Taycan 120V charger on a timer…

[Gino]

I just set up my Porsche 120V charger with a timer so it will only charge from 12 midnight to 4am.
I plugged in the charger to the Taycan which has the base battery.
The vehicle started at 152 miles when I first plugged the charger into the charging port at 9pm and set the charger timer to begin charging at midnight, 3 hours later.
The Porsche app gave an error message that vehicle was not charging which was correct but I fear the fact the charging cable is plugged in and caused the vehicle to stay awake losing about 10 miles before the charging started at midnight. Within 10 minutes the miles went from 142 back to 150 & within 20 minutes was back to 152.
I’m only charging at 0.6kw so I’m not sure why there appears to be an error in the actual miles reported in the app.
I am leaving it to charge for 4 hours which I expect will increase the range by 7 miles. I’m hoping leaving the charging cable plugged in does not drain the battery more because the car can’t go to sleep.
I’ve gone away for over a week and my SOC & miles did not drop at all.
If it does drop because the vehicle stays awake as long as something is plugged into the charging port then this could cause the 12v battery to be drained during the other 20 hours each day.
My Porsche service advisor suggested I would only need to charge for an hour or two to maintain the 12v battery & keep the main battery from getting below 50% SOC.
I am charging at 50% so it only is at 0.6kw or about 1.4 miles/hour of charge increase.
I will see in the morning where I end up…

Sponsored

 

[daveo4EV]

Porsche does not recommend using 120V charging - other than for emergency purposes - see this tech bulletin from Porsche

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10222530-0001.pdf - see quote from the document

General Precautions on (125V) Supply Cable Use
The “domestic” (125V) supply cable is provided for emergency use only, and should not be used by customers for daily home charging. Please discuss installation and use of a suitable 250V circuit with all customers.

I don't know why you'd worry about a timer with 120V charging - it's max charge rate is 1.44 kW which is hardly anything - and I also don't know why you're charging at 50% instead of 100%

your advisor should not be providing recommendations that include using 120V

also from your post it's unclear what you are trying to accomplish.

 

[W1NGE]

I just set up my Porsche 120V charger with a timer so it will only charge from 12 midnight to 4am.
I plugged in the charger to the Taycan which has the base battery.
The vehicle started at 152 miles when I first plugged the charger into the charging port at 9pm and set the charger timer to begin charging at midnight, 3 hours later.
The Porsche app gave an error message that vehicle was not charging which was correct but I fear the fact the charging cable is plugged in and caused the vehicle to stay awake losing about 10 miles before the charging started at midnight. Within 10 minutes the miles went from 142 back to 150 & within 20 minutes was back to 152.
I’m only charging at 0.6kw so I’m not sure why there appears to be an error in the actual miles reported in the app.
I am leaving it to charge for 4 hours which I expect will increase the range by 7 miles. I’m hoping leaving the charging cable plugged in does not drain the battery more because the car can’t go to sleep.
I’ve gone away for over a week and my SOC & miles did not drop at all.
If it does drop because the vehicle stays awake as long as something is plugged into the charging port then this could cause the 12v battery to be drained during the other 20 hours each day.
My Porsche service advisor suggested I would only need to charge for an hour or two to maintain the 12v battery & keep the main battery from getting below 50% SOC.
I am charging at 50% so it only is at 0.6kw or about 1.4 miles/hour of charge increase.
I will see in the morning where I end up…

We have 240v domestic supply at home to get an 'awesome' 0.1 miles / min of charge - 120v will be too low and dare I say it 'pointless' at best.

 

[Gino]

Porsche does not recommend using 120V charging - other than for emergency purposes - see this tech bulletin from Porsche

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10222530-0001.pdf - see quote from the document



I don't know why you'd worry about a timer with 120V charging - it's max charge rate is 1.44 kW which is hardly anything - and I also don't know why you're charging at 50% instead of 100%

your advisor should not be providing recommendations that include using 120V

also from your post it's unclear what you are trying to accomplish.

