It is most definitely not utility related/controlled, nor by Transformer thermals. Tesla does not have access to the Transformer cabinet any more than you do. Only on 2 occasions now have I experienced abnormal throttling and in both cases it was fixed by switching to another cabinet.
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Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates
- Thread starter Tony8489
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- California Supercharging USA
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
This isn't localized in California at all and is experienced on the East Coast just as much. Other threads are highlighting that. I don't think the dismissive replies suggesting this is a superficial problem of "spoiled" Tesla owners are helpful. Ability to charge fast is absolutely essential to Tesla's competitive edge. And malfunctioning chargers are a huge problem across the entire EV industry.
If we want a strong EV movement, we need to come up with creative ways to assure uniform positive experiences for everyone driving EVs. For Tesla, the pioneer in battery storage, this suggests that their chargers should not be dependent on power company demand issues. Instead, superchargers should be solar power augmented, especially in hot weather, which would help power companies deal with the obvious high demand of an increaasing number of EV travelers on hot summer days.
If we want a strong EV movement, we need to come up with creative ways to assure uniform positive experiences for everyone driving EVs. For Tesla, the pioneer in battery storage, this suggests that their chargers should not be dependent on power company demand issues. Instead, superchargers should be solar power augmented, especially in hot weather, which would help power companies deal with the obvious high demand of an increaasing number of EV travelers on hot summer days.
whttiger25
Member
Agreed. And my point before regarding growth was just that if it is a problem now, just wait till the model 3. Just seems like tesla isn't ready for implementing all ne Cesar's components of their incredible growth trajectory and that's a huge part of the risk in owning a tesla or their stock.
My guess is the manufacturing tolerances in the cable/connector in the car isn't good enough and/or wear and tear on the car and cable connectors. If the charging cable and car charging port don't mate correctly, there will be heat build up and then presumably safety related throttling.
Tesla is probably at the bleeding edge here. Pushing 300A through a connector that gets a huge amount of insertions probably isn't done much anywhere else. I don't think it is purely a co-incidence that the throttles settle around 50-60 kW which is the maximum power that Chademo systems routinely use worldwide. My point being that it is possible that Tesla has mis-engineered their cable/car connector and now they are stuck with it. This would also explain why they haven't spoken about the issue.
Tesla is probably at the bleeding edge here. Pushing 300A through a connector that gets a huge amount of insertions probably isn't done much anywhere else. I don't think it is purely a co-incidence that the throttles settle around 50-60 kW which is the maximum power that Chademo systems routinely use worldwide. My point being that it is possible that Tesla has mis-engineered their cable/car connector and now they are stuck with it. This would also explain why they haven't spoken about the issue.
whttiger25
Member
That certainly seems like a possible explanation, but if that is the explanation I'm not sure we are "stuck with it". Perhaps a fix could be installed? It's not as if Tesla has millions of cars on the road.
ThosEM
Space Weatherman
Tesla will tell you it's the charger unit itself that is "underperforming" in some specific cases. Agreed, we have to learn why this actually happens to even think about solutions. However, that it is limited to hot weather screams utility brownout concerns, to me. The very same chargers behave normally on a merely hot day, which makes me doubt that it's the connectors...
Have you been driving down the 5 on warm days ( > 90 F)? This is essentially where all my throttling has occurred although I did experience it at Rendondo also. I've switched stalls several times and experienced the same behavior at each one. Could it be that the contacts on my charge port have degraded?
Superchargers will throttle based on dirty or otherwise poor connections. Temperature at almost all points of the charging chain is monitored (at least according to the supercharger tech I spoke with) and will result in ramping down if temp or anything else is out of line. The pins Tesla uses aren't huge, and have to be constantly monitored to ensure they are safe. It seems like Tesla made the choice to achieve safety via close monitoring in software, vs safety in oversized, over-spec'd, physically larger connectors. Chargepoint engineer I spoke with also agreed with this. He thought they used super close monitoring of the connectors as a way to safely put so much current through a smaller connector, and that was a smart way to accomplish high speed charging.
