Yeah, my patience is wearing thin. I'll be heading up the coast in another month or so and if I experience this nonsense I'll be calling Tesla each time to report it. I'll also send my car in for service and won't accept it back unless they state the reason for the issue. At this point it is becoming unacceptable to have to wait nearly twice as long for my car to charge.
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Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates
- Thread starter Tony8489
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- California Supercharging USA
There are more than just isolated reports from new California supercharger locations where people have experience reduced charging rates. Like, months or even weeks old locations where its VERY unlikely that its physical degradation.
There simply isn't enough evidence either way to assess the true root cause. It is more likely a combination of intertwined variables that Tesla has acted upon both reactively and proactively.
For what its worth, a Tesla rep at a supercharger said that the stack of chargers with the fan (usually behind an enclosure) are getting too hot with all the use, and need time to cool.
This theory would be consistent with the issue occurring at high use locations, like those in California - regardless how long they have been in service
Also would explain the issue occurring usually with high ambient temperatures
And, maybe Tesla has responded with throttling the rate by software so that they don't overheat.
My question: has this occurred at a quiet location in the middle of the night? If so, would debunk this theory
This theory would be consistent with the issue occurring at high use locations, like those in California - regardless how long they have been in service
Also would explain the issue occurring usually with high ambient temperatures
And, maybe Tesla has responded with throttling the rate by software so that they don't overheat.
My question: has this occurred at a quiet location in the middle of the night? If so, would debunk this theory
That's well and dandy, but I don't find this new limiting acceptable. For the first 3 years of ownership I had no trouble whatsoever charging in the heat. If the supercharging cabinets were getting too warm, they showed no signs of it. If Tesla is software limiting then they need to seriously consider redesigning all superchargers in California. And this should be high priority.
Are we simply to accept that it will now take twice as long to charge our cars in anything over 80 F?
Are we simply to accept that it will now take twice as long to charge our cars in anything over 80 F?
Lots of assumptions in your post and in others in this thread. There is definitely an issue, but we (anyone who doesn't work for Tesla in areas related to the Superchargers) don't know the relevant facts. We only know that some people have gotten less than typical charge rates at some Superchargers some of the time. I use Superchargers in California throughout the year and have not experienced the issue. Clearly some people have.
I suggest you put down your pitchfork and burning torch and give Tesla more time to resolve the issue.
Had my first experience of the limiting in Eureka this morning (after a recent trip south, plus my trip northwards where I never had an issue)
Saturday evening I was low so charged for 15 minutes and I was getting 110kW. This morning, 57F, one car parked overnight, so not charging,and all I could get was 56kW! I was showing 70 miles range, so less than 30% The other car was on 2A, so I tried 3A and 4B, both the same. After about 30 minutes it seemed to increase to 70kW before tapering right down. A real pain. At Ukiah I was able to get 106kW immediately
Saturday evening I was low so charged for 15 minutes and I was getting 110kW. This morning, 57F, one car parked overnight, so not charging,and all I could get was 56kW! I was showing 70 miles range, so less than 30% The other car was on 2A, so I tried 3A and 4B, both the same. After about 30 minutes it seemed to increase to 70kW before tapering right down. A real pain. At Ukiah I was able to get 106kW immediately
Ulmo
Active Member
There are so many things this could be.
If someone made a database where they collected all the datapoints from contributors, the causes could be statistically determined. Of course, the data collected would have to be simple for contributors to collect and include enough data (SOC, which location, time, other users, recent use on car, weather, which stall, who on it, software and hardware versions, reporter username, etc. TeslaFi could do this automatically).
If someone made a database where they collected all the datapoints from contributors, the causes could be statistically determined. Of course, the data collected would have to be simple for contributors to collect and include enough data (SOC, which location, time, other users, recent use on car, weather, which stall, who on it, software and hardware versions, reporter username, etc. TeslaFi could do this automatically).
Ambient temperature only affects how fast the equipment cools down after use. It will cool down faster with a lower ambient temperature, but what kills the equipment is the equipment not being able to cool down between uses because after one person unplugs, another plugs in a few minutes later.
If they have limited the superchargers with some kind of limiting software or hardware, it's on there 24/7 and you'll likely see slow rates any time of the day. The slowest rate I saw on my trip to California was in Gilroy early in the morning with virtually nobody there.
