Increasing charging capacity

[Mnath]

I'm new to my Mach E and have charged it twice at EVgo stations, mostly to overcome my newness as it is my first EV. I have signed up for EA, EVgo, Chargepoint, and Tesla, though I don't understand if it will work at Tesla chargers.

I'm having some issues understanding how to increase my charging capacity to 90% or even 100% for an upcoming trip (only 210 miles, but 80% on my extended Premium is 252). I do plan to stop and charge, but I can't figure out how to increase the capacity at a public charging station. I thought you could increase it with the logged chargers, but I don't even see them hitting my log. I'm also having a few issues with Ford Connected services, which I thought were resolved after I spoke with someone the other day. Can anyone point me to any articles on this of give me the laywoman's facts?

Thank you

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[generaltso]

I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. The car will charge to 100% by default.

 

[Mnath]

I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking. The car will charge to 100% by default.

When I plug into a public charging station, it stops at 80%.

 

[Maquis]

When I plug into a public charging station, it stops at 80%.

Are you sure it’s stopping completely and not just slowing way down?

 

[agdad]

I have the choice in my vehicles charging ap to set the percentage I want it to charge to.....I cahrge to 90 % and occasionally 100%.
Yesterday it charged to 100 % and when i got in it this morning its range was 310 miles

i do have the extended range battery on a 2 wd

 

[generaltso]

I have the choice in my vehicles charging ap to set the percentage I want it to charge to.....I cahrge to 90 % and occasionally 100%.
Yesterday it charged to 100 % and when i got in it this morning its range was 310 miles

Yes, you can set a charging percentage for a given location, but it sounds like the OP hasn’t done that, so it should be charging to 100%.

 

[Mirak]

Yes, there are some public chargers that stop at 80 or 90%.

The bigger issue OP needs to be aware of is charging curve. Beyond 80%, charging speed drops below 50kW (meaning in slows down). Beyond 90% it drops to Level 2 speed of about 6kW. Meaning it would take you over an hour of charging just to get that last 10%.

So the key to road trips is to start with a 100% charge, and then keep your charging between 10 and 80% while on the road, unless you can stop somewhere to charge overnight.

No, you cannot use the Tesla Supercharger network yet. That’s maybe coming in 2024.

Also, at highway speed you can count on maybe getting 80% of your estimated range. You can reduce that further for a stiff headwind or cold temps.

You need to always check plugshare.com to plan your chargers in advance to make sure they are working. Basically, road tripping in a MME takes work.

 

[GreaseMonkey]

You can charge up to 90% if you need more range that what 80% gives you. But remember that with highway speeds, range takes a bit hit especially going above 75 mph. Most members here report an efficiency of 2.7 miles per kWh at 75 miles per hour with an AWD premium.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Technically, you can use a Tesla SuperCharger, but the caveat is that it has to be at a station that has the Tesla Magic Dock. There are very few of those nationally. Only one is in the Bay Area. Tesla is rolling out more Magic docks, but it will take a while for them to be in place. If you have the Tesla app, set it to find stations for non-Teslas and you’ll see that there aren’t a lot of them. ??

 

[Mnath]

Are you sure it’s stopping completely and not just slowing way down?

I am almost positive but I'll check again next time.

 

[Mnath]

Yes, you can set a charging percentage for a given location, but it sounds like the OP hasn’t done that, so it should be charging to 100%.

Please explain how you set it. I am having some problems with the app and want to know if there is a workaround. I mostly use EVgo stations because that's what's around here in Oakland, CA. Thanks.

 

[Mnath]

Yes, there are some public chargers that stop at 80 or 90%.

The bigger issue OP needs to be aware of is charging curve. Beyond 80%, charging speed drops below 50kW (meaning in slows down). Beyond 90% it drops to Level 2 speed of about 6kW. Meaning it would take you over an hour of charging just to get that last 10%.

So the key to road trips is to start with a 100% charge, and then keep your charging between 10 and 80% while on the road, unless you can stop somewhere to charge overnight.

No, you cannot use the Tesla Supercharger network yet. That’s maybe coming in 2024.

Also, at highway speed you can count on maybe getting 80% of your estimated range. You can reduce that further for a stiff headwind or cold temps.

You need to always check plugshare.com to plan your chargers in advance to make sure they are working. Basically, road tripping in a MME takes work.

Thanks for the info. I understand everything except how to actually set my charge capacity. Do I HAVE to use the Ford app? Is there something on the EVgo or chargepoint apps? Can I do this through SYNC, etc....

 

[mkhuffman]

I have done quite a lot of public charging over the past almost 2 years.

One time at a DCFC station it appeared to stop charging at 80%. I intended to stop charging at 80% anyway so when it happened I thought maybe I did something wrong. But I am sure it stopped before I got to the car. I thought it was very strange and it has never happened again since then. I also have not used that station again, so maybe the station has a limit and stops all cars at 80%. Also, I frequently stop the charge before 80% when I only need a small charge to get home so if a station has a 80% limit I might not hit it.

On a side note, if a station is stopping cars at 80%, there should be a big ass sign warning us about it. I have needed more than 80% before and I would be very pissed off if the station stopped me at 80%. Very. I hope it isn't a common thing.

At highway speeds if you are only driving 210 miles round trip, you should be able to do that with a 100% charge from home and not need to stop during the trip. You will arrive home with a low battery, but unless you need to go somewhere right after you get there, plug in immediately and you will be fine. I usually arrive home with 10% or less battery when on a trip that requires DCFC. That's because at the last stop I only charge enough to make it home.

 

[Mirak]

Thanks for the info. I understand everything except how to actually set my charge capacity. Do I HAVE to use the Ford app? Is there something on the EVgo or chargepoint apps? Can I do this through SYNC, etc....

You can set a max charge in two different ways. In the car, you would think this would be under “settings,” but it isn’t. First, tap the clip art house button in the top left. This opens… the app tray. In the app tray, tap “charging.”

Under charging, you have to tap Charging Locations. You then have to add a new charging location if you don’t already have one made for your garage, etc. Once you have made a charging location, you can configure the max charge for that location.

Once you’ve set that up in your car, you can configure the same through FordPass by tapping Vehicle at the bottom, then charging, then preferred charging times, then tap the location to configure the max charge.

If this all seems like pretty stupid and non intuitive design, you would be correct.

I am not aware of any public charger apps that allow you to set a max charge.

 

[Mnath]

I have done quite a lot of public charging over the past almost 2 years.

One time at a DCFC station it appeared to stop charging at 80%. I intended to stop charging at 80% anyway so when it happened I thought maybe I did something wrong. But I am sure it stopped before I got to the car. I thought it was very strange and it has never happened again since then. I also have not used that station again, so maybe the station has a limit and stops all cars at 80%. Also, I frequently stop the charge before 80% when I only need a small charge to get home so if a station has a 80% limit I might not hit it.

On a side note, if a station is stopping cars at 80%, there should be a big ass sign warning us about it. I have needed more than 80% before and I would be very pissed off if the station stopped me at 80%. Very. I hope it isn't a common thing.

At highway speeds if you are only driving 210 miles round trip, you should be able to do that with a 100% charge from home and not need to stop during the trip. You will arrive home with a low battery, but unless you need to go somewhere right after you get there, plug in immediately and you will be fine. I usually arrive home with 10% or less battery when on a trip that requires DCFC. That's because at the last stop I only charge enough to make it home.

Thank you. I'm going 210 each way, plus more driving at my destination.

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