As to long term durability, I think they should start adding caps to the cables, to keep dirt and bugs out. I've had to take q-tips/cotton swabs to some plugs to remove spider nests to get them to charge before (this was on a busy day and everyone was avoiding a stall that didn't work, so it was nice to find a simple fix). Wouldn't be quite as elegant, but might increase the life and quality of the connectors. The charge port door, at least on my car, doesn't seem to do a good job of keeping dust out. Worth cleaning it every once and a while to ensure connections are good.
As to long term durability, I think they should start adding caps to the cables, to keep dirt and bugs out. I've had to take q-tips/cotton swabs to some plugs to remove spider nests to get them to charge before (this was on a busy day and everyone was avoiding a stall that didn't work, so it was nice to find a simple fix). Wouldn't be quite as elegant, but might increase the life and quality of the connectors. The charge port door, at least on my car, doesn't seem to do a good job of keeping dust out. Worth cleaning it every once and a while to ensure connections are good.
jeffro01
Active Member
I've always thought it was odd that the connectors didn't have a storage receptacle they sat in while not in use... As such, I've always wondered how Tesla was doing maintenance on these to keep them clean... Well I think we know the answer to the second one, they don't... 
Jeff
Jeff
Khatsalano
Member
At Fresno right now and with less than 50% SOC, the charge rate is maxing at 55 kW. Not good.
I've always had a raised eye about Tesla's UMC, thinking that the adapter pins and mating mechanism weren't heavy duty enough for 40 amp charging (NEMA 14-50). And as we've seen with adapter revisions over the years (like ones that get just as hot, but don't melt), Tesla didn't get it right the first time around.
And now that I look at what Superchargers are supposed to do and push 300A, the bigger pins of the native Tesla connector also don't look robust enough to take into account thousands of insertion cycles, manufacturing tolerances, dirt, spiders, grime, etc. I suspect that once again, the Tesla engineers thought they knew better and missed their mark. Either that, or Elon pushed them a bit too far (joke below, meant as humor!):
And now that I look at what Superchargers are supposed to do and push 300A, the bigger pins of the native Tesla connector also don't look robust enough to take into account thousands of insertion cycles, manufacturing tolerances, dirt, spiders, grime, etc. I suspect that once again, the Tesla engineers thought they knew better and missed their mark. Either that, or Elon pushed them a bit too far (joke below, meant as humor!):
whttiger25
Member
I don't think it has anything really to do with hot weather, I've had just as many throttling experiences at night and in cooler weather as I have in hot weather. At Dublin Saturday evening it was low 60s when I was throttled to 50-70kw on an unpaired charger.
It sure would be nice if we could get Tesla's attention and at least have them acknowledge there a real issue here that they are investigating. Because right now, it sounds like they aren't investigating, and their fix is to move to another pedestal.
Does anyone have any contacts within Tesla who could ask around engineering to see if they are working on this problem?
Does anyone have any contacts within Tesla who could ask around engineering to see if they are working on this problem?
whttiger25
Member
I wrote tesla a letter via their Support page basically detailing the many negative experiences I've had and detailing my doubts about the long-term viability of the supercharger network, and thus Tesla, if they can't deliver consistent promised charging rates. Mentioned how important charge rates are to not only consumer experience and word of mouth, but also to moving cars through superchargers quickly, which will be an imperative aspect in handling the future exponential demand on Superchargers from model 3.
I recommend anyone who has had any kind of negative repeated throttling issue write a similar letter.
I recommend anyone who has had any kind of negative repeated throttling issue write a similar letter.
Tech_Guy
ALWAYS IN LUDICROUS MODE! P90D>P100D Upgrade
I was at San Juan Capistrano on Saturday at 6AM and attempted to use 3 separate stalls / banks with no one on the pair, 4B 3B and 2A all would only provide 60KW even though I had 50% charge and would have normally gotten over 100KW at a good Supercharger...
ddimit
Member
Fresno is the only place I have consistently noticed throttle happening. I tought it was an one off thing when it happened in May for me and I moved to a different stall.
It happened on the last trip in September and it took moving to 3 different pairs to get more that 50 kw. I don't know if its a worn connector thing. There was an owner there with a new X that was having the same issue.
It happened on the last trip in September and it took moving to 3 different pairs to get more that 50 kw. I don't know if its a worn connector thing. There was an owner there with a new X that was having the same issue.
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