Charging current?
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Welcome to the forum 12pack. Keep us posted on when it arrives!
Here's what I was able to find in the owners manual:
Level 1 charging cable
The vehicle is supplied with a
Level 1 charging cable.
Level 1 charging cables can be used to
charge the vehicle from grounded household sockets. Charging at household socket
connections is performed with alternating
current.
When a Level 1 charging cable is used, the
efficiency values may differ from those
stated on the energy label.
Level 2 charging cable
The Level 2 charging cable makes it possible to quickly recharge at sockets of designated Level 2 charging stations using a special plug. Charging is performed with
alternating current at designated
Level 2 charging stations. The charging
process can be completed faster than at
household sockets.
A charge current strength of up to maximum 16 A is possible.
The charging cable may be permanently installed at the charging station.
DC charging cable
The DC charging cable that is permanently
installed at the charging station makes is
possible to charge at DC charging stations.
Charging is performed with direct current
at designated DC charging stations. At the
higher capacity current connection of a DC
charger station the charging time is significantly lower than with a household socket
or a Level 2 charging station.
During charging at a DC charging station,
an indication in the instrument cluster, refer to page 225, is displayed.
The DC charging cable is also referred to as
Level 3 DC charging cable
![]()
Here's what I was able to find in the owners manual:
Level 1 charging cable
The vehicle is supplied with a
Level 1 charging cable.
Level 1 charging cables can be used to
charge the vehicle from grounded household sockets. Charging at household socket
connections is performed with alternating
current.
When a Level 1 charging cable is used, the
efficiency values may differ from those
stated on the energy label.
Level 2 charging cable
The Level 2 charging cable makes it possible to quickly recharge at sockets of designated Level 2 charging stations using a special plug. Charging is performed with
alternating current at designated
Level 2 charging stations. The charging
process can be completed faster than at
household sockets.
A charge current strength of up to maximum 16 A is possible.
The charging cable may be permanently installed at the charging station.
DC charging cable
The DC charging cable that is permanently
installed at the charging station makes is
possible to charge at DC charging stations.
Charging is performed with direct current
at designated DC charging stations. At the
higher capacity current connection of a DC
charger station the charging time is significantly lower than with a household socket
or a Level 2 charging station.
During charging at a DC charging station,
an indication in the instrument cluster, refer to page 225, is displayed.
The DC charging cable is also referred to as
Level 3 DC charging cable
Attachments
Welcome to the forum 12pack. Keep us posted on when it arrives!
Here's what I was able to find in the owners manual:
Level 1 charging cable
The vehicle is supplied with a
Level 1 charging cable.
Level 1 charging cables can be used to
charge the vehicle from grounded household sockets. Charging at household socket
connections is performed with alternating
current.
When a Level 1 charging cable is used, the
efficiency values may differ from those
stated on the energy label.
Level 2 charging cable
The Level 2 charging cable makes it possible to quickly recharge at sockets of designated Level 2 charging stations using a special plug. Charging is performed with
alternating current at designated
Level 2 charging stations. The charging
process can be completed faster than at
household sockets.
A charge current strength of up to maximum 16 A is possible.
The charging cable may be permanently installed at the charging station.
DC charging cable
The DC charging cable that is permanently
installed at the charging station makes is
possible to charge at DC charging stations.
Charging is performed with direct current
at designated DC charging stations. At the
higher capacity current connection of a DC
charger station the charging time is significantly lower than with a household socket
or a Level 2 charging station.
During charging at a DC charging station,
an indication in the instrument cluster, refer to page 225, is displayed.
The DC charging cable is also referred to as
Level 3 DC charging cable
![]()
Welcome to the forum 12pack. Keep us posted on when it arrives!
Here's what I was able to find in the owners manual:
Level 1 charging cable
The vehicle is supplied with a
Level 1 charging cable.
Level 1 charging cables can be used to
charge the vehicle from grounded household sockets. Charging at household socket
connections is performed with alternating
current.
When a Level 1 charging cable is used, the
efficiency values may differ from those
stated on the energy label.
Level 2 charging cable
The Level 2 charging cable makes it possible to quickly recharge at sockets of designated Level 2 charging stations using a special plug. Charging is performed with
alternating current at designated
Level 2 charging stations. The charging
process can be completed faster than at
household sockets.
A charge current strength of up to maximum 16 A is possible.
The charging cable may be permanently installed at the charging station.
DC charging cable
The DC charging cable that is permanently
installed at the charging station makes is
possible to charge at DC charging stations.
Charging is performed with direct current
at designated DC charging stations. At the
higher capacity current connection of a DC
charger station the charging time is significantly lower than with a household socket
or a Level 2 charging station.
During charging at a DC charging station,
an indication in the instrument cluster, refer to page 225, is displayed.
The DC charging cable is also referred to as
Level 3 DC charging cable
![]()
I own a Model 3 and thinking of buying the Mini Electric for my wife. Some Mini SE charging issues not totally clear.
Would anyone know if any charge settings need to be adjusted on the Mini SE......
