Noob charging question...

[ArfurM]

Sorry if this a "Well, D'Uh!.." question but it's literally my first go at this rodeo. I have just plugged in the granny charger for the first time, per the manual (doors locked &c.), but despite the charger block "charging light" flashing, the display in the car doesn't say "charging" (it actually says "SoC 44%, connected, uncharged"), and doesn't give the remaining charging time, per the fig on p.147 of the manual. Is that 'cos it's the mega-slow charger, or am I missing summat?

 

[Jomarkh]

Have you unplugged it from the car turned the power off for a few minutes then back on then conne ted back into car?

 

[ArfurM]

Hiya, I've tried disconnecting and re-connecting a couple of times, per the sequence car off, doors closed, unlocked - plug in car, plug in 3 pin, lock it.. the (I assume) cable-lock keeps going "whizz-whizz" intermittantly....

 

[ArfurM]

..The weird thing is this "connected, uncharged!" statement on the display, and the charging brick flashing as if it is doing summat...

 

[ArfurM]

so I now noticed there's a table of "light statuses" on the back of the charger power brick; the flashing "charging" light apparently means "connected" (which agrees with the car), but not charging. Maybe the charger is defective. I'll call the dealer as soon as they're open.

Bit frustrating.....

 

[thefunkystoat]

Sounds like it isn’t working. Solid lights on the block when it’s charging rather than flashing. It should do the whizz whizz noise once as it locks the cable in and then go quiet, the yellow light should stop flashing and as you say the message should change to connected, charging and tell you how long to fully charged.

 

[Lovemyev]

The repeated whiz whiz noise you describe sounds a little like, the car trying to lock the cable into the charging port ?.
On the ZS the charging door prevents getting a good look at the port when you have a knee replacement !.
On one occasions, after plugging in my car, the car did a repeated whiz whiz / clicking noise.
When I unplugged again and checked, the lower rubber cover that you remove to conduct a rapid charge, had worked its way out of its location slightly.
Therefore, when plugging in the charging cable, it was preventing the socket fully engaging to the port of the charging socket.
Just try pulling out the lower bung as well, then plug in your charging cable.
Keep applying pressure, by pushing in the charging plug until you hear the plug lock into the charging socket.
You will both hear and feel it lock one single time, then release the pushing pressure on the cable.
After it has locked in, you will hear the cars relay clicking and then it should start charging.
Just check that the socket that supply’s the power to the “Granny” has not tripped inside of the consumer unit.
Try plugging something into THAT socket outlet and make sure it has power to it.
If you have enough remaining range and you have a pubic charger close by, take the car there and try pulling a charge.
This will rule out that there is NO problem with the car itself.
It is very likely that you will need a type 2 cable to use a public charging post.
Does a friend have a EV that would allow you to try pulling a charge from there unit ?.
The dealer will have a wall box I imagine, are they close enough to go there ?.
Good luck and report back !.

 

[Deleted member 3150]

i have had this too. Unplug charger from car. Leave charger powered up, lock and unlock the car with key and soon as mirrors are out plug Bach in firmly.

 

[ArfurM]

Thanks for info, folks, just back from walking the dogz so will try the suggestions in a mo.. I must admit, that "whizz-whizz" did imply it hadn't locked, so I checked the plug and inside of the socket for obstructions, but all seemed ok....

 

[ArfurM]

Sorry guys... That's a "nope & nope". Same problem. The socket is locked in place (I gingerly tugged it, but it's locked in there), so what is the "whizz-whizz" noise? Looks like it's going to be a trip back to the dealer in a bit

.BTW, the electrical supply's all good, too...

 

[Deleted member 3150]

Try once more - press the unlock button on the fob and pull out the plug and reinsert firmly. Worked for me, if not yes time to complain. Good luck

 

[ArfurM]

Try once more - press the unlock button on the fob and pull out the plug and reinsert firmly. Worked for me, if not yes time to complain. Good luck

No dice.... The irony of all this is that having read various problems people have had with the inconsistent public chargers, I thought, at "least I can rely on the the ol' 13A plug..." Err.. No, it seems Glad I've still got 44% SoC...

 

[EWD]

Get in the car. Drive it around the block. Switch the car off . Switch the granny on at the mains and plug it into the front of the car.

I believe the "whizz-whizz" is the contactors engaging. Wait a least 1 minute for it to start charging.

 

[Cocijo]

What will driving it around the block do?

 

[EWD]

With all the messing about with chargers, the computer could have got itself into some random state that's causing the issue.

Driving it around the block is a bit like turning it on and off again. It connects the main drive battery and gives time for the MCUs to settle down into normal operation. You could probably get a similar outcome by pulling the 12v battery but this is a bit easier.

 

[Kithmo]

Power the charger on before plugging it into the car. Then unlock the car and open a door to prevent it auto re-locking. Plug the type 2 into the car (charger already on) and the plug will automatically lock, lock the car and a few seconds later it should start charging. IIRC the light on the charger should be steady green I think.

