BP Gigahub (Birmingham NEC) Hypercharging, MG4 says no

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

Just had the most bizarre and infuriating moment while trying to charge my MG4

I pulled into the exact same bay I used 2 days prior on my way to friend's house, only this time I was on my way home.

The car totally refused to charge. I tried using the BP app, BP tried manually starting the charge. I tried another bay with both the BP app and my credit card all to no success.

The car would make the noise to lock in the charging cable and the charger would start but the charging lights would stay blue and it would disconnect after 5-10 seconds.

I also tried restarting the head unit and using the 2nd cable at the 2nd charger, still nothing.

I called MG customer care and the chap on the phone was useless... All he could say was to phone my local dealership. When I said I was 100 miles away with only 70 miles of range he said I could try MG Assist breakdown people.

I decided to go for a coffee to calm down and to try again. After locking the car, getting coffee and unlocking the car it decided to finally start charging.

However, it's now only charging at 60kW and will take an hour to get up to 80%


It's the 2nd time in 2 months the car and charging network have let me down on long trips. I reckon I'll be going back to a ICE car before long. I do love my electric but, it's just too unreliable over longer distances, and it costs more per mile too when charging with mainstream providers.

Even charging at home is 30p/kW and at 2.9 mile per kilowatt that's 11p per mile, where as a similar economical car woul be sub 10p per mile and I could refuel it in minutes.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Just had the most bizarre and infuriating moment while trying to charge my MG4

I pulled into the exact same bay I used 2 days prior on my way to friends house, only this time I was on my way home.

The car totally refused to charge. I tried using the BP app, BP tried manually starting the charge. I tried another bay with both tht BP app and my credit card all to no success.

The car would make the noise to lock in the charging cable and the charger would start but the charging lights would stay blue and it would disconnect after 5-10 seconds.

I also tried restarting the head unit and using the 2nd cable at the 2nd charger, still nothing.

I called MG customer care and the chap on the phone was useless... all he could say was to phone my local dealership. When I said I was 100 miles away with only 70 miles of range he said I could try MG Assist breakdown people.

I decided to go for a coffee to calm down and to try again. After locking the car, getting coffee and unlocking the car it decided to finally start charging.

However, it's now only charging at 60kW and will take an hour to get up to 80%


It's the 2nd time in 2 months the car and charging network have let me down on long trips. I reckon I'll be going back to a ICE car before long. I do love my electric but, it's just too unreliable over longer distances, and it costs more per mile too when charging with mainstream providers.

Even charging at home is 30p/kW and at 2.9 mile per kilowatt that's 11p per mile, where as a similar economical car woul be sub 10p per mile and I could refuel it in minutes.

There are tariffs that would let you charge at under 15p/kW overnight.

 

[fnegroni]

The rule of thumb is that if a charger is not working, it’s not worth to keep trying and it’s instead just worth driving to the next one. The time spent fuffing about with a charger that doesn’t work isn’t worth it. In general.
In your case, as soon as the second charger refused to work I would have just left.
Obviously if you only had 5 miles of range left or could not drive any further due to tiredness that would be a different story.
But with 70 miles in the tank. maybe you could have driven to another charging site a few miles further, and possibly charged faster as the battery would have been more depleted.
Unfortunately some chargers are still temperamental and don’t support all makes and models of EV. And some EVs have issues with some chargers.

However, it's now only charging at 60kW and will take an hour to get up to 80%

at 3miles/kwh, and 70 miles in the tank, I guess you had 35% battery left, around 21kWh?
Charging at 60kW (seems a bit slow, considering a trophy can take on much more than that even at 50%), you should reach 80% in about 30 to 35 minutes. Why 1 hour?

 

[Yorkshire Hillbilly]

There are tariffs that would let you charge at under 15p/kW overnight.

Pre-war house, can't fit a smart meter in.
*I know it sounds like a cop out but, it's the truth. I do love EVs, I've had 3 so far but the faffing and costs currently are really dampening my EV spirits.

The rule of thumb is that if a charger is not working, it’s not worth to keep trying and it’s instead just worth driving to the next one. The time spent fuffing about with a charger that doesn’t work isn’t worth it. In general.

I totally get what you're saying however, the M42, A42 and M1 North doesn't have an abundance of 100kW+ chargers. I didn't really want to be changing it, charging during rush hour and getting home late as I had a 6 o'clock in north Sheffield. Plus I knew it wasn't the charges, it was the dastardly car being a pig.

at 3miles/kwh, and 70 miles in the tank, I guess you had 35% battery left, around 21kWh?
Charging at 60kW (seems a bit slow, considering a trophy can take on much more than that even at 50%), you should reach 80% in about 30 to 35 minutes. Why 1 hour?

