[jonsel]

We have just had a Chargemaster CombiCharge charging point installed at work - http://chargemasterplc.com/products/combicharge/. It has twin sockets - standard 13amp socket and 'fast charge' 32 amp socket. I hope to get an Ampera shortly but was just wondering whether I can only use the standard 13amp socket.

 

[dpeilow]

You can use the 32A socket, but the car will only take 16A from it.

 

[proddick]

You would also need a different cable,
see viewtopic.php?f=19&t=235

If you are at work all day there is sufficient time to fully charge the Ampera at 10A, so you may decide that the cable cost is not justifiable

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

Welcome to the forum.

If I had a 13A socket at work and was there all day, every day, then I wouldn't worry about charging at 16A. I would just plug the supplied cable into one of the 13A sockets and charge at 10A. If you needed to use the car lunchtime you would still have about 1/2 charge and providing you didn't dive more than a few miles at lunch you would still have enough time to charge to full in the afternoon.

If you need to drive more at lunchtime or if you only did 1/2 days then the 16A charging might help.

The cable you need that proddick mentioned to be able to use the 32A socket is called a Type 2 cable (see the link above). If you did buy one of those then you would also be able to use the many type 2 sockets that are cropping up in various places now. For example at many motorway service stations. It is still very early days yet so there aren't a great number installed yet but they will be come quite common in the next few years.

I will get a Type 2 cable but I have been putting it off until the price comes down. They are still over £200 and with an Ampera it would need to be used a lot to recover that kind of money back in only occasional use but if you used it a lot then it would definitely be worthwhile financially, not to mention more convenient than 10A charging.

 

[jonsel]

Thanks for all the helpful answers. I am getting it as a company car so will just add the extra cable in the order!

 

[Paul_Moxhay]

You probably won't be able to order the Type 2 cable from the dealer. I don't think that Vauxhall sell them yet but I could be wrong.

 

[taylorgx]

Had a trip to the local Ampera specialist the other day and enquirer about the type 2 charging cable, whilst the part is on the system I was told there was no stock or even a price available.

 

[Dave Mathers]

My dealer (Swindon) says he can get one but at £400 it would be better to get it from ZCW about £200

 

[Parax]

You probably won't be able to order the Type 2 cable from the dealer. I don't think that Vauxhall sell them yet but I could be wrong.

I understand that the cables are on the Vauxhall Parts list but are by order only.
I don't know the price or the lead time...

Maybe [Ampera Technician] can help out here..

 

[eeeverything]

I understand that the cables are on the Vauxhall Parts list but are by order only.
I don't know the price or the lead time...

Maybe [Ampera Technician] can help out here..

Here it is for much less the 32 amp cable type 2 mennekes Type 1 to type 2 - 32AMP (Mennekes) - r-evc.com
I just bought Ampera and still haven't had a chance to use this cable - still not sure whether the car can charge faster than 16 amp but according to some it can do 32 amp. Let me know..

 

[donald]

No. 16A only. In fact, not quite that, mine charges at 13.4A to 13.5A to be precise.

The cost difference you are alluding to arises because you've responded to a 3 year old thread. Things have moved on a bit!

 

[eeeverything]

No. 16A only. In fact, not quite that, mine charges at 13.4A to 13.5A to be precise.

The cost difference you are alluding to arises because you've responded to a 3 year old thread. Things have moved on a bit!

Thanks a lot! And how about using 32A in fast charging stations? Can the car manage 32A at any fast charging special station or it's and always will be limited to 16A max?

 

[donald]

You can't use a rapid charger, but a fast charger with a Type 2 socket you can plug into with the right lead, no prob. You might hesitate to wonder why you would do that, fine if you have to park on that spot anyway, but you will only gain 3kWh per hour, or around 10~15 miles worth. It's a 'petrol' saving of about a quid an hour. TBH, I have tried and failed to use public charging and would not bother in the future unless it was handed to me on a plate.

 

[eeeverything]

The question still is whether I can use 32A cable and it will be charging 32A at such a fast charging station or even with the 32A cable it would be only charging at 16A? Thanks again! ;-)

 

[donald]

16A. Limited by the on board charger in the car. You can use a 16A lead or a 32A lead (those will also limit the current) but it will always be '16A'.

 

[AndyG]

The question still is whether I can use 32A cable and it will be charging 32A at such a fast charging station or even with the 32A cable it would be only charging at 16A? Thanks again! ;-)

You can charge at a 32a station using a type 2 lead but the car will only ask for 16a. If you are going to get a lead I would recommend getting a 32a as the 16a leads are not always comparable with all charge points.

 

[Parax]

The cost difference you are alluding to arises because you've responded to a 3 year old thread.

..and charge cables are much cheaper now.

 

[Brett Sinclair]

Is there any way to re-program the Ampera to accept charging at a higher speed? It seems extremely short-sighted of GM to limit the charging to 16A. In Berlin, there are 32A public charging points everywhere and super-fast charging points are already appearing, for half-hour full charges.

 

[richtrash]

Is there any way to re-program the Ampera to accept charging at a higher speed? It seems extremely short-sighted of GM to limit the charging to 16A. In Berlin, there are 32A public charging points everywhere and super-fast charging points are already appearing, for half-hour full charges.

It will be down to the capacity of the charger installed so would require a hardware upgrade to get a higher charge rate, wouldn't be possible to re-program through software.

 

[donald]

It seems extremely short-sighted of GM to limit the charging to 16A.

It was quite deliberate on their original theory that people would charge the Volt/Ampera at home only. As it has its own charger, rapid takes on less significance.

I have to confess, nice as more rapid charging would be, I struggle to see how it would make sense to pays lots of money to save relatively little on charging during the day if you're in a rush. I can't imagine that scenario.