2024 Mach E AC home charging issues

[Pipcecil]

My Mach e is not charging as fast as it should be. At first, I thought it was because I was using an adapter (Lectron) with my Tesla HPWC gen 2, but this has had its own set of issues. I used my friends J1772 Chargepoint hardwired (60 amp breaker) and only peaked (and stablized) at 10.8+ kw, which would indicate an 11 kw onboard charger, not a 11.5 which it is supposed to have (?). My friends Ioniq 5 charges at 11.39 kw (aka 11.5 kw onboard charger).

Is there something wrong with my car or did Ford change out the onboard chargers for the 2024 models. Unfortunately being a gen 2, I don't get any data feedback from the Tesla HPWC. The Ford app says "10 kw" which I am assuming its truncating, again showing only 11 kw, confirming my suspicions.

Also, my NACS adapter is giving my car charging problems as well. I hit the 10+kw but after about 15 minutes it drops to only 7kw. I saw threads about this but didn't find a definitive answer to correct this problem.

This is driving me nuts. Any insight anyone has?

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[Sikkun]

Does your window sticker say 11kwh onboard?

 

[Pipcecil]

It says 11 kw. I just assumed that it was 11.5 since many companies abbreviate 11.5 to just 11. With those confirmed 11.5, was it listed like that on your window sticker? Maybe they did bump it down.

 

[Snakebitten]

Breathe.

Enjoy your car.
It's fine.
And don't let the forum steal the honeymoon. It can last months with one of these.

 

[phidauex]

It does seem like the onboard charger maxes out at 11 kW under ideal conditions. This does seem slightly slower than others, but on a full overnight charge from 10% to 100% the difference is less than 20 minutes, not sure that it actually matters in practice.

The dropping to 7kW topic is more unique, that shouldn't happen, and hopefully others can point you in the right direction on that issue.

 

[MrLoganRoss]

There does seem to be doom inherent loss of efficiency between the hat the charger receives from the grid and what the car accepts. For me, it’s about .5 kw using a wall box.

 

[Mach-Lee]

My Mach e is not charging as fast as it should be. At first, I thought it was because I was using an adapter (Lectron) with my Tesla HPWC gen 2, but this has had its own set of issues. I used my friends J1772 Chargepoint hardwired (60 amp breaker) and only peaked (and stablized) at 10.8+ kw, which would indicate an 11 kw onboard charger, not a 11.5 which it is supposed to have (?). My friends Ioniq 5 charges at 11.39 kw (aka 11.5 kw onboard charger).

Is there something wrong with my car or did Ford change out the onboard chargers for the 2024 models. Unfortunately being a gen 2, I don't get any data feedback from the Tesla HPWC. The Ford app says "10 kw" which I am assuming its truncating, again showing only 11 kw, confirming my suspicions.

Also, my NACS adapter is giving my car charging problems as well. I hit the 10+kw but after about 15 minutes it drops to only 7kw. I saw threads about this but didn't find a definitive answer to correct this problem.

The on-board charger changed for 2023.5 models. I don't know a lot about it, other than it's from a different supplier. It's possible the output of the new charger is slightly less, but 0.5 kW is not that big of a deal (that's about the same as normal line voltage fluctuation). There will be small differences in the exact amount of power used by different EVs on the same charger due to software and hardware differences. The Mach-E's charger maximum power also depends on the battery voltage. At higher voltage (pack is almost fully charged) the charger may output less than if the battery is discharged. I would recommend you test charger output when the high voltage battery is around 50%.

The more troubling thing is the drop to 7kW after 15 minutes. That shouldn't happen (unless the battery is almost full) and indicates something is overheating or the charger detects a large voltage drop (from a bad connection somewhere in the circuit). It's possible your adapter is defective or not rated for 50 amps. The Tesla EVSE may also be throttling power if it detects an overheat in the handle or internally. A gen 2 wall connector would be getting up there in age, if it's worn out it may be time to upgrade (I suggest getting the Universal Wall Connector). Remember that EVSEs (or at least the cord) are a wear item that need to be replaced periodically (every 5-10 years) to maintain good connections.

Does the drop to 7 kW happen with other 40+ amp EVSEs or just yours?

And FYI, FordPass will display the amount of power entering the battery, not what is entering the car. Level 2 charging is about 93% efficient (depends on line and battery voltages), so 10.0 kW entering the battery would equate to about 10.8 kW from the wall.

 

[Pipcecil]

I didn't know there was so much variance between cars using the same rated amperage onboard chargers. I knew there was loss between the EVSE and the car, but not that much.

I have not had the opportunity to try my friends car on my setup with the adapter yet, so we shall see if it drops as well.

The Tesla HPWC may be getting old, but it still should have over half its life remaining. I do have a theory to try based on other information I found plus some information y'all provided. The Gen 2 Tesla HPWC are just dumb chargers, no wifi, no connectivity, and no app interface to see any information. The Gen 2's were supposed to only work with Tesla cars and this is where i see the issue. The Gen 1 and Gen 3 HPWC had a legacy/non-tesla car mode you would switch or activate in the app when you were charging a non-tesla. Gen 2's actually have it, but its not listed or advertised.

When flipping the switch to non-tesla on the gen 1 & 3, it stops the EVSE from sending Tesla's high frequency handshake and instead sends the standard J1772 protocol through the signal pin to indicate the amps being supplied. Since mine is still transmitting the Tesla handshake, the noise is being stopped by the adapter (instead of faulting the charger - smart adapter!) but the block of the noise must be causing the Tesla NACS connector to overheat (it gets very hot using the adapter) causing the drop in charging.

