DCFC charge rate is abysmal

[Comp247]

I was just able to pick up my MME E4x 2 Weeks ago and I’ve only been able to fast charge it five times now (at three different EA chargers) but each time has been increasingly worrying. The car has maxed out at 120 KW charge rate every single time. Nowhere near the 150 kW charge rate that other posters have mentioned with their extended range batteries. The next frustrating thing is after only three minutes of charging the charge rate is quickly reduced to 31 kW. This change in charge rate does not seem to be coupled to the current battery percentage as it’s happened equally when the car is at 50 plus percent as well as lower than 10%. I’ve also noticed that even when given time to cool off charging the car with the L1 (120v) mobile charger the car Immediately ramps the fans up to maximum speed and stays there for a few hours. There have been no error notifications In the app or on the drivers display from either of these situations.

The only variable I can think of is that the ambient temperature where I live has remained in the upper 90s to low 100s (F)

I’ve already contacted Ford customer support and they indicated that this was very odd. I’ve set up an appointment with my local dealership to have a look at the car. Will update post if an issue is found.

Just wondering if anyone else is having similar issues.

 

[bruceski88]

I have experienced this and it has been posted also on this forum. It is a failure mode of the EA chargers. Always goes to 31kW. We had it happen twice and just switched stations. I don’t think people with Bolts or Leafs notice. New chargers not made by ABB are supposed to be more reliable. Welcome to the Beta testing team.

 

[ebeponyan]

I am amused at the finger pointing by EA saying the car is only requesting 30kW, but if I plug into the adjacent charger and get 150kW, it's pretty clear where the problem lies.

 

[DanCoon]

I experienced this on my road trip a few weeks ago. When you go to an EA charger, look for the metal panel that shows you the manufacturer. It is usually on the side, near the bottom, on the right. If it is ABB, stay away, it will be slow. Always plug into the ones made by SigNet if you can. Never had an issue with them and the always charge at around 120kw/h.

 

[AZBill]

ABB chargers in Phoenix have been outputting only 30-35KW all summer in the heat. I have reported this to EA already. Charged in Williams AZ this weekend (80F temps at 7000 feet) on Signet 350KW charger and peaked at 160KW, dropped to just over 80KW at 80%.

Another word of caution for EV novices. A charger that indicates 150KW power is not always able to achieve that. ABB chargers with 150KW power rating are limited to 350A and 920V. The Mach E is a 400V battery, nominal 360V, so at 350A you will not see more than 126KW out of that charger. But if you plug into a 350KW charger, the current limit is 450A, so you can get over 150KW peak. Some Signet 150 KW chargers I have looked at are rated at 500A, but I have not tested one yet, those should support exactly 150KW maximum output at 360V.

Also, the older EVGO and ChargePoint 50KW chargers are typically limited to either 500V/100A or 400V/125A, so the most you will see with a 400V battery is 45KW (125A), or worse 36KW (100A).

 

[Comp247]

Never knew the abb ones were so terrible. I’ve been driving a Bolt for the last few years so I never noticed the drop in speed like was mentioned by bruceski88.
Thank you all for the input.

It is interesting the the folks at Ford don’t know about this limitation. They had me concerned I had a bad battery after talking with them over the phone.

 

[Mirak]

This is why this forum is so great. Nowhere else are you gonna get this knowledge base.

 

[RedStallion]

I had EA power output dropped once to low 30kW, but after unplugging and re-plugging the power went to about 70kW and stayed until the end.

 

[AZBill]

Never knew the abb ones were so terrible. I’ve been driving a Bolt for the last few years so I never noticed the drop in speed like was mentioned by bruceski88.
Thank you all for the input.

I own a Bolt in Phoenix, and yes in the summer months I have seen only 30KW on some EA chargers. My most recent fast charge for my Bolt was on a Signet unit and I got 55KW. But I have experience with the Bolt and Mach E at some ABB units in Tempe, only saw 30-35KW for each car, at different sessions this summer.

 

[Cgertz]

I have over 100 DCFC sessions on the MME across various states in the U.S. ABB has been more troublesome but the Signet units are not without their issues. When it is over 90 degrees both models seems to slow down. If you don't hear the cooling system kick in then you will be stuck at 32KW. At least in that case you are still getting something and not getting stranded. Normally when it is slow I just change to a different unit.

It's not the car, I've seen 128KW requested but only 32KW delivered.

 

[theo1000]

I’ve already contacted Ford customer support and they indicated that this was very odd. I’ve set up an appointment with my local dealership to have a look at the car. Will update post if an issue is found.

You need to contact EA. This is a known EA problem. Along with all the things that can trigger the charger dropping to default lower charge speed, liquid cooled cables. Esp. the 350 kw DCFC cables. If the EA charger notices anything off on the cables it will drop lower. Switch stations and let EA know, they are good about sending someone out to fix it for the next person.

 

[Comp247]

I own a Bolt in Phoenix, and yes in the summer months I have seen only 30KW on some EA chargers. My most recent fast charge for my Bolt was on a Signet unit and I got 55KW. But I have experience with the Bolt and Mach E at some ABB units in Tempe, only saw 30-35KW for each car, at different sessions this summer.

My bolts lease ran out two weeks ago and I only moved up to Sacramento from San Jose (where it’s much cooler) last month. So I hadn’t really been paying attention to the bolts charging speed. I’m not used to this heat yet

 

[Comp247]

You need to contact EA. This is a known EA problem. Along with all the things that can trigger the charger dropping to default lower charge speed, liquid cooled cables. Esp. the 350 kw DCFC cables. If the EA charger notices anything off on the cables it will drop lower. Switch stations and let EA know, they are good about sending someone out to fix it for the next person.

My first thought was it was an issue with my MME as the charge rate requested was so low and this issue had repeated at multiple plugs at the same charger array as well as others

 

[AZBill]

My first thought was it was an issue with my MME as the charge rate requested was so low and this issue had repeated at multiple plugs at the same charger array as well as others

This EA site in Tempe Arizona has 8 chargers, and you can see from Plugshare they are all reported as slow:

FYI, pretty cool a Hummer EV was spotted there, I have one of those on order. I was only able to get 35 KW at this site as well, back in June.

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