I was originally planning to add a trickle charger on the 12v lithium battery to keep it always at the proper maintenance level as with my other Porsche’s and vehicles which are ICE. My Porsche Boxster charges through the cigarette lighter outlet using a Porsche trickle charger for lead acid batteries. The Taycan will not charge through the cigarette lighter outlet and I was considering charging through the OBDII port as I do on my Mercedes (ICE).
I confirmed it is possible to trickle charge my 2021 Taycan through the OBDII port but was told the charge rate cannot exceed the fuse rating on the OBDII port which is either 4A or 5A..
When I asked my service advisor at Porsche he suggested the better way to trickle charge my 12V battery is through the 120V Porsche charger included with the vehicle.
Unfortunately I don’t/can’t have 220V installed in my detached garage so I can’t use the timer function to charge each day to maintain both the main battery as well as the 12V battery.
Porsche suggested I add a mechanical timer to allow the 120V Porsche charger to charge at most an hour or two each night to insure both the 12V lithium battery and main battery are maintained while the vehicle sits for weeks or months.
Porsche is careful to advise if the early 2022 Porsche service bulletin which strongly suggests the 120V charger should never be used for more than 12 hours (ever) and if used should only be used in emergency situations in order to get the charge level high enough to get to a level 2 or 3 charger.
Some on this forum assume Porsche is setting this limit due to the risks associated with the customer’s wiring or outlet being insufficient to allow for long term charging. I have requested from Porsche to confirm if I use a dedicated 120v circuit with 10/2 wiring with proper ground that charging beyond 12 hours would be acceptable. They said NO. The 12 hour duration is there position regardless of the wiring/

We have 240v domestic supply at home to get an 'awesome' 0.1 miles / min of charge - 120v will be too low and dare I say it 'pointless' at best.

Correct. Unfortunately I am blocked from adding 220v to my detached garage in my townhome complex. It requires I dig up the common driveway in the complex which the association will not approve and it will cost me roughly $30K to get done if they did approve it.
I’m stuck with the 120V charger but all I care about is maintenance of the HV & 12V battery during long storage periods from a few weeks to several months.
I only have two options. Connect a trickle charger to the 12V battery (internally - directly connected to the battery terminals inside the FRUNK or through the OBDII port inside the cabin) or connect the 120V charger on a timer to the external charging port which is the easiest & most convenient.
Unfortunately Porsche isn’t very helpful since they assume everyone has the ability to add 220/240v service in their garages. I’m the unlucky one to be forced to use the 120V charger in a very limited way per Porsche’s new requirement as of early 2022.
I’ll like buy another home before my association lets me dig up their driveway…

 

[daveo4EV]

is the 120V outlet "owned" by you or your association? Is the circuit breaker for it in your home's electrical panel? or is the breaker in a HOA/complex/association electrical panel?

is the existing circuit 15 or 20 amps?

if you control the breaker for the outlet - you do not need to dig up the drive way to get 220 outlet - you can reuse the existing 3 wires that are feeding your existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet

FACT: there are 3 wires going to your existing outlet - but it's 120V - because one of the wires is being used as electrical neutral
FACT: there are 3 wire 220V NEMA outlets - they use 2 wires for 120V hot-power, and 1 wire for ground
FACT: there is NO difference between 3 wires being used for 120V circuit, and 3 wires being used for 220V circuit - they are in fact the SAME wire purchased for both types of circuits.
FACT: this means you can convert your 120V circuit to a 220V circuit with out pulling new wire or digging up the drive way.

NOTE: the electrical panel is where ether difference is - the existing neutral will need to be disconnected from the panels "neutral bar" - and wired into a new 220V breaker - but once this is done (simple job) - all you need is a new NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30 outlet in place of the existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet.

there are options here - and simple and not a lot of money

the main point here is you _ALREADY_ have 220V wiring if you install a new breaker and outlet - you can reuse the existing 120V NEMA 5-15/5-20 wiring for a 3 wire 220V circuit - outlet (NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30) or wall mounted hardwired 3-wire EVSE.

if the electrical panel is associated with your home - I see no problem making this swap and reusing the existing wiring.

your existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet has 3 wires going to it - 1x120V hot, 1xElectrical-Neutral, 1xElectrical-Ground

you can swap the circuit breaker and outlet to a NEMA 6-15/6-20 outlet - NEMA "6" outlets only need 3 wires - you'll use the existing 120V-hot, and the Neutral will will be used for the "other" hot - and the ground will remain the ground - same 3 wires, no digging up the driveway - just swapping and rewiring the two "ends" of the wire

new outlet on in the car-port
new 240V breaker in the panel
same 3 wires

depending on existing wire gauge - you can possibly do a NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30 outlet and associated breaker…ask your electrician what the existing wire gauge is - if it's "thick enough" you can maximize your breaker to a larger size if possible - but swapping an existing 120v15 amp for 220v15 or a 120v20 for 220v20 is NO problem and 100% matches building code.

also if the existing wire is in conduit you may be able to "pull" new wire with out digging anything up and get thick-enough wire for a 30 or 40 amp breaker.

let's assume for he moment you can go to a NEMA 6-20 outlet (20 amp breaker and associated wire)

here's the parts list:

• new 20 amp 240V breaker for you panel - $50 or less
• new electrical box to hold the NEMA 6-20 outlet $20 or less
• new NEMA 6-20 outlet - $30 or less
• new electrical box face plate for the NEMA 6-20 outlet - $10 or less
• Tesla UMC Gen2 Charger - $250
• Tesla UMC NEMA 6-20 adapter cable - $35 - https://shop.tesla.com/product/gen-2-nema-adapters
• Tesla Tap Mini - $53
• 2 - 4 hours of time for the electrician to re-wire the socket and breaker - reusing the existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 wiring

Why the Tesla mobile charger? because it has the necessary NEMA 6-15/6-20 outlet adapter.

Alternatively - if the association will let you replace the outlet - you could hardwire a wall mounted EVSE in place of the existing outlet - this involved swapping the breaker - and then using the existing 3 wires to power a wall mounted EVSE - the following 4 wall mounted EVSE have adjustable amps and only require 3 wires - again this is a simple job since we're not pulling new wire - but you'd lose the existing outlet.

• Porsche Wall Charger - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp breaker
• ChargePoint Flex - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp breaker
• Tesla Universal Wall Charger - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp
• WallBox - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp

 

[W1NGE]

!2v wi

I was originally planning to add a trickle charger on the 12v lithium battery to keep it always at the proper maintenance level as with my other Porsche’s and vehicles which are ICE. My Porsche Boxster charges through the cigarette lighter outlet using a Porsche trickle charger for lead acid batteries. The Taycan will not charge through the cigarette lighter outlet and I was considering charging through the OBDII port as I do on my Mercedes (ICE).
I confirmed it is possible to trickle charge my 2021 Taycan through the OBDII port but was told the charge rate cannot exceed the fuse rating on the OBDII port which is either 4A or 5A..
When I asked my service advisor at Porsche he suggested the better way to trickle charge my 12V battery is through the 120V Porsche charger included with the vehicle.
Unfortunately I don’t/can’t have 220V installed in my detached garage so I can’t use the timer function to charge each day to maintain both the main battery as well as the 12V battery.
Porsche suggested I add a mechanical timer to allow the 120V Porsche charger to charge at most an hour or two each night to insure both the 12V lithium battery and main battery are maintained while the vehicle sits for weeks or months.
Porsche is careful to advise if the early 2022 Porsche service bulletin which strongly suggests the 120V charger should never be used for more than 12 hours (ever) and if used should only be used in emergency situations in order to get the charge level high enough to get to a level 2 or 3 charger.
Some on this forum assume Porsche is setting this limit due to the risks associated with the customer’s wiring or outlet being insufficient to allow for long term charging. I have requested from Porsche to confirm if I use a dedicated 120v circuit with 10/2 wiring with proper ground that charging beyond 12 hours would be acceptable. They said NO. The 12 hour duration is there position regardless of the wiring/

