It can be done by probably a software upgrade. The batteries can absorb a lot more than 3.3 kw per hour. Look
when you regenerate electricity going down a steep mountain the battery is absorbing as much as 45 kw or so.

If it can do that 6.6 kw should be a piece of cake.....

 

It can be done by probably a software upgrade.

This would presume that the charger electronics can handle twice the power/current/heat without being negatively effected. That seems to me to be unlikely.

 

there are many threads on this subject, some of them very entertaining- The short answer is no, as you wrote: it does not make any sense from a financial or systems engineering perspective. How much less gasoline would 100,000 volts use if they got a full charge in 2 hours instead of 4? probably not much when compared to the total fuel use of all GM vehicles on the road....

that said, you used the term "completely", Completely is a big word, covering a lot of territory.... do you have a pile of money lying around? I'm sure there are forum readers who would be willing to attempt this on your Volt with your money.... There might even be a few bits of unused systems management code in the volt written specifically for this situation...

 

Pile of money would go into a Tesla instead. Sometimes you get lucky like back in the day where one tiny piece of tape would increase your CPU performance by 50%. That same CPU would of cost $200 more if you just bought the faster model.

 

The charger is behind the right front fender, in front of the wheel.

It would have to be replaced with one that can supply twice the amps at the same voltage.

It would also have to be able to communicate properly with the charger cords, and also with the battery and other control modules on the car.

Since GM isn't yet making one that fits that spec, it is very unlikely that one could make something that would work.

 

Yes, out of the question for all practical purposes. Given enough time, money and a variety of specialized technical skills, I suppose anything is possible, but for 99.99999999999% of the people including the trained Volt technicians, the answer is no.

 

Anything could also be made a CNG as well, lots of frankenstein cars out there. It doesn't make sense to gut your Voltec system but if all it takes is a connector and a software (hopefully?) that would be sweet.

 

In the meantime Renault has a 43 kW AC charger onboard the tiny Zoe. That is 1 kW short of the giant Nissan CHAdeMO DCFC stations deployed by eVgo.

 

A 43Kw home charger? Seriously? That's just about 200 amps at 220 volts. Where I live, that means a complete separate service for the car. No thanks, that's going a bit too far.

 

I really don't see the point. Even reducing the charge time by HALF still means a full charge would take just a tick over 2 hours. What would you be trying to accomplish? If on a road trip I'm still not going to wait around a public charger for 2 hours just to go another 40 miles, then what do it all over again.

You bought a EREV not a BEV. While I avoid buring fuel whenever I can, I assure you when we get out on the open road to go somewhere time is money and I'll gladly burn a few gallons of fuel and just keep on trucking.

 

For some people, like me, a faster charger would work better. We frequently use up the full charge (and then some) on our work commute downtown. When we get home we have dinner and run errands, go to the park, ballgames, etc. It would be nice to juice up fully in two hours. Likewise, we also have the option of paying at public charge stations (BY THE HOUR) instead of energy. The Leaf or Tesla can grab more miles per hour than I can which makes my rate more expensive (not economical) to use electric vs gas.

I would be curious if the "hardware" can support the 6.6 charge rate.

 

I would be curious if the "hardware" can support the 6.6 charge rate.

As others have stated- the battery can handle it- look at the brake regen screen coming down from 65mph.
The rest of the current Volt equipment AC to DC converter/inverter/charger circuit and wiring most likely are only built for 3.3 charge rate because who overbuilds by 100% nowadays?
It's just one of those things that can be done if you throw enough money at it- but other than a proof of concept one-off vehicle I think we'll never see it in the Gen I Volt.

 

There's been a few Leaf owners who have managed to do it in their cars, though I don't know the details. It didn't look easy. Check out the Leaf forums.

I was hoping the Spark EV would come with a 6.6kW charger, seeing as a lot of their competition does now (new Leafs at least, not sure about others). Then there' be a chance we could retrofit a 6.6 Spark into the Volt. But instead, it looks like they just used the existing Volt 3.3kW charger in the Spark. Oh well, it would only help me a handful of times... nice, but not necessary for my usage. YMMV.

