My ZS won't charge at more than 30 kW on the DC terminals. Where to find the firmware version ?

[Joebar]

Hello,

My second-hand ZS won't charge at more than 30 kW on the DC terminals. The specifications say 60 to 80 kW.
I informed my MG dealer and he initially told me that:

- 30 kW was perfectly normal for this car

I told him (thanks to information found on the forum) that this was not true. The car's firmware had to be updated.
My car was with them today because of other problems and he told me that he thought my car was already up to date on the FW side.
I told him it wasn't possible, as no-one had done it to my knowledge.


My question is:

How and where can I check the current version of my car ?

Thank you in advance for your answers.
I need to be able to prove to him that what he's telling me is wrong. Otherwise, he's going to make it impossible for me to charge the car at more than 30kW.

 

[Data]

Hello Joebar. Please can you tell us what year & what version of the ZS EV that you have? Is it standard range or long range?

 

[Joebar]

Oups yes, It's a 2021 44kWh version with a small battery.

 

[DBedford]

Max is around 76kW, but app depends on the chargers network loading. You'll need to try other chargers.

 

[Joebar]

all the chargers I tried were free, no other cars.

Is there any way I can find out the actual firmware versions and tell him I'm not up to date?

I enclose the values I was able to retrieve before giving my car to MG.

 

[Gadget Geek]

The only firmware you can check yourself is the infotainment unit. All other modules need to be plugged into the MG diagnostics at the dealership.

 

[Data]

all the chargers I tried were free, no other cars.

Is there any way I can find out the actual firmware versions and tell him I'm not up to date?

I enclose the values I was able to retrieve before giving my car to MG.

I'm not familiar with your cars infotainment centre software. On the later models, the MK2 you can check the main Telematics system software version easily without an obd reader. The 'R' number denotes how up-to-date your car is. R19 is very out of date & R27 is very up to date, usually having all the updates that are available. But that's on the MK2 versions from 2022 onwards.

 

[hmadsen]

Does these free DC chargers specifically state they can do more than 30KW ?

I have read that some places that have free charging puts a time and charge wattage limit on their chargers.

Chargers could also be load sharing, if there are more than 1 charger, it might have to share the incoming power conductor and it might not be able to deliver more.

Or there is simply not more than 30KW available to the charger so it is limited.

If there is no mention of charge speed on those chargers, take it to some place where they display the KW prominently and charge there. You dont have to do more than a minute of charging to see the max charge.

Also remember that battery temperature and battery state of charge affects the charge wattage.

A very cold battery will not accept as much current as a nice and toasty one and if the car is at 80% it might not accept as much as if it is at 8%

Last summer we were on vacation, there were a convenient charger at a LIDL in the city where we did out shopping, it was also a DC charger, but it also only delivered about 30 KW and this was to our Tesla, that can do 250KW under perfect conditions.

Also there were multiple reports on this charger in the app, that it would only do that "speed", so most likely throttled. This was a pay one, but cheaper than all the others in the area.

 

[Data]

Interesting points being made by hmadsen. I remember quite a few of the Tesco supermarket free charging stations only being 22kw. That is most likely the issue here with the op's charging situations. Not sure he means free electricity or just that the chargers were not congested or in use.

 

[hmadsen]

Interesting points being made by hmadsen. I remember quite a few of the Tesco supermarket free charging stations only being 22kw. That is most likely the issue here with the op's charging situations. Not sure he means free electricity or just that the chargers were not congested or in use.

Was this DC chargers ?

The 22KW sounds a lot like what we have here in Denmark for AC Destinations chargers.

3 phase 32A

Very few cars accept more than 11KW on these though, but that's due to the onboard charger not being able to do more.

Most domestic households only have 3 phase 16A, so 11KW max any way.

I think the Renault Zoe and possibly a Polestar, that can do 22KW, but most others are only max 11KW, and some are even worse. The Nissan Leaf for example, they only have one phase charging so max 3.6KW at home.

 

[Data]

Was this DC chargers ?

The 22KW sounds a lot like what we have here in Denmark for AC Destinations chargers.

3 phase 32A

Very few cars accept more than 11KW on these though, but that's due to the onboard charger not being able to do more.

Most domestic households only have 3 phase 16A, so 11KW max any way.

I think the Renault Zoe and possibly a Polestar, that can do 22KW, but most others are only max 11KW, and some are even worse. The Nissan Leaf for example, they only have one phase charging so max 3.6KW at home.

Here in UK nearly all houses are single phase electrical supply so max (in practical terms) 7.2kw. You can be upgraded in most instances to 3 phase should you require it but for most folks it's just not needed or worth the extra cost. The Tesco chargers were DC I think. Never ever had the opportunity or need to use one but these days they charge you to use them.