Charger connected warning, whilst driving. Anyone else seen this?

[Les burrows]

Well just back from the dealer, looks like the root cause is the latch pin (plunger switch) on the charge flap, lubricated and adjusted and hopefully should be ok, car thought the door was open to charger even though it wasn't. Possible that the wind caught the flap and slightly moved the plunger to give the fault. We will see how it goes. Such a simple thing can cause so much chaos!

Hi Bogrole, you said in #10 that the dealer was able to recreate the fault by moving the plunger in and out.
So can you just please clarify if the pin/plunger arrowed In the photo is the one you are talking about, or is it some other please.

The reason I’m asking is, as far as I know all that pin in the picture does is lock the charging flap as part of the central locking system of the car, just like a fuel cap on an ice car.

Also there has been many posts on this forum about people forgetting to close the charge flap and driving then for several miles with it wide open I have done it myself when I first got my MG5 SR and many have also commented the car would benefit from a dashboard warning light if you did start the car while the flap is still in the unlocked position and I think we all agree on that.

But it would be good if you could please clarify this point or post us. Picture of where this pin that you say the dealer pushed and pulled to recreate the fault thank you in advance
Les

 

[Les burrows]

Totally agree.

Ours is currently with MG dealer to be checked by technicians on Monday. They plan to do some further investigation and testing to try replicate the condition and then phone the MG technical department, so hopefully the correct reports will be fed back. I’ll reference this other case as it sounds like it’s the trigger.

The worry for me with simply lubricating the latch is that will soon wear off and have to be done periodically - the risk of this same issue is extant and we can’t have MG5’s stopping on motorways etc as the lubricant becomes less effective over time - before long there’ll be a catastrophic outcome.

I think they need to remove any logic in the software that links the charge door latch to a charger being connected. A charger being connected is determined by standard loop back circuits in the Type 2 charger port and cable itself - that’s what that’s for.

If the charge door latch is dodgey or not seated correctly this should simply notify the driver that a door is open, just like a boot open warning and have no link to a charger being connected.

I’ll do what I can to feed this all back to MG and ensure it reaches the right channels.

Thanks all for the really useful support!

Hi mwilkins777 I agree with your thoughts on the latch for the change door on the MG5, lots of members of the forum have said they have driven off with it open but there has been nothing on the dash to tell you, I have posted a picture and a reply to Bogrole #21 as he as said his dealer recreate the issue by pulling and pushing a pin/ plunger now was that the door latch I have asked him ,can’t for the life of me see why,and I have ask him to clarify what his dealer was pulling at see #21 your quite right it needs to be sorted ASAP.
Quick qestion is your an MG5 SR or LR thanks
Les

 

[Lovemyev]

But it would be good if you could please clarify this point or post us. Picture of where this pin that you say the dealer pushed and pulled to recreate the fault thank you in advance

Hi Les - I posted my thoughts regarding which locking pin it was in #11.
I also was of the opinion that the plugger in your post was of the push to close and release type ?.
I was thinking more likely it was the offending sticking pin could be the one that locks in the charging cable ?.
But then surely the pin would need to be raised up again AFTER the cable was released ( which should be visible ) therefore throwing up the warning on the dash.
Either that or the software has a glitch that THINKS that the cable is still connected maybe ?.
Hopefully not a faulty charging port unit itself.
The push to release switch on the Gen1 ZS EV works in a very similar way as the MG5 and I can confirm ( like other owners ) it is possible to drive the car, with it open and with out any warnings flagging up inside the car.
Ask me how I know this, after driving about 10 miles once with the large flap open after charging at a public post once .

 

[Les burrows]

Hi Les - I posted my thoughts regarding which locking pin it was in #11.
I also was of the opinion that the plugger in your post was of the push to close and release type ?.
I was thinking more likely it was the offending sticking pin could be the one that locks in the charging cable ?.
But then surely the pin would need to be raised up again AFTER the cable was released ( which should be visible ) therefore throwing up the warning on the dash.
Either that or the software has a glitch that THINKS that the cable is still connected maybe ?.
Hopefully not a faulty charging port unit itself.
The push to release switch on the Gen1 ZS EV works in a very similar way as the MG5 and I can confirm ( like other owners ) it is possible to drive the car, with it open and with out any warnings flagging up inside the car.
Ask me how I know this, after driving about 10 miles once with the large flap open after charging at a public post once .

Hi mate good morning to you, seen your post#11 and you right the post in the picture I listed is, the push to close push to release type, but also when you lock the car it I think turns as well to lock the charging flap MG badge on the 5.

