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Some California Superchargers not providing maximum charging rates
- Thread starter Tony8489
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- California Supercharging USA
Well I am out of warranty so I don't want to pay for a replacement if it's not needed.
Seems odd tho because I do not supercharge frequently and if this were an issue on the early builds I'd think we'd have seen several threads on it already from folks who supercharge much more often than I do. AFAIK nobody has posted of a charge port replacement as a remedy for slow supercharging.
Seems odd tho because I do not supercharge frequently and if this were an issue on the early builds I'd think we'd have seen several threads on it already from folks who supercharge much more often than I do. AFAIK nobody has posted of a charge port replacement as a remedy for slow supercharging.
thecloud
As rhythm raced inside, the ship came alive
A little over a month ago, I had noticed the apparent throttling at the Petaluma supercharger. This past weekend, I used the superchargers at Atascadero and Gilroy, and both worked perfectly.
One obvious difference is that the latter locations now have new-style supercharger cables, where there is no physical button in the handle to open the charge port (although you can press on the flat part of the handle to open it.) Petaluma had original supercharger cables.
Maybe all they really needed was a good cleaning!
One obvious difference is that the latter locations now have new-style supercharger cables, where there is no physical button in the handle to open the charge port (although you can press on the flat part of the handle to open it.) Petaluma had original supercharger cables.
Maybe all they really needed was a good cleaning!
There are multiple reports of throttling using the new connectors. Any correlation between cable replacement and improvement is coincidental.
We had a reduced charging rate blow up last year, except we thought it might have something to do with locals. I'll bet that last slice of cold pizza that its all related and we're just not smart enough to put the pieces together yet.
We had a reduced charging rate blow up last year, except we thought it might have something to do with locals. I'll bet that last slice of cold pizza that its all related and we're just not smart enough to put the pieces together yet.
Ulmo
Active Member
Good thought. Here's the thread:
My car won't charge faster than 60kW
Don't have time to dig through it now but I don't recall a clear resolution. Also, I think it differed in that the car would never exceed 60 kW. Currently, we have cars shooting up to well over 100 kW and then abrubtly petering out mere seconds into the charge.
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
jeffro01
Active Member
It does seem odd that we have yet to spot any sort of correlation or pattern from all of the examples we've been provided.
I doubt Tesla is throttling and I think we've gotten enough from various sources to rule out utility throttling. That leaves really only a few things.
1. Bad connections due to worn SC cables and\or worn charge ports
2. Bad or failed hardware in some SC cabinets
3. Firmware related glitches at the SC itself that Tesla hasn't quite figured out
It's quite plausible, to me at least, that Tesla is extremely concerned about the risk of damage to cars or SCs due to excessive heat. Therefore, the tolerances are set so tight from the various temp sensors in the chain to the point of being too tight causing throttling, except in the most ideal possible cases.
We're all just guessing here which by itself is a bit frustrating as Tesla's had ample opportunity to get out in front of this...
Jeff
I doubt Tesla is throttling and I think we've gotten enough from various sources to rule out utility throttling. That leaves really only a few things.
1. Bad connections due to worn SC cables and\or worn charge ports
2. Bad or failed hardware in some SC cabinets
3. Firmware related glitches at the SC itself that Tesla hasn't quite figured out
It's quite plausible, to me at least, that Tesla is extremely concerned about the risk of damage to cars or SCs due to excessive heat. Therefore, the tolerances are set so tight from the various temp sensors in the chain to the point of being too tight causing throttling, except in the most ideal possible cases.
We're all just guessing here which by itself is a bit frustrating as Tesla's had ample opportunity to get out in front of this...
Jeff
I'm just about to start the last leg of my first road trip. Supercharging in Oregon was a breeze, but I had serious problems in Gilroy, only getting 8KW when I was the only car on the entire old half of the SpC. Later the same day the best I could get at Atascadero was 60 Kw. I was wondering if something was wrong with my car. In the NW I always get 120KW for at least most of the charging cycle with tapering over 80% charge. I went to Morro Bay and charged again at the Atascadero SpC the next morning where I peaked at 90Kw.
