daveo4porsche

https://www.macanevowners.com/forum/...-setup….16974/

for those wishing for an attempt at clarity about NEMA 14-50 vs. 6-50

Needsdecaf

Has anyone actually gotten the revised PMCC from their dealer?

daveo4porsche

few if any revised PMCC that I've heard - but some people have gotten the "new" recalled part for the NEMA 14-50/6-50 power supply cable - the PMC+/PMCC themselves are unchanged - Porsche is simply swapping the modular NEMA 14-50/6-50 power supply cables - the PMC+/PMCC have always had the ability to have different power supply cables as a DIY swap - Porsche is upgrading the existing NEMA 14-50/6-50 cables to address thermal overheating issues…see below.

the entire recall consists of two things:

1. new NEMA 14-50/6-50 power supply cable w/thermal sensor - this was disclosed in the recall "notice" that this was part of the remedy planned for the "new part"
2. new firmware to take advantage of the thermal sensor

the difference in the new cable seems to be:

• 8 gauge wire vs. 10 gauge wire inside the cable - this should lead to cooler operating temps - this is unsurprising but not disclosed in the remedy discussion/document - I'd prefer 6 gauge wire (which porsche itself stipulated in their own technical document for 50 amp home circuits) but 8 gauge is a step in the right direction…
  • early usage data in this space has been mixed due to the nationwide heat wave - meaning all the owners that happen to get the recall cable were then going home and attempting to use the cable in the unprecedented ambient temps - so we don't yet know if the new cable is any good
  • some people with recalled cables still reported "overheating" problems with the new cable - which the PMC+/PMCC are well known for - requests for data about the ambient conditions in which they were overheated went unanswered on the forums
  • I expect given the improved wire gauge that the new cable will run cooler for identical ambient conditions - but can still over heat if you're requesting it to operate during a heat wave…
  • all quality EVSE's have some sort of thermal monitoring and will reduce their charge rate when suffering high operating temps…so I welcome Porsche to 2014 when Tesla learned this valuable lesson and added thermal sensors to all their EVSE's.
  • the Porsche unit seems to be very sensitive to high temps and is appropriately reducing it's charge rate to mitigate thermal stress - it seems to have a lower temp threshold for when it triggers this behavior
    • i.e. some other EVSE's operate fine at 100% in 90F ambient conditions, but those same conditions are sufficient to force Porsche's unit to lower it's charge rate…more data/testing is required and is very sparse as of now
    • Porsche has not documented their thermal "thresholds" and expected "behaviors" for their PMC+/PMCC so we only have limited empirical data to go on.
    • NOTE: given Porsche's bizzare departure time scheduling this means when overheating their design/system will guarantee that they "miss" the departure time window for your battery charge session overnight - and this is already happening for some customers.
• included thermal sensor in the cable as noted by Porsche in the recall notice
• some people have reported "slower" charging and "Missed" charging windows because the thermal sensor slows down charging if it senses "high temps"
• one person reported the their PMCC doesn't work at all anymore because the cable temp sensor is reporting "too cold" - dealer didn't have a new cable to swap so we don't know the outcome yet
• cables are "trickling" in according to my SA yesterday - but still lack any meaningful quantity and are "rare"
• PMCC requires a firmware update to work with the thermal sensor - they do this when they give you the cable - so it's a drop if with the dealer and pick it up next day or later type of thing
• based on early reports - I believe Porsche has successfully accomplish CYA in that the awful PMC+/PMCC should no longer blindly melt cheap NEMA sockets due to excess thermals, but they have not made the PMC+/PMCC "better" - just less likely to cause a major problem
• based on early feedback with the new cables I still consider the PMC+/PMCC to be an awful choice for an EVSE - but at least they are less dangerous than they used to be, but still have operational short falls and are not the best EVSE choice for North America.

with the replacement power-supply cables I think it can be said the PMC+/PMCC suck far less and should be less problematic in terms of thermal performance or potential collateral damage to NEMA sockets, but they've done nothing to make the PMC+/PMCC a better EVSE - rather they have achieved the goal of no longer having libelous performance due to unmitigated nominal operating temperatures.

keeping in mind that if it's not included with the vehicle it's still a $3200 EVSE if ordered separately from the vehicle - it's a terrible EVSE purchase and there are better higher quality alternatives that cost way way way less than the Porsche unit.