Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates

[HookBill]

Randy, thanks for posting that information. I'm going to assume that your use of "we" means you work for SCE and have access to reliable information, a welcome addition to this discussion.

Nice avatar photo.

San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), not SCE.

 

[Tony8489]

I'm so glad Tesla Superchargers exist. They are vastly more reliable than chargepoint, blink, or other public chargers not to mention much faster. It goes without saying no other car company has created a network of high speed chargers. I will gladly accept reduced charging rates in certain circumstances (paired stalls, etc). Tesla is also making the expansion of the network a high priority which to me is much more useful than the theoretical max charge rate.

The Texans don't think expansion of the network is all that high a priority either. Nonetheless I'm inclined to cut Tesla some slack. They are spending cash like crazy and what matters most now is getting Model 3 out on schedule with good quality control.

What would help is some straight official information to make planning easier:
1) Is heat the sole reason for charging slowdowns, other than two cars sharing A and B?
2) Which chargers are sensitive to heat related reductions in charge time?
3) Are old chargers like Tejon and Harris more sensitive?
If I know these problems in advance I can work around them or drive an ICE when the problems are likely to be bad. It's the unpleasant surprises like whttiger25 had that upset people.

Like it or not the LA-SF trip on I-5 must be by far the busiest Tesla supercharger route in the world. If it has chronic problems Tesla will hear about it from lots of users. Tesla seems to be reacting to Tejon by building more capacity at Buttonwillow and now Stockdale. It's not clear how they plan to fix Harris. Going north from Harris you need a high charge to get to Dublin or Manteca, so it's important for Harris to be working efficiently.

 

[MonsterCarter]

I experienced the severely slowed down rate at Burbank Sunday afternoon. It was definitely one car after another so the charger didn't have a chance to cool down so that may have been the reason.

However, the heat didn't give me any issues in Tejon.

 

[bxr140]

I experienced the severely slowed down rate at Burbank Sunday afternoon. It was definitely one car after another so the charger didn't have a chance to cool down so that may have been the reason.

So...the chicken and the egg part that I still don't fully understand: People seem to be charging at reduced speeds, ostensibly because there's too much heat in the cabinet. But...if people are charging at reduced rates there's less heat generated in the cabinet in the first place, so the probability of [cabinet] heat related throttling is very unlikely. Of course, that logic is based on the assumption that Tesla didn't seriously under design the cooling capacity of a supercharger cabinet.

I feel like this kind of throttling has to be service/grid related.

 

[AMPd]

The Texans don't think expansion of the network is all that high a priority either. Nonetheless I'm inclined to cut Tesla some slack. They are spending cash like crazy and what matters most now is getting Model 3 out on schedule with good quality control.

What would help is some straight official information to make planning easier:
1) Is heat the sole reason for charging slowdowns, other than two cars sharing A and B?
2) Which chargers are sensitive to heat related reductions in charge time?
3) Are old chargers like Tejon and Harris more sensitive?
If I know these problems in advance I can work around them or drive an ICE when the problems are likely to be bad. It's the unpleasant surprises like whttiger25 had that upset people.

Like it or not the LA-SF trip on I-5 must be by far the busiest Tesla supercharger route in the world. If it has chronic problems Tesla will hear about it from lots of users. Tesla seems to be reacting to Tejon by building more capacity at Buttonwillow and now Stockdale. It's not clear how they plan to fix Harris. Going north from Harris you need a high charge to get to Dublin or Manteca, so it's important for Harris to be working efficiently.

A supercharger in Santa Nella would be perfect!

 

[Matias]

As mentioned above, if I'm the only person at a 13-stall supercharger and I can't get full power, that HAS to be Tesla's issue. I just feel like they don't make addressing these issues an urgent priority in any sense of the word.

If sorry for this lame question, but are you sure you were not throttled because of hot battery or because battery getting full (=tapering). You can get 120kWs only in ideal conditions (empty battery, battery in right temperature, not too cold or warm).

 

[whttiger25]

If sorry for this lame question, but are you sure you were not throttled because of hot battery or because battery getting full (=tapering). You can get 120kWs only in ideal conditions (empty battery, battery in right temperature, not too cold or warm).

I arrived at Harris Ranch with 1% battery. It was 10:30pm, so Harris ranch is still warm then (high 80s/low 90s) but not so hot that I'd expect the car to be unable to keep the battery cool using cooling systems. I switched stalls when I was at about 25% and had the same issue. I know some have reported lower charging rate when you are charging from near empty, so I gave my car the benefit of the doubt until it got to about 20%, then I was convinced something was wrong.

I wasn't necessarily expecting to get 120kw. I was expecting more along the lines of 90-110kw. Instead I got 100kw for about a minute or two, then it dropped to 65-70.

It did appear the drop coincided with my battery cooling systems turning on and ramping up. But it was probably a coincidence, because after calling tech support they did confirm harris ranch was having broad issues. Regardless, if it being 90 degrees outside without the sun up requires throttling, I would be surprised/disappointed.