I have been lucky enough I have never had to plug in at an SpC where I had to use the other half of a pair. Including this trip.
I was lucky enough to meet a Tesla tech at the Menteca SpC yesterday. Interestingly, Tesla is transferring him to the NW soon and he just got back from house hunting in the county where I live. He was replacing the plugs on a couple of the SpCs, but was also asking people about their charge rates. I was only getting about 50Kw initially and he had me move to the other SpC on that pair and I got 120Kw. He took apart the one that was only delivering 50Kw and found a wire that was loose.
I told him about this thread, which my SO found when I was telling her of my woes in Gilroy and Atascadero (my father's internet failed me in Morro Bay so I had no access). He was baffled by some of the stories especially my 8Kw problem at Gilroy, but he did say that the day before (after I had been there) he did a major repair on one of the older SpCs, so I may have gotten the one that needed repair.
On the others being slow he said the California SpCs get some of the heaviest use in the world and many times they don't get a chance to cool down after use. If the unit gets too hot it goes into limiting to save itself. He also said that after a lot of charging cycles the hardware gets degraded from the constant heating up. The good news is they are designed to still work as they degrade, but the bad news is a lot of California SpCs get a lot of abuse and the hot summers don't help. It's a lot tougher for an SpC stall to cool down in 100F heat than it is in 70F temps.
Anyway, it sounds like Tesla is aware they have some issues. He also said currently the entire west coast is serviced out of Fremont which means the techs end up spending a lot of time on the road. They are going to be basing the techs more regionally including this one in Vancouver, WA.
I have been lucky enough I have never had to plug in at an SpC where I had to use the other half of a pair. Including this trip.
I was lucky enough to meet a Tesla tech at the Menteca SpC yesterday. Interestingly, Tesla is transferring him to the NW soon and he just got back from house hunting in the county where I live. He was replacing the plugs on a couple of the SpCs, but was also asking people about their charge rates. I was only getting about 50Kw initially and he had me move to the other SpC on that pair and I got 120Kw. He took apart the one that was only delivering 50Kw and found a wire that was loose.
I told him about this thread, which my SO found when I was telling her of my woes in Gilroy and Atascadero (my father's internet failed me in Morro Bay so I had no access). He was baffled by some of the stories especially my 8Kw problem at Gilroy, but he did say that the day before (after I had been there) he did a major repair on one of the older SpCs, so I may have gotten the one that needed repair.
On the others being slow he said the California SpCs get some of the heaviest use in the world and many times they don't get a chance to cool down after use. If the unit gets too hot it goes into limiting to save itself. He also said that after a lot of charging cycles the hardware gets degraded from the constant heating up. The good news is they are designed to still work as they degrade, but the bad news is a lot of California SpCs get a lot of abuse and the hot summers don't help. It's a lot tougher for an SpC stall to cool down in 100F heat than it is in 70F temps.
Anyway, it sounds like Tesla is aware they have some issues. He also said currently the entire west coast is serviced out of Fremont which means the techs end up spending a lot of time on the road. They are going to be basing the techs more regionally including this one in Vancouver, WA.
Today 10 am, 77°F at Tejon Ranch capped at 60Kw.
I don't buy into to this degrading excuse, these SpC sites on I-5 got heavy use prior to this June when the cap started to appear, 2013-May 2016 Barstow, Gillroy, Harris Ranch, Tejon Ranch & others would be constantly used on weekends with temps over 100°F & the only limits were when paired, not premature degradation.
I don't buy into to this degrading excuse, these SpC sites on I-5 got heavy use prior to this June when the cap started to appear, 2013-May 2016 Barstow, Gillroy, Harris Ranch, Tejon Ranch & others would be constantly used on weekends with temps over 100°F & the only limits were when paired, not premature degradation.
ShotgunF15E
Member
ShotgunF15E
Member
Because it works fine at some locations and horrible at others, even down to the individual stall. One can be fine and the stall right next to you can be horrible.
How about PPPWSC: Piss Poor Performance while Super Charging...
That's actually pretty representative of how I feel when I'm on the 3rd stall change at a supercharger and everyone of them is complete crap.
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