Slow T8 charging

[Mattyfocus]

Just taken delivery of my ‘23 plate XC90 T8 recharge, and it’s only charging at 3.7kwh. My home wall charger (Zappi) will go up to 12kwh if needed, and all public chargers register the same. I’ve tried she’ll recharge, which go up to 22kwh. Charge time is 5-8 hrs, and it should be 2-3. Any ideas what’s wrong?

[Mattyfocus]

Forgot to mention, car has a built in 6.4kwh charger, according to Volvo website, and was the main reason I went for the recharge.

[Forg]

I think charging rate is measured in power, so kilowatts ... I think kilowatt-hours tells you how long that power can be applied?
I'm theoretically trained as a university-degreed electrical engineer & this stuff still confuses me ...

Anyhoo the reason I say that, is due to this page where it talks about kilowatts not kilowatt-hours:

Originally Posted by Volvo Cars

Charging Time

Note

• When using a charging station with an output higher than 3.6 kW, the maximum capacity of the hybrid car is 3.6 kW.

... and that's at odds with your expectation of 6.4kW.


Is it possible that what you have is:

• a 6.4kWh capacity battery, ie. which can hold 6.4kWh of charge
• which is capable of charging at a rate of 3.6kW

... now given that 6.4/3.6 is about 2, and you are expecting a 2-3 hour charging time, that does make sense (because the management of charging means it'll slow down near the end).
And if this is what you've got, then it looks as though everything is normal in terms of the kW and kWh ratings. The long charge time, though, I can't answer.

*edit*
Hmm, Google tells me that the 2023 Recharge has an 18.8kWh battery.

However if you search "volvo xc90 recharge uk 2023 charge rate", the answer comes back as 3.7kW, so yours sounds like it's doing the right thing.
That user-guide page I referenced above says that in hot or cold temps there's a lot of waiting-time as the battery's temperatures are managed, it could just be that. Although I don't know where your number of "6.4" comes from as I can't see it referenced anywhere, either for capacity (6.4kWh) or for charge rate (6.4kW).
Charging 18.8kWh at a rate of 3.6kW (or 3.7kW) is certainly going to take a bare minimum under perfect conditions of 18.8/3.7 = ~5hrs, but normally it'll be a bit longer as the battery temps are managed.

[Mattyfocus]

Thanks Forg. The 6.4kwh on-board charger is mentioned on the Volvo website, and in several reviews. Which have noted that the improved charger (older version had a 3.7kwh) decreases charge time significantly. Chargers like a wall box or Shell are charge for example will charge the car up to the rate of the on-board charger. The figures that Volvo provide for charge times are apparently out of date, an or refer to the 22 model that had the 3.7kw on board charger. Mine is supposed to have the 18kw battery, and the 6.4kw charger. It does have the battery, as a full charge is saying 44 miles once full.

[Forg]

Maybe give Volvo Cars a call ... their website page claims to have been updated on the 23rd January 2023 yet still only 3.6kW maximum charge-rate.

To be sure I did search around, and the page I linked earlier may not be relevant as this page here is the "Late 2023" page for the UK market:
https://www.volvocars.com/uk/support...a801516eae467a
... but it's the same info.

It may just be the marketing department falling behind ... but it explains your charge times if the charger is NAMED "6.4kW Type 2" yet is for some reason limited to 3.6kW.
Most likely the website data is old, but they may be able to help you with whatever's slowing it down (like ... I dunno, maybe you even need to go into config & enable full rate charging for some reason that I don't understand?).

[Mty2608]

Originally Posted by Forg

Maybe give Volvo Cars a call ... their website page claims to have been updated on the 23rd January 2023 yet still only 3.6kW maximum charge-rate.

To be sure I did search around, and the page I linked earlier may not be relevant as this page here is the "Late 2023" page for the UK market:
https://www.volvocars.com/uk/support...a801516eae467a
... but it's the same info.

It may just be the marketing department falling behind ... but it explains your charge times if the charger is NAMED "6.4kW Type 2" yet is for some reason limited to 3.6kW.
Most likely the website data is old, but they may be able to help you with whatever's slowing it down (like ... I dunno, maybe you even need to go into config & enable full rate charging for some reason that I don't understand?).

Hi as far as I can make out a Hybrid can only be charged at 3.6kW regardless of size of your charger. I have a 7.2 Charger but my hybrid only charges at 3.6

[Mattyfocus]

Spoken to Volvo today, definitely a 6.4kw on board charger. There must be an issue

[Mattyfocus]

No, you can definitely charge a hybrid at a higher rate than 3.7, it’s to do with the onboard charger, not the charge you put into it. The x5 has a 7kw on board charger. And Volvo confirmed today, the 2023 model has a 6.4 kWh, with an 18.1 kw battery

[Forg]

Hmmm ... what about settings in the charger?

I don't know what model your is, but according to this user manual:
https://www.gregorheating.co.uk/wp-c...anual-v1-2.pdf

For example:

Originally Posted by Zappi Manual

Supply Grid – Grid Limit

Ordinarily the Grid Limit would be set to OFF, in some cases however, limiting of the grid import level can be an advantage.

For example a property may have a grid supply limit of only 12kW. 10kW is being consumed by other appliances and the user wants to charge the EV in FAST mode at 7kW. In this case, the total consumption (17kW) would exceed the maximum allowed import (12kW). However, with a Grid Limit setting of 12kW, zappi would limit the charging power (to 5kW in this case) and therefore the maximum allowed import power will not be exceeded.

You could test whether it was your car, or the charger (including an incompatibility between the two), by going to a commercial charging-point and paying a few £ to buy some electrons, and see how quickly they pour in?


So Volvo only confirmed the size of the charger, but had nothing to suggest about settings that might need checking? Or were they "go to dealer, do not pass go, do not collect £200"?

[Mattyfocus]

Hi. My home charger will charge up to a maximum of 12kw. I’ve plugged it into 5 different commercial chargers. Shell Recharge, BP, and others. Some with a maximum of 22kw. All of them give a charge time of around 5-6 hours. Which means the on board charger is at fault. I’m fully aware that the SHOULD take up to and no more than 6.4, but it’s not.