GM Volt Forum banner

Effects of Communication Protocol on Bolt EV Charging Efficiency

5092 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  Jeff N
Someone was kind enough to point out to me that Tesla and CHAdeMO equipped cars actually use a different communication protocol than the Bolt EV (CAN bus versus IEEE.1901 respectively).

My question is, could that affect charging efficiency? I know that CAN has to run through the car's ECU, but I'm not sure whether that would add additional parasitic losses. This question is probably more loaded and involved than I think, but I thought I'd ask anyway.


*I just noticed that we actually have a dedicated "Charging" forum. Please move this post if that is more appropriate.
1 - 2 of 6 Posts
I would think it would more depend on what is or has to be powered up to accept the charge... Which is probably were Ladogaboy was going.
Yes, that is what I was thinking. If say a Leaf or Tesla has to power both the ECU and the BMS in order to charge, it might be significantly less efficient than if a GM vehicle could just bypass the ECU and let the charger communicate directly with the BMS.

Also, maybe some Leaf owners can confirm, but it is my understanding that very few options are available in the car while it is actively quick charging. Again, possibly an issue of relying on the CAN bus to communicate with the charger? Just trying to get a better understanding of the differences between vehicles.
1 - 2 of 6 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top