1. Using a Tesla charger with a J1772 adapter
2. Using a 110 wall unit
3. Using a 220 wall unit
Does the Mini SE automaticall adjust to the proper volatge/amps? In other words can I just plug it in and car will choose approriate settings?
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67 Posts
The car will automatically negotiate with the EVSE ("charger") you plug it into--that's exactly what the EVSE is for. If the EVSE can provide more power than the car needs, it will only provide as much power the car asks for. If the EVSE cannot provide as much power as the car asks for, it will provide as much power it is able to.
The Max/Reduced/Low charge current setting MiniFootPrint shared from the owner's manual allows you to reduce the maximum amount of power the car will ask for. This is helpful when your EVSE is plugged into an outlet that cannot safely provide the full charge current. From the factory, this is set to "Low" to protect new owners who do not know what their home's wiring can support.
For example, if the home charging cable provided with your SE is rated at 15A, but the 110V outlet you plug into has a 12A breaker, choose the "Reduced" setting in the car. (If you run several other appliances on that same breaker, you may want to leave it at "Low" instead.)
I think all 220V/240V outlets in North America are rated at 20A or higher, so the "Max" current setting in the car should be fine. You just need to make sure that the EVSE you plug into that outlet is configured to draw no more than 80% of the circuit breaker's rating for that outlet. (Or hard-wired circuit if you aren't using an outlet.)
You can use a Tesla charger with a J1772 adapter. You will probably want to increase the car's charge current setting to "Max" so you can take full advantage of the available power from that charger (assuming it's on a 220V/240V circuit).
_
Many thanks MichaelC for the very clear explanation. Mini salespeople are mostly clueless regarding the SE when the questions are slightly more technical.
As an SE owner may I ask you two more questions...
1. As you are US based, what is your charge rate (miles/hr) using an 120 15 amp outlet?
2. On my Tesla 100% charge is only recommended for long trips. Otherwise usually 80% or 90% to protect battery. Given that the SE has a rating of only 110 miles, do you generally charge to 100% which may not be the best for a lithium battery? Or perhaps the vehicle has built-in protection so that when showing 100% it may actually be only 90%? Or maybe they afvise to only charge to 90% and 100% for longer trips?
Thanks again.
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67 Posts
Extremely slow. I think it was around 2 or 3 miles/hr?
The level 1 charging cable supplied with my SE is rated at 10A maximum. My garage has a single 15A circuit for the whole thing - the lights and all outlets (including the one the garage door opener is plugged into). So I set my SE to the "Max" charge current setting and only plugged in at night when I was confident I wouldn't be operating the garage door opener.
My daily commute (when I had one) was short enough that I would be able to keep up by plugging in each night, then stopping by a DC fast charger or even a level 2 charger around town after a longer trip. Ultimately, I had a dedicated 240V/50A NEMA 14-50 outlet installed in my garage, and now have a EVSE capable of supplying up to 40A (for future-proofing).
This web site offers a neat tool to help you play around with different charging scenarios to see an estimate of how long it would take to charge: MINI Cooper SE charging cost and time calculator
This has been an interesting point of contention for the SE. BMW/MINI does not provide a way for you to limit the level of charging in the car. Further, their message appears to be "always charge to 100%", as the owner's manual recommends ensuring the battery is charged to 80% or higher for long-term storage and leaving the car plugged in if possible.
When I asked MINI why their guidance is counter to conventional wisdom for EVs, their answer was basically "we build in a buffer and the Battery Management System takes care of it for you". The SE's battery is 32.6kW with 28.9kW available, so there is a ~11% buffer for the BMS to work with. This great video by Nigel Warnes digs a little deeper, and he provides some thoughtful commentary (and some speculation) about this:
I'm choosing to not worry about it too much, but I'm also not leaving my SE plugged in all the time. When it gets down to around 50% (or if I know I'll need more than 50 miles of range), I charge it to 100% overnight and unplug it in the morning. I also try to make sure I go for at least a short drive every few days to a week to help maintain the 12V battery (assuming the car must be in the "running" state to charge it). And my goal is to give it a 20% -> 100% charge once every 1-2 months to keep the BMS calibrated.
____
MichaelC - You are a teriffic resouce. Now I have all my answers as it pertains to the SE and very likely will order one in January for my wife who drives very short distances, so the SE works for us. Thank you.
Allow me to make two observations....
Based on my two years of Tesla experience I don't think you need to worry about keeping the car plugged in all the time. In fact, Tesla recommends to keep the vehicle pugged in whenever possible. They say that "a happy Tesla is a plugged in Tesla".
As far as maintaining the 12V battery charged by driving around periodically, I am reasonably certain that the when you charge the vehicle, it charges not only the vehicle battery but the 12V battery as well. I travel frequently and leave the Tesla on my Level 2 Home charger for months at a time. The longest period has been 5 months. No dead batteries, issues.
As both the Tesla and SE have lithium batteries it is likely that the above applies to the SE as well. So maybe you can save yourself some worries.
Happy holidays.
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67 Posts
Thank you, tamasd! I think your wife will love the SE--I certainly do. 
