[Tooney]

CanZE shows Soft: 0803 Version: 0806 in CLIM on mine. Any newer version should be fixed.

 

[StinkyPete]

So, I plugged the car in on Sunday, and set the preheat for Monday morning, fully expecting it not to work, and... The heating has been working beautifully ever since!

The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that there must have been an ice problem somewhere, which was stopping the heating from working correctly. Either that, or there is indeed a software bug that stops the heater from working correctly at negative temperatures.

 

[Mo1]

The only conclusion that I can draw from this is that there must have been an ice problem somewhere, which was stopping the heating from working correctly

To reach a charge point I literally ploughed the snow in a car park which was up to the bottom edge of the door when I got out of the car, on the 90 mile journey home heating was very weak when we set off, it gradually improved and after about an hour was back to normal.
I never looked but would bet the front of the car was packed with snow and once that melted all was ok.

 

[srichards]

A heater that doesn't work in below 0C is a waste of space. Still needs taking to Renault to sort out. It also means any active battery thermal management might not be working either which could by why many Zoes are destroying their charging systems and batteries at a rate of knots.

 

[Mo1]

Mine has worked fine at well below minus, on the above occasion it will of been a grill full of packed snow causing it to take a while to start work normally.

 

[yoh-there]

It also means any active battery thermal management might not be working either which could by why many Zoes are destroying their charging systems and batteries at a rate of knots.

I usually refrain from comments like this, but you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

 

[srichards]

I usually refrain from comments like this, but you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

So the battery cooling system on the Zoe doesn't refer to the external temperature sensor at all and compressor failures on these cars don't lead to zoes not being able to charge as they can't cool themselves even though owners have reported those very issues previously? It's not linked at all? Neither is it relevant that other models have issues with charging when the AC system packs up?

 

[yoh-there]

Clutching at straws, bringing up unrelated issues and the usual insinuations or "wondering if". But I will bite.

Compressor failures (unrelated to "destroying their charging systems and batteries at a rate of knots" oh my oh my!!!) were electrical insulation failures to chassis. The car shut for VERY good safety reasons. It didn't destroy chargers, batteries. It had absolutely nothing to do with not being able to cool.

This thread was about the compressor not engaging, as in commanded on.

Also, in your silly hatret you constantly and annoyingly contradict yourself: assuming a failed cooling system cry cry cry because now the battery can't charge (not true), oh and cry cry cry, the battery WILL charge and it will destroy itself! (not true either). My god.

The battery cooling does NOT refer the outside temperature indeed. Though it seems it is slight;y more nuanced for the ZE40 model.

You are just making things up.

 

[srichards]

I'm asking questions that's all.

The more EV owners make sure their cars work properly the better. Normal folk will not tolerate heating not working. Dealers and manufacturers need to be taken to task and made sure their cars work and the dealer can fix them first time, every time if they aren't.

That's why I have a bee in my bonnet about it. I want EVs to succeed and having slack dealers and slack manufacturers isn't going to make them a success.

It's why I've been moaning on about the Leaf 40 with no proper thermal battery management. Moaning on about any models that don't have the sense to keep the 12v battery properly charged. It's not good enough.

 

[StinkyPete]

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"

tl;dr;

If the climate control software is not updated, it is possible to "break" the heating in the ZOE by:

1. Set the car to pre-condition at a specific time (requiring the car to be plugged in)
2. Allow the pre-condition cycle to fully complete
3. Sometime later, use the key fob to initiate a pre-condition

The long story...

So yesterday, the car was plugged in and preheated. I could hear the fans under the bonnet going crazy, so I knew that all was well, however, I was running a bit late yesterday and the precondition had ended about 15 minutes before I was ready to leave. Just before leaving I used the keyfob to "give it a boost". When I went out to the car, I noted that the under-bonnet fans weren't working, but the fans inside the car were blowing quite well.

I didn't think much of it, until I got a little way into my drive and thought "it's a bit chilly in here" and noticed that the vents were only blowing lukewarm air. In spite of that, I still didn't "register" that anything was wrong. It was only later in the day, when I left the office and used the My ZE Services website to trigger the pre-conditioning, that I realised something wasn't right. I approached the (very quiet) car thinking "great, I can't hear the under-bonnet fans. The website has failed to trigger the pre-conditioning". When I peered into the car, I saw that the heater LEDs were illuminated, and when I opened the door and heard the interior fans going at full speed I eventually realised that the heating was not working again!

In spite of the above, I still hadn't remembered the info that I posted here and spent my journey home fiddling with all of the heater controls, trying different combinations of A/C on/off, fan speed, temperature... None of it made any difference. Finally, I got home, walked in the door and thought "hang on a minute, this seems a bit familiar"! I did a search on the forum and found this thread and realised that I'd been a complete "doofus". I performed the "hairdryer trick" and normal service is now resumed.

All of this is a very long way of saying that I can confirm that all that is required to cause this issue is:

1. Set the car to pre-condition at a specific time (requiring the car to be plugged in)
2. Allow the pre-condition cycle to fully complete
3. Sometime later, use the key fob to initiate a pre-condition

Following the above, the under-bonnet fans and compressor will cease to work. This is, of course, contingent on your ZOE not having the climate control software specified by @Tooney earlier in this thread:

CanZE shows Soft: 0803 Version: 0806 in CLIM on mine. Any newer version should be fixed.

The last time this happened, I didn't have CanZE or a dongle. This time, I was better prepared and can state that CanZE reports the following for the CLIM firmware in my ZOE:
Soft: 0702
Version: 0701

So I appear to be some way behind in the software version. I need to get it booked-in with Renault and have them sort this out (if they will oblige).

 

[yoh-there]

Thank you! As a software guy I appreciate this sort of detail that makes finding crazy intricate, only now and then appearing bugs find-able and fixable. I posted a link back on the CanZE blog.

 

[srichards]

Does this bug affect the ZE40 as well?

 

[StinkyPete]

Does this bug affect the ZE40 as well?

My ZOE is an early 2016 model. I would assume that the ZE40 ZOEs (which appeared towards the end of 2017, I think?) have a newer firmware.

 

[srichards]

Early ZE40s are late 2016. Wouldn't surprise me if the same mistake was carried over into a new model!

 

[StinkyPete]

Early ZE40s are late 2016. Wouldn't surprise me if the same mistake was carried over into a new model!

2016... How time flies! In that case, I agree, it could well have been carried into the newer models.