Amp input setting

[Ralph Malph]

My Mach-e is my first EV, our 21 Mustang is very close to the same kind of electronic functions, cruise, phone connections etc... so the learning curve wasn't very big.

I purchased an Autel charger off of Amazon, I don't have a garage and the charger is outdoors and reviews had good marks for an outdoor charger.

It is just my wife and I at home, I work from home and she drives into the city twice a week (110 km round trip) so the 110v and the Ford charger it came with was close to keeping up. When I hooked up the charger I could not get it to work, car kept cancelling the charge. Autel support finally figured out I needed to turn the amps down to 32 in their app to make it work, I was unaware there was an amperage limitation at home so I am not sure how that works at a public fast charger. My electrician asked the same thing.

This got me thinking: they (ev internet writers) say that the slower the charge the easier it is on the battery - like a trickle charge in the old days. Does anyone know if I turn down the amps for a slower charge in the app, would that be good or bad for the longevity of the battery. If I needed a faster charge I can always bump it up again. I have my Ford app set to 80% and have only charged to 100% once (last night, it is -14C or 6F) I didn't want her to fuss about using the heater full bore.

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[macchiaz-o]

If you had to turn down amperage on the Autel EVSE to get it to work, this indicates it isn't functioning properly, or the car isn't performing as it should. The vehicle shouldn't refuse to charge when plugged into a high-amp capable EVSE, because the vehicle controls the actual amps drawn and will never pull more than it's capable or determined to do.

I assume it wasn't tripping your circuit breaker, melting things, or worse. If it was, that would indicate a problem with your home's wiring or with the Autel unit.

The Mach-E supports AC charging up to 48 amps at 240 volts. I'm not sure, but I'd guess the sweet spot for being 'gentle' to the vehicle probably depends on current environmental conditions and ranges from anywhere between 16A @ 240 through 40A @ 240V. I wouldn't stress about it.

DC fast charging is significantly more stressful to the battery and electronics but even that isn't something to be concerned about in the big picture.

 

[Ralph Malph]

If you had to turn down amperage on the Autel EVSE to get it to work, this indicates it isn't functioning properly, or the car isn't performing as it should. The vehicle shouldn't refuse to charge when plugged into a high-amp capable EVSE, because the vehicle controls the actual amps drawn and will never pull more than it's capable or determined to do.

I assume it wasn't tripping your circuit breaker, melting things, or worse. If it was, that would indicate a problem with your home's wiring or with the Autel unit.

The Mach-E supports AC charging up to 48 amps at 240 volts. I'm not sure, but I'd guess the sweet spot for being 'gentle' to the vehicle probably depends on current environmental conditions and ranges from anywhere between 16A @ 240 through 40A @ 240V. I wouldn't stress about it.

DC fast charging is significantly more stressful to the battery and electronics but even that isn't something to be concerned about in the big picture.

Thank you for the info,

I have it on a 50 amp 240v dedicated line from the panel, only issue was the car stopped the charge basically intantly. I had to replace that charger as I couldn't get the wifi to work and kept the same settings with the new charger thinking I had to.

I will try with the new charger tonight and see if it does the same thing. Max amp setting is 40A so I should be within the limit..

 

[AliRafiee]

My JuiceBox 40 is set at 40 amps with a 50 amp breaker

 

[thekat03]

Lower than around 18 amps seems to be less efficient. Someone else on here did some experimenting on this.
https://www.macheforum.com/site/threads/onboard-charger-efficiency-measured.32983/

I think anywhere between 18-48 amps is probably fine for the battery. If you live in a winter climate, I think preconditioning may go faster with higher amperage, but not certain how much or how significant a difference it is.

 

[Neandrewthal]

As far as the battery is concerned, even 48 amps is very slow. Some have suggested it's a little less efficient because the charge controller in the car needs more cooling.

 

[GatorGrowl]

If you had to turn down amperage on the Autel EVSE to get it to work, this indicates it isn't functioning properly, or the car isn't performing as it should. The vehicle shouldn't refuse to charge when plugged into a high-amp capable EVSE, because the vehicle controls the actual amps drawn and will never pull more than it's capable or determined to do.

I assume it wasn't tripping your circuit breaker, melting things, or worse. If it was, that would indicate a problem with your home's wiring or with the Autel unit.

The Mach-E supports AC charging up to 48 amps at 240 volts.

I think it can handle 50 amps, but most EVSE is limited to 48 so a 60 amp breaker can be used. 50 amps would require a 70 amp breaker. A 60 amp can fit in the space of a traditional breaker, but a 70 uses two spaces.

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