[mattykan]

By not implementing a charge timer in the car, it seems that MG were expecting the charger manufacturers to implement smart charging except the car goes in to a deep sleep so ignores the commands to wake up and start charging during off-peak electricity rate.

Perhaps, as a gesture of goodwill, MG Motor UK should use their tried and trusted promotion of a fuel card and instead of fossil fuel, contribute towards the car owner's electricity bill?

Project Morris - Smart Charge Fault

17 Nov 2019



Rural Electric Systems

First findings from the MG ZS regarding the issues reported with timed or delayed charging .

Follow the thread here: https://discourse.mymgzsev.com/t/issues-with-car-not-waking-to-charge/21

Cheers..

 

[Electric AC]

Just got my new ZS EV and like others, I susupect , I eagerly awaited the morning light to rush to the car to see how much charge I had put ino the car from my time controlled circuitry.... Very dissapointed to find nothing. Since found out there is a charging bug...ouch.... anyone got any updates to this fundamental issue

 

[mattykan]

Hi,

A fix has been developed to solve issue but only if you use anything but a Rolec charger which seems to have a different issue with the MG ZS.

Please contact your MG dealer whom should have installed the smart charge fix prior to you receiving the car if you only just recently received it.

The smart charge fix is confirmed as working with the granny charger and Zappi home chargers.

Hope this helps.

Cheers..

 

[mattykan]

Rolec have a separate fix which trickle charges the car at peak rate until cheap rate kicks in.

There is no update as to when they can fix this problem as it is something that only affects them.

Cheers..

 

[Electric AC]

Thanks for the feedback . My background is electrical and I live in a poor network and internet coverage. So for this reason a smart charge option may not be my best approach. I have wired the ciruit to my drive via a contactor and timer to bring on the supply at 'off peak' times..... Currently using the 'Granny charger' via a socket until basic mode 3 charger arrives ( which I will now put on hold)
The problem , as i see it, is that the car will not take charge unless the power supply is on and connected to the car BEFORE you lock the car...Unless there is another way which I have not yet discovered

 

[mattykan]

Hi, it sounds like your dealer hasn’t implemented the fix or it was not done properly. You are advised to contact them and show them the issue testing both with your granny charger and their 22kw charger.

Cheers..

 

[Brace Brace]

Not sure if my problem is the same. Just got our MG ZS EV after having a leaf for 2 years. We have two Pod-Point chargers one tethered and one not. As soon as I plug the car in and lock the door the car starts to charge but stops after two minutes. This happens on both chargers. I have tried the granny charger and that is fine. I have also tried the local Pod-Point at Lidl and that works OK as well.
i have contacted Pod-Point but have heard nothing from them.

Any ideas on what to try next?

 

[mattykan]

Hi,

You might need to get Pod-Point to perform an update on the charger as it is likely that there is a communication breakdown between the car and the charger.

Some chargers need to have an earth point installed so this might be why the issue is showing up.

It is best to wait for Pod-Point to advise given that both the granny lead and Lidl Pod-Point work with the car.

Cheers..

 

[mattykan]

Pod-Point have a dedicated web page for the MG ZS EV so it does look like they are supposed to work with the car:

MG ZS EV (2019) Charging Guide | Pod Point

The complete guide to charging your MG ZS EV (2019), covering electric range, how long it takes to charge, how much it costs, and much more.

pod-point.com

Cheers..

 

[javiermi]

Got my ZS EV at the end of December and to say that I'm dissapointed with the ROLEC charger will be a an understatement: the app is practically useless: you cannot start or stop ( or schedule) a charge, you set it to "smart charge" and instead of waiting for the lower tariff time, it simply starts charging immediately. I change my tariff to Octopus GO, but unless you wake up at 00:30 in the morning to charge the car is completely useless.
Took the car to the MG dealer, and the mechanic didn't have a clue, in fact they were not even aware of the problem.
Spoke with my installer and he directed me to Rolec Support , who say they will be resolved "within next week". I hope they are true to their word, but I have my doubts, as this is going on, since November. The worse part is the each partner blames the others for the failure and nobody seems to own the problem!

 

[mattykan]

Got my ZS EV at the end of December and to say that I'm dissapointed with the ROLEC charger will be a an understatement: the app is practically useless: you cannot start or stop ( or schedule) a charge, you set it to "smart charge" and instead of waiting for the lower tariff time, it simply starts charging immediately. I change my tariff to Octopus GO, but unless you wake up at 00:30 in the morning to charge the car is completely useless.
Took the car to the MG dealer, and the mechanic didn't have a clue, in fact they were not even aware of the problem.
Spoke with my installer and he directed me to Rolec Support , who say they will be resolved "within next week". I hope they are true to their word, but I have my doubts, as this is going on, since November. The worse part is the each partner blames the others for the failure and nobody seems to own the problem!

Have you tried the following test?

Plug in the granny lead then start the charge immediately. The MG logo should light up to say that charging has commenced.

Disconnect the plug from the mains socket but leave the other end plugged in the car, the charger should obviously stop at this point.

Wait 10 minutes for the car to go to sleep properly then reactivate the granny lead charger.