 

[TexasEV]

It shouldn't be 90 degree temp causing the problem, unless the problem is with the power company and not the superchargers. I've charged many times in Texas and Louisiana with temps in the 90s and never had the amps drop like that.

 

[Tony8489]

I timed the Inyokern charge on 6/12: 135 rated miles (42-177 in a 90D) in exactly 30 minutes. It was from 2:30-3:00PM, about 95F.

The Inyokern charger is on the south side of a market, baking all day long. I've read here that it's getting a solar panel shade soon.

These parameters are no better than whttiger25's stops in Tejon and Harris Monday. It could have been worse since Inyokern was daytime in direct sun. The cable was plenty hot when we disconnected.

Explanations?
1) Utility, not Tesla is responsible for Tejon and Harris? Is Central Valley in August more susceptible to utility load than less populated high desert in June?
2) Tejon and Harris are among the oldest chargers. For whatever reason they are more heat sensitive than newer chargers?

If #2, that's on Tesla to fix given the high traffic on that route.

 

[whttiger25]

I timed the Inyokern charge on 6/12: 135 rated miles (42-177 in a 90D) in exactly 30 minutes. It was from 2:30-3:00PM, about 95F.

The Inyokern charger is on the south side of a market, baking all day long. I've read here that it's getting a solar panel shade soon.

I'd be happy with that! That's about 80kw average to go from about 15 to 60%.

 

[rxlawdude]

Fountain Valley this morning (low ambient temp, only one other Tesla using another (unpaired) stall.
Got 70kW, which resulted in a very slow charge.

 

[ShotgunF15E]

San Diego SC is getting worse. Last night many stalls were dropping to below HPWC rates. It was a cool 75 degrees outside. Temp was not an issue.

Don't know how many times we have to call Tesla to complain, I haven't seen any physical evidence they've attempted to fix the issue.

If you have to charge in San Diego, expect to be here awhile...

 

[Tech_Guy]

Had some weird behavior last night at Culver City supercharger, pulled into 6a someone was on 6b got about 200amps about 5 minutes later they left and my charging rate dropped to around 60amps? I tried stopping and starting the charge to see if I could increase the rate but it stayed the same. Decided to move over to another stall 5a as someone else just left it was again shared with someone on 5b and when I plugged in I got 250 amps, again about 10 minutes later the other car left and my charging rate dropped to around 60 amps? So I called Tesla and moved my car a third time to another paired stall which again went to 250 amps luckily this car did not leave until I was done charging though I suspect his car was fully charged that's another topic. By the time I spoke to someone with Tesla my charge rate had tampered to 90amps as I was almost full phone represtative said he had never heard of this happening usually it's the other way around paired = slower charge not faster. He could find nothing wrong with my car logs from his end. This is not the first time I've noticed this behavior though I thought I was crazy the first few times this happened to me. Any one else ever see this kind of behavior?

 

[TexasEV]

Fountain Valley this morning (low ambient temp, only one other Tesla using another (unpaired) stall.
Got 70kW, which resulted in a very slow charge.

What was your state of charge when you plugged in?

 

[rxlawdude]

What was your state of charge when you plugged in?

10%.

 

[HookBill]

Is it just me or does it seem like the majority of these powering issues are occurring in California? This seems to be happening at SC sites with both old and newer equipment. TM should have a pretty good understanding of what is causing this by now. I just wish they would issue a statement to the why of this question so users can at least know what is driving this type of charging behavior instead of speculating on it. Nothing worse than making new or future Tesla owners nervous.

 

[ShotgunF15E]

Had some weird behavior last night at Culver City supercharger, pulled into 6a someone was on 6b got about 200amps about 5 minutes later they left and my charging rate dropped to around 60amps? I tried stopping and starting the charge to see if I could increase the rate but it stayed the same. Decided to move over to another stall 5a as someone else just left it was again shared with someone on 5b and when I plugged in I got 250 amps, again about 10 minutes later the other car left and my charging rate dropped to around 60 amps? So I called Tesla and moved my car a third time to another paired stall which again went to 250 amps luckily this car did not leave until I was done charging though I suspect his car was fully charged that's another topic. By the time I spoke to someone with Tesla my charge rate had tampered to 90amps as I was almost full phone represtative said he had never heard of this happening usually it's the other way around paired = slower charge not faster. He could find nothing wrong with my car logs from his end. This is not the first time I've noticed this behavior though I thought I was crazy the first few times this happened to me. Any one else ever see this kind of behavior?

I've seen the exact same thing at the San Diego SC (on almost all the stalls)

 

[apacheguy]

A couple Canadian owners reported similar behavior. Also, slow rates were observed along the eastern seaboard by at least one user.

 

[Merrill]

I was at the Truckee sc last Saturday and there was one other car at the end, temp around 75 and need about 100 miles to get to 90% and it never got above 140miles per hour.

 

[AMPd]

Charged at the Vacaville SC on my way to San Francisco, same as others have been reporting.
Started out perfectly, 280+ amps, few minutes later dropped to 120+