[grommet]

Is anyone else having an issue with the Versacharge having an interment ground fault and displaying a red halo? I’ve been working with Seimens tech support for over a week and they suspect there’s a signal coming from my 2019 Bolt that is “confusing” the Versacharge. But they don’t know for sure. This never happened with my 2017.

I am NOT scheduling the charging start time from the car...it’s configured to charge as soon as I plug it in. Picture attached.

 

[grommet]

More info: it usually happens sometime after the primary charge is complete, and from what I can tell only when the plug is attached to the car.

 

[One1whaoo.]

One assumes that you have checked and tightened the connections from the Siemens all the way back to the breaker box?
It just might have an weak ground connection with resistance changing with the temperature change in the cable caused by charging.

 

[p7wang]

Agreed, turn off the breaker and check all the wiring to make sure they're all tightened.

My personal experience... after installing the NEMA 14-50, found out my hallway outlet died. Turns out the wire had come loose from the breaker for the hallway power (!), reinserted the wire, tightened the screw, power back on.

 

[Eriamjh1138]

Google it. These units seem to fail every 2-3 years. The Red Halo is a known issue With no known solution.

The Versicharge units don’t have a good track history.

yeah, I bought one myself and took a chance. Going on two year with no problems, knock on wood.

 

[teaser38]

4 is a ground fault. I'm just as inclined to say the unit is "bad" (i.e. not playing nice with the car's signalling) as you have an issue with your grounding.

So first, check your contacts.

If that's not it, the car asking for power for battery conditioning after charging might be triggering the fault. I remember getting 2 and 4 lit up when using delayed charging. These faults were also inconsistent. What solved the problem was getting a JuiceBox 32A and gifting the Versicharge to relative that has a welding setup and who I visit not infrequently.

 

[ZoomZoom]

@teaser38 Did the problems follow the EVSE when you unloaded it to your relative? If not, do you think it was just overly picky with the power at it's original location with you?

 

[teaser38]

My problems were almost entirely due the the car signals to the EVSE as far as I could tell.

It did throw up a couple random grounding faults otherwise. No idea why. It was generally reliable otherwise as long as you didn't use car's the timer function.

 

[grommet]

OP here. I finally got around to retightening all of the connections b/w my Versacharge and the breaker. Nothing was loose so I suspect it's something with the charger itself. Seimen's tech support says (of course) that their unit is fine and it's something with the Bolt. . I'll report back once I get answer one way or another.

 

[ZoomZoom]

Good luck. Problems like this will surely test yours and most people's patience.

 

[grommet]

Good luck. Problems like this will surely test yours and most people's patience.

Thanks! If it faults again I’m just going to replace the guts with an OpenEVSE board and call it a day. Come to think of it, that sounds like a fun project. ?

 

[p7wang]

Have you tried another EV to discount their "oh, it must be the car" excuse? Seems if you can charge with another EVSE, the problem is not your car.

 

[grommet]

Have you tried another EV to discount their "oh, it must be the car" excuse? Seems if you can charge with another EVSE, the problem is not your car.

They actually recommended I do that. The problem is 1) I don’t have another EV, and 2) It‘s an intermittent problem.

This NEVER happened with my 2017 Bolt. I mistakenly told the tech support rep that which is why he’s saying this is a problem specific to the 2019. Bull crap.

Edit: the car charges just fine. It faults (sometimes) during the battery conditioning phase or whenever other power is requested by the Bolt. It even faulted one time when I opened the door the next morning.

 

[ZoomZoom]

Have you tried another EV to discount their "oh, it must be the car" excuse? Seems if you can charge with another EVSE, the problem is not your car.

It seems, reasonably, without having another EV another idea is to try more and more EVSE's around town to see if the problem symptoms/occurrence changes.

 

[Readywheelinnabel]

I am currently having the same issue with my VersiCharge and my 2019 Bolt. Charger installed in November. I have had random faults about 5 times since. Resetting via the breaker has always solved the issue. Last week got a fault right after plugging in. Hard reset at the breaker does not fix the issue. Has been 7 days and just as many talks with Seimens technical service. I even went so far as installing (2) new 8ft grounding rods since my breaker box was only grounded to my water line. That did not solve my issue either so I do not think it is on the wiring side. They also tried to blame my car, but I have successfuly charged on (4) local level 2 EVSE's of other brands with no issue since this started. I knew before I bought that time-charge and time-of-departure do not work on the VersiCharge, but I did not plan to use either feature and liked buying from such a well know company. Now I read more and more stories of the VersiCharge not playing nice with Bolts. I don't think that there is anything broken on the chargers, but rather the diagnostic loop is just too sensitive. One tech even mentioned that "some cars send an impulse signal that the charger doesn't like", but later back peddle. That leads me to think it is a known issue they are trying to avoid. Thinking I might just demand a refund and get the new Juicbox 40.

 

[Sibilance]

Thanks! If it faults again I’m just going to replace the guts with an OpenEVSE board and call it a day. Come to think of it, that sounds like a fun project. ?

As long as I have owned a hybrid or an EV I have heard continual gripes and complaints about these VersiCharge units.

Honestly if you enjoy little projects like this and don't mind spending the money you may overall come out ahead on general mental well being and future confidence in your home EVSE.

It's what I would do, and would consider it a learning experience. With the upside that you will be reusing the copper charging cable rather than adding it to a recycling pile somewhere.

 

[Stovebolt6]

Over the past 2.5 years I've used my Versicharge on both my previous 2012 Ford Focus Electric and my current 2019 Bolt without a single issue. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. The Schneider EV Link EVSE that I sometimes use at work can be more temperamental. I understand Schneider is now out of the EVSE business.