[icsh]

The original EVSE that comes with the car is just 10 Amps, which is too slow for me, so I purchased a 16 Amp cable, which is perfect for me.
So far, a normal day for me is driving down to between 55% and 60% state of charge during the day, and then plugging in with the 16 A EVSE charging up to 80%. This works perfectly.

But on heavier driving days, I might drive down to 40%-45% state of charge, and that's when I have a problem. When I am under 50% (I'm not exactly sure where the threshold is), the car gets greedy and pulls too much current from my 16 Amp EVSE, so the EVSE shuts down and reports a current fault, and refuses to let the car charge. To fix this, I use my original 10 Amp cable until the state of charge climbs above 50%, then I plug in my 16 A charger which fills me up quickly the rest of the way up to 80%.

It seems to me like the car's charging curve respects the 16 Amp current limit when it's above 50% SOC, but ignores it when it's below. I brought it in to VW for an investigation, and they told me "a non-factory 16amp charger may or may not work 100 percent of the time with your vehicle".

I imagine that most of you that need more than 10 Amps go ahead and install level 2 EVSEs. But I don't need level 2 charging, all I need is my Level 1 charger to work at 16 amps, so at this point I would guess I'm one of only a few customers using 16 Amps. But if anybody starts using 16 amp EVSE, please let me know if you also experience overcurrent faults when charging a mostly empty battery.

 

[wtatun]

Set the “reduced current” setting? Since the car can draw 48amps, maybe this setting will help. Don’t know - just saw the setting there and figured I’d mention.

 

[icsh]

Set the “reduced current” setting? Since the car can draw 48amps, maybe this setting will help. Don’t know - just saw the setting there and figured I’d mention.

I still have my original 10 A charger which works well even when I'm charging up from 40%. But it's good that you bring this up, because if I didn't have that 10 A charger, I think you're right, the best thing would be to enable the "Reduce AC charg. current" feature until my state of charge climbs above 50%.


Here's what the manual says about that feature:

"Reduce the charging current, e.g. when several large items of electrical equipment are being operated via the same circuit (AC charging). The charging current is 8 A."

 

[Spin]

You can make an adaptor and use the supplied EVSE with a 220 outlet and double the charging speed. Check out DanM's thread.

US ID.4 included EVSE charger

So it's an emergency charger? That's fine, but that could still be accomplished with a combo charger, like the Audi one. Plenty of EV's come with combo chargers, like my friend's Leaf, so it feels like VW was cutting corners there. It doesn't make sense that my two Audi PHEV's will have come...

www.vwidtalk.com

 

[icsh]

You can make an adaptor and use the supplied EVSE with a 220 outlet and double the charging speed. Check out DanM's thread.

US ID.4 included EVSE charger

So it's an emergency charger? That's fine, but that could still be accomplished with a combo charger, like the Audi one. Plenty of EV's come with combo chargers, like my friend's Leaf, so it feels like VW was cutting corners there. It doesn't make sense that my two Audi PHEV's will have come...

www.vwidtalk.com

This is interesting, but not the topic of this thread.

Any electric car should negotiate a maximum current with the EVSE and never exceed that current. In my case, either my 16 Amp EVSE is failing to tell the car the limit is 16 amps, or the car is simply ignoring the limit. At this point, I don't know which, but I suspect it's the latter. Just putting this out there in case other drivers try out 16 amp charging.

 

[Spin]

The original EVSE that comes with the car is just 10 Amps, which is too slow for me

This is interesting, but not the topic of this thread.

I figured if you knew the supplied EVSE could be used on 220 it would solve your problem of being too slow.

 

[icsh]

I figured if you knew the supplied EVSE could be used on 220 it would solve your problem of being too slow.

I do appreciate it, but you're making some assumptions. One is that I have a problem of being too slow, which I don't as 16 A is fine for me. The second is that I have access to 220V, which I don't.

I have 120V 20A outlet and a 16A EVSE, which works very well for me. The only think I need is for my car to stop trying to pull more than 16A and tripping the current fault on my EVSE.

 

[JimmyVW]

This is interesting, but not the topic of this thread.

Any electric car should negotiate a maximum current with the EVSE and never exceed that current. In my case, either my 16 Amp EVSE is failing to tell the car the limit is 16 amps, or the car is simply ignoring the limit. At this point, I don't know which, but I suspect it's the latter. Just putting this out there in case other drivers try out 16 amp charging.

What brand and type of EVSE is it?

 

[SunWizard]

16A is the limit for any L1 charger. It could be the charger is not capable to output 16A. How do you know the car is drawing more than this? One way to confirm is to put an ammeter or power meter on the outlet. Another way would be a dongle on the car and use EVnotify to show the charge rate in KW.

I think @Nai3t and others here have been charging at 120v 16a with other EVSE with no problems.

 

[icsh]

What brand and type of EVSE is it?

Amazon.com: MEGEAR 2021 Gen2 Updated Version Level 1 EV Charger (110V, 16A, 25ft), Portable EVSE Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station (NEMA5-15 Plug) : Automotive

Buy MEGEAR 2021 Gen2 Updated Version Level 1 EV Charger (110V, 16A, 25ft), Portable EVSE Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station (NEMA5-15 Plug): Automotive - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

MEGEAR 2021 Gen2 Updated Version Level 1 EV Charger (110V, 16A, 25ft), Portable EVSE Home Electric Vehicle Charging Station (NEMA5-15 Plug)

 

[icsh]

16A is the limit for any L1 charger. It could be the charger is not capable to output 16A. How do you know the car is drawing more than this? One way to confirm is to put an ammeter or power meter on the outlet. Another way would be a dongle on the car and use EVnotify to show the charge rate in KW.

