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Level 2 Charger shows wrong charging time

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by utsug, Apr 4, 2019.

  1. utsug

    utsug Active Member

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    I've been charging on this Los Angeles DWP (Dept. of Water and Power) charging station close to my work for months now but it shows incorrect charging time on the car's display.
    At first I thought it was charging at Level 1 rate because it shows more than 5 hrs charging time. But actually it is a Level 2 charger and it charges my car within 2 hrs although it shows more than 5 hrs on the car display.
    If it is supplying 16A then why it is showing more than 5 hrs charging time?

    Now my question is will it somehow damage the charger or anything on my car if I keep using this charging station?
     
  2. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    No, it will not damage the car's charger. You do not list any manufacturer or model number so it is hard to definitely say it won't hurt the EVSE. It shouldn't.

    The Charger and the EVSE use the 'on' time of a square wave to negotiate Amperage. The EVSE you use may be adverting a lower Amperage than it is providing by being 'on' a shorter time.

    SAE J1772 - Wikipedia

    Since the Charger will do 16 Amps just fine, there is no issue if the EVSE falsely claims 8 Amps. (other than incorrectly estimating time)
     
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  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Have you checked the time after 2-3 minutes?

    Sometimes I have noticed it will show 4 or 5 hours on a L2 but if I wait a few minutes, it'll eventually correct itself and the time to finish will drop to the 1-2 hour range.
     
  4. utsug

    utsug Active Member

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    Interesting, i will do that tomorrow and see if it changes.
    Now the same charging station has problem detecting if it is plug in. You need to put a good slack on the cable for it to work.
    Looks like the wire (proximity pin) has intermittent connection and will eventually break.
     
  5. utsug

    utsug Active Member

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    Yes, charging time changed after about 4 minutes. Thanks !
     
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  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Phew! Glad it was a simple solution :)