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Results from the "350 kW" / 500A DCFC session is finally here!

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Results from the "350 kW" / 500A DCFC session is finally here! 🤩

To test the charging curve, I drove my Model Y on the freeway to discharge the car down to 5% SoC.
My plan was to go to a "350 kW" / 500A EA DCFC nearby. I navigated to a near the EA DCFC to make sure the battery is preconditioned for optimal charging.

I plugged into the EA "350 kW" / 500A station at 5% and charged up to 95% using the Tesla CCS adapter. Charging that last 5% was going to take way too long, and really isn't important for this test.

It added 67 kWh to the battery in 43 mins (5% - 90%). 🔋
Total cost was 67 kWh * $0.43/kWh = $28.81 ⚡

I saw 191 kW peak power dispensed from the DCFC via EA's screen at 30% SoC.

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Now onto the nerdy stuff...

Verification of "350 kW" / 500A DCFC via unit label: 🏷️

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Summary receipt from EA after the charging session: đź“ś

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Interesting to note, they do show in the receipt that the "350 kW" CCS connector was used, and dispensed at a max charging speed of 189.3 kW.

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And now for the interesting bits, charging data! Captured and graphed by Teslamate.
(Click for high-res charging curve):



The curve is very nice, except for the first 5% (5-10%) it took a bit to ramp up the power. It then followed a rise in power as voltage rose and a natural decaying curve once it hit peak at 30%, expected as the battery becomes full.

Summarizing stats in text form, for convenience:

5%: 105 kW | 327 V | 321 A
10%: 136 kW | 352 V | 386 A
15%: 182 kW | 362 V | 503 A
20%: 185 kW | 371 V | 499 A
25%: 187 kW | 375 V | 499 A
30%: 190 kW | 380 V | 500 A (PEAK POWER!) ⚡
40%: 160 kW | 383 V | 418 A
50%: 124 kW | 386 V | 321 A
60%: 102 kW | 390 V | 262 A
70%: 84 kW | 395 V | 213 A
80%: 59 kW | 400 V | 148 A
90%: 41 kW | 402 V | 102 A
95%: 28 kW | 402 V | 70 A

Remember, these are stats that the car is reporting delivered to the battery. So the power dispensed by the DCFC will be slightly higher.
The amperage is not reported in the stats. It was calculated by me manually by dividing the power by the voltage.


I think my test may not have been 100% optimal, as I've screen screen snaps of other members charging at 200+ kW at 500A EA stations (pulling well over 530A from the station). However those may have been an anomaly with the station allowing the car to exceed the CCS spec temporarily? Either way, I don't think I myself could've done any better, I challenge someone else to give it a try at low SoC %!

Another thing we learned here is that the Model Y is a charging beast! What other car charges from 5% to 95% in just 43 mins?
5% to 80% in just 27 mins! And this is on a 500A-capped CCS DCFC. I believe Tesla superchargers go up to 750A for V3 250 kW ones (250 kW / 350V = 714A).

This car just gulps all the amps it can take. Too bad it can't maintain those high amps beyond 30% (cooling deficiency?). Other 500A / 400V cars like the Rivian and EQC peaks at "only" 500A, but can maintain that for much longer than the Model Y.
 
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Unfortunately, I don't have the time or the money to charge and plot the curve on a "150 kW" / 350A charging station. Fortunately, these stations are plentiful and I hope someone else will step up and do the deed for the community!

Assuming the battery is preconditioned properly, I expect the charging curve to be simply cut off horizontally at the 133 kW mark (380V * 350A = 133 kW). So the curve will be more or less flat (or slightly rising) from 0% to 45%, then follow the 500A curve, since at that point the car is current-limiting itself.

