[matt303]

Now that we've got deliveries to customers I'm seeing reports of the car not working with smart chargers, seems the car goes to sleep and does not wake up when the charger tries to initiate a charge.

State of play so far:
Rolec Smart Charger: not working.
OHME Cable: not working.
Zappi: myenergi are silent on the issue.

It's looking like a car issue which is maddening because of it's lack of internal charge timers meant MG's line was all new chargers will be smart so it's not needed.

 

[proddick]

You really can't make this stuff up. Cars not working on motorway chargers (iPace, i3 initially) and now a car that won't charge at home. And we wonder why "Jo public" isn't buying EVs

 

[srichards]

Has anyone worked out the interval between the last use of the car and when it goes to a state of sleep that is too deep to wake it up for a charge?

Would using the door lock function wake it up so you could re-lock the doors before the charge was due to start? Bit pathetic but better than no charge.

I don't generally use charge timers but it would still be a bit annoying to never be able to use them.

 

[scotty]

Damn. I bought an OHME smart cable in preparation for the MG so to find out it’s not going to do the business is a real pain. At least when I bought it I was told I could return it if it wasn't compatible, as they weren’t able to test in advance of the car being available.

 

[Carty]

Now that we've got deliveries to customers I'm seeing reports of the car not working with smart chargers, seems the car goes to sleep and does not wake up when the charger tries to initiate a charge.

State of play so far:
Rolec Smart Charger: not working.
OHME Cable: not working.
Zappi: myenergi are silent on the issue.

It's looking like a car issue which is maddening because of it's lack of internal charge timers meant MG's line was all new chargers will be smart so it's not needed.

Hi Matt - I have a three year old Rolec 32 Amp dumb wall box.
I would like to charge using Eco7 cheaper electric, I was considering installing a timer unit on the din rail inside of the wall box.
Do you know if the timer would be affected by this issue or would the car be able to pull a charge when the timer calls ????.
As I am sure all concerned understands all to well, the difference between charging on daily rate and off peak rates can be triple the cost !.
15p to 17p / Kwh on a day rate is very common, compared to only 5p / Kwh on a cheap night rate.
If indeed the car is the problem, they need too get together with two dedicated installers of the wall boxes and sort the problem A.S.A.P.

 

[matt303]

Looks like it's the car, once it goes to sleep and powers down it seems that it no longer responds to anything happening on the charge port.

 

[Vimto]

MG, the EV you can't charge off peak.

Not the best advert for it.

 

[scotty]

I can forgive the lack of onboard timer functionality if there was a working solution at the charger side. Having neither is just not acceptable.

 

[Carty]

MG, the EV you can't charge off peak.

Not the best advert for it.

I agree, PANTS - I guess they don't have "Off -Peak" electric in Thailand ?.

I can forgive the lack of onboard timer functionality if there was a working solution at the charger side. Having neither is just not acceptable.

That should be the absolute MINIMUM requirement really !.
Anybody on the cheap night rate like Octopus etc has little advantage now really.
We will all be plugging in the car as late as possible in the evening, just before we go to bed. The problem here is of course, we will all be charging to 100% every time or setting the alarm clock to interrupt the charge !.
Getting up in the middle of the night to use the bath room, then "zapping" the car through the bedroom window to unlock the car.
Then, "Re-zapping" the car again to re-locking it and therefore putting the charger BACK into sleep mode.
Imagine having a conversation in the pub with your mates, trying to convince them about the advantages of owning an electric car over a ICE.
Then having to explain about your regular night time charging ritual ?.
"Laughing" and "Stock" are the two words that first comes to mind !.
It is a real big shame that SO much time and effort has been put into the other tech contained in this car, when the basic and fundamental elements for every day life has slipped through the net.
This issue certainly requires urgent work to rectify this problem A.S.A.P.
It almost certainly looks like this is a issue with the car.

 

[Freddy]

Hi all.
First time poster and EV owner.
Picked up new White Exclusive today. Excellent car, but upset already by charging. Rolec being installed Dec.
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. The dealer is about 45mins from us so now we can't use in case we use the milage we need to get back to the dealer.
So looking forward to this as it's not only our fist EV but first brand new car, most we had ever spent before was £4000. Very upsetting

 

[Tandy0]

Hi Matt - I have a three year old Rolec 32 Amp dumb wall box.
I would like to charge using Eco7 cheaper electric, I was considering installing a timer unit on the din rail inside of the wall box.
Do you know if the timer would be affected by this issue or would the car be able to pull a charge when the timer calls ????.
As I am sure all concerned understands all to well, the difference between charging on daily rate and off peak rates can be triple the cost !.
15p to 17p / Kwh on a day rate is very common, compared to only 5p / Kwh on a cheap night rate.
If indeed the car is the problem, they need too get together with two dedicated installers of the wall boxes and sort the problem A.S.A.P.

