Car failing to start charge in the cold

[Cardo]

With the cold weather over the last couple of days I’ve started having an issue where my M3 fails to start charging on a timed charge. I’m using a Zappi v2.

I’m plugging the car in the afternoon/evening with a timer on the Zappi so the car won’t start charging until 2330. Two nights ago the car didn’t charge at all overnight. When I checked it in the morning the Zappi stated the charge was delayed and when I manually tried starting the charge through the Tesla app it simply failed. When I went out to check the car the charge port light was red. I unplugged and plugged back in and it started charging.

A similar thing happened last night, however this time I stayed up until 2330 to ensure the charge started (we were at 11% ). The Zappi was on Fast and showing charge delayed. The car simply wouldn’t start a charge and showed the cable as grey in the app (though it did show plugged in). I went out to the car and again the port light was red. It took some effort to remove the plug as it seemed to be frozen in place, but once I managed to remove it and plug it back in the charge started without issues and the car charged all night at full rate without further intervention.

I’ve not knowingly had this issue before, so I’m putting it out to the masses. Is this an issue you’ve noticed when the temperatures are (very?) cold and you plug the car in hours before the charge starts? Could a build up of frost in the plugged in plug cause an issue during the charge start causing it to error out until it is removed and plugged in? Or is there an issue with my cable/plug? It’s a tethered Zappi, so can’t easily test another cable.

 

[PITA]

I had this exact issue which happened twice a few weeks ago. In my case it was cold and extremely wet on a tethered Zappi V2 3 phase charger.

So I switched across to our other Zappi V2 Single Phase charger which worked fine, and we didn't lose the charge opportunity.

Then after a couple of nights, the Zappi 3 Phase charger started working again and has been fine since.

I did some research on Google, and there was some Speculation of water ingress to the main Zappi box. Apparently sometimes the waterproof fitting glands aren't fitted properly.

But... I abandoned my concerns when it all started working again... and just put it down to an ill-seated cable connector position... or water ingress to the port.

 

[PITA]

Just to add, if you have the opportunity to get two Home wall chargers fitted, do it.

It's so much easier to just switch across if one goes faulty.

Buys you time, without any inconvenience...

I got over excited with this concept and now have four charger options.

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied (on order for March 2023 installation)

1 x 7 kW Zappi wall charger (Grid Tied, Battery Storage, Solar)

1 x 7 kW 32amp Commando Socket on Gateway 2 blackout backup side

Think that should cover it

 

[GRiLLA]

Just to add, if you have the opportunity to get two Home wall chargers fitted, do it.

It's so much easier to just switch across if one goes faulty.

Buys you time, without any inconvenience...

I got over excited with this concept and now have four charger options.

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied (on order for March 2023 installation)

1 x 7 kW Zappi wall charger (Grid Tied, Battery Storage, Solar)

1 x 7 kW 32amp Commando Socket on Gateway 2 blackout backup side

Think that should cover it

I assume that Tesla will be adding your home to the navigation as a charging hub.

 

[Cardo]

I had this exact issue which happened twice a few weeks ago. In my case it was cold and extremely wet on a tethered Zappi V2 3 phase charger.

So I switched across to our other Zappi V2 Single Phase charger which worked fine, and we didn't lose the charge opportunity.

Then after a couple of nights, the Zappi 3 Phase charger started working again and has been fine since.

I did some research on Google, and there was some Speculation of water ingress to the main Zappi box. Apparently sometimes the waterproof fitting glands aren't fitted properly.

But... I abandoned my concerns when it all started working again... and just put it down to an ill-seated cable connector position... or water ingress to the port.

The Zappi itself is inside the garage, with the cable and plug outside. It could be an issue with water in the plug, however this is generally protected from rain by its holster or it’s plugged into the car.

 

[Cardo]

Just to add, if you have the opportunity to get two Home wall chargers fitted, do it.

It's so much easier to just switch across if one goes faulty.

