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120 volt charger - green & red light blinking

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by benagi, Feb 21, 2018.

  1. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Occasionally when I plug in my 12 volt charger that came with the car, the green & red light start blinking. What does that mean? To get it to quit, I unplug from the outlet and plug it back in. That works most of the time but not always. Thx for any info on this matter.
     
  2. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    The indicators are described on pages 109–110 of the Owner’s Manual (PDF); the chart on page 110 explains the meaning of each combination of lights.

    I’m not sure about the colors (which might differ from one cable to another), but if the POWER and ⚠ indicators︎ are both flashing, this means, “There is a malfunction in the plug temperature detection part.” As you may know, there is a temperature sensor in the plug, to detect overheating and reduce the charging current.

    The Repair Manual says for this condition, “Check for an open in the electric vehicle charger cable assembly.” You may have a damaged or defective cable; ask a dealer to inspect it.
     
  3. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Thx for the reply.

    This is the stock charger that comes with the Prime. It happened again tonite. I plugged it in and watched to make sure all is OK. I checked it a little later and both lights blinking again. So I unplug and plugin again and it seems to cure the problem for today. Temp right now in the garage is around 40 degrees. Not a heating problem.

    Will check out pages 109-110. Thx

    Anyone else had this problem?
     
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  4. bill188

    bill188 Junior Member

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  5. DavidA

    DavidA Prius owner since July 2009

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    Are you charging at 8 amps or 12 amps? There is a choice. Does it make a difference?
     
  6. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Not using an extension cord. The car is 3ft from the 110 outlet.
     
  7. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    How do you know if it is charging 8 amps or 12 amps? I just plug it in when I get home. I do not use a charge schedule.
     
  8. DavidA

    DavidA Prius owner since July 2009

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    You can disable 12 amp in the settings. A lower charge setting might not throw the warnings. Page 123 in the USA manual explains how to limit the charging to a lower amperage (of two). The most common charging problem is tripping the breaker due to a higher than expected load. But this might help to identify a potential problem or situation with your error lights.

    Your charging time will increase at 8 amp of course, but the lower power might allow it to work? You should probably find out if your outlet can handle the 12 amp setting in the car, which I think is the default. It won't be the car if that's it, but most likely your wiring (or if using an extension cord?) You'll need a 120v 20 amp dedicated (mostly) house circuit to charge at the higher 12 amp setting.

    With L2 240v charging (not your use case), the circuit should be able to handle 40 amps, even though the car can only receive the highest charge at 16 amps at 240v.
     
    #8 DavidA, Feb 23, 2018
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2018
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  9. benagi

    benagi Active Member

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    Think I might have solved the green & red light blinking on the stock charger that came with the car. While plugging in the garage wall 110 outlet, I started using the upper socket. I have had no problems since. Maybe the lower socket is a bit more worn than the upper or possible loose connections inside. Think I may just replace that socket with a new one. After all, the house is 27 years old and that is the original outlet which I have used to charge all my battery power tools.
     
  10. DavidA

    DavidA Prius owner since July 2009

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    Happy you have it sorted. Only 27? That's a quarter of what mine is! Guess I'm glad I paid the electrician (big bucks) for new power out to our two EV circuits we plug into. I don't even want to think how bad the rest of our house's wiring is.

    You might have had a slight grounding problem with that outlet. My electrician insisted that the 120 had a GFI as part of the install. The 240v line didn't require it, since the EVSE has that built in.
     
  11. Hope D

    Hope D New Member

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    Yes. Tried unplugging but problem remains. Also taking 12 hrs to charge instead of 5.
     
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    try another outlet, another circuit and a public charger.if all fail, try it at the dealer.
     
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