L1 Charging

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mhrossowyc

Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
6
Hello All,

I am a new owner of an off lease 2014 and have encountered some charging issues.

Took the vehicle home from the dealer with an almost full charge (89 miles) and at home it had about 79 miles range. I have an old home and have not yet wired/configured for L2 charging so I plugged the provided 110V/15A EVSE into an extension cord coming out of my garage. Since it did not need to charge right away, I selected the timed charge with climate condition. All looked good but in the morning, it still had 79 mile range. The AC was on so it did do the schedule departure correctly. I did now to look at the charging status screen so I do not know what it stated.

I drove to my daughters school and then to work, Range = 49 miles. Work has L1 plugs available so I charged for about 7 hours again using the provided 110V/15A EVSE. When I drove away, I had a range of 69 miles. Drove home via pickup of my daughter and dinner and had a range of 59 miles. I plugged into my extension cord and started charging right away. Charging started but stopped after a couple of minutes, giving the "System Malfunction" error

So I knew that the 110V/15A EVSE worked since the car charged at work and I know the L2 charger works since the dealer was able to charge the car.

Therefore I started trying different plug and extension cord combinations. The only one that worked was using my extension cord used to charge/plug in my VW Westfalia camper van. I am not sure of its amperage rating but it is the same gage as the 110V/15A EVSE. I had to plug into an outlet just inside my front door going thru my mail slot. The garage and other outdoor outlets are not reachable with the 110V/15A EVSE or 110V/15A EVSE + high amperage extension cord.

So my question is the charging system that sensitive that it only works plugged into an outlet directly? or with a high amperage extension cord? I read the manual so I know of all their recommendations.

I need to know as I make my decision about L1/L2 charging at home.

Marc
 
As you have quickly found out, it's a bit crazy to just have 120 volt L1 charging, but it sounds like you're going to remedy that. Let me suggest that you get an electrician as quickly as possible to install a 50 amp circuit with a NEMA 14-50R outlet for your future charging needs. Of course, I recommend JESLA:

http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JESLA-is-THE-40-amp-J1772-portable-charging-solution-JESLA.htm


There are several issues with 120 volt / 12 amp charging (1.44kW):

1) The cabin heater / air conditioner can EASILY exceed 1.44kW, making your charging moot

2) Using 120 volt outlets typically have GFCI, which will be problematic

3) Using an extension cord can obviously cause a lot of issues, up to burning your house down. If you're going to do it, I recommend JLong:

shop.quickchargepower.com/JLONG-40-Amp-J1772-extension-cable-JL40A.htm

http://www.evwest.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=357

https://www.amazon.com/JLONG-40ft-J1772-extension-cable/dp/B01B6OH99S
 
The most common problem that would cause your charging to stop is grounding problems followed by other wiring problems. Honestly, I would get some bids on running a 240v circuit ASAP. My rule on extension cords is not to use them for daily charging, only opportunity charging where I can take the time to keep an eye on the connections to be sure there's no unusual heating.
 
Get a brand new high quality cord of minimum length and #12 or #10 wire for best results.


Plug in direct is always better. Have the electrician review the 120v outlet while he is there giving an estimate. If the outlet is worn or has stab connections replace it with a commercial spec grade with screw clamps on the wire.

Forget climate conditioning on L1 if you need any miles. You will only pick up about 3 mph on L1.
 
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