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Not charging on plug-in

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Old Bear, Sep 16, 2018.

  1. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
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    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I think we have a problem. It first manifested itself a few weeks ago when my wife discovered that out Prime was only half-charged after being plugged into its Level 2 charger in our garage overnight.

    Since then, the problem has occurred three times, most recently this evening.

    I returned home after running some local errands with the Prime's battery at about 60% and the heads-up display showing a remaining range of about 20 miles. As usual, I got out of the car, closed the door, and plugged in the J1772 cable. Our Leviton EVR-40 clicked on and it's green charging indicator light began flashing as normal. The green LED next to the Prime's charge point lit up normally.

    But when I glanced into the car, the MID did not show the amount of time needed for full charge -- and the power meter on my EVSE showed the Prime was only drawing about 85 watts rather than the 3600 or so of a normal charge.

    I removed the J1772 cable which caused the EVSE's blinking light to of off and the power meter to drop to its usual idle power indication of 5 watts. I then re-inserted the J1772 causing the EVSE to click on and the power meter to go back to only about 85 watts.

    My next step was to take the Prime out for a quick drive around the block and when I returned and plugged it in, there was no difference: EVSE indicator in charge mode, 85 watts -- and the MID announcing that I should plug in the car to charge.

    I checked the MID to make sure it was set for charge NOW, and it was. I could not charge the display with the controls on the steering wheel right. I turned the car off again, then back on and finally it announced that it would be fully charged in about an hour. The power meter on my EVSE circuit showed the Prime now drawing its normal 3600 watts.

    (I checked the Entune charge management function on my cellphone at it showed the car charging with one hour left to go. After about an hour, I received a normal alert from Entune saying the Prime had successfully completed charging.)

    Our usual pattern is to plug in the Prime when we arrive home and unplug it when we leave. We do not use any of the scheduling functions.

    My first inclination was to suspect the EVSE or the J1772 cable and plug. But the problem cleared up while I was sitting in the car playing with buttons without my touching the EVSE or cable.

    Has anyone experienced anything like this? Does the Prime keep some kind of a log which will allow my dealership repair department to diagnose the problem? Any suggestions?
     
    #1 Old Bear, Sep 16, 2018
  2. iplug

    iplug Senior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Rocklin, CA
    Vehicle:
    Other Electric Vehicle
    Model:
    ----USA----
    If it recurs, maybe consider trying charging with a commercial or other L2 EVSE or even on your L1 EVSE.

    We have a 1st gen Plug-in Prius, not Prime. But our first L2 EVSE was one of the first JuiceBox units and every so many charging sessions we would find the car only charged a 5-25% then shut off. This was especially a problem since I delay charging until the early morning hours for time of use and would wake up ready for work to sometimes find only a couple miles of range added to my car and have to use gas on my commute:eek:.

    This never occurred on other L2 EVSEs or my L1 EVSE, even with delayed charge. After some difficulty, we returned the JuiceBox and got a ClipperCreek unit and never had a problem since. (Disclaimer: there are many well satisfied JuiceBox owners)
     
    #2 iplug, Sep 16, 2018
  3. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2017
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    Location:
    California
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Three Touring
    The car does keep a log: I’ve posted a general explanation of Vehicle Control History events in a previous thread.

    For plug-in charging, in the Toyota Techstream diagnostic system, look under Powertrain > Plug-in Control > Utility > Vehicle Control History and Powertrain > Hybrid Control > Utility > Vehicle Control History. Many of the events would have accompanying freeze frame data, and there are also real-time data available under Powertrain > Plug-in Control > Data List. The Repair Manual (available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com) gives possible causes and actions to be taken for each event.
     
    #3 Elektroingenieur, Sep 16, 2018
    Old Bear likes this.
  4. drizzle

    drizzle Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 21, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    When I was using the Chargepoint $100 freebie, I did have rare times where the Chargepoint graph showed eg. 50 W for the first 4 mins before rising to the usual 3.1 KW. Also other rare occasions where the graph dip(s) to 2 KW or even 50 W in the middle of the 3 KW session. Usually the sessions start immediately at 3.1 KW and taper off the last 10-15 mins at 800 W.
     
    #4 drizzle, Sep 17, 2018
  5. Old Bear

    Old Bear Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2017
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    Location:
    Boston, Massachusetts USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    Thanks. That's very good to know. I will keep a log of date and time if it happens again so that I have something useful for the dealership's technician.
     
    #5 Old Bear, Sep 17, 2018
    Elektroingenieur likes this.
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