I’ve got a Tesla Wall Connector at home, and a NACS to J1772 adapter just arrived. I should be able to plug in my Lightning with this adapter, and I’m guessing it will draw the full 48 amps unless I had the Tesla’s amperage set lower.
What I’m wondering is, can I set the amperage on the Tesla app for the Lightning, like I would for a Tesla? Or would I need to use the FordPass app to adjust it? I haven’t plugged the truck into any Level 2 chargers yet and haven’t had much luck finding an answer.
No, unfortunately, the Lightning doesn’t let you set the charging amperage. It will just pull whatever the charger provides, up to 48 amps on Level 2 for the 2024 model. You’d have to control the amperage through the charger itself. The FordPass app allows you to set charge limits (like 90%) and schedules, but you can’t adjust the amperage.
@Layla
Got it, thanks. Looks like the Tesla app talks directly to the Tesla car or Wall Connector to make those adjustments. I’m assuming it’s the car.
AlbertMark said:
@Layla
Got it, thanks. Looks like the Tesla app talks directly to the Tesla car or Wall Connector to make those adjustments. I’m assuming it’s the car.
Yes, Tesla’s setup allows the car to adjust charging amperage. Most EVs don’t offer that. You’d usually control it from the charger or EVSE if you want to limit the amps. Any specific reason for wanting to lower it?
@Layla
I like to be conservative with charging. I have a 60-amp setup but usually dial it down to 25 amps on the Tesla unless I need a quicker charge. It seems to reduce heat on the cabling and hardware. If I need faster, I go back up to 48 amps.
Since I can’t adjust the Lightning directly, I’ll set the Wall Connector max to 40 amps for now. This way, I get a good charge rate without pushing it to the max. I might experiment with 32 amps as well.
I thought about adding the Lightning in the Tesla app to see if I’d get the amperage slider, but if it’s controlled in the car itself, that may not work since Ford doesn’t have that feature.
@AlbertMark
If your wiring’s set up correctly, there’s minimal heat involved at 48 amps. Heat mostly builds at the connector, not the cabling, and both the vehicle and the battery are designed to handle higher power levels.
If you’re looking to extend battery life, keeping the charge around 80-85% is usually more effective than reducing the amperage. Charging to a lower state of charge has a greater impact on longevity than charging speed.
My setup runs at 40 amps for both our Model Y and Lightning, and we haven’t had any issues. Communication is key if you’re sharing a charger with others.
@Layla
I noticed some warmth in the Wall Connector handle and cable at higher amps, nothing excessive, but lowering it seemed to make a difference. Just a personal preference to keep heat down. I’ll start with 40 amps as a max since I can’t adjust on the fly.
Plan is to charge the Lightning to around 50-60% most days. I kept my Tesla around 80%, and I’m happy with the battery’s low degradation.
I just tested the Tesla-to-CCS1 adapter on Superchargers, and it worked with Ford Plug and Charge. The J1772 adapter is next to see if I can keep it at 9-10kW (40 amps). Tesla’s app has some handy charge-tracking tools; FordPass works, but it’s simpler. So far, I’m impressed with the truck, especially with Supercharger access.
AlbertMark said:
@Layla
Got it, thanks. Looks like the Tesla app talks directly to the Tesla car or Wall Connector to make those adjustments. I’m assuming it’s the car.
Did you add the Wall Connector to the app? I don’t think the app will see it otherwise.
@Jonathan
Is that possible? I just plugged the truck into the Wall Connector and saw basic stats in FordPass, which is about what I expected.
You can adjust the output from the wall charger directly. The truck will just take what’s given.
Theo said:
You can adjust the output from the wall charger directly. The truck will just take what’s given.
Yes, thanks! I’m setting that up now.