[david993]

Hello, I bought an MG ZS EV 2 days ago. Got to say, I am very impressed with the car but ready to return it!.. It will not charge at home!

1. Connected to my 7kw ChargedEV wall socket (with an MG lead). Initially worked then "Connected not charging", after about 5mins. Retrying gave no joy
2. I tried the Granny charger. Initially worked then "Connected not charging", after 2 mins
3. We tried a local PodPoint and it worked for an hour. Stopped due to bordem

Did some Googling and guessed out of date firmware. Dealer is frustraiting but the AA ("MG assist") were good, called the dealer and told them its coming and gave me a hire car.

Since then, the dealer informed it has latest firmware, no issue etc. So not sure what to do? I just do not trust it will work.

I raised a query with PodPoint but, given Granny charger does not work, I do not believe wall socket is the issue.

Really appreciate any help. Thanks, David

 

[Carty]

3. We tried a local PodPoint and it worked for an hour. Stopped due to bordem

Hi @david993 .
Sorry to hear you are having problems charging you car.
Bit of odd one that ?.
When you collected it, the car would have been fully charged I guess ?.
If so, the dealers wall box worked fine with the car then.
The fact that it appeared to charge okay at a public charging post as well, could point towards a problem at the home address ?.
Do you have a good friend or relative that would let you try using your "Granny" unit at their house ?.
If it charges fine there, you have one tick in the box.
Do you have a rapid charger close by, you could try that.
Just a process of elimination.
If you take it back to the dealer, the first thing they will do is putting back on charge on their wall box.
If it charges okay, they will want to return the car to you.
You COULD have an earthing problem at your home address.
Good luck !.

 

[davesul]

The granny charger problem sounds like the one described by Freddy when he first got his MG ZS EV several months ago. He was initially only able to change from the granny if he plugged it into a cooker socket rated at 32 amps, but not from a 13 amp fitting. Later he resolved it as a problem with the house wiring to the 13 amp point.
The suggestion from Carty to try the granny at another address could be well worth a try.

The Charged EV wall socket - is that a new unit or does it have a known history of working correctly?

 

[dk6780]

Given that it works on another Level 3 charge point (the PodPoint) then I doubt it is the car.
As above, take the granny lead to another house or find a three pin plug on Zap-Map and try it there.
The ChargedEV charge point - are you sure that it is in dumb mode and hasn't got a timer set on the app or requires authorisation for a charge? Have you got a friend / neighbour with an EV that you can ask to come around and try it out?

 

[david993]

thanks all for the replies.

The granny charger is on an extension lead (no choice) so possible voltage drop, or similar, there. I'll check the voltage under load, failing that get an electrician to check impedance etc. BMW charger worked fine. No intention to use the granny charger.

Today, the dealer called and said they charged it, no problem.

It was only half charged when I collected it, though they told me it was fully charged, I think that is "odd" on reflection.

My ChargedEV 7Kw charger has worked perfectly for 2 years but with an i3 and Mitusbishi PHEV.

Will try to find someone to test locally, that's a good point. My house is very old but the entire electrical system has been checked yearly, also by the ChargedEV installer.

 

[mikegs]

It was only half charged when I collected it, though they told me it was fully charged, I think that is "odd" on reflection.

They might not have checked the charge level, just noted that it had charged for a while and then stopped automatically. That might suggest you have a charge limit set on the car, if it has that facility.

 

[davesul]

thanks all for the replies.

The granny charger is on an extension lead (no choice) so possible voltage drop, or similar, there. I'll check the voltage under load, failing that get an electrician to check impedance etc. BMW charger worked fine. No intention to use the granny charger.

Today, the dealer called and said they charged it, no problem.

It was only half charged when I collected it, though they told me it was fully charged, I think that is "odd" on reflection.

My ChargedEV 7Kw charger has worked perfectly for 2 years but with an i3 and Mitusbishi PHEV.

Will try to find someone to test locally, that's a good point. My house is very old but the entire electrical system has been checked yearly, also by the ChargedEV installer.

Nothing special to add, but you might do better with finding possible solutions in the 'proper' MG ZS EV forum ZS EV
Right now the site 'search' function seems to be having a problem, but it might be helpful for you to find in that forum the posted messages which discuss running the granny on extension leads etc.
And of course it could be useful to see the discussions about many other MG ZS EV related issues...

 

[dk6780]

They might not have checked the charge level, just noted that it had charged for a while and then stopped automatically. That might suggest you have a charge limit set on the car, if it has that facility.

Sounds like they also got bored. How much charge was in it when you dropped it off? Also, I assume that it was an AC charge point and not a DC one?
Does the MG have a charge limit function - I thought that it was fairly dumb?

 

[davesul]

And we are assuming you know that unlocking the doors will stop the AC charging process, until locked again...

 

[Sandy]

Plug cable in, lock the car. look at dash, after about 20 seconds you'll hear a relay click and then the car will charge.

 

[JeffG]

And we are assuming you know that unlocking the doors will stop the AC charging process, until locked again...

