Charging on 110 line in cold weather?

[Gizmotoy]

Even in California Bay Area cold (35*F and above, usually), with 120V/15A outlets, once the temp gets really low it just maintains. The app will show it's charging but I'm getting 0 miles per hour. Bumped up to a 20A outlet/adapter (home wiring was already new 20A runs) and I'll get 1-2 mph under the same conditions.

 

[Tonedog77]

was up in the mountains this weekend, it was 5 degrees outside and for the most part trickle charging on the 15amp works decent it actually dropped down to 7am out of the 12amps becuase of how cold it got, still was doing just about a percent an hour but was more than enough for the 5 minute drive each day to the mountain.

 

[GtiMart]

dropping to 7A shouldn't be because of the cold. It might be because that plug isn't perfectly wired and something was heating up, or the voltage drop was too much...

 

[jcanoe]

was up in the mountains this weekend, it was 5 degrees outside and for the most part trickle charging on the 15amp works decent it actually dropped down to 7am out of the 12amps becuase of how cold it got, still was doing just about a percent an hour but was more than enough for the 5 minute drive each day to the mountain.

The fact that the charging amperage was reduced automatically from 12A to 7A is not good. This could have been triggered by a voltage drop on the circuit or else higher than allowed temperature being detected at the power plug.

 

[Tonedog77]

The fact that the charging amperage was reduced automatically from 12A to 7A is not good. This could have been triggered by a voltage drop on the circuit or else higher than allowed temperature being detected at the power plug.

Ehh most likely cause it’s a shared plug was a friends house and I believe it’s a plug that’s shared by others in the basement. Also it was being run on. 50ft extension. Not sure when it dropped but it worked for my trickling. checking the graph now looks like after about hour it dropped down.

 

[jcanoe]

Ehh most likely cause it’s a shared plug was a friends house and I believe it’s a plug that’s shared by others in the basement. Also it was being run on. 50ft extension. Not sure when it dropped but it worked for my trickling. checking the graph now looks like after about hour it dropped down.

A shared 120V/15A circuit, depending on what else is being actively powered, should never be used to charge at the 12A maximum. GM plug-in vehicles default to 120V and 8A for this reason. 7A/8A should have been set at the beginning of the charging session, else use a different outlet if one is available. The use of an extension cord would have also created a slight voltage drop.

 

[Eto Demerzel]

The fact that the charging amperage was reduced automatically from 12A to 7A is not good. This could have been triggered by a voltage drop on the circuit or else higher than allowed temperature being detected at the power plug.

The fact it dropped it to 7A is very good.
Even with a dedicated outlet, I never set it above 10a just because I'm cautious.
I'm glad to see the car does this without manual intervention.

 

[Tonedog77]

A shared 120V/15A circuit, depending on what else is being actively powered, should never be used to charge at the 12A maximum. GM plug-in vehicles default to 120V and 8A for this reason. 7A/8A should have been set at the beginning of the charging session, else use a different outlet if one is available. The use of an extension cord would have also created a slight voltage drop.

yup the car managed it well no need to intervene it knows when its not getting the full load and will adjust accordingly.

 

[jcanoe]

I agree it is a good thing that the Mobile Connector automatically lowered the charging amperage; not good to rely on mechanical/electrical fail safe systems always working as designed.