Stuck on 8Amp charging

[gloright]

Hi, I just got a new 2018 Outlander Phev! Just discovered this great forum full of wisdom XD. However, I've been encountering a problem where my level 1 plug-in charger (the one that came with the car) is stuck on 8A no matter how much or long I press on the change charge speed button, it'll never go to 12A charging. I know the plug is rated for 15A, and I also tried it on various plugs, at my home or other places, but no luck so far. Wonder if I got a defective charger or I'm just using it the wrong way.
Also, does it make a difference on battery saving wise to charge at 8A compared to 12A? I looked up various websites for EV maintenance and got quite some different data, the only consensus seem to be that don't quick charge often and don;t keep the battery 100% or 0%.
Finally, does the remote app or a function in the car the limit the charging capacity to 80~90% rather then 100% all the time.

Cheers

 

[Tai626]

This forum is great. More than 5 years of knowledge deposited in English, from mostly 240V countries, thou.
If I could read Japanese, then 100V in another forum.

You probably got a defective OEM EVSE. Call you dealer. 12A should be a little more efficient than 8A.

And no, we cannot limit the battery SoC (state of charge). It is only 10kWh.

Just think that Government paid this first pack (Fed Tax Credit) so use it at fullest!

Tai

 

[yardbird88]

Defect!

 

[glennbtw]

On mine I have to select 12A before I plug cord into car. Can't change after car is connected.

 

[yardbird88]

On mine I have to select 12A before I plug cord into car. Can't change after car is connected.

That's TRUE!

 

[minical]

On mine I have to select 12A before I plug cord into car. Can't change after car is connected.

I can confirm. I was dealing with the same problem and realized you have to select 12A on the brick prior to plugging it into the car. Thought mine was defective.

Once the car is charging there is no switching amperage.

If I know I'm not going anywhere for a while I will use 8A under the assumption it is "healthier" for the battery to slowly charge the battery.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

Charging the battery more slowly wastes far more energy. Any car will have a fixed power consumption to manage the charging. On our Zoe it's around 250W, which is tiny compared to a 43kW charge, but a significant part of a 1.5kW charge. Assuming it's similar on a PHEV, that's 12% wasted at 1.5kW

And I'm not sure that 8A or 12A is exactly "rapid" on a 12kWh battery