 

SAE Combo fast charge away from home and L2 at home is the new paradigm with recent Sparks. I am encouraged that there are five or six new installations in the state, a beginning. I think the i3 will hasten its acceptance.

 

vdiv,

"43 kW AC charger onboard the tiny Zoe"

Say what??? And you feed this charger with a 3" diameter cord that weighs 50 lbs?
You may have to upgrade your house's main service also.
I don't believe that statement.

On the Volt it would not be a SW upgrade. It would be a hardware upgrade. The Volt's charger is in the right front bumper area.

It's designed for 3.3Kw. It's water cooled. It's small enough to fit there, the wires to the battery would also have to be upgraded for this idea to work.

Just relax and enjoy L2 charging in 4 hours.

 

It is not a matter of belief, it is a matter of fact. You feed this little charger with a 3 phase 400V at 60A via a Mennekes Type 2 plug. It also works with single phase and lower current which is why Renault called it the "Chameleon charger".

Also home is not the only place where one can or would like to charge. In fact the reason why I have a car in the first place is so that I can be in places other than home. Being able to charge rapidly increases the number of these places and still allows me to drive an EV.

So yes it is possible in a car smaller than the Volt. There is a company that specializes in power electronics and they make similar chargers:

http://www.brusa.biz/index.php?id=147&L=1

 

Count me in the "I want faster charging!" camp. There have been dozens of times where I drove 15 or 20 miles on the genset because I only got 10 miles of additional range while charging during my lunch hour. I don't NEED it but I definitely WANT it. 6.6 kW is a minimum for my next electric car. 10 kW charge rates like the Rav4 EV would be even better. And I would pay for it as an optional upgrade.

 

Wow, so what is the C rate you are hitting the Zoe with when charging at 48Kw?
Eventually battery life has to be considered when hitting a battery with a hard charge.

 

I agree that the Volt's onboard charger that converts the AC input to the high voltage DC to charge the battery may not have the extra capacity to handle a higher wattage of input power. Anyone who has the service manual can locate the charger circuits and see the rating for the input wiring. For those who are ingenious and have excellent electrical skills, Electric Motor Werks (EMW), who sell the JuiceBox charger, also sell larger DC chargers (up to 15 KW), so buying a larger DC charger and adapting it to the Volt will be a bit of trouble but doable. See more at their web page:
http://emotorwerks.com/tech/electronics

Their largest DC charger can handle up to 400 VDC and up to 70 amps. That should handle all future Level 3 Fast DC charging needs for any BEV.

 

So you directly "adapt" a high power outboard DC charger into the Volt.

What do you do to control the temp to safely protect the battery the way the stock TMS does?

 

I would guess leaving the car "ON" while charging activates TMS. Every Volt has an ICE quick charger via Mountain Mode and regenerative braking and the stock TMS seems to work fine right? Unless you think TMS is only used for low power charging when the car is off?

 

faster charging at what expense.. my TMS activates lots even at 3.3 kw.. it would really be cranked into high gear running the air-conditioner.. and inside my garage the garage would get so hot that the TMS would maxx out and either slow down the charging or just use up lots of energy slowing down the charging.. esp on hot days

 

Car chargers are rated at max Kw.
When a Volt is charging on L2 it will draw a rock steady 3300 Watts, until the end of the charge. It may then ramp down (?).
When you hear the fans running and the AC compressor cycling on and off, the draw from the grid does not change.
The charge to the battery is reduced accordingly.

Remember, That is the sound of a Long Life Li-On battery pack !

 

It does indeed ramp down at the end sometimes with an uptick after the end of the charge cycle.

 

One of the leafers had adapted components from the leaf to upgrade the volt charging system.

Probably still just 3.3kw because the cars software commands the dumb chargers controls

 

Easiest way to do this would be to access the battery/regen circuit directly and use a 3rd party DC charger that "emulates" what the current is for the deceleration charge.

The individual cells "packs" control themselves internally and the battery pack is cooled independently too.