I don’t think this has anything to do with the problem experienced by Bogrole or mwillkin777 as It is the same thing as a petrol flap on an ice vehicle..
And I think that is all it does secure and lock the flap, this is the reason I have asked them to clarify the situation, hopefully they will get a reply/respones from there dealers shortly as to what the issue is, this possibility blocking motorways for such a silly problem is ridiculous, and in my opinion and when the problem is highlighted it might well result in another recall to check all MG5s
It appears strange, that in over 15 months of reading these forums and lots and lots of people saying they have driven off with the rubber bungs out and the flaps open and driven a good distance in that state none as I know of have ever had a warning on the dash which is another reason why I don’t think this plunger in the picture has anything to do with the issue, hope they come up with an answer soon.
Les.
Take care

 

[Kithmo]

I believe the plug locking pin (or pins) is (are) inside the plug socket itself and are a separate thing to the plunger/flap lock. My plug has three square holes in it, one at the top and one on each side so there must be a plunger that enters one or more of these holes when the plug is locked in place.
(it's chucking it down ATM, I'll check inside the socket later to see how many)
To see if the plug locking pin sticking is the one bringing up the warning, maybe pulling and holding or wedging the emergency release cable and putting the car in D might bring up this warning ?

 

[Les burrows]

I believe the plug locking pin (or pins) is (are) inside the plug socket itself and are a separate thing to the plunger/flap lock. My plug has three square holes in it, one at the top and one on each side so there must be a plunger that enters one or more of these holes when the plug is locked in place.
(it's chucking it down ATM, I'll check inside the socket later to see how many)
To see if the plug locking pin sticking is the one bringing up the warning, maybe pulling and holding or wedging the emergency release cable and putting the car in D might bring up this warning ?

Hi kithmo I agree which is why I have ask for clarification it’s got to be inside the socket IMHO but needs to be sorted.same here chucking it down.
Les

 

[Lovemyev]

the push to close push to release type, but also when you lock the car it I think turns as well to lock the charging flap MG badge on the 5.

Les - The push / close / turn lock button sounds very similar to the one used on the VW petrol flap on the Golf models ( and likely other models as well in that group ).
If so, this does not surprise me really, because on the ZS EV - I can see that the VAG parts bin has clearly been raided !.
Flat bottomed steering wheel is straight out of a Golf, rear tail gate release ( with a switched out MG badge ) from the Golf range, the turbine fresh air vents straight from a Audi A1 and the list goes on !.
Crafty move to get the VAG group items through the design and then the R&D then clone them and rebrand them for your model .

 

[Les burrows]

Yeh your dead right Geoff I had a Skoda Superb estate before the 5 and the fuel cap/flap would not open at one point had to replace the unit it it’s just a small solenoid motor that’s wired to the central locking in the car and the 5 looks Identical.
Les

 

[Lovemyev]

I have just looked at the photo you kindly uploaded again Les.
And the flap locking mechanism ( solenoid ) looks VERY similar to the VAG unit.
If you look at the spring loaded release plunger, it has two flats on each side, in a vertical plane.
On the VAG petrol flap, this plunger connected with a receiver catch on the back of the door flap.
My guess is, there will be a similar thing on the back of the charge flap of the charging door.
When the car is unlocked, the door will open and close by applying pressure on the flap.
The spring loaded plugger just pushes the door open, when you apply pressure to the flap, as the plugger is extended.
It does the complete opposite when you close the door, by depressing the plunger.
To lock the flap, by activating the central locking it turns the plunger and the two flats to the horizontal plain.
This locks the flap into place I believe.
I am finding it a little hard to understand, just how if this catch WAS sticking, how this can cause the cable connected warning to be seen on the dash ???.
If it was the cable locking pin, then their COULD be an issue.

 

[Les burrows]

Well Lovemyev like I said I don’t think this is the cause of the problem, I think it’s the plug socket but still waiting for more info from the owners Bogrole & mwilkins who have experience the problem to feed back what there dealers have come up with.
Les

 

[mwilkins777]

Hi mwilkins777 I agree with your thoughts on the latch for the change door on the MG5, lots of members of the forum have said they have driven off with it open but there has been nothing on the dash to tell you, I have posted a picture and a reply to Bogrole #21 as he as said his dealer recreate the issue by pulling and pushing a pin/ plunger now was that the door latch I have asked him ,can’t for the life of me see why,and I have ask him to clarify what his dealer was pulling at see #21 your quite right it needs to be sorted ASAP.
Quick qestion is your an MG5 SR or LR thanks
Les

Hi Les,
Ours is the SR. Still with MG who have subsequently messaged the MG technical team for advice.
Thanks,
Matt

 

[mwilkins777]

Well Lovemyev like I said I don’t think this is the cause of the problem, I think it’s the plug socket but still waiting for more info from the owners Bogrole & mwilkins who have experience the problem to feed back what there dealers have come up with.
Les

Hi Les,

I don’t disagree. Although I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a line of code that has found it’s way in the software to check for charger door open as an indication of charger being connected, although this seems incredibly unlikely (and ridiculous!).

