Fast charging whilst unlocked - how?

[Deleted member 2439]

Ok, so how does charging whilst unlocked actually work? Am looking to do a road trip later & will need to recharge, preferably with me sat in the unlocked car.

I just tried it with my Zappi & couldnt work out how to do it.

Comments welcomed please.

 

[Tango130]

Here is my Zappi 2 charging whilst unlocked, make sure the Zappi is set to FAST mode, after inserting the charging lead you should hear the charging lead lock actuate and charge begin.

Unlocked AC charging:



If it doesn't it looks like your On Board Charger (OBC) wasn't properly updated during a previous BMS software update. Some useful information about this can be found in the post below by @ScifiArgonaut.

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www.mgevs.com

 

[Deleted member 2439]

Sorted, & somewhat embarrassed. ?
Ive always approached charging from the vehicle being locked. Of, course unlocking to start charging works fine, but if a door isn't opened then it will auto-lock after about 30 seconds & become locked! Total coincidence.
We did our road trip yesterday & successfully rapid-charged 4 times, doing enough charge each time plus about 20 miles to get to the next charger. I have to say the whole exercise was totally uneventful, with each charge only taking 15-20 mins.
Cheers

 

[Chrispydoc]

Don't beat yourself up....we all live and learn.

 

[mj224]

Sounds like a good run. What were the distances and temperatures?

Sounds like the warmer temps are making longer journeys easier..;-)

 

[Deleted member 2439]

Just shy of 300 miles, with temps between 8 & 12 degrees. We used InstaVolt each time and saw rates of between 32 & 48 kW. I suspect the lower rate of the first charge was due to the battery capacity being about 60% & was done more as a test than anything else. The subsequent 3 charges were all with about 20 miles on the GOM. Wont know overall efficiency until the Mrs gets home from work later & I can finish charging it as there was only had 3 hours left on my Go charging window when we got back last night. The car was advising 3.4 miles per kWh for yesterday, which is good considering that the overall average in the 2 months and 1500 miles of ownership was 2.8 upto then.

This was quite a key test for us as it’s a journey that we will make regularly once lockdown ends. Will almost certainly do overnight stays as well, with the added bonus of a free overnight charge. I’m glad I didn’t take the Mondeo now as I reckon I’ve saved myself spending the best part of £50 on petrol to boot. ?