OUC just failed

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RExingIT

Well-known member
Joined
May 11, 2015
Messages
49
Location
Chicago, Illinois, USA
My occasional use charge just failed. Haven't installed a lvl 2 yet so I've been using the OUC.

I've had the vehicle for around 3 weeks now. I plugged it in last Friday night at 50% battery level expecting to wake up Saturday with a full charge but the vehicle hadn't charged at all. I looked at the charger and the 2 red lights were flashing. I disconnected it from my vehicle. I then unplugged the OUC from the wall and plugged it back in after a few seconds. It made a loud buzzing noise and the bottom 2 red lights came back on. I immediately unplugged it.

My next step was to call my dealer. They said that they won't order a new OUC under warranty until I bring the vehicle in so they can run a scan. Is this typical? There are no error lights or diagnostic warnings. I took it to a local public charging spot and it charges just fine there. The dealer won't have a loaner vehicle for me until Monday.

Thoughts?
 
RExingIT said:
My occasional use charge just failed. Haven't installed a lvl 2 yet so I've been using the OUC.

I've had the vehicle for around 3 weeks now. I plugged it in last Friday night at 50% battery level expecting to wake up Saturday with a full charge but the vehicle hadn't charged at all. I looked at the charger and the 2 red lights were flashing. I disconnected it from my vehicle. I then unplugged the OUC from the wall and plugged it back in after a few seconds. It made a loud buzzing noise and the bottom 2 red lights came back on. I immediately unplugged it.

My next step was to call my dealer. They said that they won't order a new OUC under warranty until I bring the vehicle in so they can run a scan. Is this typical? There are no error lights or diagnostic warnings. I took it to a local public charging spot and it charges just fine there. The dealer won't have a loaner vehicle for me until Monday.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
You should plug your unit into an outlet on a different circuit to try to rule out the outlet being the problem. Even if the outlet is OK, you probably want to install another outlet in your garage. (A 240V outlet for your much needed L2 EVSE!)
 
It's possible if the receptacle is worn, one of the leads (especially ground - you cannot use a cheater plug on it) is loose, or the inlet voltage is for some reason low (bad CB or bus in the panel, or loose wire)j, the thing will give error warnings. Have you tried plugging the OUC into a different receptacle? My personal observation, the receptacles often used in new construction are crap, and they wear out quickly if used frequently. The plug should go in tight.

The i3 draws a fair amount of current (12A on the level 1 EVSE sold with the i3 in the USA), and if there's anything loose, it will heat things up, and that can cause an already loose connection to get looser as the spring tension is lost.

Another owner had problems and almost started a fire because the connections were loose on the receptacle.
 
Well, my charger just failed too; just like yours. And, like yours, it had the blinking red fault lights. I unplug it and plugged it back in, no joy. I tried it one more time and (like yours) it started buzzing and then went dead. About a second later it popped the GFI circuit. I unplugged it, reset the breaker, plugged it back in and 'pop' goes the breaker.

I'll call the Dealer and see if it's covered, but I'll be honest, my dealer sucks and every time I take it is it becomes a hanger queen. I am seriously considering lemon-law this buggy.

Love the car...hate the dealer

Yea, I'm the one who started the blog about the rear hatch lens cover glass self-destructing and spending almost 3-weeks hard down.
 
Yes,

I tried both different outlets and different circuits. Same result with all of them. It did pop the GFI on the second circuit I tried. No GFI inside the house, but got exactly the same buzzing noise.

I know I should probably install a LVL 2, just haven't had time to yet. I've got an old 30 amp circuit for a stove I'm planning on piggybacking off. (stove is gone, I prefer NG to cook with.)
 
FWIW, if your installation is up to code, a 30A circuit is NOT big enough to charge the i3 at it's maximum rate. This is considered a constant use circuit, and those require the constant draw to be less than 80% of the maximum capacity to pass code in the USA. So, for a 30A circuit, you could put no bigger than a 24A EVSE. There are some out there, but they are not as common as the larger ones.
 
jadnashuanh said:
FWIW, if your installation is up to code, a 30A circuit is NOT big enough to charge the i3 at it's maximum rate. This is considered a constant use circuit, and those require the constant draw to be less than 80% of the maximum capacity to pass code in the USA. So, for a 30A circuit, you could put no bigger than a 24A EVSE. There are some out there, but they are not as common as the larger ones.
Click to expand...

FWIW the siemens versicharge has an internally adjustable setting that allows limiting the maximum current. I don't know about others, but it may settable on some units.
 
epirali said:
FWIW the siemens versicharge has an internally adjustable setting that allows limiting the maximum current. I don't know about others, but it may settable on some units.
Click to expand...
A JuiceBox can be set to limit its maximum current from over a wide range. I've set mine for a maximum of 16 amps so it won't trip the 20 amp circuit breaker on my charging circuit. The wiring in my charging circuit is large enough for a 40 amp circuit, so if I wanted to upgrade my charging circuit, I could set the maximum current on my JuiceBox to 32 amps.
 
RExingIT said:
... and the 2 red lights were flashing. I disconnected it from my vehicle. I then unplugged the OUC from the wall and plugged it back in after a few seconds. It made a loud buzzing noise and the bottom 2 red lights came back on. I immediately unplugged it.

...
Click to expand...

If both red lights are flashing then it is likely a bad unit and nothing to do with your home wiring.

http://www.clippercreek.com/store/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/PCS-15-User-Manual.pdf

Page 4 - Table 1 - #7
"Internal fault
Call for service"
 
Just out of interest reading these posts. If there is anyone in the UK that has a dead charger. I could have a look for you free of charge and find out the cause of the failure. It would be interesting to see if they are all having the same primary components shorting out causing the RCD'd to trigger. Don't know if I can post mobile numbers here. I am in London, Middlesex. UK
 

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