TeslaTap Mini Adapter feedback?

[Windpower]

PS> Tesla has some share of this happening too. Their UI is getting less and less usable in exchange for looking "cooler" - buttons getting smaller and less distinct, farther away from driver's line of sight, and buried under more levels of menus.

I realize that no one (and no car company) is perfect, but here are a couple of completely idiotic things on the Tesla:
- to close a telephone call, you need to point your finger and tap a red button on the screen. Why not just click the 'roller ball' twice like you do when closing an email message?
- to change the speed of the windshield wipers, you need to point your finger and tap on the screen. Sure, you can do this with a voice command but I'd prefer to simply click the windshield wiper button (that what's it there for, no?)
- when my car is finished charging, to remove the EVSE cable I need to get my iPhone, go to the Tesla app and click 'Unlock charge port'. Yesterday I'm in the middle of a rain storm and I need to get my phone to unlock the charge port? How about just unlocking the charge port when the charging is finished?
- in December 2020, Tesla forced a software update which made the navigation map smaller and the car picture bigger. Honestly, I don't look at the car picture and find there is no information there which I need to see. But when I'm using the navigation, I like the biggest screen I can get (which the Tesla, before the December 2020 update, used to do really well).

Tesla wants to be cool, so it doesn't support common sense things. These are just a few but there are so many more things that Tesla has done which seem cool but make the car a pain to live with.

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[DerekS]

You can set the limit with a profile (as “minimum charge”) and not use any timer. This is what I do. I only use a profile and the “minimum charge” is set it 85%.

The car will charge to the “minimum charge” setting as soon as you plug it in and then stop. It does not require a timer.

The problem with this approach is that "minimum charge" does not respect the charging window. I need to limit charging from 8PM->3PM for off-peak rates.

Minimum charge is always forced, rate window be damned.

 

[Jhenson29]

The problem with this approach is that "minimum charge" does not respect the charging window. I need to limit charging from 8PM->3PM for off-peak rates.

Minimum charge is always forced, rate window be damned.

There’s no problem. The question was if you can set a charge limit with just a profile and not use a timer. You can. I do.

If you want to use a timer, you set the profile min charge to whatever you want the min charge level to be (min of 25% IRRC) and then set your charge limit with the timer instead.

For the profile, it’s not a maximum charge limit. It’s just what it says. It’s the minimum charge. However, it also acts like the maximum when not using a timer.

Honestly, it’s not that hard. I don’t understand people’s problem with this. I rate these complaints alongside pinched pinkies and R-N-D orientation…?

 

[whitex]

You can set the limit with a profile (as “minimum charge”) and not use any timer. This is what I do. I only use a profile and the “minimum charge” is set it 85%.

The car will charge to the “minimum charge” setting as soon as you plug it in and then stop. It does not require a timer.

Ok, let me see if I got this right:

• the profile "minimum" is actually your "default maximum" charge you want every day - if so, a bad choice of a name IMHO
• the car will never charge above the minimum unless doing Direct Charge or because of a timer, so timers are intended just for days where you want to charge higher than usual
• daily scheduled charging was never an intended usecase to be controlled by the car, but rather Porsche assumption was that if you have TOU restrictions, your charger will take care of it (which would be consistent with the "Optimized Charging" option description in the profile)
• using timers for TOU is just a hack, as they offer a way to try to mimic scheduled charging, but it's not perfect, and definitely confusing

Did I get these right? Out of curiosity, do the Porsche chargers offer TOU scheduling (in the charger, not the car)?

 

[Jhenson29]

Ok, let me see if I got this right:

Nope.

the profile "minimum" is actually your "default maximum" charge you want every day - if so, a bad choice of a name IMHO

Nope. It is in fact the 'minimum charge'. It just also acts as the maximum in the absence of other settings. It's appropriately named. Your opinion is incorrect.

the car will never charge above the minimum unless doing Direct Charge or because of Timer, so timers are intended just for days where you want to charge higher than usual

Nope. Timers can be used as either charging above your normal minimum (this is how I use them; to occasionally charge to 100%). Or they can be used to schedule target charge levels.

daily scheduled charging was never an intended usecase to be controlled by the car, but rather Porsche assumption was that if you have TOU restrictions, your charger will take care of it (which would be consistent with the "Optimized Charging" option description in the profile)

Nope. Seems intended as that's exactly what timers are.

using timers for TOU is just a hack, as they offer a way to try to mimic scheduled charging, but it's not perfect, and definitely confusing

Nope. You use timers to set a target date/time, charge, climate, and repeat options. Not sure how that's a hack and not sure how that's confusing?

Did I get these right?

Nope.

Out of curiosity, do the Porsche chargers offer TOU scheduling (in the charger, not the car)?

Nope...at least not the PMC+. I don't know about the PMCC.

 

[kort]

No, the only way to cap a maximum charge level is with a timer.

That is not correct, by setting a profile with a minimum, which is actually a maximum the car will charge up to the level that you select.

 

[Jhenson29]

That is not correct, by setting a profile with a minimum, which is actually a maximum the car will charge up to the level that you select.

It’s not the maximum. It’s the minimum. Just like it says. Maximum would make no sense with how it behaves with timers.

 

[andrewket]

The fact we’re debating if it’s a minimum or maximum is evidence that the UI needs improvement.

 

[Jhenson29]

The fact we’re debating if it’s a minimum or maximum is evidence that the UI needs improvement.

We’re not debating. I’m correcting. There’s a difference. ?

It’s the minimum.

If it’s not the minimum, then what in the world would a minimum setting do…?

Stop for a minute and imagine the profile setting was called maximum, and then there was a separate minimum setting. What would that setting do?

 

[andrewket]

We’re not debating. I’m correcting. There’s a difference. ?