Thank you for sharing your experience and observations. I suspect you're right about the 12V battery. Not all EV manufacturers are smart enough to ensure the 12V battery is also maintained when the car is plugged into the Level 2 charger. I haven't seen anything concrete (yet) about the SE, but the recommendation to keep it plugged in during long periods of storage suggests they do.
Happy holidays to you, as well!
Thank you for sharing your experience and observations. I suspect you're right about the 12V battery. Not all EV manufacturers are smart enough to ensure the 12V battery is also maintained when the car is plugged into the Level 2 charger. I haven't seen anything concrete (yet) about the SE, but the recommendation to keep it plugged in during long periods of storage suggests they do.
Happy holidays to you, as well!
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45 Posts
This part is certainly true. I had a 2012 Nissan Leaf. It would charge the 12V battery while the HV (high voltage) battery was charging, but would not keep doing so when the HV battery was full. This led to a strange situation where it was actually better to leave the car unplugged than plugged in. If it was plugged in, the car would "wake up" periodically and check the wall voltage and the cell balance in the battery. All that was powered off the 12V battery only, and would eventually kill the 12V battery, even though the car was plugged in. It was a terrible design flaw, and one that I believe Nissan has since fixed. I have to believe that the Mini SE will not have this issue, though, as it would have already been caught / fixed in the i3.
Michael,Thank you, tamasd! I think your wife will love the SE--I certainly do.
Thank you for sharing your experience and observations. I suspect you're right about the 12V battery. Not all EV manufacturers are smart enough to ensure the 12V battery is also maintained when the car is plugged into the Level 2 charger. I haven't seen anything concrete (yet) about the SE, but the recommendation to keep it plugged in during long periods of storage suggests they do.
Happy holidays to you, as well!
Thought I let you know that MiniUSA confirmed to me in writing that the 12V battery gets charged at the same time as the main battery. No need to drive car periodically to charge the 12V unit.
Incidentally, driving moderately do you think range is 110, more or less? Cheers.
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Range of an EV has to be highly qualified. Under what conditions are you asking? If one lives in a moderate climate (e.g. southern California), and drives mostly city streets, the range should far exceed 110 miles. But if one lives in a cold climate (e.g. Montana) and drives mostly highway (80+ MPH in Montana), 110 miles would not be possible in late December.
Agree. I own Tesla and know exactly what you are stating. I was simply inquiring about the range experience of SE owners. In my case most of the driving will be at moderate suburban/city street speeds, some stop and go traffic and moderate to high summer temperatures with AC engaged. Would appreciate comments from current owners as to expected range under these conditions. Thanks.
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Superb! Thank you for checking on that. ...But I find that I seek just about any reason/excuse to drive my SE.
Before the weather turned cold I was averaging 3.7 mi/kWh, which works out to 107 miles of range. I don't try to drive in a particularly economical way (the SE is very fun to drive), and most of my trips are quite short. 90% of my driving is stop-and-go city streets and 10% highway/interstate. I'm sure I could get more economical results if I tried.
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Just to make sure I'm understanding this all correctly, I have a mini SE on order and am choosing between the JuiceBox 32 and the JuiceBox 40 for a home Level 2 Charger. I understand the mini will only draw 32, so the smaller JuiceBox should be fine, but the JuiceBox 40 should also work (for "future-proofing") and will not deliver too much power to the mini SE. Thanks in advance for comments.
Either EVSE will work. Go with the 40 for future proofing. Just make sure you have the proper voltage amps at your place of charging.
If you do not require a "smart charger" check out the 40 amp charger from Grizzle E. I recently purchased one and it is a solid UL approved unit made in Canada. Check it out. (I have no ownership interest in this company). Gd luck and enjoy your SE. It is a blast to drive.
One more thing....the Mini SE will only draw as much power as it can accept so there is no problem charging from a more powerful EVSE. The car controls the charging process.
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Hi @12pack - did you ever get an answer to your OP?
Mrs Farmer borrowed a Mini EV when her Cooper was in for a service incase we wanted a replacement. I presume your question relates to the home Type 2 AC charging current drawn depending on if you select standard, medium or reduced charging on the central information/charge setting screen?
If we buy the Mini it with be our second EV (Polestar first) & our second charger is down 70m of cable near an out building and drops 25volts at 32 amps alongs this run. This results in me selecting 15amp as a slow charge if it's 'round the back' for the Polestar - I would like to be able to dial up a reduced charging rate and it looks like I can do this with the setting in your OP.
Mrs Farmer borrowed a Mini EV when her Cooper was in for a service incase we wanted a replacement. I presume your question relates to the home Type 2 AC charging current drawn depending on if you select standard, medium or reduced charging on the central information/charge setting screen?
If we buy the Mini it with be our second EV (Polestar first) & our second charger is down 70m of cable near an out building and drops 25volts at 32 amps alongs this run. This results in me selecting 15amp as a slow charge if it's 'round the back' for the Polestar - I would like to be able to dial up a reduced charging rate and it looks like I can do this with the setting in your OP.
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