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“EVSE?! I Don’t See No EVSE Here!”

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by mr88cet, Dec 9, 2019.

  1. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    At the mall where I often charge our ‘Prime while my wife and I fake a walk, increasingly, I plug in and “nothing happens.”

    More precisely, the ‘Prime just doesn’t see the EVSE. I plug in, I hear a relay in the EVSE click, but the locking solenoid in the ‘Prime does not click. In the cockpit, it says that the charge port door is opened. On the app, it says nothing is connected to the charge port.

    I switch to another (ChargePoint) EVSE next to it, and same thing. And another, same thing.

    No issues with our Clipper Creek (level-2) at home, and generally no issues with the ChargePoint EVSEs at work.

    Historically they’ve worked fine at that location, and sometimes they still do.

    Anybody seen anything like that? Thoughts?
     
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Issue with the EVSE itself? What do users on PlugShare or ChargePoint say? If they’re owners of other vehicles, that’ll give you an idea.
     
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  3. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    Hard to tell for sure... When it has this “failure to communicate,” all of the ChargePoint EVSEs at that location seem to behave the same. That would seem to suggest the problem is the car, but no issues with our Clipper Creek EVSE at home, and typically no issues with the ChargePoint EVSEs at work.

    Hmmm...

    Oh yeah, one other thing: after I gave up on it, an i3 driver drove up and plugged in. I mentioned to that driver that it wasn’t charging us. I’m not sure how an i3 indicates that charging has begun, but he didn’t seem concerned, so presumably it charged his i3 with no surprises.

    My best guess is that there might be some minor disagreement between ChargePoint and Toyota about how to interpret some spec in the type-2 connector interface, leaving that interface sometimes a tad dodgy.
     
    #3 mr88cet, Dec 9, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
  4. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

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    Isn't it nice having a PHEV. The car doesn't charge for whatever reason you just use HV mode if necessary. If I drove a BEV and found it didn't charge I'd be more concerned.
     
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  5. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    It’s the safest bet. Well, that is until, maybe 20ish years from now, when gas costs $12/gallon because hardly anybody makes it anymore.
     
  6. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

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    Most gas stations will have been converted to Hydrogen by then.
     
  7. PT Guy

    PT Guy Senior Member

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    mr88, does the green light in the car's charge port light? Some of the EVSE "nozzles" get pretty beat up and may take an extra push & wiggle to seat fully.
     
  8. MSantos

    MSantos EcoAccelerometry

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    I totally second this advice.

    Also in addition to PlugShare and ChargePoint do not forget to check ChargeHub too. I found that a lot of people in my area still use it for check-ins and feedback on individual sites and ports.

    Cheers
     
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  9. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    Oh, thanks for the reminder. I was going to ask:

    I haven’t done any ... networking ... via PlugShare, but I’m pretty sure I can make that happen. However, I’m not sure what to think (at least based upon what I see in the ChargePoint app and website) it would mean to look into it there. Does ChargePoint have a networking site?

    Also, I don’t think I’d heard of ChargeHub before. I’ll look ‘em up!
     
  10. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    (Sorry, I missed your reply here earlier.)

    Answer: No, the green light does not go on in these cases. I have tried a fair amount of wiggling, as well as squeezing the trigger a few times, since that breaks the connection.
     
    #10 mr88cet, Dec 10, 2019
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2019
  11. noonm

    noonm Senior Member

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    My work has a (not on the network) chargepoint station and I've noticed that sometimes it takes a few minutes before it "recognizes" my Prime is plugged in and starts charging. How long did you leave it plugged into before deciding it didn't work?
     
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  12. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    @mr88cet - So after you turned on the Chargepoint unit through the app (or RFID), you don't see the car charging after waiting a few minutes?

    Just as an FYI - my work place had a few custom designed charging units built as part of a university engineering project. I ran into the faculty member who was in charge of the project and he commented to me that the Toyota Prius was a lot more finicky when it came to charging. The charger actually wouldn't start up for me until they put in a software patch later that day. All other non-Toyota vehicles seemed to be charging happily away.

    Haven't had any issues beyond the rare 5 minute delay before charging will start after I plug in.
     
  13. 3PriusMike

    3PriusMike Prius owner since 2000, Tesla M3 2018

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    I think that this is an issue with the ChargePoint equipment.
    I've charged thousands of time with ChargePoint. For 6+ years with my PIP at work; and 3 years with a Leaf.
    Work moved to a new location with 48 ChargePoint stations and then I got a Tesla Model 3.
    After about a year we had a similar problem with several of the ChargePoint stations and people with some cars (Tesla and Toyota and maybe others) would plug in and nothing happens...other cars would work. And moving to a different station...fail ... and to another station and it worked. At some point ( a couple of months ago) someone came and did something and everything works fine now. Or maybe the remotely upgraded the ChargePoint firmware.

    Mike
     
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  14. 2k1Toaster

    2k1Toaster Brand New Prius Batteries

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    Most often it is the diode check that fails if it is electrical or the pilot signal pin has warn out if it is mechanical. Diode check is generally failed inside the OBC. Pilot signal could be your receptacle has stretched but others with larger diameters due to tolerances still make contact (for now...) or it could be on the public station, the pin gets worn away after every plug and it is worse when people jiggle it like you do.

    My Leaf has a cracked diode on the OBC. When it is really cold outside, stations that check for the diode safety fail the test and refuse to start charging. At stations that don't do the check, no problem. Some CP stations check, some don't.
     
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  15. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    I have seen that sort of thing before, and at these same stations, but not exactly that.

    IIRC, what I have seen is it plugging in correctly — the car seeing the EVSE as usual — but the charge puttering around a few tens of mA for several minutes, and then finally kicking up to the full 3.2ish Amps.

    However, to answer your question, this last time I left it plugged in for around 20 minutes, and it never saw the EVSE in that time frame.

    Correct. In these cases, the car doesn’t seem to notice that the EVSE has even been plugged in. A relay on the EVSE clicks, but the solenoid in the car to lock in the type-1 connector does not click, and the green light does not turn on. In the app, it says the charge port is disconnected.

    In the cases where you see it take a while to start charging, does the car seem to register the plug’s presence?
     
    #15 mr88cet, Dec 11, 2019
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 12, 2019
  16. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    I can tell there will be delay in charging if I close all of the doors and listen for the inverter (?) running. It kind of sounds like running water. If I hear that, then I know in about 2-5 minutes the blue charge light will start blinking.

    If I don't hear anything then there is a most likely an issue with the charger (i.e. it's broken).
     
  17. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    These chargers almost certainly get the most usage of all the chargers I plug into routinely...
     
  18. vvillovv

    vvillovv Senior Member

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    Have you ever called?
    Tech support can sometimes help sort out issues with individual charge stations.
     
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  19. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    I have not called ChargePoint regarding these chargers, usually because my wife wants to get on with our walk or shopping. However, I have called them regarding occasional issues with the chargers at work. They have been helpful all in all.

    FWIW, since the most recent time I saw this (whereupon I started this thread), I have plugged in a couple times with no surprises. It’s definitely a ... transient phenomenon.
     
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  20. mr88cet

    mr88cet Senior Member

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    I’ve had a few more chances to experiment with this. What seems to have the highest chances of solving the problem is, after plugging it in, to press and release the disconnect button several times. Probably that switch is a little flaky, or perhaps the resistor in that circuit is a little different from what Toyota expects.