Luckily that same DIP switch 2 that is in the Gen 1 HPWC is in the Gen 2 except it isn't labeled or advertised and the HPWC manual just says "this should always be up." Sneaky Tesla. I will flip that tonight or tomorrow and see if I have the same overheating issues and the drop in kw while charging.

 

[Sikkun]

It says 11 kw. I just assumed that it was 11.5 since many companies abbreviate 11.5 to just 11. With those confirmed 11.5, was it listed like that on your window sticker? Maybe they did bump it down.

Mine says 11, outputs 11. I’ve seen GT stickers say 10.5. So my assumption is it’s not an abbreviation and it’s really 11.

 

[MrLoganRoss]

Just a caution that my first charger, after a few months, would quickly drop charge rate to 7, then after a while to 2. Turned out there was a short inside the charger and it needed to be replaced. Definitely confirm how the car works on other chargers.

 

[txfab]

Variances within 10% vs. the nominal max rate would be perfectly normal, even 15% wouldn't surprise me. For example, your voltage from electric supply along can easily vary that much. So that doesn't suggest in any way a problem with your charger or setup.
Your drop to 7kW after a few minutes is indeed concerning though and best guess would be that excessive heat is generated somewhere that hits a threshold. Plug connections seem most likely, more likely if you're using an adapter, but of course it could be an internal charger issue. But it could even be something like the cable from your breaker box to your charger, so there's lots of things you might check.
What I can't figure out, where do y'all actually see current charge rate over time? On the charger itself, or did you hook up a meter? With the provided equipment (mobile charger, latest Ford Pass app) I can't figured out where I would see an actual current rate, I only see the "Charge History" entries and even there I have to divide "Energy Added" by "Time Charging".

 

[MrLoganRoss]

I see the charge rate in both Fordpass and the app for the home charger (Wallbox). That’s how I see the delta from what’s coming into the charger (wall box app) and being received by the car (ford pass app).

 

[bbulkow]

Variances within 10% vs. the nominal max rate would be perfectly normal, even 15% wouldn't surprise me. For example, your voltage from electric supply along can easily vary that much. So that doesn't suggest in any way a problem with your charger or setup.
Your drop to 7kW after a few minutes is indeed concerning though and best guess would be that excessive heat is generated somewhere that hits a threshold. Plug connections seem most likely, more likely if you're using an adapter, but of course it could be an internal charger issue. But it could even be something like the cable from your breaker box to your charger, so there's lots of things you might check.
What I can't figure out, where do y'all actually see current charge rate over time? On the charger itself, or did you hook up a meter? With the provided equipment (mobile charger, latest Ford Pass app) I can't figured out where I would see an actual current rate, I only see the "Charge History" entries and even there I have to divide "Energy Added" by "Time Charging".

A quick read of the ansi standard is plus or minus 5 percent is acceptable supply voltage deviation in north america, no?

Equipment is designed to exist within a variance of 10 to 15 percent, again according to ansi spec, but i would call my utility if i saw a voltage outside of 5 percent...

Isn't it a bit wrong to say 10 percent deviation is 'normal' and 15 percent is 'unsurprising'?

At least, are we all talking about North America? I see higher variances specified in other grids....

No?

( My surprise at this thread is someone being 'driven crazy' by a 4 percent deviation. They must lead a very calm life otherwise.... )

 

[phidauex]

The block of the noise must be causing the Tesla NACS connector to overheat (it gets very hot using the adapter) causing the drop in charging.

This is a concerning fact here, the heat. The L2 adapter should never get more than somewhat warm, if it is getting actually hot to the touch then something is wrong with the adapter.

I don't think the electrical signal from the EVSE could create that kind of heat - to make heat you need current, and those pilot signals are low voltage, very low current, communications only. The more suspect component is the connection pins in the adapter, or internal welds in the adapter. What brand is it, and have you reached out to the manufacturer?

 

[txfab]

A quick read of the ansi standard is plus or minus 5 percent is acceptable supply voltage deviation in north america, no?

Equipment is designed to exist within a variance of 10 to 15 percent, again according to ansi spec, but i would call my utility if i saw a voltage outside of 5 percent...

Isn't it a bit wrong to say 10 percent deviation is 'normal' and 15 percent is 'unsurprising'?

At least, are we all talking about North America? I see higher variances specified in other grids....

No?

( My surprise at this thread is someone being 'driven crazy' by a 4 percent deviation. They must lead a very calm life otherwise.... )

If you want to get technical, it can never be "wrong" for someone to say they are "surprised" (or not surprised). Feelings can't be wrong
But joking aside, I haven't looked up data to see what's "normal", I'm really just quoting my own DIY electrical experience: Depending on where you live, whether downtown Chicago, or the suburbs, in a small town, or in a rural location, ANSI doesn't mean much. And your electric utility will likely laugh at you if you quote ANSI to them -- especially if they're your only option for electric service.
But much more importantly, your wiring at home will differ immensely. In my 1940s home I might have 95 Volt differential on some outlets instead of the nominal "110V" one would assume. Heck, I've measured 30V on a poorly grounded neutral line. In a new home in a new suburb you might actually see close to 120V. But then if you pull a lot of amps and let the wire get warm, your measurement will change quite a bit on the same outlet. Welcome to electricity.
And I agree about the 4%. But people get excited and really into it, who am I to judge.

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