Correct. Unfortunately I am blocked from adding 220v to my detached garage in my townhome complex. It requires I dig up the common driveway in the complex which the association will not approve and it will cost me roughly $30K to get done if they did approve it.
I’m stuck with the 120V charger but all I care about is maintenance of the HV & 12V battery during long storage periods from a few weeks to several months.
I only have two options. Connect a trickle charger to the 12V battery (internally - directly connected to the battery terminals inside the FRUNK or through the OBDII port inside the cabin) or connect the 120V charger on a timer to the external charging port which is the easiest & most convenient.
Unfortunately Porsche isn’t very helpful since they assume everyone has the ability to add 220/240v service in their garages. I’m the unlucky one to be forced to use the 120V charger in a very limited way per Porsche’s new requirement as of early 2022.
I’ll like buy another home before my association lets me dig up their driveway…

12v will be good for many months and take it for a hurl periodically to keep it topped up via the HV battery.

Sounds like you have too many cars ?

 

[daveo4EV]

is the 120V outlet "owned" by you or your association? Is the circuit breaker for it in your home's electrical panel? or is the breaker in a HOA/complex/association electrical panel?

is the existing circuit 15 or 20 amps?

if you control the breaker for the outlet - you do not need to dig up the drive way to get 220 outlet - you can reuse the existing 3 wires that are feeding your existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet

FACT: there are 3 wires going to your existing outlet - but it's 120V - because one of the wires is being used as electrical neutral
FACT: there are 3 wire 220V NEMA outlets - they use 2 wires for 120V hot-power, and 1 wire for ground
FACT: there is NO difference between 3 wires being used for 120V circuit, and 3 wires being used for 220V circuit - they are in fact the SAME wire purchased for both types of circuits.
FACT: this means you can convert your 120V circuit to a 220V circuit with out pulling new wire or digging up the drive way.

NOTE: the electrical panel is where ether difference is - the existing neutral will need to be disconnected from the panels "neutral bar" - and wired into a new 220V breaker - but once this is done (simple job) - all you need is a new NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30 outlet in place of the existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet.

there are options here - and simple and not a lot of money

the main point here is you _ALREADY_ have 220V wiring if you install a new breaker and outlet - you can reuse the existing 120V NEMA 5-15/5-20 wiring for a 3 wire 220V circuit - outlet (NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30) or wall mounted hardwired 3-wire EVSE.

if the electrical panel is associated with your home - I see no problem making this swap and reusing the existing wiring.

your existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 outlet has 3 wires going to it - 1x120V hot, 1xElectrical-Neutral, 1xElectrical-Ground

you can swap the circuit breaker and outlet to a NEMA 6-15/6-20 outlet - NEMA "6" outlets only need 3 wires - you'll use the existing 120V-hot, and the Neutral will will be used for the "other" hot - and the ground will remain the ground - same 3 wires, no digging up the driveway - just swapping and rewiring the two "ends" of the wire

new outlet on in the car-port
new 240V breaker in the panel
same 3 wires

depending on existing wire gauge - you can possibly do a NEMA 6-15/6-20/6-30 outlet and associated breaker…ask your electrician what the existing wire gauge is - if it's "thick enough" you can maximize your breaker to a larger size if possible - but swapping an existing 120v15 amp for 220v15 or a 120v20 for 220v20 is NO problem and 100% matches building code.

also if the existing wire is in conduit you may be able to "pull" new wire with out digging anything up and get thick-enough wire for a 30 or 40 amp breaker.

let's assume for he moment you can go to a NEMA 6-20 outlet (20 amp breaker and associated wire)

here's the parts list:

• new 20 amp 240V breaker for you panel - $50 or less
• new electrical box to hold the NEMA 6-20 outlet $20 or less
• new NEMA 6-20 outlet - $30 or less
• new electrical box face plate for the NEMA 6-20 outlet - $10 or less
• Tesla UMC Gen2 Charger - $250
• Tesla UMC NEMA 6-20 adapter cable - $35 - https://shop.tesla.com/product/gen-2-nema-adapters
• Tesla Tap Mini - $53
• 2 - 4 hours of time for the electrician to re-wire the socket and breaker - reusing the existing NEMA 5-15/5-20 wiring

Why the Tesla mobile charger? because it has the necessary NEMA 6-15/6-20 outlet adapter.

