MG4 Home Charging Issues

[Rob875]

My MG4 SE LR has done 35,000 miles and I usually charge at home using a ProjectEV 7kW charger in dumb mode. I set the timer in the car to charge between midnight and 7am to take advantage of my Economy 7 rate, normally charging to 80%. On locking the car I check through the window that the display is showing "Charging Scheduled".

On a few occasions I have thought the car started charging immediately after setting the scheduled charging, i.e. several hours early and on peak rate electricity, but I was not sure that this had actually happened. Today I have had a smart electricity meter fitted, and plugged the charger in on a scheduled midnight charge to check that the charger was still working working OK with the new meter connections. Despite seeing the "Charging Scheduled" message on the dash, and checking the timer was set with a midnight start time, the car started charging immediately. I then unplugged, reconnected, and then all was OK, with the car showing "Charging Scheduled", but not yet charging.

Has anyone else seen this premature charging issue?

 

[Ian Key]

Are you setting the charging times on both the car and on your wall charger?

You only need to set it on one or the other but not both.

 

[Rob875]

I never set charging times on the charger as Project EV were never able to get the charger app working for me

 

[JonnyG]

I've charged mine in a similar way at home for over 19 months and never had a premature charging start.

I just double check that scheduled charging is set, as sometimes it isn't after being at relatives' houses with Intelligent EVSE, when I disable scheduling as their EVSE controls start and end.

My own home EVSE is a 6 year old dumb 7kw with no app.

 

[Rob875]

It's just happened again. The car is set to start charging at midnight. I plugged the cable into the charger, then into the car, then locked the car, the display showed "Charging Scheduled", but my new smart meter showed a draw of 7.5kW.

I unlocked the car, which stopped the charging, checked the settings were correct, got out and locked it, and it now is not charging, but it will now start at midnight.

 

[Bam Bam]

It's just happened again. The car is set to start charging at midnight. I plugged the cable into the charger, then into the car, then locked the car, the display showed "Charging Scheduled", but my new smart meter showed a draw of 7.5kW.

I unlocked the car, which stopped the charging, checked the settings were correct, got out and locked it, and it now is not charging, but it will now start at midnight.

This is very strange.

I'm struggling to see the difference between what you did the first time and the second time.

What time is your charge scheduled to occur between?

 

[Rob875]

Midnight to 7.00am - I have economy 7

 

[Ian Key]

It's difficult to know if it's the charger or the car that's causing the problem. Can you try on someone else's charger?

 

[Rob875]

This issue has never occurred when charging my wife's Leaf on the same charger, so I presume it is the car.

 

[spoton]

Midnight to 7.00am - I have economy 7

Rob are you sure your midnight to 7am?
My economy 7 starts at 1am till 8.am did you remember the times change when the clocks go forward or back

 

[Ian Key]

Rob are you sure your midnight to 7am?
My economy 7 starts at 1am till 8.am did you remember the times change when the clocks go forward or back

I don't know about Rob but my cheap rate with E.on Drive is from 00:00 to 7:00 winter and summer and it was the same before I changed from Economy 7 to an EV tariff.

I think the timing used to change to save the suppliers having to change the time on the old meters when the clocks altered but with the new smart meters its not a problem.

 

[Rob875]

On the old meter it was 00.00 to 07.00 winter and summer, and is the same on the new smart meter.

I often get back from a 240 mile round trip to London on about 5% charge, so 7hrs takes it to 85%.

Now I've had the new smart meter fitted, I will look around to see who is offering the best tariff, bearing in mind I have split house heating - part oil & part storage rads (no gas in my street).

 

[scbennett]

I have an ICS Charger, and it has an option in the App for Charge on Plug. Charge on Plug enables charging as soon as its plugged in rather than when you start it via the App. Could your problem be to do with something like this? (The Web UI for the charger also has a Charge on Button option. Although it's unlikely someone is going to park on my drive and plug their car in, I disable both of these, so no-one can use my electricity when I'm away.)

 

[Rob875]

Turns out it was the Project EV charger. They made a remote change to the settings and now it works as it should. Charged EV & Project EV failed to set the charger correctly when it was installed, and failed to rectify this in 2022 when I pointed out there were odd charging times being shown on the app. All the indications were that charging was starting at midnight as set in the cars, but it was only when I had the smart electricity meter installed I found out what was actually happening. I may have overpaid by ~£1000 over the last three years, but Charged EV & Project EV are not offering any compensation. I am starting a claim under the Consumer Rights Act.

scbennet - You are probably right, but the installers were unable to get the app working properly, so I never had access to the relevant settings. Also, at installation, I had made it clear it was my intention to start charging at midnight with the car timers, not the app.