Can you adjust the charging current?

[Spin Doctor]

Hi all. Question: is it possible to adjust the charging current? For example, I have an 80A Tesla Wall Connector, which I intend using with a TeslaTap. But I don't necessarily want to charge at 80A all the time, I'd like to have the option to dial it down from the car or the app. Does that exist?

Apologies if this has been asked before, I've looked around but not seen it.

 

[Coltonw011]

Without changing the charger wiring to a 48A, unfortunately no. The car or app doesn’t allow that, it will accept what the charger is willing to give and the car can accept.

 

[lpinprov]

I believe the Wall Connector can be configured to deliver a lower current. You might need to swap out the breaker for a lower amperage breaker if the Tesla connector automatically detects that?

As you likely know, in the Tesla app you can dial down the charging amperage. Probably worth requesting that of Lucid for future improvements.

 

[Spin Doctor]

Thanks - yep. I might pop the cover off the wall connector and dial down the amperage; I'll need to open it up to configure the DIP switch for non-Tesla charging anyway.

@Bobby perhaps you can add this as a feature request on your excellent new website?

 

[Bobby]

Thanks - yep. I might pop the cover off the wall connector and dial down the amperage; I'll need to open it up to configure the DIP switch for non-Tesla charging anyway.

@Bobby perhaps you can add this as a feature request on your excellent new website?

Please DM me the feature request and reasons it’s desirable.

 

[Tâm]

Please DM me the feature request and reasons it’s desirable.

It's the flexibility for the driver to 1) choose the speed of charging and 2) dial down the allowable Amperes for the electrical outlet.

I've enjoyed the easy-to-use user-, software-adjustable charging Amperes since I bought my Tesla Model S in 2012 or the past 11 years so far.

By default, it charges at 80A for the wall connector and 40A for the mobile connector (Gen1 while Gen2 is lower) which is great and fast when I need the speed. However, I want to have the option to dial it down if I want to reduce the heat thus, the wear and tear of both electrical outlets and charging equipment.

On the other hand, when I visit my friends and relatives, they do have 240V 15A, and I can dial the car's Amperes down to 12A.

 

[chinesejpl]

For the older telsa chargers (gen 1+2) you have to manually adjust the amps on the charger itself. I had a gen 2 charger that I did that with. Unlike tesla, you cannot software limit the lucid charging amps on the app.

However, I traded my older tesla charger for a juicebox charger which has its own app. On this app I can change the current being delivered and its very easy. I decided to change chargers when I purchased the lucid because there are no approved tesla to j1772 adapters available (at least that I knew of) whereas there is an approved j1772 to tesla adapter available.

 

[Tâm]

...However, I traded my older tesla charger for a juicebox charger which has its own app. On this app I can change the current being delivered and its very easy...

Very nice! More options, flexibility, and ease of use are all good!

 

[Viking]

Has there been any updates to Lucid's software since 1 year ago to allow setting the charging current? I use Lucid's mobile charger at home on a NEMA 14-50. I have a 50 amp breaker. It draws 40 amps on charging. No problems. Still, I wonder if on a different charger Lucid might try to draw more than 40 amps. Lucid is capable of drawing up to 80 amps, right?

 

[Neurio]

Has there been any updates to Lucid's software since 1 year ago to allow setting the charging current? I use Lucid's mobile charger at home on a NEMA 14-50. I have a 50 amp breaker. It draws 40 amps on charging. No problems. Still, I wonder if on a different charger Lucid might try to draw more than 40 amps. Lucid is capable of drawing up to 80 amps, right?

That's not how it works. The amperage is always 80% of the rated breaker. For you to get 80 amps, you'd need to upgrade to a 100 amp breaker.

 

[Adnillien]

Has there been any updates to Lucid's software since 1 year ago to allow setting the charging current? I use Lucid's mobile charger at home on a NEMA 14-50. I have a 50 amp breaker. It draws 40 amps on charging. No problems. Still, I wonder if on a different charger Lucid might try to draw more than 40 amps. Lucid is capable of drawing up to 80 amps, right?

The current is limited by EVSE not the car. You are correct that the Lucid Air is capable of pulling up to 80A and will take whatever the EVSE will provide up to that 80A.

 

[Viking]

That's not how it works. The amperage is always 80% of the rated breaker. For you to get 80 amps, you'd need to upgrade to a 100 amp breaker.

I understand that. My Tesla has software to limit the draw. My question is has Lucid implemented this yet? As of 1 year ago, when this thread was started, Lucid did not have this software.

 

[hydbob]

I understand that. My Tesla has software to limit the draw. My question is has Lucid implemented this yet? As of 1 year ago, when this thread was started, Lucid did not have this software.

They do not.

 

[Sandvinsd]

I would love to have the ability to adjust the current via car software. Sometimes, I want to draw the full 19.2 kW for a quick charge. Other times I would like to have it draw a more mellow 9.9kw dipurign the overnight hours.

 

[tgerdes]

I would like this as well. When I had my NEMA 14-50 outlet installed, I didn't have access to a full 50 amps from my subpanel and the installer incorrectly assumed I would be able to adjust the pull from my car via the app, since that seems to be standard for other EVs. Since lucid does not support this, I now have to pay a bunch more money to have it re-installed and have electrical run from my main panel just to get my level 2 charger working without tripping a breaker.

 

[Spin Doctor]

I would like this as well. When I had my NEMA 14-50 outlet installed, I didn't have access to a full 50 amps from my subpanel and the installer incorrectly assumed I would be able to adjust the pull from my car via the app, since that seems to be standard for other EVs. Since lucid does not support this, I now have to pay a bunch more money to have it re-installed and have electrical run from my main panel just to get my level 2 charger working without tripping a breaker.

Isn't that a horrendous code violation on the part of your installer?

edit: if your wiring supports 30A, can you swap out the outlet for a 30A one and use the 30A adapter for your Lucid mobile connector?

 

[tgerdes]

Isn't that a horrendous code violation on the part of your installer?

I had a different electrician come out and asked him that question. He said there wasn't anything hazardous or dangerous, just that the circuit breaker would trip very easily.

if your wiring supports 30A, can you swap out the outlet for a 30A one and use the 30A adapter for your Lucid mobile connector?

Maybe? The guy literally just finished wiring everything for 50A, so it's too late for me. It could be a potential solution for someone else though. I thought I only had two adapters, one for a standard plug and one for 14-50. Is there a 3rd adapter I could have bought? I now see reference to a 14-30 adapter in the manual, but it only shows pictures of the 14-50 and 5-15 adapters that I received.

 

[tgerdes]

*sigh*. This certainly would have been cheaper, and 1/2 charging speed would have been fine for me since I don't drive much each day.

NEMA 14-30 Charging Adapter

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[Tim-in-CA]

This is why I went with Wallbox Pulsar Plus for both of my chargers. I like the flexibility of changing charging amperage in the Wallbox app to optimize charge rate to match excess solar production to bypass grid usage as much as possible. Fortunately, both Lucid and Rivian do not mind if output amperage changes over the charging session and will just take whatever the EVSE is providing them.

 

[DeaneG]

.. I like the flexibility of changing charging amperage in the Wallbox app to optimize charge rate to match excess solar production to bypass grid usage as much as possible. ...

In a couple months, I'm planning to swap my Chargepoint Home Flex out for an Enphase IQ charging station, which can automatically adjust its output to match excess solar production. In the best case you can minimize both drawing power from the grid, and selling power back to it, as long as your car has available capacity to store the energy.