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Slow Level 2 Charging - Prime 2017

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Richard Carter, Sep 29, 2018.

  1. Richard Carter

    Richard Carter Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Puyallup, WA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Premium
    So, I do not know if anyone else has noticed this recently, but, over the past few weeks, my Prime will only charge at 2.1kWh. This means at a level 2 (6.6 kWh) station, it takes me over 3 hours to get a full charge. This has been seen at ChargePoint, Siemens, and even at Blink chargers. It will fill the battery up to it's standard 6 kWh, but, it takes 3 or more hours to do this.

    I contacted Toyota, and they said it it not something covered under normal warranty or extended warranty. They do not have a method of testing at my dealership as they have no charging stations.

    I have send the Blink and ChargepPoint logs to Toyota, but, they said there is nothing they can do with it.

    If anyone else has noticed this and has a resolution, please let me know, it would be nice to get a full charge out of my workplace chargers for a change (2 hour limits).
     
  2. Flaming

    Flaming Active Member

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    QC , Canada
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
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    Technology
    Make sure the charging setting in the car option is set at 12 amp instead of 8 amp ... even if they are for the 120V this setting will also affect L2 Charging speed. Make sure this is set at 12amp for the 120V and try the L2 again .. you should get the regular 16amp 240V speed ( 2 hours or so )
     
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  3. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
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    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    This may or may not be your problem, but there are some dual station EVSE units which reduce current when both cords are in use. This is usually because the units are on circuits which cannot deliver full current to both charging bays.

    ChargePoint explains this on its web site for property owners:

    As electric vehicles (EVs) become more prevalent, demand for EV charging infrastructure increases. Because few buildings were designed for EV charging, your building may not have sufficient electrical capacity to support all of the charging spots you want to install to meet growing demand for charging from customers, employees, visitors and other EV drivers.


    Because adding electrical capacity can be expensive, we developed Power Management software to let organizations install more EV charging stations, intelligently share existing power among them and avoid costly upgrades. Based on our assessment of the electrical capacity at your location, we can help you configure the maximum aggregate electrical load for each group of charging stations. ChargePoint® cloud services will intelligently manage the individual power output of each charging station (or port) to ensure the maximum load set is never exceeded.

    See: Power Management FAQ - ChargePoint
     
  4. Flaming

    Flaming Active Member

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    2017 Prius Prime
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    Technology
    Option A : Like Old Bear said the charging station you are using is shared or throttle your charging speed.


    Option B : Your charging setting is set at 8A

    Here's the proof of what i am saying , the 120V charging settings in the car ALSO affect the 240V .

    If i set to 8A ill get 8Amp on 120V but it's 6A on 240V
    If i set to MAX ill get 12A on 120V but it's 16A on 240V

    see the picture below ,

    I selected 8A in the menu and then i started a charge with my Level 2 Station i got 1.5 kWh ( 6.23A x 240V = 1500 )
    I selected MAX in the menu and then i started a charge with my Level 2 Station i got 3.2 kWh and charged in 2 hours as expected.

    240.jpg
     
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  5. DOHCtor

    DOHCtor Member

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2021
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    Location:
    Levis (Quebec city's south shore)
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    SE
    According to the Flo app for their charging stations, they do charge my Prime at 18Amps. (Sorry, thread revival!)

    Screenshot_20220329-171715_FLO.jpg
     
  6. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    This is purely speculation, but the screen shot you show indicates "Charging Power 18 A" which I assume is the maximum charging current which the charging station can deliver. The Prime draws 16 A maximum from a 240-volt Level 2 EVSE. (And as noted by Flaming, your Prime may draw at a lower current if you have set it to do so.)

    I also note on your screen shot "power sharing - active" which I would interpret as meaning that the charging station may be sharing its capacity among multiple vehicles connected to it. If this is the case, each vehicle would have access to only a fraction of the advertised 18 amp capacity.

    Using the Prime's OEM charging cable plugged into a standard 120 volt outlet -- and with the Prime set to MAX for 12A at 120 volts -- you should be able to bring your Prime from fully discharged to fully charged in about five and a half hours. You may want to see if this is the case and, if so, the problem may be with the Level 2 charging station and not with the Prime.
     
  7. DOHCtor

    DOHCtor Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Levis (Quebec city's south shore)
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    SE
    Weirdly enough, my Prime seems to be allergic to most lvl2 power station now.. The vanilla 120v one that i got don't give me trouble however..

    Go figure..