Sparks when disconnecting.
- Thread starter tga1958
- Start date
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Yikes! That is bad. Something is wrong.
Do you unlock the car and then remove the connector within 20 seconds of unlocking?
Do you unlock the car and then remove the connector within 20 seconds of unlocking?
Still under warranty. Bring video and car to VW dealer for the fix.
There is a separate high voltage system warranty. 5 years / 60,000 miles, I believe.
I suspect there is a problem with the egolf. VW says you should always rely on the charge port light before disconnecting.
Once the light is off, disconnect before it turns back on. But there is a problem with that too...
Even with the charge port light off, my 2020 egolf is still pulling 0.5A from my FLO charger at 230V.
This small current creates minor sparks internally between the charge port and the charger gun which creates carbon deposits on one of the pin (L2/N). Over time, you end up with sparking noise and charging errors. The carbon appears to be only on the gun side of the connection and requires a cord replacement.
Long story short, the charger is slave to the car and when there is no current draw, the charger stops. The problem here is that the egolf is still pulling 0.5A when the charging port light says its not charging (OFF).
Let me know if you guys have noticed the same problem. I suspect the 0.5A is due to the internal car components like the radio ect...
Once the light is off, disconnect before it turns back on. But there is a problem with that too...
Even with the charge port light off, my 2020 egolf is still pulling 0.5A from my FLO charger at 230V.
This small current creates minor sparks internally between the charge port and the charger gun which creates carbon deposits on one of the pin (L2/N). Over time, you end up with sparking noise and charging errors. The carbon appears to be only on the gun side of the connection and requires a cord replacement.
Long story short, the charger is slave to the car and when there is no current draw, the charger stops. The problem here is that the egolf is still pulling 0.5A when the charging port light says its not charging (OFF).
Let me know if you guys have noticed the same problem. I suspect the 0.5A is due to the internal car components like the radio ect...
Yes, 0.5 A draw when not charging is certainty a problem. Have you seen this with other charge stations? Probably a good idea to take a video / photo for the VW dealer when you bring the car in for this issue.
My e-Golf does not show this behavior at home, at work, or in public.
My e-Golf does not show this behavior at home, at work, or in public.
One more question: you said 230 V but I would like to verify your e-Golf has a J1772 inlet? If J1772, then when you press the proximity switch on the J1772 connector to remove it from the car, car should get an instruction to stop drawing current - so could be a car problem but could also be an EVSE problem.
The Car should not be charging for 2 reasons: 1: when you unlock the car, the car is suppose to stop the charging as per the charge port light. 2: when you press the unlock button on your charge cable hand-gun, it is also suppose to cut the charge from the charger. The spark may create other issues like carbonizing the charge cable hand-gun socket which will result in you hearing "at first" electrical noise then eventually after it builds enough carbon, it wont charge. This will cost you 500$ to replace the cable from the charger...
I also suspect 2 other serious problems down the road: 1: The spark may create a premature "weakening" of the charge port pins. I recently had the tip of one of the pin to break. VW said this was not under warranty (they claim the pin broke due to an external cause" and its a 3000$ repair. They cant explain how the pin broke as the bezels all need to line up for the charger hand-gun to even begin to insert in the charge port and the charge port pins are recessed. To me, it has to be a pin component failure. I intend to pay then sue VW and see how that will go. 2: Once the tip of the charge port pin fails, you will start experiencing sporadic charging but 2 days later... my digital display gave up... completely dead. At least, VW is replacing that under warranty but the part is backorder and it may take several months to get it in... the car is grounded without that...
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Yes, its an E-Golf for the Canadian Market so its the J1772 connector.
Ok, but Canada uses the same voltage supply as USA right? If yes, then L2 nominal home voltage is 240 V. It does look like in photo that sparking is not happening at power pin, but it could just be an artifact of the video.