EV6 Charging Quirks and Features

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › EV6 Charging Quirks and Features

1 | 2 | 3

dklong

167 posts

Master Geek

#2985527 20-Oct-2022 22:28

I have to say that you are lucky to have 3 phase in your new build so well done if you specified it that way! :-)

I'm installing a 7.4kW charger with a 32amp circuit breaker and even that is requiring an upgrade to my fuse box! I suspect once you get your connections right you will be humming along and will easily charge up once a week or less.

Enjoy!

Scott3

3963 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2985633 21-Oct-2022 00:38

Was surprised to see the lower pins present. Was expecting to see a plug like the one in the photo below. Obviously, I was wide of the mark in my prior comment.

Type 2 Electric Car Charging Plugs

As per the other comment that wire doesn't have enough conductors to do three phases.

Three fat (6mm^2) conductors will be for Phase 1, Neutral & Earth. Two of the three skinny (0.5mm^2) conductors will be for the two communications lines. No idea what the last skinny conductor is for, but 0.5mm^2 is only really big enough for communications in the context of EV charging.

edge:

So, one last (I think!) question. I'm a bit confused as to the suitability of the plug. If all the pins seem to be there but it still says 32A/250V and 2P+e - are these two things mutually exclusive?? i.e. could the plug function correctly in 3-phase mode drawing 11kW if the cable was correct?

Thanks again for all the sage advice :-)

My gut feeling would be no, given they went to the effort to mold "2P + E" only the case. But really not possible to tell from photos.

Should note that many EV plugs are not rewire-able. Some (like the one I pictured above) are even resin-filled to further improve waterproofness/durability.

Suspect you will need a whole new cord / plug assembly.

Verify the nameplate of the wall box to check you actually got the three-phase version of that, and verify that there is a three-phase breaker on the circuit board (a three wide unit). Seems odd that it is just the cable wrong.

edge

423 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2985848 21-Oct-2022 13:28

The plot thickens. I took @scott3 's advice and looked at the nameplate (see below).

Found a document on wallbox.com that explained how the PN number related to features. Turns out the second "2" (after PLP1-0-2) indicates max power of 7.4kW - so looks like it might be a whole new unit. I guess just confirms the 230VAC / 32A and 1P+N+PE.

The supplier got back on my original query re the cable and offered to swap it out - he said they came straight from Wallbox and he also assumed it would be 3-phase. Apparently the 7m cable is only single phase!! Now we know :-) Anyway, have queried him again about the info on the unit nameplate to confirm we need to swap that out as well as the cable. We will get there in the end!! Meanwhile I will still have a slower 4.5kW for now (can't be bothered getting sparky back to reset internal switch to 32A if we are replacing the whole unit!). Lesson learnt (again) - don't assume anything

Thanks again for all the assistance!

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
— most commonly attributed to Jonathan Swift, author/theologian

Dingbatt

6754 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

#2985903 21-Oct-2022 16:42

When you finally get it sorted, can you précis your experience and result and post it in the EVSE thread please?

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=162&topicid=293309

That way others may avoid being caught by the same thing.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

edge

423 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2986010 22-Oct-2022 09:16

Dingbatt:

When you finally get it sorted, can you précis your experience and result and post it in the EVSE thread please?

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=162&topicid=293309

That way others may avoid being caught by the same thing.

Good idea - will do. Might be a week away, as per comments below.

Just a brief update. Supplier is shipping a new 5m 3-phase cable on Tues so will see how we get on. He has apparently checked with Wallbox (or their local distributor I guess) and has apparently confirmed that the unit I have is 3-phase capable (I know is is wired as 3-phase input so just have to hope/assume that output can also be!). Just have to take their word for it - despite the label information. Sparky is due back to do some work Friday so will see how it goes then when he puts the new cable in.

Again - really appreciate all the help in pinning down the issue.

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
— most commonly attributed to Jonathan Swift, author/theologian

Jase2985

13457 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2986091 22-Oct-2022 13:02

im sorry but i would not be using the wall unit in a 3 phase configuration, even if it did work when the tally plate clearly says its a single phase ~7Kw unit. it should say 415v and 11/22kw on it if it were a 3 phase unit

edge

423 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2986198 22-Oct-2022 14:07

Jase2985:

im sorry but i would not be using the wall unit in a 3 phase configuration, even if it did work when the tally plate clearly says its a single phase ~7Kw unit. it should say 415v and 11/22kw on it if it were a 3 phase unit

Thanks. I am definitely a bit nervous! I have fired off a separate email to Transnet who appear to be the Wallbox distributors/assemblers in NZ to see what they say about it.

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
— most commonly attributed to Jonathan Swift, author/theologian

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

dklong

167 posts

Master Geek

#2986315 22-Oct-2022 17:12

@edge

Out of interest, even with only 4.5kW charging, have there been many times where you haven't been able to recharge to 80/90% overnight?

Not saying you shouldn't get this sorted properly but on my usage I would have expected that was still quite a useful charge at home. More is always better but...?

I'd also tend to agree with @Jase2985 and expect them to replace the base unit with one that said it was designed for 3-phase!

edge

423 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2986332 22-Oct-2022 19:09

dklong:

@edge

Out of interest, even with only 4.5kW charging, have there been many times where you haven't been able to recharge to 80/90% overnight?

Not saying you shouldn't get this sorted properly but on my usage I would have expected that was still quite a useful charge at home. More is always better but...?

I'd also tend to agree with @Jase2985 and expect them to replace the base unit with one that said it was designed for 3-phase!

Only had the car for about 3 weeks and haven't done big mileage yet - too busy with lots of things to finish off the new build!! But you're right, 4.5kW is not the end of the world (indeed, if I got the sparky to change the internal setting to 32A (its currently set to 20A) then I could get 7.4 off the current setup. But you're also right that I subscribe to the theory that more is better if you can get it!! 11kW is good for now but who knows what might make use of 22kW in future🙂 Will wait to see what Transnet say about the base unit but, as you say, I would be happier of they replaced it (or at least confirmed that the label is screwy and they all do 3-phase!!).

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
— most commonly attributed to Jonathan Swift, author/theologian

dklong

167 posts

Master Geek

#2994212 10-Nov-2022 07:26

Back to the original topic... I tested trickle charging to 80% instead of 90% the other night. Came out in the morning and it had still overshot to 81% but not as bad as it did when set to 90% (went to 92/93%).

I finally got my 7kW wall charger installed yesterday so will be interesting to see if it exhibits the same behaviour.

edge

423 posts

Ultimate Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#2999818 22-Nov-2022 14:58

Just a quick update on all the issues noted above with my Wallbox Pulsar Plus installation. Initially Transnet said the unit was 1P and 3P capable despite labels etc. They sent a new 3P cable which my sparky fitted in place of the 1P cable originally supplied, but we still were only getting 1P. Briefly got 7kW but it obviously blew the 20A (3P) breaker as it was only running on 1P at 32A. Had sparky back yesterday and I rang Transnet expert to discuss, with the unit opened up! It (finally) turns out that the units that they received from about 3 months or so ago did not appear to be able to do 1P and 3P in the same unit (Transnet apparently hadn't been notified about this by Wallbox). So something in the electronics does not allow 3P in this batch of units (whereas they used to), even though all the wiring etc is present for 3P. So now Transnet have some new specific 3P units on order and will swap it out for me when they arrive, hopefully before Xmas. Problem solved - finally :-) Thanks for everyone's input.

As suggested by @Dingbatt, will also summarise in the EVSE thread for completeness.

"It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of what he was never reasoned into."
— most commonly attributed to Jonathan Swift, author/theologian

1 | 2 | 3