The car should now wake up and resume charging as the car is still locked.

If this does not work then it looks like that the dealer has not installed the fix properly or the fix was not applied to the car by the importer when it was in the docks somewhere in the U.K.

There is a bulletin from MG about this to all of the dealers.

Cheers..

 

[javiermi]

Miles
Thanks for your post, however...
1) you are missing the point: we paid good money to have a fully functional charger, this is not true, so they should fix it, or otherwise give us our money back, or alternatively give us an option that works
2) the whole point of a scheduled charger is that it does everything for you so you don't waste time setting it up, your "trick" invalidates this
3) if you find an alternative way of working, what need to Rolec have to fix it?

I'm sure if they had to return the chargers and refund us they will find a solution ASAP, but as it is, there is no incentive to fix as they already have the money
Javier

 

[javiermi]

Miles
Thanks for your post, however...
1) you are missing the point: we paid good money to have a fully functional charger, this is not true, so they should fix it, or otherwise give us our money back, or alternatively give us an option that works
2) the whole point of a scheduled charger is that it does everything for you so you don't waste time setting it up, your "trick" invalidates this
3) if you find an alternative way of working, what need to Rolec have to fix it?
4) the problem is NOT with the generic, ie granny charger is the Rolec charger

I'm sure if they had to return the chargers and refund us they will find a solution ASAP, but as it is, there is no incentive to fix as they already have the money
Javier

And I forgot to mention that I already took the car to MG last week, and supposedly the software was updated - not that I noted any difference

 

[mattykan]

Hi Javier,

As far as I am aware Miles does not visit this forum, I am just another user whom happens to own a petrol based ZS and was trying to help you find out if the car is at fault or is a problem with the actual charger itself.

The above Facebook post which is a screenshot was taken from MG Electric Vehicle Owners Club.

I would advise you to join the group and speak to Miles directly as he works for the Chorley group MG dealer.

Cheers..

 

[mattykan]

And I forgot to mention that I already took the car to MG last week, and supposedly the software was updated - not that I noted any difference

In that case, Rolec need to fix their charger unit.

Cheers..

 

[javiermi]

Apologies Mike
It was a case of mistaken identity!
Thanks for your comments

Javier

 

[Electric AC]

Have you tried the following test?

Plug in the granny lead then start the charge immediately. The MG logo should light up to say that charging has commenced.

Disconnect the plug from the mains socket but leave the other end plugged in the car, the charger should obviously stop at this point.

Wait 10 minutes for the car to go to sleep properly then reactivate the granny lead charger.

The car should now wake up and resume charging as the car is still locked.

If this does not work then it looks like that the dealer has not installed the fix properly or the fix was not applied to the car by the importer when it was in the docks somewhere in the U.K.

There is a bulletin from MG about this to all of the dealers.

View attachment 134528

Cheers..

Have tried your suggestion but with no success... The car just does not want to charge if the power to the charger is switched on AFTER the car is locked ..I am going in to see the dealer as they hav eno responded to my E Mails.....You do not happen to know the recent update number from the system information as I could check this against my data before I go to the dealer armed with my complaint

Ta

 

[mattykan]

Have tried your suggestion but with no success... The car just does not want to charge if the power to the charger is switched on AFTER the car is locked ..I am going in to see the dealer as they hav eno responded to my E Mails.....You do not happen to know the recent update number from the system information as I could check this against my data before I go to the dealer armed with my complaint

Ta

Miles Roberts from the Chorley MG garage would know.

You can seek him out on Facebook, c/o
MG Electric Vehicle Owners Club.


Cheers..

 

[mattykan]

Here's the ev.energy webpage regarding the Rolec issue:

Smart Charging for MG ZS Owners

ev.energy are aware that a number of people have experienced issues with Smart Charging their MG ZS. In December MG released a software update, designed to prevent the car from falling 'asleep' which was preventing fully delayed Smart Charging fr...

evhelp.freshdesk.com

Cheers..

 

[javiermi]

Here's the ev.energy webpage regarding the Rolec issue:

Smart Charging for MG ZS Owners

ev.energy are aware that a number of people have experienced issues with Smart Charging their MG ZS. In December MG released a software update, designed to prevent the car from falling 'asleep' which was preventing fully delayed Smart Charging fr...

evhelp.freshdesk.com

Cheers..

This has been on their site fro some time now, so not new
My issue seems to be related with the app: I connected my Rolec charger to the car, then turned off the circuit breaker ( as it was trying to start charging immediately), then at 00:30 turned the switch back and the car started to charge as normal
So to me this business of the car going to sleep and not accepting a charge is nonsense ( at least for me). the issue is that the app is not "smart" enough ( pun intended) to tun on smart charging when is required. maybe is simply that it has not figured out the correct tariff, or has a problem with the clock ( who knows), and the developers seem to concentrate on the wrong issue.
Anyway, Have sent a couple of emails to ev energy and all is completely silent. where is that fix they promised a few weeks back?
My guess is that MG is a small fish and if all the EVs but MG work with Rolec, then it just don't justify spending time and money in fixing it ( its far easier to blame MG, anyway)
Thanks