How to get faster charging?

[Ragman]

How can I increase the amount of kWh charging on the 350 kWh electrify America fast charger? When I used them on my trip it only charged at 12-34 kWh. Why would it not charge any higher? It seems that if the charging station is capable of 350 kWh then it should charge at that rate. I don’t want to wait for 45 minutes to charge when they advertise the charging stations charge for 15 minutes for 80 % charge.
Does anyone know how to increase the charging rate?

Short answer - go to Tesla

Long answer - I was told by the Manager of one of charging networks that EA and the F150 don’t play nice and in her reports she can see the chargers consistently only give Lightnings 50% power. I used a 150/180 kw EA last night and got 70kw. I plug into Tesla I get 160 kw (loaned out my adapter and screwed myself lol).

Your battery temp is also important, if it’s not at charging temp the truck itself will limit you to 40 kw.

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[Grease Lightning]

Lightning charging isn't great but it's "good enough" in my opinion. Everything is a compromise.

Totally agree. Outside of some SOC issues currently I love my lightning.

If I was always needing to charge on the road, it might matter more but so far I have always been able to just plan either shorter stops for people to use the facilities and do multiple or have one longer one planned around a meal.

 

[RickLightning]

Short answer - go to Tesla

Long answer - I was told by the Manager of one of charging networks that EA and the F150 don’t play nice and in her reports she can see the chargers consistently only give Lightnings 50% power. I used a 150/180 kw EA last night and got 70kw. I plug into Tesla I get 160 kw (loaned out my adapter and screwed myself lol).

Your battery temp is also important, if it’s not at charging temp the truck itself will limit you to 40 kw.

Have no idea who you spoke to, but that's simply a bullshit statement. If you want to know, simply get an OBD adapter and Car Scanner. You can see what the vehicle requests, and what the charger offers. You can then prove that she's full of crap.

I never heard of a 150/180 EA. They have 150 and 350s. I always try for the 350s with my truck, and take the 150s with the Mach-E if they're open.

Drove our Lightning to California and back in Spring. I saw EA speeds exceeding 170kW all the time.

 

[shelnian]

Not sure why they rate DCFC chargers in KW when they are actually max current chargers. I.E. the cables and hardware are rated for a maximum current. A 350KW charger will charger an 800VDC battery at 435A max (350000/800). So at 435A maximum it will only charge our 400VDC batteries at 175KW max (435x400).

 

[Mach Turtle]

Not sure why they rate DCFC chargers in KW when they are actually max current chargers. I.E. the cables and hardware are rated for a maximum current. A 350KW charger will charge an 800VDC battery at 435A max (350000/800). So at 435A maximum it will only charge our 400VDC batteries at 175KW max (435x400).

Good points, to which I'd add that as the battery voltage changes, a constant current charger will be pumping more power at higher voltage; however, lithium battery management systems (NMC at least) ask for less power at higher states of charge to preserve battery life.

As for why they rate chargers in kW, I think it's because even that level of complexity (kW vs. kWh) is about as much as most people are willing to learn. It's a bit like some CF and LED light bulb makers stating their energy use in units of "kWh per hour." They might have done something similar with charging ("this one does 150kWh per hour!") but then customers would be understandably flummoxed by the constantly changing charging rates.

 

[jamelski]

But also never assume Electrify America's equipment is functioning properly. Many times it isnt, hence why every owner wants to charge at Tesla.

F TRASHLA. You can use them but don’t say every owner simply not true and many like me won’t use them

 

[Newton]

The Lightning is a generation or two back in charging technology, it is the Hyundai/Kia vehicles (and some others) that can charge to 85% in 15 minutes. They are also much more efficient, use smaller batteries and thus recharge faster.

There is not much point going to the 350 kW chargers with the Lightning, and in fact the only times that I have noticed reduced charging speeds like you have experienced is with those higher powered chargers. I don’t know if it is a charger issue or a truck issue but if you can stick to the 150 kWs (which are actually 170 kW I have heard) you will not only make the Kia owners happier, it might work better.

How fast can the F-150 Lightning charge?
Using Direct Current (DC) fast charging:

• The 2024 F-150 Lightning Standard Range (98 kWh battery) can charge from 15-80% in about 32 minutes.*
• The 2024 F-150 Lightning Extended Range (131 kWh battery) can charge from 15-80% in about 38 minutes.*

Using Level 2 Alternating Current (AC) charging:

• The 2024 F-150 Lightning Standard Range (98 kWh battery) can charge from 15-80% in about 10 hours.*
• The 2024 F-150 Lightning Extended Range (131 kWh battery) can charge from 15-80% in about 13 hours.*

 

[flyin525]

F TRASHLA. You can use them but don’t say every owner simply not true and many like me won’t use them

Ok…the majority of owners then.

 

[rembrant]

As stated above, the best you will see is 170ish for about 10 minutes, BUT you should get over 100 unless you are at a high state of charge (over 80%). if you are getting 12-34 at a low state of charge, it has to be SUPER cold or hot, otherwise something isnt right.

But also never assume Electrify America's equipment is functioning properly. Many times it isnt, hence why every owner wants to charge at Tesla.

F TRASHLA. You can use them but don’t say every owner simply not true and many like me won’t use them

yes I have had problems with electrify America when the location that I was driving to stopped working when I got there i had to drive to another location 35 miles away and I had 36 miles range left and the route was uphill! I barely made it I had to turn off the air conditioner and slow down to 25 mph in the middle of nowhere in the desert, I got to Baker with 4% battery left!

 

[rembrant]

kWh is a quantity. kW is a rate. They are not interchangeable.

EA chargers have active cooling on the cables. If that fails so the cables have no cooling, they drop down to 35ish kW maximum as a fail safe. Sounds like that's what happened to you. Maybe a different charger at the same location would have run at full speed.

I guess that’s what happened because I was in the desert and it was like 105% out. Now that I know this information I’ll try a different charger. This was the first trip I’ve done in my lighting. This forum is great help for me being a newcomer to electric vehicles!

 

[potato]

I guess that’s what happened because I was in the desert and it was like 105% out. Now that I know this information I’ll try a different charger. This was the first trip I’ve done in my lighting. This forum is great help for me being a newcomer to electric vehicles!

It doesn't help that the whole industry is so far from mature. If the stations had proper real time status updates somewhere, on a screen or app or communicated to the truck when you plug in or something, they could flash a big warning that the station is delivering way less than the truck is asking for. Technologically it would certainly be easy, but charging infrastructure is the absolute bare minimum to get it mostly working. For now.

I'm sure it will improve but probably slower than most of us would like.

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