That's interesting, I did not know that 16 A is the limit anyway.

How do I know it's drawing more than this? Because when the car is around 40% and I plug in the cable, the vehicle's charge indicator light might show green for a few seconds then it shows red light. When that happens I can see on the EVSE displays the fault code "NG2: AC Current Error". I don't have an ammeter, but I presume the EVSE's own ammeter reading is what's causing it to throw the error code.

 

[Nai3t]

I'll make a point of checking this. I've tested the ID.4 with 16 amps using my Duosida EVSE, but not at that low a state of charge.

I'd want to know more about what's happening. Have you been able to measure the current being pulled during this scenario?

I ask because current detection is not part of the J1772 charging standard. Some makers add this feature, but many (my L2 Clipper Creek for one) do not.

In other words, if the car pulls more amperage than the EVSE advertises, the EVSE is unable to detect it. The circuit breaker is the only overcurrent protection.

VW's response sounds like an easy out, "we only guarantee VW products," but I don't believe that's true. I'm much more likely to suspect the EVSE has an issue. But the less than 50% condition muddies that supposition.

There is the equivalent of a GFCI inside EVSEs that senses for current mismatches, but again, why under 50% but not at 70%?

I think to diagnose the easiest way to to verify by testing with another brand of 16A EVSE. My suspicion is that makes the problem disappear. Or you can start measuring current. If VW is pulling to much, that's a safety issue. There's no requirement a VW EVSE be used to charge this car.

 

[SunWizard]

I presume the EVSE's own ammeter reading is what's causing it to throw the error code.

That's a bad presumption. A much better presumption is a badly designed EVSE.

 

[icsh]

I'll make a point of checking this. I've tested the ID.4 with 16 amps using my Duosida EVSE, but not at that low a state of charge.

I'd want to know more about what's happening. Have you been able to measure the current being pulled during this scenario?

I ask because current detection is not part of the J1772 charging standard. Some makers add this feature, but many (my L2 Clipper Creek for one) do not.

In other words, if the car pulls more amperage than the EVSE advertises, the EVSE is unable to detect it. The circuit breaker is the only overcurrent protection.

VW's response sounds like an easy out, "we only guarantee VW products," but I don't believe that's true. I'm much more likely to suspect the EVSE has an issue. But the less than 50% condition muddies that supposition.

There is the equivalent of a GFCI inside EVSEs that senses for current mismatches, but again, why under 50% but not at 70%?

I think to diagnose the easiest way to to verify by testing with another brand of 16A EVSE. My suspicion is that makes the problem disappear. Or you can start measuring current. If VW is pulling to much, that's a safety issue. There's no requirement a VW EVSE be used to charge this car.

I agree 100% with everything you say. And maybe me posting this to the community is really just my way of "testing with another brand of 16A EVSE" without having to buy another one myself

 

[icsh]

That's a bad presumption. A much better presumption is a badly designed EVSE.

I certainly have not ruled out a faulty EVSE. But considering the device is reporting "NG2: AC Current Error", I think it's reasonable to presume that the EVSE's current readings are somehow connected to why the EVSE cuts off all charging to the vehicle and throws that error code. But I certainly don't know for sure.

 

[JimmyVW]

I certainly have not ruled out a faulty EVSE. But considering the device is reporting "NG2: AC Current Error", I think it's reasonable to presume that the EVSE's current readings are somehow connected to why the EVSE cuts off all charging to the vehicle and throws that error code. But I certainly don't know for sure.

They advertise with excellent post sales support. Might want to contact the EVSE vendor?

 

[icsh]

They advertise with excellent post sales support. Might want to contact the EVSE vendor?

Agreed. I've just e-mailed them. Will update this thread if/when they respond.

 

[Tinman]

I use a Chargepoint Home Flex set on 240V/16 Amps...for a number of reasons. It's hard-wired into an old dryer circuit wired in #10 cable that I put on a 20 Amp breaker for a table saw many years ago. I have no problems with the car requesting more power than the circuit breaker would allow.

I think you're missing the pragmatic suggestion of trying the in-car 8 Amp reduced setting until your EVSE reaches the magic SoC number where it doesn't complain. It would save you the hassle of using two EVSEs. And, if it throws errors used like that you would have another datapoint suggesting it is your EVSE.

 

[icsh]

I use a Chargepoint Home Flex set on 240V/16 Amps...for a number of reasons. It's hard-wired into an old dryer circuit wired in #10 cable that I put on a 20 Amp breaker for a table saw many years ago. I have no problems with the car requesting more power than the circuit breaker would allow.

I think you're missing the pragmatic suggestion of trying the in-car 8 Amp reduced setting until your EVSE reaches the magic SoC number where it doesn't complain. It would save you the hassle of using two EVSEs. And, if it throws errors used like that you would have another datapoint suggesting it is your EVSE.

Ok, the next time I get this error I'll flip on the Reduced Current feature and update the thread as to what happens.

 

[SunWizard]

Another thing to consider is your supply side: Is it a 20amp breaker? 20 amp outlet? (15 is the usual.) No extension cord? since any voltage drop could be a problem.