2025 lariat first time use of a fast charger slower than expected.

[sawyer141]

First long trip with our new lightning. Wanted to add about 100 miles to make sure we would be comfortable on our trip home.
Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

the person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW

any thoughts on why the variation?

I think the Lightning max is 150 KW

Thanks,
Love the truck

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[B177y]

First long trip with our new lightning. Wanted to add about 100 miles to make sure we would be comfortable on our trip home.
Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

the person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW

any thoughts on why the variation?

I think the Lightning max is 150 KW

Thanks,
Love the truck

Lots of possible reasons for your charging speed:

-You were already at 60%. Speed slows at higher SOC.

-Temperature of battery

-Temp of cable/charge port/coupling.

-General EA inconsistencies and maintenance.

-Some other reason....

Basically it's not that uncommon. You can try a different charger or cable. EA is famous for one working and another not working on the same charge stand. It's totally random.

 

[RocketGhost]

Most likely a charger issue. Not uncommon at EA.

Once the battery reaches 80% charge the truck will cut the rate about in half when fast charging. At 90% is drops it even further and will slow to a crawl as it approaches 100%. All EVs slow DCFC speeds as the battery nears full to protect it.

 

[RickLightning]

At a properly working 350kW charger, an ER Lightning will hit low 190s if you start at 10 or 20%. It won't drop into the 50s until 80%.

 

[Firn]

First long trip with our new lightning. Wanted to add about 100 miles to make sure we would be comfortable on our trip home.
Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

the person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW

any thoughts on why the variation?

I think the Lightning max is 150 KW

Thanks,
Love the truck

This is rather slow for the Lightning.

Generally speaking below 60% SOC or so the Lightning will charge at ~180kw for a few minutes and then drop down to the mid 120s until 80%, at which point it plummets to around 50kw and continuously gets slower and slower as it approaches 100% SOC.

At 60% SOC you should have been seeing over 100kw until 80%.

Guessing from your location it wasnt over 100 degrees out when you stopped to charge. Aside from towing or maybe really high highway speeds imo your battery should not have been too hot to charge.

Off the top of my head I can think of a couple things.
-Just a slow charger. It happens, try some different ones and see if they are better.
It was hot out and your battery was very hot.
-Your cooling system isnt working at full capacity. This is an issue that has plagued quite a few Lightnings, more so on those with Max Tow. Some have had low or leaking air conditioning systems preventing it from cooling fully. Another had a dead cooling fan. You can also check to make sure your radiator isnt full of leaves and stuff.

 

[Randall Stephens]

any thoughts on why the variation?

electrify America

Answered your own question

 

[TaxmanHog]

Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

Which location?

The one in Wrentham at the Outlet Mall has a couple terminals that are perpetually slow even at low starting SOC's

 

[Dan C]

I went to an EA charger right after a Rivian on a warm day. I could only get about 30 kwh. A chevy bolt left so I moved to his charger and got 120. I think the charge cord gets to warm with back to back high charge levels.

 

[ClevelandBeemer]

This is what you can normally expect from a 350kw charger that is properly functioning with a battery that is perfectly preconditioned.

 

[gregoryhcain]

Not uncommon at EA chargers. Some of them are derated while awaiting maintenance. Try a Tesla V4 Supercharger when you are at 40% SOC. That would be a better test. Tesla units are more reliable for faster speed. I usually hit 170-180. EA is a crap shoot what I’ll get

 

[davehu]

Which location?

The one in Wrentham at the Outlet Mall has a couple terminals that are perpetually slow even at low starting SOC's

plug share shows most people charged OK but there are a couple of posts regarding slow speeds

 

[TaxmanHog]

plug share shows most people charged OK but there are a couple of posts regarding slow speeds

I understand that ................. I'm curious where the OP charged and confirm the units that are dud's, I'm probably one of the reviewers of the particular site.

Interesting to see they did a site upgrade, now 350kW!!

It's been a long time since I charged there, last was 8/13/2023.

 

[MidAtlanticLightningClub]

First long trip with our new lightning. Wanted to add about 100 miles to make sure we would be comfortable on our trip home.
Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

the person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW

any thoughts on why the variation?

I think the Lightning max is 150 KW

Thanks,
Love the truck

Assuming you're in the northeast, it shouldn't be temperature. As others said, at 60% you should be getting a faster charge. I wouldn't expect a drop to 58kW until over 80%. I'll cast another vote that it was a problem with that EA charger.

This is what the charge curve should look like:

You didn't mention if you have a standard range or extended range battery -- yes, that can matter.

More information at: https://evchargingstations.com/chargingnews/ford-f-150-lightning-dc-fast-charging-analysis-10-80/

 

[jjupi91897]

First long trip with our new lightning. Wanted to add about 100 miles to make sure we would be comfortable on our trip home.
Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW.

the person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW

any thoughts on why the variation?

I think the Lightning max is 150 KW

Thanks,
Love the truck

It was probably a defective charger. I have had a similar problem before, switched chargers, and it charged 120 plus.

 

[djwildstar]

Battery at 60% went to a 350 KW electrify America charger and was only charging at 58KW. The person next to me in a sedan was getting 120 KW. Any thoughts on why the variation? I think the Lightning max is 150 KW.

This is unfortunately pretty common at Electrify America -- their chargers are often older, frequently in need of maintenance, and generally in poor condition. Individual chargers vary greatly -- one charger could be in top form, while the one next to it is mostly-broken. In my experience, the 150kW Electrify America chargers often perform better than the 350kW chargers do.

Ford's specification sheet calls for an ER Lightning to fast-charge from 15% to 80% in 39 minutes, for an effective average charge rate of about 130kW. The Lighting can peak at higher charging powers than this, limited only by battery voltage (about 360V-390V) and the truck's 500A current limit. The theoretic maximum is between 180kW and 195kW. After the peak, the truck usually settles in somewhere between 100kW and 120kW.

In general, I've had the best fast-charging results at Alpitronic 400kW chargers. Most of these are installed under Mercedes-Benz branding at Buc-Ees and stand-alone Mercedes-Benz Charging Hubs (despite the name, open to all EVs). These same chargers are going into BP Pulse charging stations and Electrify America is slowly deploying them as replacements for old hardware. In general, these chargers can deliver 500A for as long as the Lightning can take it, and I've had sessions on these chargers that significantly exceed Ford's advertised fast-charging rate.

My next-best charging experiences have been at Tesla 250kW V3 SuperChargers. There are lots of stations, they are usually well-maintained, and nearly as good as the Alpitronic units at pushing power into the Lightning's battery. The GM/Ultium branded chargers at Pilot and Flying J locations get an honorable mention: they are usually faster than Electify America.

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