I have a Bosch Power Max 2 charger and I noticed I've been getting charging faults since I had my recall software update completed (don't know if it is update, or coincidence). This only happens when the range is low- ex. 60 miles remaining. I have the timer set to start charging at 10pm at night. I confirm it turns on when it is supposed to, but in the morning both green and red lights are solid and the charge was interrupted. This morning my car only charged up to 94 miles before charging stopped. Bosch told me to take the car to the dealer and have them test charge my car on their level 2 charger. Anyone else having this problem? This has happened multiple times to me recently.
Charger fault after software update?
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I think the manufacturer's idea to have you charge on the dealers L2 EVSE is solid... it will confirm if it's the car or the EVSE that's at fault.
You could also plug in the included OEM 120v EVSE and leave that on for an extended period to see it if faults out.
You could also plug in the included OEM 120v EVSE and leave that on for an extended period to see it if faults out.
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I've heard of similar symptoms resulting from bad house wiring. And the unit was a Bosch, as it happens.
That particular video was about installing a Tesla wall connecter to replace their problematic Bosch EVSE. Nice how-to video.
The interesting part was that in the end, the Bosch was fine. The house wiring was degrading.
You didn't say if your EVSE is hard wired or plugs into a socket. If there's a socket, check to see if it's getting hot.
Socket or hard wired, also check to see if the breaker is still good.
Wiring problems appear to be a lot more common than there being a problem with the car's charger.
That particular video was about installing a Tesla wall connecter to replace their problematic Bosch EVSE. Nice how-to video.
The interesting part was that in the end, the Bosch was fine. The house wiring was degrading.
You didn't say if your EVSE is hard wired or plugs into a socket. If there's a socket, check to see if it's getting hot.
Socket or hard wired, also check to see if the breaker is still good.
Wiring problems appear to be a lot more common than there being a problem with the car's charger.
I'll second the motion.
Replace both the breaker and the outlet. Both are something that the *careful* homeowner can do. If you're unsure, have a licensed electrician do it. They should be able to do both in less than an hour. Expect about a hundred bucks, plus parts.
Thanks for the reply-- I have a relatively new house (built in 2009) with modern wiring. I had an electrician come in to install a socket so my unit plugs into a socket. I've had everything in place for a year and it's just recently that this problem started happening.
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Sockets wear out. Some are of better quality than others. That's why it's worth checking. It's also an *easy* thing to check -- just wait until the car has been charging for a while, and see how warm or hot the plug and socket are. If it's cold to the touch, it's excellent. Too hot to touch, there's a real problem.
The "Inconvenience Charger" that comes with the Bolt has a thermal switch in the 5-15 plug for just this eventuality.
Just as an aside, the EV-1 came with a 120V large paddle inductive (LPI) charger that they called a "Convenience Charger". It was anything but.
Update 8/20/18
I took my car to the dealer and had my electrician inspect the socket and wiring. All checked out ok. I mentioned to the electrician that the pipe and socket plate get warm to the touch, but he said that is to be expected with that type of voltage running through. Car charged fully without any fault on the dealer's Bosch Powermax charger. Now I need to deal with Bosch again. This will be my second replacement under warranty. First time I had a power button on the left side of the unit that kept getting stuck resulting in an inability to reliably power the unit on and off.
I took my car to the dealer and had my electrician inspect the socket and wiring. All checked out ok. I mentioned to the electrician that the pipe and socket plate get warm to the touch, but he said that is to be expected with that type of voltage running through. Car charged fully without any fault on the dealer's Bosch Powermax charger. Now I need to deal with Bosch again. This will be my second replacement under warranty. First time I had a power button on the left side of the unit that kept getting stuck resulting in an inability to reliably power the unit on and off.
"...he said that is to be expected with that type of voltage running through."
I *hope* the electrician said "current" rather than "voltage". If they truly said "voltage", it's time to hire a different electrician...
Amen to that. Safety ground (green wire) can also be iffy even when everything else is ok. I have one outdoor plug that tests fine with a plug wiring checker (no faults - everything wired correctly, good ground), but the 115AC L1 charger that comes with the Bolt refuses to work on it, complaining of a bad ground. Probably too much resistance between ground and AC cold or something like that.
So I've watched this issue on my car more closely and noticed the fault only comes on when I'm using delayed charging mode. Ex. I program my Bolt to charge only during offpeak hours from 10:00pm-7:00am. If I plug in my Bolt before 10pm everything seems to work fine and I get a full charge the next day. If I plug in the Bolt after 10pm, it starts charging and the fault comes on after about an hour. Does anyone have any ideas why this would be happening?
Sounds similar to the problem experienced with Siemens VersaCharge units. The Bolt's on-board charge timer seems to not play well with some EVSEs.
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