50kW at most SC in Idaho and Utah this past weekend

[Chayton]

I took a two-day trip from Salt Lake City to Seattle with the family over this past weekend. Temperatures were consistently over 100F. My Model X 75D was the only car at most of the superchargers, but I was only getting somewhere around 50kW at every station. This includes Salt Lake City, Tremonton, Twin Falls, Boise, Baker City, Kennewick, and Ellensburg. Sometimes it would start out at 90kW and pretty quickly drop to 50kW (or lower). All SC stations were effected to some degree, some more than others. Kennewick only gave me 42kW. When there was a second car at the SC, the drivers complained about their charge rates too. What was supposed to be just a 25 minute stop turned into an agonizing hour every time, adding nearly 2 unexpected hours each day to our travel time.

At Twin Falls I called Tesla tech support to ask what was up. They said the car was functioning fine and that the SC was in some sort of "variable charge" state. Seems all the SC stations where temperatures were above 100F were in this "variable charge" state.

On the way out to SLC, Superior completely crapped out in the middle of the charge. Went from pumping 90kW to falling to 0, with a warning message on my console about how supercharging was not available and to try again later. Unplugging and plugging back in resulted in the same message. Fortunately that was just a bathroom break, and we were able to make it to Missoula with the charge we had at that point.

Is my experience typical for hot weather road trips? If I have to add two hours each day on top of the normal SC time, I don't think I'll try taking the Tesla on the next summer road trip.

 

[Tdriver]

I live in Palm Desert where it runs above 100 all summer. Last year I saw this happen on occasion. This summer is even hotter but the rate has remained high. Not sure if the reduction is caused by the number of cars or the operating temp of the chargers.

 

[vandacca]

Charging is affected by temperature and current fluctuations. If the temperature gets too hot, it will dial-back the charging rate. Also, if the current fluctuates, it does the same thing. It's a really smart setup that's constantly monitoring the current/temperature and adjusting to keep things safe.

 

[cdub]

They should add ac units to those chargers in the future or something so this isn't an issue?

 

[vandacca]

They should add ac units to those chargers in the future or something so this isn't an issue?

They had briefly experimented with liquid-cooled charge cables at a few SpC. They were apparently thinner and more flexible and easier to manage.

I suspect they learned a lot from that experiment and went back to the drawing board to design the next iteration. Maybe the next iteration will also include the "snake" motors to automatically plug themselves into your car.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yes, I do recall reading on this forum the past couple of years about 100+ degree days reducing charging current at Superchargers.

 

[goneskiian]

We just did a trip over many of the same chargers. It wasn't quite as hot though (only in the upper 90's). We didn't have too many issues, but did end up moving the car a couple of times. Kennewick was one of those spots. My service contact has mentioned a few NW chargers being "ill". It's very frustrating, but it sounds like they are aware. Hopefully they fix it soon.

 

[brianman]

Maybe we should start keeping a canopy in the vehicle to give the superchargers some shade.

 

[apacheguy]

Maybe we should start keeping a canopy in the vehicle to give the superchargers some shade.

Nah, you need a water bucket to pour over the connector handle. I've proven that this works.

 

[brianman]

Nah, you need a water bucket to pour over the connector handle. I've proven that this works.

What could possibly go wrong....

 

[goneskiian]

Nah, you need a water bucket to pour over the connector handle. I've proven that this works.

What could possibly go wrong....

Hold my beer...

 

[andrewket]

It does seem that the supercharger cabinets could benefit from increased cooling capacity.

 

[Dj B]

Same problem in Las Vegas, no one can maintain over 90kw for more than a few mins then it drops to the 30s / 40s / 50s. Called Telsa and they blamed NV energy, called NV Energy and they said has nothing to do with them. Have had this problem several times when it's been 100+ temps. Just plan an extra hour for charging when it's hot. These cars were definitely not designed for road trips, ICE all day for those long drives. Hopefully in 10 years that won't be the case

 

[brianman]

These cars were definitely not designed for road trips

As a driver with 93k+ Model S miles (46+39+8, not including loaners) in the last 4 years and 8 months, I completely disagree.

 

[apacheguy]

It does seem that the supercharger cabinets could benefit from increased cooling capacity.

It's not the cabinets. It is the connector that is the problem (or at least most prone to overheating).

 

[dutchinchicago]

Thank you for posting this. We are on a 5000 mile road trip and the last week or so our supercharging has been at between 25 and 50 amps. Have not seen over 50 amps in a week and that is at least 10 supercharging sessions. We thought our car was broken.

We are also having lots of issues with the falcon wing doors. They only open half the time and sometimes even the override refuses to work. This seems to be happening especially when the temperatures are high and he car is in direct sunlight.

 

[scottf200]

Thank you for posting this. We are on a 5000 mile road trip and the last week or so our supercharging has been at between 25 and 50 amps. Have not seen over 50 amps in a week and that is at least 10 supercharging sessions. We thought our car was broken.

We are also having lots of issues with the falcon wing doors. They only open half the time and sometimes even the override refuses to work. This seems to be happening especially when the temperatures are high and he car is in direct sunlight.

Have you called Tesla while waiting to let them know what they see on their end for the SC as well as for the car? Are you talking 20-25kW? Temps at SCs? General starting SOC?

 

[Rocky_H]

Thank you for posting this. We are on a 5000 mile road trip and the last week or so our supercharging has been at between 25 and 50 amps. Have not seen over 50 amps in a week and that is at least 10 supercharging sessions. We thought our car was broken.

You've got to be talking kiloWatts, right? 25 to 50 amps would be about equal to or less than your home charging. Something would be severely wrong if that were the case.

 

[dutchinchicago]

Yes, sorry. Charging between 20 and 50 kw. We went all the way to 80 for a few seconds and then back to 50 again. Around Chicago I am used to see 100kw.

 

[dutchinchicago]

Sod has been as low as 2% and as high as 40%. Temperaturen getweeën 80 And 105F.