[skyvo]

Hi everyone,

So I am trying to charge my 2017 Volt using a level 2 charger from ClipperCreek (LCS-20).

The charger clearly outputs 16A of current and even lists a 4.5 hour charge time for this car; however, when I plug it in, I always get a full charge in 5 hours and 15 minutes. Why could this be happening? How come it takes an extra 45 minutes?

I know it's not exactly the car's fault as it charges fine off all of the chargepoints but my LCS-20 just can't operate at 100%...

Why do you guys this this is? It's plugged into a 30 amp circuit and has enough juice coming to it so I don't think this is really an issue...

Hoping for some ideas here

Thanks,
Alex

 

[Steverino]

Charging setup with a time delay? Low line voltage?

 

[freshcut]

Thermal management might be sucking some of the power away too. What have your temps been lately? If it has to cool/heat the battery, that takes some of the available power and increases charging time as well.

If it's warm or recently driven the battery might be warm and need active cooling engaged. If possible periodically listen to the car while it's charging for any indication that fans or even the a/c compressor might be engaged to provide cooling.

 

[Neromanceres]

Also the Volt's charge time indicator is conservative and often beats it's estimate.

Where is your EVSE connected. Is it at work or a commercial building? Are you connected to 208V or 240V. At 240V your charge time will be about 4 hours 30 minutes. But at 208V it will a little more than 5 hours.

 

[llninja]

If the charger lists 4.5 hours for the volt, you must be reading something about the gen 1 volt. The gen 2 volt has a bigger battery so the 5.25 hour charge time seems normal to me.

 

[TSquare]

If the charger lists 4.5 hours for the volt, you must be reading something about the gen 1 volt. The gen 2 volt has a bigger battery so the 5.25 hour charge time seems normal to me.

No, it is 4.5 hours for a Gen 2 @ 240 volts. This is from the 2017 "Getting To Know Your Volt" pamphlet:

Charging Time
Using a 120-volt standard outlet will take approximately 13 hours to charge the Volt at
the 12 amp settings, or 19 hours at the 8 amp default setting. Using a 240-volt charging
station will take approximately 4.5 hours to charge. Charge times will vary with outside
temperature.

 

[Loboc]

What is the line voltage? Is it holding at 240v for the entire 5+ hours? Is there other 240v draw on the mains? Pool pump, dryer, stove, water heater etc. maybe dropping the voltage.

'Always' finishes in 5:15 indicates that this is normal for your setup and environmental conditions. What is the time for a full charge on a Chargepoint?

Your title says 'normal' when it should be 'advertised'. The word 'approximately' also appears on the Volt official site. Maybe we're being too literal here?

Charging a battery is an analog process in a digital society. Bound to be some perception differences.

 

[Sean-a-Tron]

Battery management will draw charging current to cool/heat the battery as needed, this will slightly increase charge times.

Is the 5:15 actual charge times or just estimates? In my experience (in Gen 1), the estimated fully charged time is always 30 minutes over if your car is parked in a cool place. Out in the blazing sun or in cold conditions, it'll be close or possibly even longer.

If you're charging at home and don't need it fully charged until the next day. I recommend setting up delayed charging. It's much more efficient since most power plants are idling, and it's much cooler out, so less BMS cooling needed.

 

[skyvo]

Hey Guys! Thanks for all of the replies!

So I think this is the main problem - this is a work "Tech Park" with a bunch of buildings, most likely using 3-phase 208v. I'll verify this tomorrow, but that seems to be the exact symptom of my charging "delay".

Location is Redwood City, CA and temps are around 70F-80F right now.

I suppose there really isn't any good solution for increasing to 240 here.. I suppose that all of our transformers and circuit panels are all wired the same so I'm not sure if there is anything else I'll be able to do.

I'm open to suggestions but thanks again to everyone who helped figure this out!