New eGolf charger error

[JimWharton]

We have a new eGolf (like yesterday). When I plug our charger into the garage every light lights and flashes. There is no pattern that matches in the manual. My interpretation is that this is non-optimal. When I plug it into the car, it appears to charge, but I’m not comfortable leaving it plugged in with all those other indicators flashing. We’re in an older house, so there could be electrical issues, but I’m not sure what I’m solving for. Anyone have an idea what’s going on?

JMW

 

[2016golfse]

Are you saying every light on the charger flashes? I’m assuming you’re referring to the 120V charger they give with the car. Since you’re concerned with the older house, change your maximum charge current setting to 5 amps, which only adds about 2 to 2.5 miles of range per hour of charge and see if you still have any issues. If no issues, then your house’s wiring needs upgrading, at which point you should add a 240V circuit that allows you to charge faster using a better charger.

 

[msvphoto]

We have a new eGolf (like yesterday). When I plug our charger into the garage every light lights and flashes. There is no pattern that matches in the manual. My interpretation is that this is non-optimal. When I plug it into the car, it appears to charge, but I’m not comfortable leaving it plugged in with all those other indicators flashing. We’re in an older house, so there could be electrical issues, but I’m not sure what I’m solving for. Anyone have an idea what’s going on?

JMW

Try plugging the charge equipment into a different electrical circuit someplace you know has known good modern wiring. My 2015 has a different level 1 EVSE provided with the car, I think anyway. When I tried plugging that EVSE into a sketchy 115vac circuit (at a hotel) the EVSE lit an error LED and would not charge the car.

You're probably going to want a 240vac circuit run for a level 2 EVSE sooner or later, but for now it would be nice to know if the level 1 EVSE provided with the car is not defective.

 

[tripleaardvark]

I'd take that charger back to the dealer. My car came with a level 1 charger the dealer had never seen before. Seems VW changed suppliers in the middle of their 2019 production run. Mine works, but I like the look of the older one better.

 

[JSmith]

We have a new eGolf (like yesterday). When I plug our charger into the garage every light lights and flashes. There is no pattern that matches in the manual. My interpretation is that this is non-optimal. When I plug it into the car, it appears to charge, but I’m not comfortable leaving it plugged in with all those other indicators flashing. We’re in an older house, so there could be electrical issues, but I’m not sure what I’m solving for. Anyone have an idea what’s going on?

JMW

I have exactly the same with my cable charger - it flashes all lights like a Christmas tree. It does that even when not connected to a car. Dealer says if it charges (which it does) - then no need to be bothered.
Will probably make them check/replace the charger anyway.

 

[quickeasyres]

My brand new charger does the same thing. The very first time I plugged it in to a 120V outlet, the power light was solid green. But within 10 seconds, all of the lights started flashing sporadically. Needless to say, this worried me and I didn't plug the charger to my car.

I brought it into the dealer (Jeff D'Ambrosio in PA) and they saw the problem and said that was unusual but noted that the car still charged with the faulty charger as indicated by the green status light on the charging port in the car. I told them that this is still worrisome behavior and they gave me a replacement charger that they had in their parts department. They plugged it in for 2 seconds to test the charger and again the power light was solid green and said it was fine before unplugging it and giving it to me. I said thank you, but then plugged it in again for longer to see if it was really ok. Low and behold, the replacement charger did the same thing. Solid green power light at first, but within 10 seconds, all 4 lights started flashing sporadically. They told me that they don't know what could be causing this issue, but sent me home with the charger saying that I should use it until they get back to me and said that if anything else happens, everything is covered under warranty. I guess we will see how it goes. I will update accordingly.

 

[quickeasyres]

So, the technician from VW came back to me saying that they spoke to a field tech who said that all 4 lights flashing on the charger indicates that the outlet is faulty. So I had an electrician replace the outlet with a function GFI outlet. But the problem still persists. Here is a video of the behavior.

https://youtu.be/m26QV6KUuII

 

[f1geek]

Sounds fishy to me. I realize it is hard to believe the dealer gave you two bad charging stations, but it is possible. Did you try using the test button to see what happens if you test the internal GFCI? Have you tried plugging the station into a different circuit and outlet? Maybe try a different dealer? Best of luck!

 

[miimura]

So, the technician from VW came back to me saying that they spoke to a field tech who said that all 4 lights flashing on the charger indicates that the outlet is faulty. So I had an electrician replace the outlet with a function GFI outlet. But the problem still persists. Here is a video of the behavior.

https://youtu.be/m26QV6KUuII

In the video, you say you're only getting about 2 miles per hour of charging. That cord should deliver 10A at 120V. With charging losses that is about 1.0kW. If you drive with 4mi/kWh efficiency, then you should get 4 miles per hour of charging. Check the settings in the car under e-Manager and make sure that the Charging Current setting is set to "Max". If the car is set to Max, then the EVSE may not be sending the correct pilot signal to the car. The minimum pilot signal is 6 amps, but is difficult to verify without an oscilloscope or a special J1772 tester.

