i3 won’t charge at home, does at dealership

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JakeGittes

New member
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
1
Hope you guys can help.

So we have a charging station at home for our i3 and Chevy Volt. Had the i3 for a year and haven’t had any problems charging. All of a sudden, the i3 won’t charge. The volt still is charging as normal. Took the i3 to Bmw service and they replaced the 12 volt battery, otherwise the car charged normally at the dealership. Brought the car home and it still won’t charge. I’m at a loss for what to do. It shows the charger cord attached on the dash, but it doesn’t actually charge.
 
I think you've eliminated the car as the problem.

Ideally, if there was a problem with your household wiring, the EVSE would fault before the car had a chance to reject it.

That leaves either the charging handle, or the EVSE itself. My aftermarket Duosida EVSE recently went bad. The car recognized the charging handle being inserted, but the charge initiation never happened.

I just don't know how the Volt factors in to the picture.
 
As eNate posted, you've eliminated the car as the problem, so what you are left with is the EVSE. The EVSE is not communicating properly with the i3, either because of an EVSE hardware or a software issue. What EVSE do you have? If it is hard-wired or plugged in, so under continuous power, flip off the power to it at the electrical panel for a few minutes, then back on, to reset the EVSE then try it again. Also check the pins, etc in the handle, that they aren't bent, corroded, damaged. If it is an EVSE built in to a portable cable, it may need to be replaced. The i3 negotiates a charge level with the EVSE based on settings you choose in the car's on screen menu, the Bolt simply takes the max power the EVSE provides, there are no in-car user settings - so the Bolt working may mean that the fault is happening during the negotiation phase that the i3 uses.
 
So, to summarize:

1) Your dealer's EVSE charges your car, ergo your car is working fine.
2) Your EVSE charges other cars fine, ergo your EVSE is working fine.
3) Your EVSE does not charge your car, ergo one of those two things is malfunctioning.

Obviously those 3 conclusions cannot all be true. With a sample size of 1 in each test and rotating results, it's tough to guess which one is the true culprit. Is it possible to try some additional combinations to add some information? Test your car at another L2 station, test it with the OUC, offer to charge a neighbor's LEAF etc.

My other thought is a bit further out there: a while ago I noticed a product that seems to use the J1772 standard but specifically calls out incompatibility with the i3 (https://www.mybmwi3.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=16489&p=61653#p61653). Recently, I have encountered a DC fast charger that does not work with my i3 but has successful CCS plug-ins on PlugShare (and my car successfully charges at other CCS stations). I realize the L2 and DCFC protocols might differ a bit, but the DCFC behavior is exactly what you describe: the car acknowledges it's plugged in, but the charger doesn't and it never starts charging.

This makes me wonder if there's *something* that's up to the manufacturers about the way they implement charging that could vary and maybe that is causing an issue with your EVSE specifically.

Edit to add: MKH's point is a good one as well-- knowing what kind of EVSE you have could be useful in case that manufacturer did something weird with the charging protocol.
 
I have this exact same problem: Today I purchased a used 2019 BMW i3s120.

1. The BMW charged fine on dealer's Level 2 EVSE (brand unknown).
2. My Bosch EV200 16A Level 2 EVSE charges my 2014 Ford Focus Electric just fine.
3. When plugging in the Bosch EVSE cable, no communication-cycle occurs between the BMW and the EVSE, and the Bosch's charging light is not blinking (where a blinking green light on the EVSE indicates a charge is in progress).

BMW is set to immediate charge. Low-price charging window is now. BMW's charging-port LED illuminates white for a few seconds after inserting the EVSE cable, then turns off (no blue light). No messages in the car. Area is dry.
 
I have this exact same problem: Today I purchased a used 2019 BMW i3s120.
1. The BMW charged fine on dealer's Level 2 EVSE (brand unknown).
2. My Bosch EV200 16A Level 2 EVSE charges my 2014 Ford Focus Electric just fine.
3. When plugging in the Bosch EVSE cable, no communication-cycle occurs between the BMW and the EVSE, and the Bosch's charging light is not blinking (where a blinking green light on the EVSE indicates a charge is in progress).

BMW is set to immediate charge. Low-price charging window is now. BMW's charging-port LED illuminates white for a few seconds after inserting the EVSE cable, then turns off (no blue light). No messages in the car. Area is dry.

Have you tried contacting Bosch to see if they are aware of this kind of issue? Perhaps there is a firmware update available for the EV200 that corrects it?
 
Thanks for your reply! I found that the issue is the mechanical connection of my charging cable. I forgot to mention that the Bosch cable fails to lock into the BMW’s port no matter how well I try to seat the connector. It no longer locks into its own charging stand either. I guess the Ford Focus port allows for more slip in the fitment. The problem is somewhere in the Bosch locking clip or blockage in the port.

ChargePoint EVSE fits/works perfectly well at work. BMW 120V charger cable works as well. Still can’t quite determine the exact failure of the Bosch connector. I have a new third-party EVSE cable so that shiuld remedy the issue. Not sure if I’m smart enough to wire in the new cable or not but I would imagine it’s pretty straightforward.
 
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