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Pod Point Charging Issue

DaveG

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There is probably something I'm missing but at the risk of looking stupid Ill ask.
I used a Pod Point at the local CO OP for the first time today prior to a weekend away thought Id do a dummy run.
All went well plugged in and APP enabled the free charge and the charge started.
When I'd finished a couple of errands I came back but could not remove the plug with the car locked or unlocked.
Questions are:
How do I stop the charge.

I eventually released the plug by toggling the locks using key phob a number of times and heard it release.
Read manual but it was a fugue on this.
Could not find anything to do with batteries on infotainment either.
Can someone point me in the right direction on this.
 
There are no stupid questions so never worry about that. We are all learning.

I’ve not used pod point but on rapid chargers you normally press stop on the app. This will release the cable lock.

sometimes this stop request doesn’t work, so you can press the big red emergency stop button on charger unit itself, this will stop charge and release lock.

see screenshot, that stop button will release me.
7753A538-1742-4F95-8246-B93FDF16D90C.png
 
My cable was stuck in a recent pod point free chargeat Tesco. Rang Pod point and they said try locking and unlocking a few times - I had to do it several times but it did finally work.

Since then I've used several free pod points fast chargers I simply unlock the car and take out the cable to stop the charge.

Good luck
 
There are no stupid questions so never worry about that. We are all learning.

I’ve not used pod point but on rapid chargers you normally press stop on the app. This will release the cable lock.

sometimes this stop request doesn’t work, so you can press the big red emergency stop button on charger unit itself, this will stop charge and release lock.

see screenshot, that stop button will release me.
View attachment 566
Thanks for info
 
Not on a ZS, but with a Leaf a few years ago, cable wouldn't release from the charger, only thing that worked was taking the cable out of the car first. This unlocked it at the charger side, as it realised the charge had stopped.
 
There is probably something I'm missing but at the risk of looking stupid Ill ask.
I used a Pod Point at the local CO OP for the first time today prior to a weekend away thought Id do a dummy run.
All went well plugged in and APP enabled the free charge and the charge started.
When I'd finished a couple of errands I came back but could not remove the plug with the car locked or unlocked.
Questions are:
How do I stop the charge.

I eventually released the plug by toggling the locks using key phob a number of times and heard it release.
Read manual but it was a fugue on this.
Could not find anything to do with batteries on infotainment either.
Can someone point me in the right direction on this.
@DaveG
Sorry to hear about your charging problem.
Such problems are common and often nothing serious.
You did not mention if your difficulty was with a tethered DC rapid charger or a standard fast charger and in the case of a standard charger whether it was the car end or charger end that was causing the problem. You also do not mention if you have had your BMS update.
There is therefore not enough information to give you a possible exact answer.
The solution will be slightly different for different situations. But usually it is nothing serious at all. I think it is advisable calling pod point or other charge provider if you think there is a significant issue.
But here are a few tips which may help....
Take some time to read any messages on the charging station. Often there are some instructions. Try to follow such instructions as they often work best for that particular charger.
For some 7kWh chargers after stopping the charge by unlocking the doors the magnetic locks at the ends of the charging cables will disengage only after first pushing firmly inwards before pulling outwards.
For some DC rapid chargers there seems to be a short safety interval from when you press stop on the charging unit to when the locks disengage. A short wait an firm push inwards before pulling outwards is always recommended.
For some app enabled systems where there is a stop option on the app as well as the charging unit, one may have to use both stop options on app and unit to stop charge and release charging cables. In fact I will say where there is a stop option on the charging unit it is best to use that.
Some systems respond only to fixed sequence of stop charge wait few seconds unlock car wait few seconds remove charging cables. If this sequence is not followed the charging cables will not release. Please note most free pod-point 7kWh charger use door locking and unlocking to start and stop charging and the app only for confirmation of charging. It seems these types of chargers respond best when locking and unlocking is done with the chrome knobs on the door handle rather than the key fob.
Well hope the above was helpful. It will be good if you could give more details of the particular charger you had problems with such info as location and its ID number as one could then scan the various charging apps to see if this issue is recurrent with that particular charger and what solutions others may have found useful and also aid feed back to the charge providers.
 
Hi Guys,

I've only used Pod Point chargers so far and have noticed that the only way to stop the charge is to remove the cable from your car FIRST then from the pod point charger, not the other way round.

Hope this helps!
 
Pod points FAQ says that rapid charges should be stopped from the app and fast charges should just be unplugged.

Doesn’t yanking the cable out leave you with a live exposed high voltage cable in your hand? Obviously the charger will realise and cut power but is that instant? Surely a stop button would be safer, same as pod point rapid.
 
Pod points FAQ says that rapid charges should be stopped from the app and fast charges should just be unplugged.

Doesn’t yanking the cable out leave you with a live exposed high voltage cable in your hand? Obviously the charger will realise and cut power but is that instant? Surely a stop button would be safer, same as pod point rapid.
To pull the plug out of the car end when charging on a PodPoint fast charger, you have to unlock the car first to unlock the cable, which in turn stops the charge. The lights on the charger go from green (charging) to blue (standby) as soon as you unlock the car so the cable isn't live anymore. This is exactly the same as on my PodPoint home charger.
The Polar rapid I used at Alford coo-op was contactless payment and to stop the charge you just flash your credit/debit card on the contactless payment scanner. Personally I think this is the easiest and should be the norm for all chargers instead of all these apps and RFID cards.
 
Used the Pod Point charger at our local Tesco today. Cleverly they’ve installed it in a mobile phone notspot, so my app didn’t work to start the charge. Had to call them to get it confirmed. The call centre guy suggested using the web page next time, as he says it works better in poor signal areas.

But it’s another reason why charging stations need to be kept simple and straightforward - why can’t it be confirmed through the NFC chip in my phone (as with Apple Pay) rather than needing the whole convoluted process of phone talking to station through the mobile phone network, when they’re just feet apart?
 
I know this is an old thread but wondered if there was anything new about Pod Point? I've recently started charging my PHEV at various Tesco/ free suppliers. My cable has stuck on numerous occasions and the only way I've done it is to keep locking and unlocking the car until I can release it. Any other ideas. It always worries me and going to France next week. Don't want to get the cable caught there!!!!
 
AFAIK, nothing new on the Tesco ones. The only new thing since 2020 is the scheduled charging on the app for home chargers.
 
There is probably something I'm missing but at the risk of looking stupid Ill ask.
I used a Pod Point at the local CO OP for the first time today prior to a weekend away thought Id do a dummy run.
All went well plugged in and APP enabled the free charge and the charge started.
When I'd finished a couple of errands I came back but could not remove the plug with the car locked or unlocked.
Questions are:
How do I stop the charge.

I eventually released the plug by toggling the locks using key phob a number of times and heard it release.
Read manual but it was a fugue on this.
Could not find anything to do with batteries on infotainment either.
Can someone point me in the right direction on this.
Had exactlysame problem with my MG5. You have to unscrew cover over motor and just at the front you will see a black tag. Pull this and it releases charger. Good idea to carry a star screwdriver in car should this recur. Hope this helps
 
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