That sounds pretty dumb, IMO. For what possible reason would they design it to do that? My Leaf charges on AC doors locked or unlocked until I press the cable release button, or the car's scheduled charging period ends..

 

[david993]

And we are assuming you know that unlocking the doors will stop the AC charging process, until locked again...

Yes thanks, frustraiting as that is, car is locked, starts charging then stops 2 mins later.

 

[david993]

And we are assuming you know that unlocking the doors will stop the AC charging process, until locked again...

Yes, this is inderstood

 

[david993]

Plug cable in, lock the car. look at dash, after about 20 seconds you'll hear a relay click and then the car will charge.

This is true but 2 mins later, still locked, makes a buzz and "connected not charging" displays.

 

[davesul]

This is true but 2 mins later, still locked, makes a buzz and "connected not charging" displays.

Seems familar - this is what Freddy wrote when he first tried his granny :

"But I cannot even get it to charge on the granny lead. I connect just as per instruction, lots of clicking, message says connected but not charging, unlock and relock the car, then sometimes it will switch to charging for a few seconds the stops and goes back to connected but not charging. Spent about an hour trying different ways, different sockets in the garage etc, to no avail. "

Subsequently he wrote:

"Have tried as I posted earlier trying on different 13 amp sockets. I thought I would try running off the 32amp cooker socket as I could just reach if I parked right next to the kitchen window, and it worked fine.
So not being a sparky am assuming there is a drop off and not quite getting the full voltage at my home or something. So I'm going to order some flexible cooker cable and make an extension lead to plug in the cooker silt and try that. "

 

[david993]

Seems familar - this is what Freddy wrote when he first tried his granny :

"But I cannot even get it to charge on the granny lead. I connect just as per instruction, lots of clicking, message says connected but not charging, unlock and relock the car, then sometimes it will switch to charging for a few seconds the stops and goes back to connected but not charging. Spent about an hour trying different ways, different sockets in the garage etc, to no avail. "

Subsequently he wrote:

"Have tried as I posted earlier trying on different 13 amp sockets. I thought I would try running off the 32amp cooker socket as I could just reach if I parked right next to the kitchen window, and it worked fine.
So not being a sparky am assuming there is a drop off and not quite getting the full voltage at my home or something. So I'm going to order some flexible cooker cable and make an extension lead to plug in the cooker silt and try that. "

Update is we tried the granny charger at the dealer and it worked for 10 mins, assume it would keep working too. Ext lead may well explain why the granny lead wasn't working. 7Kw worked at the dealer too with a Rolec wall socket.

We have raised a call with ChargedEV and will ask them to retest their socket but fear I need a new wall socket.

 

[Carty]

Do you have a three pin plug outlet next to your cooker switch ?.
If so, try plugging the “Granny” into that socket.
The cooker socket SHOULD be on its own dedicated circuit in the consumer unit.
Have a quick look in your C.U. and see if it has its own breaker / fuse wire holder labelled “Cooker”.
The fault may just be on your 13 Amp wall sockets.
They are on a completely different circuit to the cooker circuit.
If this works successfully, then at least you have narrowed it down to a problem if on the socket outlet circuits.
The problem does sound like an issue at the house and not the car now.

 

[Hilltop Dave]

Get the sparky (or someone who knows what they are doing) to measure the supply voltage at your consumer unit and at the the various outlets. Also see if they can measure the Neutral-Earth voltage while charging in case this is significant. The car should be able to charge with a supply voltage down to at least 207v (230v - 10%, the lower limit for European [previously 220v] supplies) and probably a bit lower to allow for voltage drop in the wiring to the outlet.

In rural UK areas, the supply voltage, especially on a sunny day when solar panels are at their maximum output, can exceed the upper limit of 253v (230v + 10%) and this may confuse cars and some modern charging points.

 

[Graham toyn]

The granny charger problem sounds like the one described by Freddy when he first got his MG ZS EV several months ago. He was initially only able to change from the granny if he plugged it into a cooker socket rated at 32 amps, but not from a 13 amp fitting. Later he resolved it as a problem with the house wiring to the 13 amp point.
The suggestion from Carty to try the granny at another address could be well worth a try.

The Charged EV wall socket - is that a new unit or does it have a known history of working correctly?

I'm waiting for Smart home charge to come and fit my wall box,they told me I would have to have a ground spike which is a copper rod put into the ground as an extra earthing point.May be this could be your problem too,hope you get it sorted.

 

[Graham toyn]

Get the sparky (or someone who knows what they are doing) to measure the supply voltage at your consumer unit and at the the various outlets. Also see if they can measure the Neutral-Earth voltage while charging in case this is significant. The car should be able to charge with a supply voltage down to at least 207v (230v - 10%, the lower limit for European [previously 220v] supplies) and probably a bit lower to allow for voltage drop in the wiring to the outlet.

In rural UK areas, the supply voltage, especially on a sunny day when solar panels are at their maximum output, can exceed the upper limit of 253v (230v + 10%) and this may confuse cars and some modern charging points.

The wall box that I have is compatible with solar panels,just waiting for it to be fitted.Im using the granny cable at the moment during the day no problems plus free electricity.