Charging Rate Drops After an Hour…

[Voronbrg]

What does the car say? Due to warm plug?

I had same issue, it ended up being the rivian wall charger. I hada very early revision.

Sponsored

 

[Zoidz]

Yeah this is happening to all chargers. I’ve found if I ramp my amps down to 32 it holds it at 7.3kw and never derates it down to 5.9kw and that is during the heat of the day in South Florida.

This is the way. Reduce the charging rate so it creates less resistance heat, thereby avoiding throttling, and reach your charge faster. If you have time to charge overnight, there is zero advantage, or need, to charge at max rate.

 

[Operator]

What does the car say? Due to warm plug?

I had same issue, it ended up being the rivian wall charger. I hada very early revision.

Mine says due to plug. Plug is not warm.

 

[mkhuffman]

This exact issue has been discussed in the Mach-e and Lucid forums I participate in. The most common cause is dirty, worn or misaligned pins in the port or connector housing. If the connection is strong, you might get derating in intense heat, like the sun is shining on the connector. But it shouldn't happen if the ambient temperature is mild. If it happens in that case, try cleaning the pins with a Q-Tip and rubbing alcohol.

I don't think this is a Rivian specific phenomenon based on what I have seen and experienced myself.

Some people have had success pointing a fan at their charging port. Sounds stupid but it might be worth a try.

 

[DCFC]

Typically, a derate is because the pins are getting too hot. Either in the charging connector or the vehicle inlet port. This is for safety as the alternative would be something potentially catching on fire.

 

[Hopper]

I'm having the same issue with my Rivian Wall Charger. I don't remember it happening last summer, I was thinking that maybe my connections are getting loose.

I don’t remember it happening last summer either. Perhaps there’s been a software change.

 

[BCondrey]

Mine does the same thing. It's the thermistor in the NACS handle getting too hot and thermally throttling the charge rate. At least, that's my first guess. It gets - and stays - really hot in the garage here in the Florida panhandle. I've wrapped cold packs around the end of the plug, but it doesn't last much longer than a few extra minutes.

Does your Tesla wall charger have a red light at the top, but still shows the green lights "flowing" (charging at a reduced rate)? If so, it's likely the handle is getting too hot and the wall charger is protecting you from overheating. That's a (very) good thing.

This is exactly what happens to me.

 

[WattsUp]

I have the same issue. It is more frequent now (not related to summer) . I thought it was just the Rivian wall charger- but it is also happening on my shockflow 9kw. Both of these will geat throttled to about 7kw and the vehicle display indicates charging slowed due to warm plug. It seems that the common factor is the truck not the charger. I have this on the list of items for the SC to look at and hope to find out more if my truck completes its visit this week. If i find out anything insightful I will share.

 

[bigsky]

The average charging rate on my R1S has been between 10 and 11 kWh regardless of time spent charging. Own a Tesla Wall Charger Gen 3. Not sure how much it fluctuates, but I would think it stays within that range.
My Teslas using the same charger maintain charging rates north of 11 kWh on average.
Perhaps the Lectron adapter has something to do with the lower charging rate for my R1S. I think that voltage fluctuations might contribute to the slight variations also.

Have never felt the adapter overly warm. The circuit breaker stays somewhat warm throughout, but never hot.

I have charged my vehicles 410 times combined. Only once did I get a warning on my Tesla app of charging rate derated because of connector temp (I was using a NEMA 14-50 outlet with Mobile charger). Outlet was getting pretty toasty. Unplugged, plugged back in, okay afterward.

 

[hursey]

Yeah this is happening to all chargers. I’ve found if I ramp my amps down to 32 it holds it at 7.3kw and never derates it down to 5.9kw and that is during the heat of the day in South Florida.

So I tried this out just now and seems to be doing the trick.. I might ramp mine up over the next few sessions and see how high I can go before it reverts to the old behavior. Thanks!

 

[lslick23]

So I tried this out just now and seems to be doing the trick.. I might ramp mine up over the next few sessions and see how high I can go before it reverts to the old behavior. Thanks!

I ramped up to 38 amps and it held it being in direct sun.

 

[HaveBlue]

I also charge at 40A 9kw because I'm panel limited and the breakers all get hot, even the main so I keep an eye on it. It fluctuates a little, ie 38A but holds strong. I think I have issues at the power pole as my house drops down to 108V from 117V (235v).

 

[MejDam]

My Rivian R1S and Chevy Bolt both experienced charging downgrades from 11.3kW to 5.3kW when using a Lectron Tesla to J1772 adapter with my Tesla Wall Connector Gen 3. The adapter also got hot. Limiting the Rivian to 32amps helped prevent downgrades, but I wanted a better solution. I Installed a Tesla Universal Wall Connector yesterday, it maintained 48amps without downgrades during a one-hour charging session. I wont declare victory just yet, I'll wait for a full charge and provide an update to this thread.

 

[RivAW]

I have a Tesla charger too - and have the same issue, especially with the Lectron adapter I used initially. I think Kevinhanff is right about that. The adapter can get really hot, especially in summer sun. I’ve had better luck with the A2Z adapter with less days where it overheats.

I have the same set up and had the same issue. I switched out the lectron adapter with a new A2Z adapter and problem solved. I stowed the lectron adapter in the frunk so I have that as an emergency L2 option.

 

[hursey]

UPDATE: So dropping my charge rate to 34 has solved the issue.. If I try to go to 36, problem returns.. 34 is the sweet spot for me! Thanks again everyone!

Sponsored