2017 Kia Soul EV Randomly Stops Charging

[JT76052]

We bought a used 2017 Soul Nov 2021 with 19k on it, it is now 35k. All winter and spring it would charge to 101 miles, by Sep 2022 the full charge never gets above 80 miles. Ever since we brought it home it randomly stops charging and shuts off. We have to unplug it and plug it back in to make it start charging again. We use the 110VAC wall charger, it takes longer but will charge to full by the next morning. This doesn't happen every day, just randomly.

What should I check?

 

[IanL]

I think you have two separate issues:

1. The drop in battery capacity implies that one or more cells are defective, and the battery has lost about 20%. Now if the SOH was 100% it will now be about 80%, so above the level (70%) where KIA will replace it free under the warranty. However, if it was already at 80%, it would now be about 64%. You can get yourself a suitable dongle for an Android device (phone or tablet), install SoulEV Spy and get a reading, or you can take it to a KIA Dealer, flourish a copy of PS548 and ask them to read a value for SOH BEFORE making any updates to the software. The only reading which counts for a warranty replacement is the one done by the dealer, but Spy will tell you whether it's worth going.

2. The glitch when charging could be your EVSE (wall charger), the actual 110V mains supply, or something in the car's system. You could try charging at another Type 2 charger (not Chademo) to see if it happens there.

 

[notfred]

I think you need to double check your wall socket, and the wiring and fuses / circuit breakers leading to it, you could be getting close to causing a fire.

The car monitors the charging voltage and if it sees it drop (from too much resistance from poor connections) then it will stop charging for safety. Drawing high current through a resistance causes heat which leads to electrical fires. There is nothing in a residential building quite like charging an EV for pulling a high current for a long time. Sockets in a garage or outside are not in a great place in terms of having nice firm shiny clean contacts. Any dirt or corrosion on the contacts is just going to add resistance.

BTW as this is a 2017 I moved this topic to the Gen 1 forum.

 

[JT76052]

I think you have two separate issues:

1. The drop in battery capacity implies that one or more cells are defective, and the battery has lost about 20%. Now if the SOH was 100% it will now be about 80%, so above the level (70%) where KIA will replace it free under the warranty. However, if it was already at 80%, it would now be about 64%. You can get yourself a suitable dongle for an Android device (phone or tablet), install SoulEV Spy and get a reading, or you can take it to a KIA Dealer, flourish a copy of PS548 and ask them to read a value for SOH BEFORE making any updates to the software. The only reading which counts for a warranty replacement is the one done by the dealer, but Spy will tell you whether it's worth going.

2. The glitch when charging could be your EVSE (wall charger), the actual 110V mains supply, or something in the car's system. You could try charging at another Type 2 charger (not Chademo) to see if it happens there.

Thanks IanL, we have an appointment Tuesday Oct 11th at Kia to confirm the battery SOH. Would you have a PN or URL for the dongle adapter? Also do you mean there are third party manufacturers that make a 110V charger that will fit the Kia Soul ? Now that you brought it to my attention I just check the cord on my charger while its charging and it is hot. Is that normal ?

 

[JT76052]

I think you need to double check your wall socket, and the wiring and fuses / circuit breakers leading to it, you could be getting close to causing a fire.

The car monitors the charging voltage and if it sees it drop (from too much resistance from poor connections) then it will stop charging for safety. Drawing high current through a resistance causes heat which leads to electrical fires. There is nothing in a residential building quite like charging an EV for pulling a high current for a long time. Sockets in a garage or outside are not in a great place in terms of having nice firm shiny clean contacts. Any dirt or corrosion on the contacts is just going to add resistance.

BTW as this is a 2017 I moved this topic to the Gen 1 forum.

Thanks notfred, two questions, (1) is there a better solution for 110V charging? (2) is there log file or report that I can access from the cars menu ?

 

[notfred]

There's no log file or report that I'm aware of. I wonder if the dealer may be able to access something that says why the last charge attempt aborted?

There's nothing special about the Kia level 1 EVSE cord. It's a standard cord and you could use one from another manufacturer to test.

I'm concerned that your cord is "hot", it should only get warm at most. If this is by where it plugs in to the wall, it could be the plug isn't making good contact in the receptacle, as I mentioned above. Alternatively if it is somewhere in the middle of the cord then maybe the cord was damaged at that point at some time in the past if it was bent too sharply or similar. There have been house fires caused by poor contact in the past. Please take this seriously.

 

[IanL]

Would you have a PN or URL for the dongle adapter? Also do you mean there are third party manufacturers that make a 110V charger that will fit the Kia Soul ? Now that you brought it to my attention I just check the cord on my charger while its charging and it is hot. Is that normal ? [/b]

A suitable dongle is the Konnwei KW902. Available on EBay. Connects to your Android device via Bluetooth.

Yes, there are plenty of charging units for 110V - try https://industrial-reviews.com/110v-120v-ev-charger/

Hot sounds bad - I agree with Notfred.