Buys you time, without any inconvenience...

I got over excited with this concept and now have four charger options.

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied (on order for March 2023 installation)

1 x 7 kW Zappi wall charger (Grid Tied, Battery Storage, Solar)

1 x 7 kW 32amp Commando Socket on Gateway 2 blackout backup side

Think that should cover it

I do have an old PodPoint as a backup, however trying to rule out the Zappi as causing the issue!

 

[DeejUK]

I don't know how well forum users take to people posting in different countries' subfora, but maybe try asking Canadians and Norwegians if it's a thing they face regularly? That might help clarify whether its a common issue in the cold, or something unique in your setup.

 

[Jason71]

I assume that Tesla will be adding your home to the navigation as a charging hub.

They can't due to the moat

 

[MrBadger]

With the cold weather over the last couple of days I’ve started having an issue where my M3 fails to start charging on a timed charge.

Did it actually fail to start charging or just not deliver any meaningful charge?

During a bout of insomnia, I happened to monitor the first hour or so of a charge. During that time the amount of charge being added to the battery was negligible even though iirc full power was being drawn. It took a while before the battery started to register any meaningful increase in charge and had I not been seeing this behaviour I might easily thought that the car was not charging.

 

[Neilio]

Did it actually fail to start charging or just not deliver any meaningful charge?

During a bout of insomnia, I happened to monitor the first hour or so of a charge. During that time the amount of charge being added to the battery was negligible even though iirc full power was being drawn. It took a while before the battery started to register any meaningful increase in charge and had I not been seeing this behaviour I might easily thought that the car was not charging.

Out of spec did something with DC chargers that showed this. Extreme but they took a cold soaked M3 and plugged it straight into a charger. It took 45 minutes of drawing power before it would start charging the battery. Maybe it's a mini version of that

 

[Adopado]

Just to add, if you have the opportunity to get two Home wall chargers fitted, do it.

It's so much easier to just switch across if one goes faulty.

Buys you time, without any inconvenience...

I got over excited with this concept and now have four charger options.

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied

1 x 22 kW Zappi wall charger Grid Tied (on order for March 2023 installation)

1 x 7 kW Zappi wall charger (Grid Tied, Battery Storage, Solar)

1 x 7 kW 32amp Commando Socket on Gateway 2 blackout backup side

Think that should cover it

Now come on ... nobody likes a show off!

 

[PITA]

Now come on ... nobody likes a show off!

Haha... my Wife reminds me regularly...

She said "we don't need another car charger..."

I said " ... trust me, we do..."

When her Skoda Enyaq VRS arrives, she'll make a bee line straight for the 22kW charger and nest in it....

I'll get nothing... that's why we need another one

 

[Burley]

With the cold weather over the last couple of days I’ve started having an issue where my M3 fails to start charging on a timed charge. I’m using a Zappi v2.

I’m plugging the car in the afternoon/evening with a timer on the Zappi so the car won’t start charging until 2330. Two nights ago the car didn’t charge at all overnight. When I checked it in the morning the Zappi stated the charge was delayed and when I manually tried starting the charge through the Tesla app it simply failed. When I went out to check the car the charge port light was red. I unplugged and plugged back in and it started charging.

A similar thing happened last night, however this time I stayed up until 2330 to ensure the charge started (we were at 11% ). The Zappi was on Fast and showing charge delayed. The car simply wouldn’t start a charge and showed the cable as grey in the app (though it did show plugged in). I went out to the car and again the port light was red. It took some effort to remove the plug as it seemed to be frozen in place, but once I managed to remove it and plug it back in the charge started without issues and the car charged all night at full rate without further intervention.

I’ve not knowingly had this issue before, so I’m putting it out to the masses. Is this an issue you’ve noticed when the temperatures are (very?) cold and you plug the car in hours before the charge starts? Could a build up of frost in the plugged in plug cause an issue during the charge start causing it to error out until it is removed and plugged in? Or is there an issue with my cable/plug? It’s a tethered Zappi, so can’t easily test another cable.

