Is there *any* fan noise during L2 charging?

[SnBGC]

From my experience, if the car is hot when I plug it in at home on 48amps, the fans come on full blast. If I wait a few hours to plug in, pretty much no noise at all. I usually wait.

It depends on ambient temp. Right now my battery warms up if parked during the day. I would be extremely concerned if my car didn't try and cool itself while charging at 48A.

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[MarkP213]

It depends on ambient temp. Right now my battery warms up if parked during the day. I would be extremely concerned if my car didn't try and cool itself while charging at 48A.

Oh the fans come on when charging at 48amps, but not as strong and loud as they do when plugging it in right when I get home on a hot day. ?

 

[SnBGC]

Oh the fans come on when charging at 48amps, but not as strong and loud as they do when plugging it in right when I get home on a hot day. ?

Makes sense.
Generally speaking, you should not charge at 48A if a lower setting will meet your needs. Just because the car can charge that fast doesn't mean it should charge that fast.
Heat is the enemy. Avoid at all costs IMO....

 

[mkhuffman]

Makes sense.
Generally speaking, you should not charge at 48A if a lower setting will meet your needs. Just because the car can charge that fast doesn't mean it should charge that fast.
Heat is the enemy. Avoid at all costs IMO....

I don't agree with this. All L2 charging is slow, and there is very little difference between 32 Amps and 48 Amps relative to DCFC when the car can hit 400+ Amps when DC fast charging.

But back to the fan noise - maybe it is because my garage isn't excessively hot, but I always charge at 48 Amps at home and never hear any fan running. I just did it tonight and nothing. It was 85 ish in my garage tonight.

 

[SnBGC]

I don't agree with this. All L2 charging is slow, and there is very little difference between 32 Amps and 48 Amps relative to DCFC when the car can hit 400+ Amps when DC fast charging.

But back to the fan noise - maybe it is because my garage isn't excessively hot, but I always charge at 48 Amps at home and never hear any fan running. I just did it tonight and nothing. It was 85 ish in my garage tonight.

I would argue the difference is 50%. Not insignificant IMO...

But, the cool thing is freedom of choice. If you are okay charging that fast then it is your car to do as you wish. ?

 

[chrisGT]

The fan turns on during L2 charging but I don't think you can hear it from a room attached to the garage.

If there is one thing you should worry about with a person upstairs is the tiny but nonzero possibility of a fire either from the car itself or the charger equipment/circuit. I would install a smoke detector if I was you.

 

[phil]

I would argue the difference is 50%. Not insignificant IMO...

50% of a large amount is significant. 50% of an insignificant amount is...

It's math, not opinion.

 

[SnBGC]

50% of a large amount is significant. 50% of an insignificant amount is...

It's math, not opinion.

Significant vs insignificant is opinion.

I have seen 60A breakers melt. I don't think I have seen a 40A breaker melt. I am sure it happens, but I don't remember seeing it happen.

 

[woody]

Agree with ambient temperature being most significant.
I charge at level 1 95% of the time (two EVs , try to keep one charging directly off solar most of the time - when car is parked in summer sun, delay charging until it cools down).
The MME will cool/warm as needed.
Since you can afford to use level 1 most of the time, go for it. Level 2 when necessary (after cooling/warming in garage).
Should the MME need cooling/warming it will do it (with noise).
My Bolt conditions with much less noise.

note: the EVSE simply is supply, the charger in the car and the car control the flow/temperature.

 

[Mach-Lee]

I was charging at 40A in a 88F garage yesterday, the fan was on low speed. The coolant pump was louder than the fan. Overall it was about as loud as a box fan on low speed.

Loud fans was an early problem, but that's fixed with the latest powertrain software. If you get the recall update that should patch the modules to the latest software.

If your garage gets hotter than 95ºF, expect there to be fan noise regardless of the charging speed. In those cases you should think about adding ventilation where feasible.

 

[mkhuffman]

I was charging at 40A in a 88F garage yesterday, the fan was on low speed. The coolant pump was louder than the fan. Overall it was about as loud as a box fan on low speed.

Loud fans was an early problem, but that's fixed with the latest powertrain software. If you get the recall update that should patch the modules to the latest software.

If your garage gets hotter than 95ºF, expect there to be fan noise regardless of the charging speed. In those cases you should think about adding ventilation where feasible.

This makes sense. While my garage is not heated/cooled, it is insulated and the 1st floor AC air handler is in the garage. Unless I leave the doors open, it is rare for the garage to get to 95 degrees. And I am sure I have the powertrain update that reduces fan activity.

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