 

[JonnyRed]

I use the granny charger once a week and the only times I had a problem was when I forgot to plug the 3pin into the socket first before plugging into the car, if I did this it would do what you describe and not charge.
So I always plug the car in last to charge, plugging the 3pin into the socket first (I am guessing the car needs to establish an earth before it starts charging). I also don't switch the socket on until the car is plugged in, but I don't remember if this makes any difference. The car is a bit slow in going from "connected, uncharged!" to showing charging so give it a little while.
Hope it charges for you.

Found the page in the manual, remember seeing it somewhere.

 

[ArfurM]

Hi All, thanks for the suggestions; TBH, i pretty much tried all of the above (apart from the leaving door open trick). So, first the good news:

..that was the trip back to the dealer ... Anyhow, got there & tried it on their forecourt charger... Flub! same issue, s-o-oo... Got loaned the red ZS he'd just charged, and they're going to have a look at it tomrrow. ZS is rather nice, but glad I got the 5, which suits our needs better...

Thanks again for all the tips. At the end of the day, something's amiss, it really shouldn't be that difficult to charge....

Arf

 

[Alb]

I use the granny charger once a week and the only times I had a problem was when I forgot to plug the 3pin into the socket first before plugging into the car, if I did this it would do what you describe and not charge.
So I always plug the car in last to charge, plugging the 3pin into the socket first (I am guessing the car needs to establish an earth before it starts charging). I also don't switch the socket on until the car is plugged in, but I don't remember if this makes any difference. The car is a bit slow in going from "connected, uncharged!" to showing charging so give it a little while.
Hope it charges for you.View attachment 3773
Found the page in the manual, remember seeing it somewhere.

Page 145 gives the procedure for what it describes as "Residential Charging" and it does seem to contradict the above:

Residential Charging

Your vehicle will have been supplied with a residential
charging device. This device can be plugged into a standard
household 3 pin socket.
During the charging operation the vehicle power system
must be OFF. Carry out the following procedure to charge
the car using the charger supplied with the vehicle:
1 Ensure vehicle power system is OFF and all doors are
closed.
2 Open the charging port door, remove the waterproof
plug cover from the 7 pin charging plug connector.
Ensure the surroundings are clean, dry and free from
debris.
3 Connect the 7 pin charging plug to the socket on the
vehicle.
4 Connect the charging device 3 pin plug to the domestic
electricity supply. Lock the vehicle.
5 On completion of the charge unlock the vehicle,
disconnect the charging cable from the vehicle, and
then the domestic plug.
6 Ensure the charge socket is free from debris, fit the
waterproof plug cover. Close the charging point door.

Note: If at any time during the charging process you
should want to check the state of charge, please switch
the vehicle power system to the ON position. the high
voltage battery state of charge will be displayed in the
message centre in the instrument pack.
Note: If the vehicle is unlocked during the charging
process, charging will be suspended. Charging
will resume after 1 minute. If charging does not
automatically resume, it may be necessary to remove
and refit the charger cable.

I did my first charge following this procedure this morning and it worked fine. I didn't find the final note correct as unlocking the car didn't seem to suspend the charge and it wasn't necessary to switch the power system on in order to see charging information as it appeared automatically and on each subsequent occasion the door was opened.

 

[LeoRBK]

Page 145 gives the procedure for what it describes as "Residential Charging" and it does seem to contradict the above:

Residential Charging

Your vehicle will have been supplied with a residential
charging device. This device can be plugged into a standard
household 3 pin socket.
During the charging operation the vehicle power system
must be OFF. Carry out the following procedure to charge
the car using the charger supplied with the vehicle:
1 Ensure vehicle power system is OFF and all doors are
closed.
2 Open the charging port door, remove the waterproof
plug cover from the 7 pin charging plug connector.
Ensure the surroundings are clean, dry and free from
debris.
3 Connect the 7 pin charging plug to the socket on the
vehicle.
4 Connect the charging device 3 pin plug to the domestic
electricity supply. Lock the vehicle.
5 On completion of the charge unlock the vehicle,
disconnect the charging cable from the vehicle, and
then the domestic plug.
6 Ensure the charge socket is free from debris, fit the
waterproof plug cover. Close the charging point door.

Note: If at any time during the charging process you
should want to check the state of charge, please switch
the vehicle power system to the ON position. the high
voltage battery state of charge will be displayed in the
message centre in the instrument pack.
Note: If the vehicle is unlocked during the charging
process, charging will be suspended. Charging
will resume after 1 minute. If charging does not
automatically resume, it may be necessary to remove
and refit the charger cable.

I did my first charge following this procedure this morning and it worked fine. I didn't find the final note correct as unlocking the car didn't seem to suspend the charge and it wasn't necessary to switch the power system on in order to see charging information as it appeared automatically and on each subsequent occasion the door was opened.

Unlocking the car in the middle of the charge did release the cable and I was able to end the charging session. So I believe unlock does indeed suspend charging.
To inspect the state of charge, I press the doorpad unlock button while leaving the car key in the house so as not to disrupt charging session.