Since the voltage at a given SoC % is a constant, and we know the max amperage the charger can provide, we can back-calculate the power.
So I expect it would look something like this:

5%: 105 kW | 327 V | 321 A
10%: 123 kW | 352 V | 350 A
15%: 127 kW | 362 V | 350 A
20%: 130 kW | 371 V | 350 A
25%: 131 kW | 375 V | 350 A
30%: 133 kW | 380 V | 350 A
40%: 134 kW | 383 V | 350 A
45%: 135 kW | 385 V | 350 A (peak) ⚡

and the rest is the same as the 500A curve, as the current steps down:

50%: 124 kW | 386 V | 321 A
60%: 102 kW | 390 V | 262 A
70%: 84 kW | 395 V | 213 A
80%: 59 kW | 400 V | 148 A
90%: 41 kW | 402 V | 102 A
95%: 28 kW | 402 V | 70 A

So unless you only have v3 "Urban" superchargers (72 kW / 185A) near you, it just makes more sense to go to a v2 (150 kW / 390A) or v3 (250 kW / 715A) supercharger to charge instead, from a charging speed point of view.

Now from a cost perspective, it may be cheaper to charge at EA depending on the time of day, especially with the recent supercharger price increases to $0.58/kWh at peak hours.
I went to my local EA charger on 2 separate occasions and topped out at 132.72 kW each time per EA with the CCS adapter. The disappointing thing was that I was on a "350 kW" ABB station each time that had 500 amps max output on the name plate. Not sure why but it looks like the station I used was limiting itself to 350 amps on each of the two separate occasions.
 
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I went to my local EA charger on 2 separate occasions and topped out at 132.72 kW each time per EA with the CCS adapter. The disappointing thing was that I was on a "350 kW" ABB station each time that had 500 amps max output on the name plate. Not sure why but it looks like the station I used was limiting itself to 350 amps on each of the two separate occasions.
Unfortunately, this is a well known result. Many of the EA chargers made by ABB only deliver 350 amps, regardless of what the rating labels say. I don't know what the rhyme or reason is for which ones actually deliver 350A versus 500A.
 
Unfortunately, this is a well known result. Many of the EA chargers made by ABB only deliver 350 amps, regardless of what the rating labels say. I don't know what the rhyme or reason is for which ones actually deliver 350A versus 500A.
I went by one site and looked at all of the labels. All chargers were marked as 150 kW but the labels all said 500A. At another site, the 150 kW chargers were all 350A and the 350 kW chargers were 500A, at least according to the labels.
 
I went to my local EA charger on 2 separate occasions and topped out at 132.72 kW each time per EA with the CCS adapter. The disappointing thing was that I was on a "350 kW" ABB station each time that had 500 amps max output on the name plate. Not sure why but it looks like the station I used was limiting itself to 350 amps on each of the two separate occasions.

Unfortunately, this is a well known result. Many of the EA chargers made by ABB only deliver 350 amps, regardless of what the rating labels say. I don't know what the rhyme or reason is for which ones actually deliver 350A versus 500A.

I went by one site and looked at all of the labels. All chargers were marked as 150 kW but the labels all said 500A. At another site, the 150 kW chargers were all 350A and the 350 kW chargers were 500A, at least according to the labels.

You guys should leave a negative comment on Plugshare at these sites. Other drivers looking for 500A/350kW charging stations would much appreciate knowing what power the stations at the site can actually deliver. Obviously test the station(s) out with the CCS adapter to see the max Amps before leaving the comment.

Some charging providers (especially EA) actively monitor negative comments on Plugshare and take action. Enough of these comments and I hope they will begin labeling the chargers correctly. I personally think it's unacceptable to mark a charger as "350 kW" if it's only 350A output in reality, regardless of whether the nameplate says 350A or 500A.
 
You guys should leave a negative comment on Plugshare at these sites. Other drivers looking for 500A/350kW charging stations would much appreciate knowing what power the stations at the site can actually deliver. Obviously test the station(s) out with the CCS adapter to see the max Amps before leaving the comment.
Why would I do that? The stations were properly marked as far as I could tell. The 350 kW stations actually did deliver more than 150 kW. The 150 kW stations are probably capped at 150 kW. Most people don't look at the labels which are on the side of the charger down near the bottom.

