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A question about L2 charger compatibility issues

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Pdog808, Jun 6, 2017.

  1. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    I just obtained access to a new set of L2 chargers at work but they work a bit differently than your normal chargers. By "differently" I mean that the systems use a proprietary piece of software that turns on the chargers.

    The issue I am having is that when I plug in the Prime, the port indicator light goes solid green for about 2 seconds, then starts blinking rapidly, then goes dark.

    I have done the following:

    1. Turned off all charge scheduling to ensure that the Prime is in "Charge Now" mode.

    2. Checked the charging on the Prime by taking it to a regular L2 station and ensured it charged with no issue.This tells me that the issue has to be how the charging station is talking to the Prime or vice versa.

    Does anyone have any links to technical documents on how the PiP communicates with the charging station? The people running the charging station software have told me that the charging profile on the Prius can be an issue because it tends to stop charging at some point to check the status of the charge (not sure about this).

    I am resigned to the fact that I'm going to have to help them debug this so I can get the Prime to charge reliably.

    BTW - there were a slew of Chevy Bolts and a few Leafs that apparently were having no issue charging. I was the sole representative of the PiP nation. :(
     
    #1 Pdog808, Jun 6, 2017
  2. Prius from Dad

    Prius from Dad Senior Member

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    Try plugging it in and unplugging it from the car and plugging it back in. That will enable charge now. It works for me,
     
    #2 Prius from Dad, Jun 6, 2017
  3. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    I actually tried that also. The car is ready to charge, it just seems that when I plug it in, either the Prime or the charging station (or both) does not handshake properly and charging is aborted.

    When I had the charge schedule enabled, I made sure that it was on "Charge Now" when I plugged in. When that didn't work after half a dozen tries (and multiple plugs on different stations), I disabled the charging schedule, did the whole unplug and plug routine but still no joy.

    To verify that there were no charging issues with the Prime, I took the car to an L2 charging station that I have used before and the car started charging immediately.

    Ironically, someone with a Volt pulled up and used one of the L2 plugs that I had tried previously and started charging right up with no issues at all.
     
    #3 Pdog808, Jun 6, 2017
  4. Prius from Dad

    Prius from Dad Senior Member

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    Sorry, that is beyond my level of expertise. I'm sure someone on here will be able to help you. Good luck. (y)
     
    #4 Prius from Dad, Jun 6, 2017
  5. Elektroingenieur

    Elektroingenieur Senior Member

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    I’d start with the SAE J1772 standard, “SAE Electric Vehicle and Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Coupler.” If your library doesn’t subscribe to SAE Mobilus, you can buy a copy of the latest edition for $72. The Wikipedia article is also informative.
     
    #5 Elektroingenieur, Jun 6, 2017
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  6. Lee Jay

    Lee Jay Senior Member

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    What make and model?
     
    #6 Lee Jay, Jun 7, 2017
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  7. JamesBurke

    JamesBurke Senior Member

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    EVGO type DC fast chargers I'll bet. No AC power on the 1772 part of the connector because it's just for signaling. See if there is not 2 large sockets below the 1772 part on the handle. That's the DC power pins. You don't have those so no connection completed.
     
    #7 JamesBurke, Jun 7, 2017
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  8. Pdog808

    Pdog808 Active Member

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    I'll go up and take a closer look at the equipment again tomorrow. Spent over an hour today trying to get it to work.

    Also going to read through the SAE J1772 specs.

    Thanks to everyone who replied!
     
    #8 Pdog808, Jun 7, 2017
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