 

[echoQC]

Hi all,
Just got my 2019 eGolf today and surprise, my level 1 charger is of the same model and with the same christmas lights. Plugged it in two different outlets 1 hour after getting the car. Going to go back to the dealer tomorrow.
Really seems like a bad fabrication problem, all these chargers freaking out.

 

[furiouschads]

This weekI brought home a new eGolf, manufactured 1/19. It came with the same charger as noted above. My charger works ok with no xmas tree effect.

 

[dawnerd]

Same thing here. Had an electrician come out and they verified my power was correct (It's new construction so better be). Going to be getting another plug soon, but thought I'd mention because it seems to be an issue with the manufacturer.

 

[jray]

I can't tell what brand of charger is shown in the video above. I do know that my new charger is totally different - white/beige with 4 stacked lights (Power, Charging, Temperature, Fault). The brand is Delphi Generation II. My SE was manufactured in April 2019 and purchased in Los Angeles.

Is there some rhyme of reason for VW to include different chargers?

 

[JoulesThief]

Possibly a quality control problem with some vendor (perhaps Chinese?) So they went either with another vendor or back to the Delphi brand. The original Delphi's were made with Clipper Creek parts, and for the most part, are quite reliable, as well as charging up with a 12 amp vs 10 amp rate.

I suspect VW switched to the 10 amp rate EVSE's so as to be at least be able to run some other electrical on a 15 amp circuit, instead of the Delphi requiring basically a dedicated 15 amp circuit and outlet for their EVSE unit. That's fine if you have a washing machine outlet in your garage on dedicated 20 amp circuit. But most people don't know to much about electrical circuits or the amp ratiings of said circuits and circuit breakers, unless their main power panel is labeled correctly.

What I consider the proper solution is a dedicated 50 amp circuit wired with 6 gauge wire with a short electrical run, to a proper 14-50 NEMA outlet in the shop or garage, and a good 30 or 40 amp rated 240V EVSE unit to charge your car up with.

 

[jray]

Unfortunately my Delphi is only 10 amp.

 

[JoulesThief]

Whats to stop you from using a more powerful EVSE unit, if you go and buy one? Do you have access to any 240V electrical outlets? A 240V 20 amp outlet would let you use a 15 amp 240 EVSE. That would give you a 3.6 kWh charge rate vs the 1.2 kWh charge rate you currently have, or 3x as fast.

Find or get a 240V outlet, then worry about finding a 240V EVSE to plug in to it.

 

[jray]

Yes, I do have a 240 near but not quite close enough. I'm sure I'll succumb and extend the wiring and buy a 240 charger at some point. For now the 110 serves me just fine. Thanks for all your helpful responses.

 

[JoulesThief]

Yes, I do have a 240 near but not quite close enough. I'm sure I'll succumb and extend the wiring and buy a 240 charger at some point. For now the 110 serves me just fine. Thanks for all your helpful responses.

You shouldn't just "extend the wiring" , you need to install a dedicated circuit breaker and dedicated lines for your 240V charger.

That's pretty much a code electrical requirement.

All EVSE units should run on their own dedicated circuit, to prevent overload, because as it is, they are pulling maximum rated current in most cases. You don't want to burn your home down overheating wires with too many items running on the EVSE circuit.

 

[echoQC]

Got my defective charger changed this week.
They gave me a white Delphi Generation II 120v/10A.

 

[Szyszka]

Got my defective charger changed this week.
They gave me a white Delphi Generation II 120v/10A.

Care to provide some details as to how the exchange process went? I am currently trying to secure a replacement through a dealer that is local to me but did not sell me the e-Golf. After talking to the service advisor I was also informed that they cannot initiate ANY warranty-related work on the car because they... do not have any techs trained to service them. This is a little frustrating to say the least, particularly since all I am trying to do is get a new cable.

I suppose if you contacted the dealer that sold you the car (still an option for me; they are only 1 hour away...) I suspect they had no reason not to help you. For me, its a double whammy (did not sell me the e-Golf and apparently no techs trained in them available). Still, any info you can provide would be very helpful!

Thanks!

Sep 11 update: contacted another area dealer who is able to help but in order to start the warranty process they need to... keep the car for the mandatory 'system check / scan'. So here goes my 'theory' that I will be in and out of the dealership in 5 minutes with new cable in hand. Dropping the car off next week... the story continues...