Some indication that the charger can only do 350 kW @ 800V would be nice though.
 
Why would I do that? The stations were properly marked as far as I could tell. The 350 kW stations actually did deliver more than 150 kW. The 150 kW stations are probably capped at 150 kW. Most people don't look at the labels which are on the side of the charger down near the bottom.

Some indication that the charger can only do 350 kW @ 800V would be nice though.
He quoted all of our posts at the same time so in my case I couldn't get above 133 kW on a 350 kW labeled station that also had a nameplate output of 500 amps. So in my case, yes it is quite misleading and not properly marked. Even an 800 volt car wouldn't get anywhere near 350 kW on only 350 amps...
 
He quoted all of our posts at the same time so in my case I couldn't get above 133 kW on a 350 kW labeled station that also had a nameplate output of 500 amps. So in my case, yes it is quite misleading and not properly marked. Even an 800 volt car wouldn't get anywhere near 350 kW on only 350 amps...
It's possible that they're doing power sharing on the back end too. Like Tesla apparently does at its Aiea supercharger. You have to run the test when there are no other vehicles charging and on a vehicle with 800V architecture to figure out whether any specific charger is capable of 350 kW. The transformer at the site may only be able to handle a certain amount of power. As long as this amount is > 350 kW, then it's possible to get 350 kW out of any specific 350 kW charger, but it's not guaranteed and it's dependent on what the other chargers are doing.
 
It's possible that they're doing power sharing on the back end too. Like Tesla apparently does at its Aiea supercharger. You have to run the test when there are no other vehicles charging and on a vehicle with 800V architecture to figure out whether any specific charger is capable of 350 kW. The transformer at the site may only be able to handle a certain amount of power.
There was no one there but me on both occasions. Regardless of volt architecture, no vehicle is getting anywhere near 350 kW at only 350 amps. You need at least 500 amps, like the manufacturer nameplate said the output was.
 
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There was no one there but me on both occasions. Regardless of volt architecture, no vehicle is getting anywhere near 350 kW at only 350 amps. You need at least 500 amps, like the manufacturer nameplate said the output was.
Well if you have the EA app (I'm assuming this was an EA charger), there's a way to report an issue with a charger. I've done it before; the first 350 kW charger I tried to test my CCS adapter with refused to start the session. The guy in the ID.4 next to my stall had just finished and was leaving and told me he never had luck with that charger, and said I should try the one he just used after he left. I did, and that one worked, so I reported the other one as not working.
 
My adapter should arrive tomorrow. I think I am going to go over to the EA site at the Livermore Outlet malls this weekend and test it out. I might to a little playing around and see how much the Model X can take from their 350 kW charger. There are 20 Tesla Superchargers right next to the EA chargers so if I enter the location that should ensure everything is pre-heated.
 
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You guys should leave a negative comment on Plugshare at these sites. Other drivers looking for 500A/350kW charging stations would much appreciate knowing what power the stations at the site can actually deliver. Obviously test the station(s) out with the CCS adapter to see the max Amps before leaving the comment.

Some charging providers (especially EA) actively monitor negative comments on Plugshare and take action. Enough of these comments and I hope they will begin labeling the chargers correctly. I personally think it's unacceptable to mark a charger as "350 kW" if it's only 350A output in reality, regardless of whether the nameplate says 350A or 500A.
You are just clogging up PlugShare with useless reviews.

Negative reviews should be for actual issues.
 
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Ran nearly the same test as OP just now. Summary: Max 181kw, at 24% sudden drop to 1kW.
That means the charger was busted. That happened to me on my roadtrip... I plugged in at like 17% or something like that. It ramped up to 189 kW, then suddenly dropped to < 30kW... I switched to the other 350 kW stall, and it ramped up to 187 or so, and then slowly ramped down like normal.