Tesla app now allows a full 10A (2.3-2.4kw) from a tesla charger on a standard wall plug?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Tesla app now allows a full 10A (2.3-2.4kw) from a tesla charger on a standard wall plug?

robjg63

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#306804 22-Aug-2023 22:17

We have had our Tesla model Y around 2 months now.
We use the regular Tesla 'Mobile connector' - ie the charger that goes in a normal wall outlet.
So I noticed when I first plugged it in, it would always show 8A in the mobile app - about 12km/h charge rate.
The app has a little slider thing that lets you drop it down as low as 5A - but 8A was the max.

When I looked at the charger manual, it says:
AU 10 - 8A 1.8 kW - so figured 8A was the most you could get out of a regular power outlet in this part of the world.

(For some reason the UK and Switzerland show a 10A plug that can draw 10A and 2.2kw).

Plugged the car in tonight and had a look on the app and noticed it was showing 10A ~230v 15km/h (so around 2.3kw) which I have never seen before.

Anyone else notice that anything has changed recently?
What maximum do you get out of a regular power outlet

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toejam316

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#3119188 22-Aug-2023 22:26

Standard AU/NZ outlets are 10A 230v, so they might have been conservative but decided it's fine to max out.

Anything I say is the ramblings of an ill informed, opinionated so-and-so, and not representative of any of my past, present or future employers, and is also probably best disregarded.

jonathan18

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#3119190 22-Aug-2023 22:34

I read on an NZ Tesla Facebook group that newish UMCs have had a recent firmware update that allows them to now charge at the full 10A.

This is just allowing them to do something earlier UMCs already can - I'm pretty sure mine (owned the car a year) has been able to do it since close to day one, so I didn't read more closely. (I think it took a day or two to enable full speed charging - remember they can do 16A with the supplied caravan socket, which works a treat.)

Happy to find the info tomorrow and copy it here if no-one has provided the real oil by then...

Mehrts

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#3119195 22-Aug-2023 22:45

Yep, the 2023.26.7 update finally allowed mobile connectors that were recently commissioned to output their max current of 10A/15A depending on the tail used vs 8A/12A. For some reason prior to this update, the mobile connector update just wouldn't apply.

Older connectors already had the update carried out a year or two ago, so didn't have this problem. Even older connectors only came with 8A & 10A tails, so they were unable to be "upgraded" by firmware.

Mine was also affected, and I found it strange that it was stuck at 8A when I'd used other connectors on rental cars prior to mine that worked at the full 10A. I replaced an outlet in my garage with a standard 15A one, which allows me to charge at the higher rate for only $25.

michaelmurfy

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#3119197 22-Aug-2023 23:03

You also need to get your car to complete charging for the firmware update of the mobile connector to happen. So when I got my car last year the first thing I did was charge it to nearly 50% off my big boy charger then set my charge limit as that and plugged in the mobile connector. When it stopped charging it did a firmware update unlocking full 10/15a.

But getting to the charge limit even if set to 50% at 8a is very slow 😊

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Scott3

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#3119198 22-Aug-2023 23:17

For context the worksafe EV charging guidelines state the following:

https://www.worksafe.govt.nz/laws-and-regulations/regulations/electrical-regulations/regulatory-guidance-notes/electric-vehicle-charging-safety-guidelines/

While the guidelines aren't mandatory, most EVSE vendors choose to stick with 8A on their domestic socket chargers (a key exception being Hyundai / Kia which have plug temperature monitoring and run at the full 10A).

I don't know if the Tesla mobile charger has temperature monitoring

NZ 10A sockets are rated for 10A continuous, so I guess the writer of the guidelines decided to err on the side of caution.

On 15A AS/NZS 3112 sockets, these were initially the go to plug / socket type the early Nissan leaf's in NZ. Something more than 10A was needed to handle the draw from the factory charge cords that came from japan. Sadly despite being rated for 15A continuous it turned out that this plug socket pair did poorly for that duty in the real world. As such the Blue 16A caravan plug became the new plug of choice.

Would be reluctant to max out a 15A socket without temperature monitoring.

Photo from social media (2015)

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Now widely known that the voltage rating on the japan charge cords makes them illegal to sell in NZ, even though they were of high quality, so the caravan port is becoming less common.

michaelmurfy

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#3119201 22-Aug-2023 23:37

@Scott3 The Tesla mobile connector has temperature monitoring, low voltage cutoff (it'll actually reduce charge current automatically if it detects a voltage drop) and a whole lot of safety smarts.

robjg63

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#3119233 23-Aug-2023 08:19

Thanks folks - I initially thought I was seeing things when it showed 10A.

I saw some other chargers that all said 8A limit as well and figured that must just have been the max allowed in NZ.

Makes the wall plug a little quicker - I would certainly make the 15A socket look more useful if the charger actually outputs the whole 15A.

That would be around 21-22km/h charge rate - might investigate that.

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jonathan18

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#3119253 23-Aug-2023 09:13

robjg63:

Thanks folks - I initially thought I was seeing things when it showed 10A.

I saw some other chargers that all said 8A limit as well and figured that must just have been the max allowed in NZ.

Makes the wall plug a little quicker - I would certainly make the 15A socket look more useful if the charger actually outputs the whole 15A.

That would be around 21-22km/h charge rate - might investigate that.

I think upgrading a power point to 15A is a no-brainer if you own a Tesla and don't need the speed of a 'fast' home charger; as highlighted in a Mehrt's post above, the cost can be negligible, and the 50% faster charging does make a significant difference (especially when you've beeen charging at 8A!).

I've had my MY for a year now and have not once felt it worth spending at least $4k to put in a wall charger. Most of the time the 10A from our garage is more than adequate to keep my car appropriately charged; for the rare times I want more range (eg, after getting back from a long trip) I just charge where my wife charges her Leaf using the Tesla UMC with the caravan fitting.

heavenlywild

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#3119264 23-Aug-2023 09:33

I plug mine into the wall and get 2KW on my Model 3.

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empacher48

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#3119306 23-Aug-2023 11:20

This all came through on my mobile connectors over the last week, having had the model 3 for 2 months now and having to juggle charging at home and occasional fast charging to give the car a boost. Just in time for the EVNEX charger to be installed.

Insanekiwi

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#3119324 23-Aug-2023 11:41

Mobile charger at 15A is generally adequate for most people - I have a fast wall charger too; but I rarely use it. Probably last time I used it was like 3 months ago. One issue is that mine is 2nd version and the cable is thick and heavy so not as convenient.

Obraik

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#3119325 23-Aug-2023 11:44

They've been able to do this for around two years now, however there was a bug in recent software versions for the car over the last few months that prevented the car being able to update the UMC firmware. The latest update has fixed that bug.

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