Can I suggest you try what I suggested in this thread: https://www.speakev.com/threads/mg-uks-recommended-charge-point-does-not-have-charge-timers-either.143978/page-3

 

[Carty]

Can I suggest you try what I suggested in this thread: https://www.speakev.com/threads/mg-uks-recommended-charge-point-does-not-have-charge-timers-either.143978/page-3

Thanks @Tandy0
I have read through this thread with great interest, but I am sorry to say that I do not profess to have the same level of stills as yourself.
This is WELL outside of my comfort zone unfortunately ?.

 

[Tandy0]

Thanks @Tandy0
I have read through this thread with great interest, but I am sorry to say that I do not profess to have the same level of stills as yourself.
This is WELL outside of my comfort zone unfortunately ?.

I think what I was talking about is not much more complicated than what you intend to do yourself. Presumably you know what diodes, capacitors, and changeover relays are? Those are the only extra things you need. If you're in Berkshire, I'd be happy to call round to help.

 

[Carty]

Hi all.
First time poster and EV owner.
Picked up new White Exclusive today. Excellent car, but upset already by charging. Rolec being installed Dec.
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. The dealer is about 45mins from us so now we can't use in case we use the milage we need to get back to the dealer.
So looking forward to this as it's not only our fist EV but first brand new car, most we had ever spent before was £4000. Very upsetting

Hi @Freddy .
Firstly, welcome to the forum and the world of EV’s.
Really glad that you like your new ZS EV.
But I can totally understand both your disappointment and frustration at not being able to get your car to receive a charge !.
On a positive note, I can’t see the car being at fault.
The dealer would have fully charged the car prior to your collection, my guess is they would have used the dealers wall box fast charger.
If so, this proves that the car is working normally and the set up / function of the Granny charger is the issue here ?.
Do you have public charger close by to your home address or a friend with a wall box ?.
You could try collecting a charge at either of these two points.
You will need a Type 2 cable to use a fast charger, but the not with a rapid !.
I am sure another member using a “Granny” will be along real soon to offer some advice.
A little surprised that the dealer did not help you set up the “Granny” knowing it was your only form of charging.
I wish you well with your problem, it could be something that either the dealer or MG tech services could guide you through.

 

[peterca]

My dealer has agreed to email MG next week to try to get a solution to the charging delay problem. I will post again if he gets an answer.

I think I might have a partial way round. My economy 7 starts at 12.35 in the winter and my charger is 3.5 kw. If I set the car to charge at say 11.00 in the evening then at least only about 5 kwh would be at daytime rates. Not ideal but might be workable.

Let's hope MG can come up with a much better solution.

 

[Carty]

I think what I was talking about is not much more complicated than what you intend to do yourself. Presumably you know what diodes, capacitors, and changeover relays are? Those are the only extra things you need. If you're in Berkshire, I'd be happy to call round to help.

That is an extremely kind offer indeed, thank you !.
Wales is a LONG way from yourself !.
Daft question, but here goes !.
With the problems we are hearing about the ZS going into a deep sleep ? and not seeing the selected delay charge time set up.
Do you think adding the timer etc will defeat the problem others are suffering with the smart charging units.
Or, if it’s is indeed the car that is the problem then will it just disregard the request to delay charge and go sailing by !.

 

[Carty]

My dealer has agreed to email MG next week to try to get a solution to the charging delay problem. I will post again if he gets an answer.

I think I might have a partial way round. My economy 7 starts at 12.35 in the winter and my charger is 3.5 kw. If I set the car to charge at say 11.00 in the evening then at least only about 5 kwh would be at daytime rates. Not ideal but might be workable.

Let's hope MG can come up with a much better solution.

Sound like a plan to me !.
What smart wall box do you have can I ask ?.

 

[peterca]

Sound like a plan to me !.
What smart wall box do you have can I ask ?.

I don't have a smart wall box - only a charge master type 2 socket. I was going to buy an Ohme cable for the timer but disappointed to learn that will not wake the car up. Hopefully someone will come up with a good solution.

 

[Tandy0]

That is an extremely kind offer indeed, thank you !.
Wales is a LONG way from yourself !.
Daft question, but here goes !.
With the problems we are hearing about the ZS going into a deep sleep ? and not seeing the selected delay charge time set up.
Do you think adding the timer etc will defeat the problem others are suffering with the smart charging units.
Or, if it’s is indeed the car that is the problem then will it just disregard the request to delay charge and go sailing by !.

I believe it depends how cleverly you add the timer. Just switching the charger on & off will appear to the car little different to plugging it in late at night. (Other than the resistor in the plug.)

I downloaded the (American) J1772 spec: Click on reference 16 at the bottom of this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAE_J1772 and download a word file.

If you scroll through to table 6, you can see that item 1 (delay until pilot oscillator will be turned on by EVSE) is specified as 'no maximum'. Therefore delaying the car sensing the pilot oscillator is the only way guaranteed to keep the car awake. That's why I came up with the diode/capacitor filter to make the car think the EVSE had not yet responded.

 

[Vimto]

The head of MG Marketing has notified us on FB the following:

Hi all, this is beyond my level of expertise but I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation. I've made my colleagues in MG Engineering aware of this thread and I'll speak with them on Monday.