Weird charging issue

[mxs]

Hi,

anyone can offer further information on this to me weird issue?

I say weird because it has never happened before in my year and half of 2018 model ownership. I plug my Bosch Power Max 2 into the car for non-scheduled charging session. Disco lights come on, car starts receiving charge. All looks normal. Some time after ... charging stops. No fault displayed on the car, nor on the EVSE. All looks like just like when you end charging by unplugging the cable during a charging session. I unplug the cable, plug it back in. Again car starts charging, all looks good. After a while, this time it's shorter than the first time, the same abrupt stops happen. I repeat it third time, of course it shuts off again after even shorter time, this time the EVSE displays a fault. Which according to Bosch means, that CCID (something similar to GFCI I understand) trips, because it senses some irregularity.

If I power off the EVSE and power it back on .... I can go through the above cycle again.

I read the threads where people have had issues with OBC, but my understanding is there's usually an error displayed on the vehicle's dash, plus the cars refuse to take a charge completely.

I have not tried the L1 charging, to eliminate whether this could be the EVSE being faulty, rather than the OBC or car?

Anyone can offer their own similar experience or advise, before I start involving the dealer which I have no problem, but they are not closest and the car is still charging for my daily needs?

 

[notfred]

Definitely try the L1 cord to see if it is the car or the EVSE that has the problem.

 

[mxs]

L1 charging went on for night duration, without a fail trip. Which is good news, although I am not sure it validates anything at all. Because the OBC for L2 could be using internally different circuitry than L1 ..... so technically it could still be OBC .... the only way to validate that is to take my L2 charger and try to plug it into 220V curcuit elsewhere and try to charge my car .... don't know anyone with such circuit and correct outlet.

I called Bosch, to find out what sort of an advise they can offer ... whether under warranty or out of warranty. Was 5 mins on hold to only be told ... "Sorry, leave a message" .... LOL ... looks like these guys are really ready for the EV invasion.

I will go over my 220V circuit over the weekend, to see whether I can spot any loose wires on either end, causing perhaps higher resistance and thus making the EVSE trip. I might have a look into the EVSE, but only once I find out that Bosch will not be helpful.

I got the EVSE for about 220$, so it was relatively cheap and there is few features I miss dearly ... like setting up lower amps and have phone app for the charger ... so I would not mind replacing it at some point anyway with a different unit than Bosch.

I will update the thread once I find out more ...

 

[ksoul2084]

Couldn't you find a public L2 charger nearby and test using it?

 

[mxs]

Yep, I could and will at some point (they are hard to find unoccupied during regular hours), but that will only prove the state of the car's L2 circuitry. it doesn't help to validate anything regarding my 220V circuit in the garage or the EVSE itself.

 

[EMartin]

I had a sudden stop of charging about three weeks ago, while the car was unatended.
Some days later the charging didn't start right after plugging in. The car was switched off at that moment. So I switched it on (including HV) and at that moment charging started.
I then cleaned all the pins of the inlet (especially the control pilot pin) with contact spray. Since then charging behavior is back to normal.

BR,
Martin

 

[tintin99]

I had a sudden stop of charging about three weeks ago, while the car was unatended.
Some days later the charging didn't start right after plugging in. The car was switched off at that moment. So I switched it on (including HV) and at that moment charging started.
I then cleaned all the pins of the inlet (especially the control pilot pin) with contact spray. Since then charging behavior is back to normal.

BR,
Martin

I'm having the same issue described by mxs, and it has been going on for over a year now...but it only seems to happen in hot/humid weather. I'm also using Bosch Power Max 2 and a 2018 Kia Soul EV.
I want to try your suggestion of contact spray (although the fact that this problem occurs in heat/humidity might mean this won't fix it), but what kind of contact spray did you use? Did you find it permanently fixed the issue (it's been 5 years since your post)? Or did the underlying problem turn out to be different?
Thanks!

 

[IanL]

The best contact cleaning spray is iso-propyl alcohol (propanol). Avoid the type with lubricant added - that is good for switches, but will attract dirt build-up in open situations, so NO WD40.

 

[tintin99]

Yep, I could and will at some point (they are hard to find unoccupied during regular hours), but that will only prove the state of the car's L2 circuitry. it doesn't help to validate anything regarding my 220V circuit in the garage or the EVSE itself.

Hi MXS, I have the exact same problem as you.
I have a 2018 Kia Soul EV.
I am using a Bosch Power Max 2 charger.
For me, it started a year or so ago, and here's what I have found:
- the problem is much worse in warm weather than cold weather. In the winter the issue is hardly there at all. In the summer I might have to re-start the charging every 10 minutes. Awful!
- no indicators on the dash ever
- I have charged the vehicle at other L2 chargers and it has also failed, but only once. Also, there other L2 chargers seem to be a little weaker than the Bosch, as the charging time is a bit longer.

Did you ever find a solution??

I have tried a contact cleaner, but it did not help.

 

[JejuSoul]

Here's a post from back in 2016 talking about solution for humidity. : - Charging problem with lake fog.

In my country (and territory), we know the rust problem on plug equipment (Wet fog like lake fog =
You are soaked when it does not rain :mrgreen: ).

We always use copper grease on connector : old link removed

On this pictures, it not rust but copper-grease.

 

[tintin99]

Here's a post from back in 2016 talking about solution for humidity. : - Charging problem with lake fog.

In my country (and territory), we know the rust problem on plug equipment (Wet fog like lake fog =
You are soaked when it does not rain :mrgreen: ).

We always use copper grease on connector : old link removed

On this pictures, it not rust but copper-grease.

There seem to be a lot of "copper grease" products out there. Do you mean a copper-based anti seize lubricant?

 

[JejuSoul]

Yes. It lists battery poles and terminals as one of the things it is used for.

 

[tintin99]

Yes. It lists battery poles and terminals as one of the things it is used for.
View attachment 226

Thank you JejuSoul! I will give that a try.
A question about application of the above: I can unplug my Bosch charger and safely apply the grease to the connector there, but is it safe to be touching the Kia connector with my fingers? I was going to only [liberally] apply it to the bosch side.

 

[JejuSoul]

When the car is off there is no High Voltage power in any of the wires outside of the battery pack.
If you're worried just smear grease over the cable end and push it into the car. That will then coat both.

 

[tintin99]

When the car is off there is no High Voltage power in any of the wires outside of the battery pack.
If you're worried just smear grease over the cable end and push it into the car. That will then coat both.

I applied the copper grease multiple times to make sure it was coated...I don't think it has really made a difference. And last night the charging was abysmal - would only charge 5% at a time before either just stopping (with errors from the EV or the charger) or having a charger fault.
Again, nothing ever shows up on the Soul itself to indicate an issue.
So I'm wondering, have other people had this type of issue with the Bosch PowerMax only?