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Slow supercharging

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Hi

I was at South Mimms last night and bar one other car it was empty.

My Model 3's SOC was 53% upon arrival. Connected to the first bay and the rate would not go above 35KW. I moved bays, the same rate applying at the two further bays I tried.

I eventually charged from 53% to 85%, the charging rate varying between 35 and 40KW. The highest rate was achieved as I hit 85%!

Can anyone shed light on this? Rate seems very low given SOC upon arrival - only one other car present and I was not paired with them!

Thanks in advance.
 
Sounds like cold battery charge limiting, perhaps. The car needs to be pre-conditioned (as mentioned above) if the battery pack is cold, or else the charge rate will be limited by the pack temperature. As the pack warms up from cold during charging the charge rate will tend to increase.
 
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Sorry, should have said I did navigate so the preconditioning was on. Admittedly it hadn't fully warmed but I had driven the car for 20mins.

I'm experiencing the same issue. Nearest supercharger is only 10mins away from so that the battery can never really warm to optimal temps. Highest speed i have seen is 50KW from a 150KW charger
 
Hi

I was at South Mimms last night and bar one other car it was empty.

My Model 3's SOC was 53% upon arrival. Connected to the first bay and the rate would not go above 35KW. I moved bays, the same rate applying at the two further bays I tried.

I eventually charged from 53% to 85%, the charging rate varying between 35 and 40KW. The highest rate was achieved as I hit 85%!

Can anyone shed light on this? Rate seems very low given SOC upon arrival - only one other car present and I was not paired with them!

Thanks in advance.

Take a look at Bjorn Nyland YT videos about the refresh Model 3 charging in cold weather ... admittedly extreme cold compared with UK. Could possibly be related. Seems that in some circumstances the car is scavenging heat from the battery pack to supplement cabin heating for driving efficiency. This then leaves the battery at a lower temperature than is optimum for rapid charging. He was of the opinion that software modifications over time were very likely to address these issues. The swings and roundabouts of the "octovalve" it seems.
 
Take a look at Bjorn Nyland YT videos about the refresh Model 3 charging in cold weather ... admittedly extreme cold compared with UK. Could possibly be related. Seems that in some circumstances the car is scavenging heat from the battery pack to supplement cabin heating for driving efficiency. This then leaves the battery at a lower temperature than is optimum for rapid charging. He was of the opinion that software modifications over time were very likely to address these issues. The swings and roundabouts of the "octovalve" it seems.

My M3 is pre-refresh. 70 plate bought on 1 September. Useful to know though!
 
I eventually charged from 53% to 85%, the charging rate varying between 35 and 40KW. The highest rate was achieved as I hit 85%!

I would venture to suggest that this is the evidence needed to confirm it's due to the battery temperature. The warmer the pack the higher the charge rate the car will allow. Charging warms the battery, so in this case rather than tapering off as it would do if the battery was at optimum temp, it's actually speeding up.

I'll often read posts with owners moving stalls to try and increase the charge rate, which after a while it does. Nowt to do with the first stall being 'faulty', all to do with the battery gradually warming up.

I'm experiencing the same issue. Nearest supercharger is only 10mins away from so that the battery can never really warm to optimal temps. Highest speed i have seen is 50KW from a 150KW charger

Presumably you don't have home/work charging, and as you point out 10 mins isn't enough. The optimum temperature is much higher than you'd think, even 45 mins at motorway speeds won't do it as once cruising speed has been reached the pack isn't having to work hard. If it was safe to do so and you fancy an experiment, next time during your 10 min drive mash the accelerator and then come off for max regen (although that'll probably be limited) and repeat until you get to the Supercharger. See if the starting charge rate is better, or if it tapers up quicker.
 
I would venture to suggest that this is the evidence needed to confirm it's due to the battery temperature. The warmer the pack the higher the charge rate the car will allow. Charging warms the battery, so in this case rather than tapering off as it would do if the battery was at optimum temp, it's actually speeding up.

I'll often read posts with owners moving stalls to try and increase the charge rate, which after a while it does. Nowt to do with the first stall being 'faulty', all to do with the battery gradually warming up.



Presumably you don't have home/work charging, and as you point out 10 mins isn't enough. The optimum temperature is much higher than you'd think, even 45 mins at motorway speeds won't do it as once cruising speed has been reached the pack isn't having to work hard. If it was safe to do so and you fancy an experiment, next time during your 10 min drive mash the accelerator and then come off for max regen (although that'll probably be limited) and repeat until you get to the Supercharger. See if the starting charge rate is better, or if it tapers up quicker.

Thanks and makes sense.