Two questions about public charging

[hungerdunger]

Since we had our ID.3 about three weeks ago, we've done most of our charging at home. However, last week my wife undertook a 360 mile round trip during which she had to charge up at three different Ecotricity charging stations. According to Zapmap they are all rated at either 43kWh or 50kWh. However looking at Ecotricity's emailed receipts, (which show the charging time and kWhs charged) it appears that the charging rate was around 11.5kWh on all of them.

Knowing virtually nothing about these things I'd assumed that a 50kWh charger would shove 50kWhs of charge into the car in an hour, so what am I missing here? By the way the car was thoroughly warmed up on each occasion, the battery wasn't below 20% at start of charging and she didn't charge it above around 70%.

My second question is about Tesla charging stations. I understand that they use the same plugs as the ID.3, but are we allowed to use any of them?

[Deleted User 192]

Did you use the CCS connector or just the Type 2 connector at those chargers? What mph charge rate did the car show at the time of the charges?

As for Tesla, some of their stations have slower points that are free for all to use, using the Type 2 connector - they are coloured differently to the Tesla-only points.

[hungerdunger]

They were Type 2. Unfortunately I can't tell you the mph charge. (She's not interested in things like that). But even the Type 2 are shown on Zapmap as 43kWh.

Thanks for the info on Tesla.

[Deleted User 192]

That’s why they weren’t rapid charges, you were using AC rather than DC. Always use CCS when that connector is available.

[hungerdunger]

I've found the answer my own question (although possibly I should have known this already) at https://www.zap-map.com/charge-points/v ... ing-guide/.

Here's what they say:

The VW ID.3 is fitted with an 11 kW on-board charger for Type 2 AC charging as standard. This means that even when connected to a fast charger with a rated output above 11 kW, the VW ID.3 will only be able to charge at up to 11 kW. VW ID.3 models are capable of ultra-rapid charging at up to 100 kW DC.

[Deleted User 192]

That’s exactly what I meant by my replies.

[OllyExeterID3]

That’s exactly what I meant by my replies.

Yep - as per scott28tt above - if you plug in to the AC charger you will always get a slower charge because of the onboard charger. Always choose CCS when looking for a rapid charge to get those speeds.

Happened to me the first time I tried to use a rapid charge on my i3 - ended up taking over an hour just to get a tiny bit of charge. If in doubt, filter ZapMap by CCS 50kw/100kw to find suitable chargers

[Nick Jan]

This is interesting information, as I have not used a fast-charge station yet. To be clear, when using the CCS connection for DC current, do the fast charging stations have tethered CCS connecting cables? I hope so, as I certainly don't have one!

[OllyExeterID3]

This is interesting information, as I have not used a fast-charge station yet. To be clear, when using the CCS connection for DC current, do the fast charging stations have tethered CCS connecting cables? I hope so, as I certainly don't have one!

Yes they do CCS is distinctive in appearance - not all rapid chargers have CCS (or rather not all older models like some of those Ecotricity have) so it is worth using ZapMap to find them. It is fast becoming the European standard so they are everywhere now.

So effectively you arrive at a CCS charger, open the charge port of the car, remove the plastic cover from the lower part of the connector and then charge as normal (via app, contactless, fob etc).

Most importantly, CCS is the only method of getting the speeds that are posted here - 50kw most common with 100 and 150kw becoming more common now.

Both ZapMap and Fully Charged have great videos on their websites as introductions to charging methods.

[digital]

We have some free Engie fast chargers around here with access through their website. Once I have clicked on the 'Charge' button on the website and plugged the cable in, would I need to swipe 'Charge' on the We Connect ID app?

[Deleted User 192]

We have some free Engie fast chargers around here with access through their website. Once I have clicked on the 'Charge' button on the website and plugged the cable in, would I need to swipe 'Charge' on the We Connect ID app?

The light next to the connector should turn green without you doing anything in the app, indicating that charging has begun.

I believe the use of that option in the app is to manually start and stop a charge remotely when you've left the car plugged in at home.