[grahamcheese]

I have had a tethered chargemaster unit for almost 3 years now and completed at least 1,000 charging cycles, we have a PHEV with a tiny battery so have to charge at least once a day, sometimes 3 times a day at weekends. It has been very reliable but starting last week problems started. It seems the car is recognising the cable it connected but the charging does not begin. I have reset the charger from the fusebox but that does not always seem to be the issue. Today I just had to plug it in and unplug it 3 times until it started charging, but I did not have to reset the fuse. Also, to check if there was a problem with the tethered cable I switched to the granny cable which we only used for the first week of ownership and that worked first time, which suggests a problem with the tethered cable. Do these chargers have a lifespan? Is 1,000 cycles considered to be a lot? Someone has recommended to me to use a WD-40 electrical connector cleaner. Anyone else had problems with their chargemaster box?

 

[Chris P.]

My Chargemaster failed after two and a half years. Three year warranty. Replaced within a few days no quibble. Fitted and replaced by ChargedEV.

 

[Spiny]

Mine is 4+ years old but untethered, I've had a cable fail though. I suspect you may have a failed cable or plug. If it starts working if you wiggle the cable or tap the plug, type 1 plugs are prone to micro switch failure btw, you know where the problem is.
If this was supplied and fitted using an OLEV grant then there is a 3 year warranty, ring them.

 

[dk6780]

As @Spiny
The product is designed for 10,000+ cycles so you have a defective one. If it was fitted using an OLEV grant start with the installer.

 

[cDy]

I think there was a problem with some Chargemaster units having electrolytic capacitors installed the wrong way round up to about this time. If you are out of warranty I believe that @andyfras repaired his (and others?) and posted information on it. Do an advanced search on "capacitor" with "andyfras" as the member and you'll find the relevant threads.

 

[grahamcheese]

thanks guys, stil in warranty so I'll go that way first

 

[cDy]

Today I just had to plug it in and unplug it 3 times until it started charging ... Someone has recommended to me to use a WD-40 electrical connector cleaner.

I missed this on first reading. It would be a good idea to clean the contacts on the cable plug and socket in the car. The control signals might be intermittent. None of the contacts can be live when you can access them, due to the interlocks in the system.

I use a cotton bud and switch cleaner (or something like isopropyl alcohol) very infrequently. There can be a surprising amount of dirt / grease. I wouldn't use WD-40, which contains a lubricant, which I wouldn't want to be coating the contacts.

 

[dk6780]

I missed this on first reading. It would be a good idea to clean the contacts on the cable plug and socket in the car. The control signals might be intermittent. None of the contacts can be live when you can access them, due to the interlocks in the system.

I use a cotton bud and switch cleaner (or something like isopropyl alcohol) very infrequently. There can be a surprising amount of dirt / grease. I wouldn't use WD-40, which contains a lubricant, which I wouldn't want to be coating the contacts.

The OP may be referring to an issue with the microswitches on Type 1 plugs which sometimes "stick" in the open/disconnect position as alluded to by @Spiny and the recommended solution is often to squirt WD40 into the lock release lever area to lubricate it.

type 1 plugs are prone to micro switch failure btw,

 

[grahamcheese]

they were surprisingly responsive and will have someone out here to look at it monday morning.... knowing my luck it will be working fine then....

 

[Orrery]

I use a cotton bud and switch cleaner (or something like isopropyl alcohol) very infrequently.

But be careful with IPA it really is very flammable (from someone who used it then ended up with one hand on fire).

 

[cDy]

IPA it really is very flammable

Very true. But some idiot had the idea of taking large quantities for flammable fluid, putting it in a tank in a carriage, and burning it in a machine with lots of moving parts and low efficiency to drive the carriage along

 

[WithEthyl]

Very true. But some idiot had the idea of taking large quantities for flammable fluid, putting it in a tank in a carriage, and burning it in a machine with lots of moving parts and low efficiency to drive the carriage along

At the time it was an amazing idea because it was a huge improvement on the alternative, which was having the carriage pulled along by a horse.

You don't get much range out of a horse and the recharging times are awful, requiring horse-swapping facilities known as stables. Also the emissions aren't great, you don't just smell it, you step in it!

 

[dk6780]

You don't get much range out of a horse and the recharging times are awful, requiring horse-swapping facilities known as stables. Also the emissions aren't great, you don't just smell it, you step in it

Horses emit more CO2 than the average ICE per mile, so in a lot of ways are worse.