Alternatively - if the association will let you replace the outlet - you could hardwire a wall mounted EVSE in place of the existing outlet - this involved swapping the breaker - and then using the existing 3 wires to power a wall mounted EVSE - the following 4 wall mounted EVSE have adjustable amps and only require 3 wires - again this is a simple job since we're not pulling new wire - but you'd lose the existing outlet.

• Porsche Wall Charger - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp breaker
• ChargePoint Flex - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp breaker
• Tesla Universal Wall Charger - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp
• WallBox - hardwired - 3 wires - adjustable amps can be set to 15/20/30 amp

here is a NEMA 6-15 outlet (220V - 3 wires) - $7.65 from home-depot - 220v * 12 amps (80% of 15) is 2.64 kW

https://www.homedepot.com/pep/Levit...DOw2Z7AiAUBoCLO0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds#overlay

 

[daveo4EV]

and here is a NEMA 6-20 outlet - 220V - 3 wires…220V * 16 (80% of 20 amps) = 3.52 kW charge rate.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Leviton...e-Single-Outlet-White-R52-05821-0WS/100356999

 

[daveo4EV]

something like this would be ideal for a 220V 15 amp EV charing outlet…again you're able to re-use the existing 3 wires for the existing outlet if you swap the breaker in the electrical panel and it's a dedicated circuit.

220V * 12 (80% of 15 amps) = 2.64 kW charge rate.

Leviton probably has a 6-20R industrial version also.

 

[daveo4EV]

NOTE: if you swap a NEMA 5-15 outlet for a NEMA 6-15 outlet (rewire the neutral and swap the 120V breaker for a 220V breaker) - you can keep using the Porsche EVSE and it's household outlet power supply cable if you get an adapter like this…$8

if you swap a NEMA 5-20 for a 6-20 you'll either need a different EVSE w/with NEMA 6-20 support or you can use the porsche charger - but it will only run at 15 amp charge rate because Porsche doesn't support 20 amp circuits (16 amp charge rate)

https://www.amazon.com/JORINDO-Converter-American-Standard-Adapter，6-15P/dp/B0CCP1KDK5/ref=sr_1_8?crid=14D2ICEBMHDBC&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.QEt_2VTlm7W_z5BzL9gD8UGlqSgE-L3EkU4gZbKPdNEPrjo9MeSnOElJjnmN19P9NvHd_XbQ5AH4BEoN_vwdYHOmph2zr85NY98pQIpKeWu5GhSukQ23Vi5AYhU4b8EjctGK1mZXIlpxIcriEGjEWlCQjVXgJvqJy1DTklDUFvhC48v-6FuMhAvXWwrlF1c2AckapAMblaolbh3FzpXXY265QwH1HUjK_9eoaAlFSYZu4MK6WnWGmdX5mjlCWlLoSUCf6z89PPtxgVJZPVey8WWAoej8_Ql4NdNei0Ch6Qg.JB2uV-JIsuMAtYIJ--cZyd3S8NWCCJMiLdI0HzbdgHQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=nema+6-15p+to+5-15R&qid=1722542252&sprefix=nema+6-15p+to+5-15r,aps,319&sr=8-8&th=1

 

[Gino]

!2v wi
12v will be good for many months and take it for a hurl periodically to keep it topped up via the HV battery.

Sounds like you have too many cars ?