The BP ones seem to slow right down after the 70% mark. I know I could have made it by charging to 70% or even 60% but, I needed enough for onward travel after reaching Sheffield.

 

[fnegroni]

The BP ones seem to slow right down after the 70% mark. I know I could have made it by charging to 70% or even 60% but, I needed enough for onward travel after reaching Sheffield.

I understand, but when it comes to ultra fast charging, you are better off with the’ splash and go’ strategy then waiting for an extra 10 or 20% at the top of the state of charge.
It’s a rooky mistake unfortunately that sometimes can’t be avoided but the charging network is improving

I totally get what you're saying however, the M42, A42 and M1 North doesn't have an abundance of 100kW+ chargers. I didn't really want to be changing it, charging during rush hour and getting home late as I had a 6 o'clock in north Sheffield. Plus I knew it wasn't the charges, it was the dastardly car being a pig.

Are you saying your battery/charger unit is defective?

 

[tsedge]

at 3miles/kwh, and 70 miles in the tank, I guess you had 35% battery left, around 21kWh?
Charging at 60kW (seems a bit slow, considering a trophy can take on much more than that even at 50%), you should reach 80% in about 30 to 35 minutes. Why 1 hour?

May be temperature - charging rates are slower with a cold battery.

The BP ones seem to slow right down after the 70% mark. I know I could have made it by charging to 70% or even 60% but, I needed enough for onward travel after reaching Sheffield.

The car throttles the charge rates down as the battery fills up. You'll never see the max charge rate much after 50%.

Temperature also reduces charge rate. In summer, with my Trophy LR, I get 50kW at 80% and 30kW at 90%. But in winter it is more like 30kW at 80% and 20kW at 90%, when the battery is cold.

Also, have you tried holding in the top of the CCS plug while the charge is negotiated (ie blue to green lights stage)? Some chargers have heavy cables and this can pull out the top of the plug a bit which can lead to bad contact on the negotiating pins, which are the top ones. In some cases this causes a failure to charge.

I understand, but when it comes to ultra fast charging, you are better off with the’ splash and go’ strategy then waiting for an extra 10 or 20% at the top of the state of charge.
It’s a rooky mistake unfortunately that sometimes can’t be avoided but the charging network is improving

Only if you are going to stop again. I very rarely need to charge more than once on a journey, so I tend to fill it up high rather than stop again (and then finish at my destination), that single stop gives me around 400 miles total range, more in summer.

Yes, it might be marginally quicker if I stopped again and did two partial charges: but that ignores the hassle of finding a second working and available charger on the route.

I'm sure repeated 20-80% top ups is a more common strategy for the SR or for those taking a lot of long journeys.

 

[SimonS]

Two recommendations for you. Firstly, always hold the CCS plug in place until the charge has started. Frequently the weight of the cable can be enough to stop a good connection being made on the signal pins and then the charge will not start.
Secondly, the maximum charge speed of the MG4 SE LR & Trophy is around 140kW. You will only get this if everything is perfect in term of battery SoC, battery temperature, air temperature etc and only then for a small part of the charge. See the pic of the charging curve below. 60kW is perfectly believable at this time of year.
Another factor that might have affected your charge rate is the charger installation. BP trumpets the fact that these are 300kW chargers but the power is shared between two bays so the max they will deliver is 150kW. The same power sharing occurs with many companies at many locations. Basically, if you have the choice, don't park next to someone else that is charging.

 

[Ayoull]

Pre-war house, can't fit a smart meter in.
*I know it sounds like a cop out but, it's the truth. I do love EVs, I've had 3 so far but the faffing and costs currently are really dampening my EV spirits.

What's unique about the house as mine is from 1923 service cut out is smack bang in the middle of the house under the stairs and I have a smart meter that works fine

 

[Chequers]

What's unique about the house as mine is from 1923 service cut out is smack bang in the middle of the house under the stairs and I have a smart meter that works fine

looped neutral ?, I have one in one of my properties circa 1900

 

[Ayoull]

looped neutral ?, I have one in one of my properties circa 1900

I'm on looped supply, still doesn't preclude a smart meter

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

I'm on looped supply, still doesn't preclude a smart meter

That's looped live and neutral, where both are linked through one house to the next. I have that and a smart meter, too.

Looped neutral is where two or more houses have separate live connections, but only the neutral is daisy-chained from meter to meter.