If Zappi is showing Delayed Charge, then it is waiting for the car to start the charge, as though a timer in the car has been set. I've not had any charge issues due to cold and I know the later M3 have a heated charge port, tied to the heated rear window to aid with plug removal in freezing conditions (obv not related to your charge issue but worth know about when pre-conditioning). May be worth re-booting the Zappi just in case, but also worth checking you haven't got water in either the plug or the charge port which might be causing comms issues.

 

[PITA]

If Zappi is showing Delayed Charge, then it is waiting for the car to start the charge, as though a timer in the car has been set. I've not had any charge issues due to cold and I know the later M3 have a heated charge port, tied to the heated rear window to aid with plug removal in freezing conditions (obv not related to your charge issue but worth know about when pre-conditioning). May be worth re-booting the Zappi just in case, but also worth checking you haven't got water in either the plug or the charge port which might be causing comms issues.

Might be worth booting the car as well..

... sorry, I meant rebooting the car

 

[Jason71]

Out of spec did something with DC chargers that showed this. Extreme but they took a cold soaked M3 and plugged it straight into a charger. It took 45 minutes of drawing power before it would start charging the battery. Maybe it's a mini version of that

That was DC charging at about -30 centigrade ( -20f) I think. That is not really the same as AC charging at -2c. Whole different situation. If the car struggled to AC charge at -2 they would never have sold a single vehicle in Norway

 

[Adopado]

Everyone may be aware of this but I will chip in just because it could complicate the process of tracking down problems with charging commencement: The newer Zappi (the one with wifi built in ie no external hub required) does not immediately start a charge when first plugged in. This is part of the newer regs for smart chargers. The idea is to reduce the sudden impact on the grid when everyone starts charging their cars at exactly the same moment ... so the thousands of people on Octopus Go for example would normally start charging at exactly 12.30am. The newer design puts a randomised delay that can be up to 10 minutes so that the spike across the network is softened. (This is supposed to apply to all new smart chargers as far as I'm aware.)

 

[Cardo]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Unfortunately, no charge at all occurs as there is a fault reported during the initial handshake. As this doesn’t seem to be a common issue, I’m guessing it’s an issue with my Zappi. Possibly the issue with cables where the control wire can degrade. I shall carry on troubleshooting.

 

[Alan J]

Everyone may be aware of this but I will chip in just because it could complicate the process of tracking down problems with charging commencement: The newer Zappi (the one with wifi built in ie no external hub required) does not immediately start a charge when first plugged in. This is part of the newer regs for smart chargers. The idea is to reduce the sudden impact on the grid when everyone starts charging their cars at exactly the same moment ... so the thousands of people on Octopus Go for example would normally start charging at exactly 12.30am. The newer design puts a randomised delay that can be up to 10 minutes so that the spike across the network is softened. (This is supposed to apply to all new smart chargers as far as I'm aware.)

Correct from 01/08/2022.

 

[PITA]

......The idea is to reduce the sudden impact on the grid when everyone starts charging their cars at exactly the same moment ... so the thousands of people on Octopus Go for example would normally start charging at exactly 12.30am.

Which is sensible...

Our house at 04:30 through to 00:29

... then our house at 00:30 Octopus Party Time ... for four hours solid

I'm sure I feel the ground swell as it heads towards us.

 

[ThunderBay3Y]

I live in Canada, its cold and it took a while to get used to the charging in -30C or colder. Firstly the charge can run for probably an hour at full power and its only heating the battery so you're not getting any charge. If you sit there watching the app or the screen youll think you have a faulty wall charger as its not charging however once the battery is warm itll charge fine.

I usually charge in the morning using scheduled depature as it warms the battery however on really cold days if i know i need to charge for tomorrows driving I usually charge after I get home when the battery is warm already.