Yeah, I thought of that first but as all multiple unit construction they put the bare minimum wire to the garages from the fuse panel in the home.
California electrical code requires at least 1 dedicated 14/2 lighting circuit and 1 dedicated 12/2 circuit for the garage door opener & everything else.
Also the main supply breaker is in control of the association so I can’t increase the breaker size above 100A for everything.
I was going to have an electrician pull 8/3 after removing the 14/2 & 12/2 romex cables so I could put a 220V sub panel in the garage at 40A or 50A but I can’t get any electrician to touch the job since the wiring in the 1/2” steel EMT (likely heavily corroded underground & packed with dried mud) is 80 feet from the breaker panel in my unit.
They all fear after 40 years these wires may not come out without breaking somewhere under the association driveway which appears would cost roughly $30K extra if I had to dig it up to get power back to the garage not to mention weeks of no power in the garage.
As much as I want 220v in my garage and I love where I live & my neighbors I am thinking I will likely buy another place in Newport Beach along the water with 220V and my townhome will become my office & guesthouse for visiting family. Until then I will have to get buy with occasional charging at home with 120V and use the EA superchargers which stop being free in 2025.
It’s an incredible amount of hassle to get 220v but I’ll likely not try to run new wire until my townhouse is no longer my primary residence.
I could have gotten a lower unit with an attached garage back when they were built so 220v would be easy but I opted for the upper unit overlooking the pool, waterfalls & streams with 15 foot vaulted ceilings instead of 9’ flat ceilings. The upper units all have detached garages but I never thought I would need 220V in the garage 40 years ago.
I was a young guy back then, cared more about bars, booze &
babes… Now, happily married, in my 60s I care about big steaks, great Cabernets, cigars & being close to a good hospital…

 

[Gino]

!2v wi
12v will be good for many months and take it for a hurl periodically to keep it topped up via the HV battery.

Sounds like you have too many cars ?

Yes, A vehicle for every purpose…
One Airstream conversion van for base camp at the beach, Hummer H2 for skiing in Tahoe/Utah and towing a DONZI/SeaDoos. Of course my Boxster Convertible for drives along the coast and now my 4 door Taycan sedan which is technically for business.
I did get rid of 3 other vehicles in the last 2 years to make room for the Taycan and a vehicle to be named later… What can I say, I love cars.
I really need another place in Newport Beach with a 3 car garage & 220V so I have 5 garage spots & two tall carports for RVs & boats…
I believe that’s the way I’ll get around digging up the association’s driveway…

 

[W1NGE]

Yeah, I thought of that first but as all multiple unit construction they put the bare minimum wire to the garages from the fuse panel in the home.
California electrical code requires at least 1 dedicated 14/2 lighting circuit and 1 dedicated 12/2 circuit for the garage door opener & everything else.
Also the main supply breaker is in control of the association so I can’t increase the breaker size above 100A for everything.
I was going to have an electrician pull 8/3 after removing the 14/2 & 12/2 romex cables so I could put a 220V sub panel in the garage at 40A or 50A but I can’t get any electrician to touch the job since the wiring in the 1/2” steel EMT (likely heavily corroded underground & packed with dried mud) is 80 feet from the breaker panel in my unit.
They all fear after 40 years these wires may not come out without breaking somewhere under the association driveway which appears would cost roughly $30K extra if I had to dig it up to get power back to the garage not to mention weeks of no power in the garage.
As much as I want 220v in my garage and I love where I live & my neighbors I am thinking I will likely buy another place in Newport Beach along the water with 220V and my townhome will become my office & guesthouse for visiting family. Until then I will have to get buy with occasional charging at home with 120V and use the EA superchargers which stop being free in 2025.
It’s an incredible amount of hassle to get 220v but I’ll likely not try to run new wire until my townhouse is no longer my primary residence.
I could have gotten a lower unit with an attached garage back when they were built so 220v would be easy but I opted for the upper unit overlooking the pool, waterfalls & streams with 15 foot vaulted ceilings instead of 9’ flat ceilings. The upper units all have detached garages but I never thought I would need 220V in the garage 40 years ago.
I was a young guy back then, cared more about bars, booze &
babes… Now, happily married, in my 60s I care about big steaks, great Cabernets, cigars & being close to a good hospital…

Man, keep living the dream!
Your post made me laugh out loud...keep living the dream!

 

[Gino]

Man, keep living the dream!
Your post made me laugh out loud...keep living the dream!

Hey, you can’t take it with you so you have to enjoy life…even if I now have to hedge my bets by living as close to a good hospital just in case…

 

[satchurator]

@Gino You had me at steaks and Cabernet.

I would not be excited about improvising around 40 year old wiring.

I wonder could you get away with a physical heavy duty 15A timer for 120V charging? e.g: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09K4K25KF

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