It’s the minimum.

If it’s not the minimum, then what in the world would a minimum setting do…?

Stop for a minute and imagine the profile setting was called maximum, and then there was a separate minimum setting. What would that setting do?

I’m not debating… but anything that creates this much discussion for what should be fairly simple is a good data point.

I wish profiles allowed a minimum charge of 5%. I also haven’t figured out what the “preferred charging times” does. Profile sets the minimum - which ignores preferred charge times. Without a timer, my car will keep charging all the way to 100%, and it will do so at any time.

 

[Jhenson29]

I’m not debating… but anything that creates this much discussion for what should be fairly simple is a good data point.

I wish profiles allowed a minimum charge of 5%. I also haven’t figured out what the “preferred charging times” does. Profile sets the minimum - which ignores preferred charge times. Without a timer, my car will keep charging all the way to 100%, and it will do so at any time.

It’s fine to want a lower min than what’s available. That can be a valid criticism. But at 5%, why not just leave the profile off and only use only a timer?

Your car charges to 100% when? No timer and no profile? What else would it do?

What do you want the car to do? Did you look at my graphic?

Edit: Nevermind. I think I understand. I think you want to set an actual maximum and have it start charging to that maximum at the start of your window. I don’t think there’s a way to do that with the car settings. I think the closest you could come is to use a timer set to your target charge for the morning. But when it starts will depend on your target time, target SoC, starting SoC, and charge rate. I haven’t tried using the preferred times or mixing them with timers. But I’ll check it out.

 

[whitex]

Nope.


Nope. It is in fact the 'minimum charge'. It just also acts as the maximum in the absence of other settings. It's appropriately named. Your opinion is incorrect.

Nope. Timers can be used as either charging above your normal minimum (this is how I use them; to occasionally charge to 100%). Or they can be used to schedule target charge levels.

Nope. Seems intended as that's exactly what timers are.

Nope. You use timers to set a target date/time, charge, climate, and repeat options. Not sure how that's a hack and not sure how that's confusing?

Nope.

Nope...at least not the PMC+. I don't know about the PMCC.

You know, the more I think about it, I think I am right in Post #79 on what happened - timer functionality got overloaded for TOU by adding ability to charge to less than that is in your profile. As a side note, it makes very little sense to want to charge say to 80% daily, but only next Monday I want to charge to 50%. Not only that, it is not obvious what would happen if today is Monday night, my profile is set to 80%"minimum" but I have a timer for next Monday at 1am to be charged to 50%. Will the car charge to only 50% all week? Or will it charge to 80% until 12:01am on Monday and then somehow discharge to 50%? My theory is also supported by the "Optimized charging" profile option description:

Out of curiosity, is how to set up profile+timers something that Porsche documents in the user manual, or is this only something the internet community has figured out and shared?

 

[DerekS]

The fact there is all this thrash in the thread about timers/profiles just underscores how ridiculously overcomplicated all of it is.

Just. Do. What. Tesla. Does.

- Charge immediately on plugin
- * unless you have a charge window set, in which case ALWAYS wait and charge immediately when it's hit
- Charge to the limit indicator
- Stop forcing us to a minimum

Stop trying to estimate when to start charging to be done by a "departure time." That is not a use case.

And I'm sorry, but setting the minimum to 85% and eschewing timers/profiles does not resolve this. Minimum charge level ignores scheduled charge windows, as it is considered "emergency use" charging and more important than saving money.

 

[Jhenson29]

You know, the more I think about it, I think I am right in Post #79 on what happened - timer functionality got overloaded for TOU by adding ability to charge to less than that is in your profile. As a side note, it makes very little sense to want to charge say to 80% daily, but only next Monday I want to charge to 50%. Not only that, it is not obvious what would happen if today is Monday night, my profile is set to 80%"minimum" but I have a timer for next Monday at 1am to be charged to 50%. Will the car charge to only 50% all week? Or will it charge to 80% until 12:01am on Monday and then somehow discharge to 50%? My theory is also supported by the "Optimized charging" profile option description:

Out of curiosity, is how to set up profile+timers something that Porsche documents in the user manual, or is this only something the internet community has figured out and shared?

I see what @andrewket and @DerekS are saying about missing TOU functions. Without being able to further lower or turn off the minimum, as well as set a maximum, you can’t properly set the car to charge to a limit within a window.

And I see what you’re saying about Timers since they can be and are used to accomplish this in certain circumstances. I was incorrect that they can be used to replace TOU generally. There’s also no actual maximum for Timers since the car will start to charge to 100% if left plugged in for 30 min after the departure time.

So, there is effectively no maximum settings in any case. Although, as stated earlier, profile minimums act as a maximum when used in isolation.

A correction though, the Timer would be used to charge above the profile minimum, not below it.

I agree you wouldn’t, and in fact can’t, have the car charge to 80% from the profile and then 50% from a timer. Remember that the profile minimum is in fact appropriately named and is a minimum.

I also don’t think the Timers are a work around on Porsche’s end for TOU as much as by the community due to the missing max charge feature to use preferred charge times.

But none of this means the settings are confusing or poorly named. I’m adamant they aren’t on both accounts.

They just don’t support some features (lower/no min charge and a maximum) some people want/need. I have no issue conceding that point.

Timers and Profiles are both covered in GTK. There is also information in the connect app for the settings.

 

[Jhenson29]

The fact there is all this thrash in the thread about timers/profiles just underscores how ridiculously overcomplicated all of it is.

It’s not complicated. It’s just missing features. Those are different.

That is not a use case.

That can be a use case.

And I'm sorry, but setting the minimum to 85% and eschewing timers/profiles does not resolve this.

I agree it doesn’t solve setting charge times.

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