Charging issue

[Gorek8]

Hi,
We bought our BMW i3 last month and we found difficult to charge it with charge immediately option.
We got solar panel system with inverter 3.7kw so we would like to use our free electricity to charge the car.
When we set it up to charge immediately it charges for few minutes and stops. Then changes setting itself to charge in time slot.
To charge again we need to back to car or BMW app and change settings again for immediately charging. Sometimes happens few times before stay on.
Any advise?

 

[SSi3]

Congrats on the i3 and solar charging!

Are there any time slots stored in the car/app? If so clear them out.

What year is the car?

 

[Gorek8]

Cheers.
2019 Rex. How I can clear time slots ?

 

[SSi3]

I think you can only do that in the car itself, the app doesn't seem to allow that. I'd have to go out in the garage and play with mine to refamiliarize myself with the menu/screen since I don't use the time slot function.

 

[Gorek8]

I see,
I unmarked any ticked boxes regarding time in slot etc …… but still changes setting after few minutes
When you back to garage would you be able to provide more details how to clean up?
I’m looking forward to hearing from you
Cheers
Mario

 

[SSi3]

Hmmm ok so you don't have any departure time slots checkboxed?

Other thing to try is update BMW Assist software... goto the ConnectedDrive section, once you're in it click on the Option button on the console, select update software. This is something I do on a regular basis after being told by a tech that it actually does update connectivity things and keeps the phone app and car talking to each other. Whether it has any effect on charging I don't know but its worth a try.

 

[alohart]

We got solar panel system with inverter 3.7kw so we would like to use our free electricity to charge the car.
When we set it up to charge immediately it charges for few minutes and stops. Then changes setting itself to charge in time slot.
To charge again we need to back to car or BMW app and change settings again for immediately charging. Sometimes happens few times before stay on.

Does the inverter's 3.7 kW output decrease when a cloud covers the sun? If so, I wonder whether the i3's charging hardware is unhappy with varying input power. Doesn't make sense that this would change the settings, though. If you haven't tried doing so, maybe try setting the AC Level 2 maximum charging power to "Reduced" which is ~3.8 kW @ 240 V.

 

[Gorek8]

Hi again,
I don’t have any departure time slot set up.
I update BMW service
I tried to charge this morning and happed again, charged for 11min and stopped.
Then change setting again and was working till unplugged.

 

[Gorek8]

I got few options to charge through the inverter and smart EV charger “Solax”
Fast charge 7.2kw
green 6,10,16,20 A
Eco 3a,6a
Doesn’t matter which option I choose it always stops after few minutes and change settings for time in slot
Also does same things on 3 pin charger domestic.

 

[Anthony]

Wondering if I could borrow this discussion topic to share my i3 charging issue. When the charging plug is inserted into the car, the blinking yellow light comes on meaning that the plug is engaged. But what follows got me confused. The house circuit breaker tripped and the blue light did not come on which means the car is not charging. Sent it to the BMW agent to test using bother their AC & DC charger to charge. Both did not work. Has anyone encountered this issue before?

 

[SSi3]

Wondering if I could borrow this discussion topic to share my i3 charging issue. When the charging plug is inserted into the car, the blinking yellow light comes on meaning that the plug is engaged. But what follows got me confused. The house circuit breaker tripped and the blue light did not come on which means the car is not charging. Sent it to the BMW agent to test using bother their AC & DC charger to charge. Both did not work. Has anyone encountered this issue before?

Sounds like the onboard charger has a problem, at least for AC... but if it also won't charge on a DC unit then perhaps its the communication pins on the car side that aren't happy.

 

[Anthony]

Thank you very much for the analysis. I suspect it was the on board charger as well. In fact the charging was interrupted during the last charging session when it was about 20 minutes into the charging. Then it stopped and tripped the circuit breaker in the house. After that, no further charging can take place as it tripped the circuit breaker at every attempts. Concerning the DC charging, does it mean it will bypass the on board 11KW charger? So, it should charge the car if DC charging is applied even if the onboard charger has issues.

 

[i3guy]

Just got my wife a 2019 i3s. It was delivered, and came to us with 8% charge, and 70mi. range showing on rex. I plugged it into a 110 outlet, then charge port went yellow to blue. ICCUB shows its charging but its been 7 hours and car doen't reflect that. Still 8%. I have to use an extension cord from outlet to ICCB. it is 25', 10 gauge. My house wiring is 12 gauge. Nothing is hot, ICCB is warm but I think thats normal. I don't have an owners manual as of yet. The dealer ordered one. What could it be?This is all new to me. Hope its just a setting from the previous owner I can change.

 

[mojo]

If you don't yet have an Owner's Handbook, you should be able to install the BMW Driver's Guide onto your phone, which will go through the basics for you.

I guess one possibility is that the previous owner has set the car up to only charge in a certain timeslot (often overnight for cheaper electricity rates)? Which would mean that it won't start charging until the allocated time of day.

But... the extension cable is not good news. It's not recommended to use them in general for EV charging, and I think in the US it will present more problems - lower voltage supply means that you need twice the current compared to European spec cars, and high current means a large voltage drop from one end of the cable to the other.

 

[mojo]

How did you get on with your charging issue, i3guy?