On kman's videos he has observed that since upgrading to version 8 of the firmware he hasn't seen a supercharger rate above 100 KW and he's in Wisconsin. He saw the change right when the upgrade to 8 happened. He also supercharges his car a lot and he's seen a faster decline in his battery capacity than he saw with his old 60. The story is in one of the recent videos he put up in the last week to 10 days.
Tesla may also be throttling supercharging because they are seeing faster decline with fast charging and the new silicon anodes. People did wonder how Tesla managed to get around the limits of the silicon anodes with their new chemistry.
Not from what I experienced. I got the latest firmware 8.0 and the supercharger in AZ where it is hotter, is charging faster than any charger in CA. As for the silicon anodes thing, tesla did initially cap the charging rate of the 90KWh battery but then later upgraded the charge rate. However there are some people that claims Tesla had "OLD" 90KWh battery and "NEW" 90KWh which allows for faster supercharging rate.
Overall it might be a combination of factors. But I highly doubt the firmware is what is causing the slow charge rate.
Here is a summary of potential after reading mostly all the post on this thread:
1) Supercharger is over heating, i.e. no cool down time in between charging so 12 or 14 individual chargers equipment per rack is overheating. (IMO, this is most likely the culprit for many people)
2) Transformer is overheating (unlikely because transformers are pretty efficient, but only the power company/tesla would know)
3) Contactors in the plug are worn out so it gets hotter faster, reducing charging rate (Possible also a culprit)
4) Local Power company is throttling Tesla Supercharger due to over demand of electricity at the time (There is some evidence of this)
5) Tesla is throttling the charging rate to either protect their battery in heat or supercharging equipment. (Maybe true, but again only tesla would know)
6) Supercharger in CA is used more often and therefore will degrade faster and breaking down faster.
IMO, I think it is a combination of all these reasons causing CA superchargers to be slow. Tesla needs to fix all of these problems if they want to keep supercharging in top notch conditions. There are a few like 4) which is out of Tesla's control, but at least they can fix the ones they are able to control.
Here are my easy fix for tesla to invest in:
1) Liquid cool the chargers
2) Liquid cool the Transformer
3) regularly replace the plug or better yet, liquid cool just the contactors.
4) Out of Tesla's control so no real fix other than solar/local battery storage solution
5) If it's to protect the car's battery, then run cooling system on max before and during supercharging.
6) Build more superchargers in CA.
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I have not seen kmans latest video. I'll look it up. But yeah the 90 kWh packs have an odd history with supercharging. Initially they charged more slowly than an 85 kWh and then Tesla abruptly made a change in the firmware earlier this year such that they charge significantly faster than an 85 kWh. I am interested to see what factors influenced their decisions in both cases.
FlatSix911
Porsche 918 Hybrid
I think this is correct approach to help resolve the supercharging issues ... does Tesla plan to make the additional investment?
(They stopped using the liquid cooled cables in Mt. View and replaced them with the standard cables a few months ago)
whttiger25
Member
Yes this has happened to me several times at quiet or nearly deserted locations in the cool of night.
whttiger25
Member
ecarfan - you are very diplomatic about this in all your posts, but I think what's happened for myself and many other users is that we are becoming very frustrated that Tesla won't acknowledge the issue. So we are all experiencing sub-par issues that we believe amount to false advertising about the capabilities of Supercharging, and without Tesla acknowledging that there is a problem how do we even KNOW that they are working on it?
whttiger25
Member
Richard I hope you called Tesla to report. The only way this problem is solved is if every owner who has a problem calls every single time they have a problem. Doesn't hurt to also mention how disappointed this repeated experience (assuming it is repeated for you) is tarnishing your opinion of the brand and making you question whether or not you would buy another Tesla again.
whttiger25
Member
I am tired mentally of trying to figure out through deductive reasoning what the problem is. It isn't our job as consumers to figure it out, it is Tesla's. I suspect Tesla already knows and their persistent silence makes consumers like myself doubt that they care, or think that they have made some disastrous design mistake and think keeping quiet on it is a better route than fessing up. Who knows right? But corporate silence in the presence of numerous consumer complaints is never a good thing.
whttiger25
Member
I've sent a few emails to tesla documenting numerous throttling examples, my concerns about the health of the system, and a request for an explanation of what is going on, and this is what I got back:
"We really appreciate you taking the time to document your concern regarding the health of our Supercharging stations. On your behalf, I have submitted your suggestions to the Supercharging team and ask that they investigate the issue."
"We really appreciate you taking the time to document your concern regarding the health of our Supercharging stations. On your behalf, I have submitted your suggestions to the Supercharging team and ask that they investigate the issue."
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