 

[donald]

I have had a tethered chargemaster unit for almost 3 years now and completed at least 1,000 charging cycles, we have a PHEV with a tiny battery so have to charge at least once a day, sometimes 3 times a day at weekends. It has been very reliable but starting last week problems started. It seems the car is recognising the cable it connected but the charging does not begin. I have reset the charger from the fusebox but that does not always seem to be the issue. Today I just had to plug it in and unplug it 3 times until it started charging, but I did not have to reset the fuse. Also, to check if there was a problem with the tethered cable I switched to the granny cable which we only used for the first week of ownership and that worked first time, which suggests a problem with the tethered cable. Do these chargers have a lifespan? Is 1,000 cycles considered to be a lot? Someone has recommended to me to use a WD-40 electrical connector cleaner. Anyone else had problems with their chargemaster box?

Clean the pins. Put a very small amount of WD40 on a cotton bud and it'll fit nicely in the gap between pin and plug and just work it in and out, and move around the pin to clean all sides. Don't push hard, you might have a big cotton bud! Just press in gently and all should be fine, it is up to you not to bend your pins with excessive force. You'll see a filthy grey appear. Keep doing that with cleaner buds until it is clean. Then just use a dry one (or two) to wipe off any remaining WD40, if there is any.

You will also likely find the plug is immediately easier to insert. Basically, a grinding paste develops with a lot of use, and eventually just grinds off the nickel (or silver) plate.

Reason I am proposing to do that (before anything else) is that if you use it a lot then a dirt layer builds on the pin (all the degraded metal) and it can eventually corrupt your communications connect.

If that has no effect, report back.

 

[grahamcheese]

well they came and just decided to switch for a new one, presumbaly they can get the money off the government as its still under warranty. But this unit has a communications device in it. Why do they need to collect my data? Are they going to try to move to some kind of new business model where they lease the chargers or something like that, depending on how much electricity they deliver?

 

[Neilew]

Why do they need to collect my data?

AFAIK it is the government collecting the data for ULEV purposes. Although the whole aim of the game with smart meters (and I suppose smart chargers) is to transfer everyone to a time of use tariff.

 

[AlGrsn]

I missed this on first reading. It would be a good idea to clean the contacts on the cable plug and socket in the car. The control signals might be intermittent. None of the contacts can be live when you can access them, due to the interlocks in the system.

I use a cotton bud and switch cleaner (or something like isopropyl alcohol) very infrequently. There can be a surprising amount of dirt / grease. I wouldn't use WD-40, which contains a lubricant, which I wouldn't want to be coating the contacts.

WD-40 is "Water Displacer, experiment number 40." WD-40 is a poor lubricant and is not for cleaning electrical contacts. The WD-40 brand includes several other products. Two that are sitting on my shop shelf are "WD-40 Specialist Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant" and "WD-40 Specialist Rust Release Penetrant Spray." I have had WD-40 brand lithium grease spray – for door hinges, latches. Better choices are dedicated electrical contact cleaners that leave no sticky residue.
Thanks for repeating this advice. It doesn't get posted often enough.

 

[donald]

WD-40 is "Water Displacer, experiment number 40." WD-40 is a poor lubricant and is not for cleaning electrical contacts. The WD-40 brand includes several other products. Two that are sitting on my shop shelf are "WD-40 Specialist Water Resistant Silicone Lubricant" and "WD-40 Specialist Rust Release Penetrant Spray." I have had WD-40 brand lithium grease spray – for door hinges, latches. Better choices are dedicated electrical contact cleaners that leave no sticky residue.
Thanks for repeating this advice. It doesn't get posted often enough.

You're not intending to lubricate your pins!

Just clean the dirt off and wipe off any left over WD40.

It is a 'non-water-based' transport medium for moving all the metal shit off the pins. You can use what you like but there aren't that many common water-free low viscosity liquids around for most people.

Name another low viscosity water free liquid you can buy in the shops easily?

 

[cDy]

Name another low viscosity water free liquid you can buy in the shops easily?

WD-40 specialist contact cleaner. Shame that they are overloading the brand name. Lots of other contact cleaners / switch cleaners are easily available. Not really much risk using WD-40 "original" but it does contain a lubricant and it's best not to put lubricants on electrical contacts. The lubricant, by the way, will tend to attract dirt over time, requiring more cleaning ...

 

[donald]

WD-40 specialist contact cleaner. Shame that they are overloading the brand name. Lots of other contact cleaners / switch cleaners are easily available. Not really much risk using WD-40 "original" but it does contain a lubricant and it's best not to put lubricants on electrical contacts. The lubricant, by the way, will tend to attract dirt over time, requiring more cleaning ...

It's fine for this application.

I've done this several times. What harmful outcomes do you envisage? I can tell you if they have happened.

Hey, go blow your pocket money on the most expensive contact cleaner you can find, if that floats your boat. But engineering is about finding a practical cost effective solution. This works, end of.

I am absolutely not proposing that anyone intentionally leaves WD40 on the pins, they should be wiped dry. Anything left will be remove in the first mating cycle.