Why does a looped neutral mean I can't get a smart meter? | The OVO Forum

Hi I have a problem with my electric meter as it is an looped neutral meter I really want a smart meter but the most companies can’t change a looped meter could you maybe help me with this problem

forum.ovoenergy.com

 

[Ayoull]

That's looped live and neutral, where both are linked through one house to the next. I have that and a smart meter, too.

Looped neutral is where two or more houses have separate live connections, but only the neutral is daisy-chained from meter to meter.

Why does a looped neutral mean I can't get a smart meter? | The OVO Forum

Hi I have a problem with my electric meter as it is an looped neutral meter I really want a smart meter but the most companies can’t change a looped meter could you maybe help me with this problem

forum.ovoenergy.com

Looped neutrals only normally exist where it's a 3ph head that enters a building and the. It's been utilised as 3 seperate 1ph connections.

Or it's a block of flats with a BNO (building network operator) opposed to a DNO.

Not sent them on a house before.

 

[Chequers]

Mine is in a circa 1900's terrace which were privately built in pairs you can see this because the houses are all slightly different designs from the outside, some are pairs others were built in three's.

 

[Mr T]

Just had the most bizarre and infuriating moment while trying to charge my MG4

I pulled into the exact same bay I used 2 days prior on my way to friend's house, only this time I was on my way home.

The car totally refused to charge. I tried using the BP app, BP tried manually starting the charge. I tried another bay with both the BP app and my credit card all to no success.

The car would make the noise to lock in the charging cable and the charger would start but the charging lights would stay blue and it would disconnect after 5-10 seconds.

I also tried restarting the head unit and using the 2nd cable at the 2nd charger, still nothing.

I called MG customer care and the chap on the phone was useless... All he could say was to phone my local dealership. When I said I was 100 miles away with only 70 miles of range he said I could try MG Assist breakdown people.

I decided to go for a coffee to calm down and to try again. After locking the car, getting coffee and unlocking the car it decided to finally start charging.

However, it's now only charging at 60kW and will take an hour to get up to 80%


It's the 2nd time in 2 months the car and charging network have let me down on long trips. I reckon I'll be going back to a ICE car before long. I do love my electric but, it's just too unreliable over longer distances, and it costs more per mile too when charging with mainstream providers.

Even charging at home is 30p/kW and at 2.9 mile per kilowatt that's 11p per mile, where as a similar economical car woul be sub 10p per mile and I could refuel it in minutes.

Hi I can understand your frustration at charging points
On the point of your costs at charging at home you are paying way over the odds
I pay .0895 p per kw between 12.01 am and 04.59am

 

[Rolfe]

I suspect you pay £0.0895, or alternatively 8.95p, per KWh. Let's not get carried away here!

 

[Nick Froud]

That's looped live and neutral, where both are linked through one house to the next. I have that and a smart meter, too.

Looped neutral is where two or more houses have separate live connections, but only the neutral is daisy-chained from meter to meter.

Why does a looped neutral mean I can't get a smart meter? | The OVO Forum

Hi I have a problem with my electric meter as it is an looped neutral meter I really want a smart meter but the most companies can’t change a looped meter could you maybe help me with this problem

forum.ovoenergy.com

I had a loop supply, so when I had a charger fitted I was told I could only operate on 3kwh charge until I was un-looped. My supplier Octopus energy contacted Scottish power our regional power supplier. They came and in-looped the supply from next door at no cost. I am now on Intelligence go tariff which gives me 6 hours charge at night for 7.5p per kwh

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

I had a loop supply, so when I had a charger fitted I was told I could only operate on 3kwh charge until I was un-looped. My supplier Octopus energy contacted Scottish power our regional power supplier. They came and in-looped the supply from next door at no cost. I am now on Intelligence go tariff which gives me 6 hours charge at night for 7.5p per kwh

They never bothered unlooping me, just uprated my main fuse to 80A.
SPEN are my DNO too, so I might have a word with Octopus when I start shopping for a heat pump.
However it would be my neighbours drive that gets dug up as they're looped from my street connection.

 

[Nick Froud]

They never bothered unlooping me, just uprated my main fuse to 80A.
SPEN are my DNO too, so I might have a word with Octopus when I start shopping for a heat pump.
However it would be my neighbours drive that gets dug up as they're looped from my street connection.

Same with me, I hope you have understanding neighbours.
It helped that they had a block paved drive.

 

[WonkoTheSaneUK]

Same with me, I hope you have understanding neighbours.
It helped that they had a block paved drive.

Sadly, it's all poured concrete slabs on my street.