw DC charger here in Central Florida.. The location has 3 identical chargers and I never had an issue there.. Temperature was in the upper 90's (36C to 37C) and sunny.. Temperature display on the car said 107 F outside temperature (42 C).. So, I connected to the charger on the right and it charged fine for 15 mins, then it stopped supplying juice.. Moved to the charger in the middle and it would not initiate charge.. Then I went to the charger on the left and it charged for about 15 mins and then stopped supplying power.. Went back to the one on the right and it would charge again but only for 10 minutes before it stopped.. Moved the car again to the charger on the left and was finishing my charge to 80% there.. After 10 minutes I reached 76.5% charge level where the car throttles to 35kw and at 78% it throttled to 24kw.. Looks like the throttling prevented the charger from overheating on the last session as it lasted 20 mins..
I wonder if this is something common? Shouldn't chargers be able to operate in those conditions without shutting down? BTW, my battery temperature went almost to 106F, the highest I have ever seen it..

Screenshot_20200905-164405_Torque.webp
 
The ABB units are rated for 55 °C ambient, a level typical of industrial equipment in my experience. The Tritium Veefil is only 50°C, odd since they're Australian. Clearly if it's located in direct sunlight that could compromise the rating.
 
KiwiME said:
The ABB units are rated for 55 °C ambient, a level typical of industrial equipment in my experience. The Tritium Veefil is only 50°C, odd since they're Australian. Clearly if it's located in direct sunlight that could compromise the rating.
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The chargers were in direct sunlight.. Will check next time what brand the chargers are..
 
I'll mention that Kyle Conner (Out of Spec YT channel) used a wet rag on the (Tesla Supercharger) handle to keep it from overheating and throttling charging speed in hot weather. Don't know if that will also work on other chargers . . .

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Could this be more that the car's BMS was limiting things rather than the DC charging station?
I've had charging speeds suddenly drop once a battery module got above 38°C, even when the charging station was under an awning. Especially when the outside air temp was over 30°C.
 
If the area was suffering a brown-out because of the local electric grid load, their agreement might let the utility reduce power. For example, my Jukebox 40 Pro has the option of utility control.

Even a voltage sag might have required triggered the DC power supply to protect itself.

Bob Wilson
 
syntaxfx said:
Could this be more that the car's BMS was limiting things rather than the DC charging station?
I've had charging speeds suddenly drop once a battery module got above 38°C, even when the charging station was under an awning. Especially when the outside air temp was over 30°C.
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I highly doubt it.. The only difference I have seen before is that the charging curve throttles 1 or 2 percent earlier when the battery is hot.. The car should not stop charging unless battery temperature reaches 50C
 
bwilson4web said:
If the area was suffering a brown-out because of the local electric grid load, their agreement might let the utility reduce power. For example, my Jukebox 40 Pro has the option of utility control.

Even a voltage sag might have required triggered the DC power supply to protect itself.

Bob Wilson
Click to expand...
I was able to immediately re-connect to another charger right beside it at normal charging speed...
 
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