To my mind the only thing that should cause the car to think it has a physical cable connected, and thus enter the ‘Charger Connected’, is the physical connected of a cable to the charger port and completion of the built-in Type 2 loop-back (Proximity lines in the cable/connector I think).

Still awaiting a response from dealer on their suspected cause in our case. They have been unable to replicate the fault.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Les burrows]

Hi Matt, and thank you for your posts and keeping myself and forum members updated, I agree with what you say but please do keep us updated in due course and hopefully with a resolution and a reason for the issue
As far as I’m aware yours and Bogrole or the only two vehicles that have experienced this problem what concerns me now is has you are both owners of SR models, and so is mine an SR. I sure hope they get to the bottom of it quickly and then if necessary issue an urgent safety recall certainly would not like to have the problem Bogrole had on the M42 of all places that’s for sure.
Thanks again
Les.

 

[mwilkins777]

All - here’s an update on the erroneous ‘charger connected’ issue.

The MG technical team were able to attribute the fault to a known bug, which they have already fixed in a software drop. Our car hadn’t had the software update, so the update was applied and we’re told that the issue won’t be seen again (fingers crossed!).

The software version we now have installed is:

EP22_MCEUK_NAV_31.13_200611_R

It may be worthwhile checking your software and speaking with MG to see if you are due / can have this update.

I did push the dealer to see why this hasn’t been rolled out as a mass safety recall and the response I got was ‘there haven’t been enough cases yet to justify it’. I disagreed and suggested it would take just one unlucky driver to stop in a dangerous situation…

If enough people make a noise and request this update, it may prompt wider action…

In summary - it would appear the erroneous ‘charger connected’ state when driving is not due to the latch/plunger of the charger door and instead due to a bug in the software, fixed in the above version.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lovemyev]

I looks likely that a line taken from my post in #23
"Either that or the software has a glitch that THINKS that the cable is still connected maybe ?".
Could well have some credence after all !.
Hopefully the "Bug" has been truly eradicate !.

 

[ASRtichy]

Your software version is different from mine

The software version we now have installed is:

EP22_MCEUK_NAV_31.13_200611_R

I have an Exclusive LR bought in Jan ‘22.

In setup > system my SW shows:
EP22_MCEUK_NAV31.22_210301_R

I thought the date of the software was the last part. yy/mm/dd. So mine would be 1st march ‘21 and yours would be 11th June ’20.

 

[Avro]

If loosing all power on a motorway is not a safety issue I don't know what is! Still its nice to know its fixed (we hope) ....Thanks for keeping us updated

 

[mwilkins777]

Your software version is different from mine

I have an Exclusive LR bought in Jan ‘22.

In setup > system my SW shows:
EP22_MCEUK_NAV31.22_210301_R

I thought the date of the software was the last part. yy/mm/dd. So mine would be 1st march ‘21 and yours would be 11th June ’20.

I have a feeling I’ve quoted the wrong software here. The version I’ve posted is probably the entertainment system, rather than the car software itself.. not sure how I’d find that..

 

[Les burrows]

Wow, great work Matt and thank you for your posting, the bit about the safety recall attitude with MG does not surprise me at all, but again thank you for the information you have obtain from you dealer, I will be having a chat with mine as soon as I can about this software update and getting it done asap
Thanks again
Les

 

[Lguk]

Had your vehicle had the Kers3 safety recall?

I would assume that each software update requires the previous ones to be installed or are cumulative. The software version quoted above is for the infotainment system.

MG may be blasé about the safety issue if they believe its covered in an update that covers an existing recall.

Based on the reports I've seen on the forum, those with this issue were all SR vehicles, so its likely the LR model software already had the fix in place.

Incidently my dealer implied the Kers3 brake light issue wasn't present on earlier models and was introduced in a software update.

I will definitely be insisting mine is fully updated before I collect it.