[jens.bergbom]

Hi all.

In the middle of the night our Ampera woke the family up with the "chirping" sound indicating the charging stopped.

It seems like the granny charger cable unit is broken. See video for the noice it makes.

Question(s):

• My 2014 still has 2 years of Voltec warranty left. Will it cover?
• If not: Have you heard the noice and repaired it?

Video: New video by Jens Bergbom

Thanks for your help and assistance!

 

[Spiny]

This is supported under the first owner lifetime warranty It may be supported by the Voltec one, you need to ask your Ampera Dealer.

That sounds like the contactor chattering so the electronics have probably failed.

For replacements:-
Screwfix do one Type 1 EVSE
Leaf and Mitsubishi ones turn up in the classifieds sometimes and on ebay.

Repairing it is probably possible - this one I think is screwed together with Torx screws. Never taken mine apart as its still working, its rarely used though as I have a 16A (3.6kW) old chargemaster unit for charging.

 

[h8ten]

I think you could argue that it is part of the Voltec system and therefore covered by the 8-year/100,000-mile warranty. As it happens I found this copy of an email that a member received a while back, it might be worth quoting it. Remember it will probably have to be an authorised Ampera garage for any warranty claims.

 

[Jeremy Parsons]

Give it a go , when I emailed vauxhall about this it was confirmed it was not covered however your dealer may have a different view some people have been lucky in the past or it was covered under the 3 year B2B. That said I picked up a Nissan Leaf three pin charger that I used for around 18 months on ebay for around £150 the type 1 chargers are quite cheap and the nissan leaf one is excellent.

Dear
Thank you for your email dated 20th august 2018 in regards to your Vauxhall Ampera, vehicle registration number XXXXXXX.
I am very sorry to hear about the troubles you are having with your Voltec charger. In regards to your question enquiry on whether the charger is covered under the 8 year voltec warranty, I can advise that unfortunately the warranty covers only the battery and not the charger itself.
I apologize for the disappointing news however if you require further assistance or have any more queries please feel free to contact us via telephone on 0800 026 0034 or alternatively via reply email on [email protected].
Yours sincerely
Khuram Farooq
Vauxhall Motors UK
Customer care advisor

 

[Spiny]

That letter is wrong, the 8 year Voltec warranty covers the HV drivetrain as well not only the battery. This type of miss-information is why my next EV will not be a Vauxhall.

 

[Jeremy Parsons]

the request was for the three pin EVSE commonly known as the charger , I agree the on board charger should be covered , I do agree Vauxhall support is the biggest minus for the Ampera as a vehicle , the best support is from the forums. I expect that longer term the Ampera's in the uk will disappear from lack of engineering support.

 

[GJO]

For replacements:-
Screwfix do one Type 1 EVSE

That Screwfix link is extremely helpful - best price I have seen for a type one charger in the UK.

 

[Krazyponk]

That one has a 10m cable, but if 5m is long enough, then Screwfix have another MasterPlug one for £20 less (£139.99) - which is a great deal.

 

[RunningStrong]

That Screwfix link is extremely helpful - best price I have seen for a type one charger in the UK.

They dropped the price about a week ago. It's a bargain, and proves that early prices were massively inflated.

 

[Jeremy Parsons]

last time I looked they were around £240

 

[Huw2997]

I have had two granny leads replaced under warranty. Pentagon in Sheffield had no problem with replacing them.
Very helpful generally too.

 

[Marli]

Hi
Think the dealer in Newbury I think did it, Bellingers?

 

[GJO]

My Granny Charger is working fine - however, the green LEDs no longer function. I don't know when they failed because I usually plug it in during daylight and it was only recently when I plugged in after dusk that I noticed the omission. The lack of green lights has not affected the charge rate.

 

[HandyAndy]

Graham, if the EVSe's working, I wouldn't worry about lack of green LED. Maybe the lead has fractured, or the chip itself has failed. Pretty unusual, but not impossible! When the whole thing packs up, I might be able to have a look inside for you; I pulled mine apart when it started overheating, and managed to replace the relays & that's now sorted.

 

[GJO]

Just a thought - if my granny charger fails I will be unable to charge because, after three months, I am still waiting for EO to repair or replace the faulty charger that they supplied . . .

 

[finchlean]

Just a thought - if my granny charger fails I will be unable to charge because, after three months, I am still waiting for EO to repair or replace the faulty charger that they supplied . . .

What's the problem with your EO charger?

 

[GJO]

It just stopped working - the guy who installed it came out and checked the installation and mumbled something about one of the internal components being unreliable and that he had seen similar failures. He advised me to contact EO but three months on all they have done is say they are waiting for a report from the installer. The constant delay is very annoying.

 

[dk6780]

It just stopped working - the guy who installed it came out and checked the installation and mumbled something about one of the internal components being unreliable and that he had seen similar failures. He advised me to contact EO but three months on all they have done is say they are waiting for a report from the installer. The constant delay is very annoying.

Legally your contract is with the installer not EO. Assuming that you got the OLEV grant then you had three years guarantee including on-site Service and repair. Get the lazy bu66er back and make him do what he was paid for. If he refuses contact OLEV to get him struck off and the responsibility passed to EO.

 

[finchlean]

It just stopped working - the guy who installed it came out and checked the installation and mumbled something about one of the internal components being unreliable and that he had seen similar failures. He advised me to contact EO but three months on all they have done is say they are waiting for a report from the installer. The constant delay is very annoying.

Sorry to hear. Not a great response from EO

 

[GJO]

Legally your contract is with the installer not EO. Assuming that you got the OLEV grant then you had three years guarantee including on-site Service and repair. Get the lazy bu66er back and make him do what he was paid for. If he refuses contact OLEV to get him struck off and the responsibility passed to EO.

That is very useful to know - I will contact the installer again tomorrow.