EVSE J1772 Compatibility Thread for RAV4 EV

I would like to gather a list of the EVSE chargers that do or don't work. Please post your successes or failures.

Toyota Approved - RAV4 Original Equipment:
Leviton's Level 2 (240V) 40A, 30A and 16A Toyota Program models and EVR-green series EVB40-SPT
Panasonic Level 1 Unit that comes with Rav4

Basic Compatability:
AeroVironment Level 2 EVSE-RS
Blink / ECOtality Level 2 Charge Station
Charge Point / Coulomb Technologies CT2000 Series
Clipper Creek CS Series
Eaton Pow-R-Station (Commercial), EV Charging Station (Residential)
Schneider Electric EVlink Indoor Charging Station (EV2430WS or 2nd gen ev230ws)
Clipper Creek Level 1 PCS Series (Ships with some Think City cars)
BMW Juice Bar
GE Wattstation (known problems with Nissan Leaf)
Blink "Gen II", Bosch and Delta
GM Voltec EVSE
Tesla UMC with upgraded J1772 nozzle

Confirmed Incompatible:
SPX EVSE
Panasonic Level 1 Unit that comes with Nissan Leaf & the Level 2 Upgrade of it

Unknown:
Avcon EVI EVSE

Problems with Delayed Charging Timer:
Leviton EVB32-5ML (EVSE L2, 240V-32A, w/25' cord)

Other Problem Units
Chargepoint CT500 (Erroneous plug-out detection, and charging system faults that must be cleared periodically on the vehicle)

I did some searching and found the above information, but please correct if you find to the contrary. A warning light comes up on the car when the EVSE is incompatible. The next post has instructions for clearing out that warning light.

These problems are hitting the press: http://www.autospies.com/news/Early...bility-Issues-Can-Leave-Them-Powerless-73277/

reeler said:

I will post below instructions for removing that warning light.

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If you determine that the 'Check EV System' message may be displayed because the vehicle driver used an incompatible charging station, the message can be cleared using the following procedure:
(Note: The 'Check EV System' message can be displayed for various reasons – check for other causes and codes before utilizing the clearing procedure outlined below.)

Disconnect the EVSE from the vehicle.
IG ON (with foot removed from brake pedal, press and release start button once, wait 1 second, press and release start button again).
Wait 10 seconds for the system to complete the start-up check.
IG OFF (with foot removed from brake pedal, press and release start button).
Wait 1 second.
Repeat steps 2-5 four times to clear the warning message. On the fourth IG-ON event, the warning message should no longer be displayed.

Contact TAS if issue is still present after this message clearing process.

reeler said:

I would like to gather a list of the EVSE chargers that do or don't work.
Unknown:
GE Wattstation - Known problems with Nissan Leaf
240V Upgraded Panasonic Unit from a Nissan Leaf

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240v 16amp EVSE Upgrade Panasonic doesn't work (I had two of them).

I'll be using a GE Wattstation soon.

The SPX does not work.

TonyWilliams said:

I'll be using a GE Wattstation soon.

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Did you ever confirm if the GE Wattstation works OK with the RAV4 EV? I think this is the charger my wife is using at work, and so far nothing's melted. But I want to make sure it's safe to use on a daily basis.

Blastphemy said:

TonyWilliams said:

I'll be using a GE Wattstation soon.

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Did you ever confirm if the GE Wattstation works OK with the RAV4 EV? I think this is the charger my wife is using at work, and so far nothing's melted. But I want to make sure it's safe to use on a daily basis.

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Yes, it worked fine at the Irvine Spectrum at our meeting last month. The only problem LEAF drivers have had is blowing out the diode and melting the onboard charger... little stuff.

In the context of this thread, are we including charging stations that basically work ok, but do not (properly) support scheduled delayed start? I believe even some (or all of the) Leviton EVSE L2 present this problem. However, it could be the fault of the RAV4 EV itself. To wit, this feature works just fine on my Chevy Volt, but not on my RAV4 EV, using the same Leviton (32A) charger. It is an important feature for those of us on "TOU" electric rate plans, which usually means having to defer active charging until after midnight ("off peak") during the week.

Dsinned said:

In the context of this thread, are we including charging stations that basically work ok, but do not (properly) support scheduled delayed start? I believe even some (or all of the) Leviton EVSE L2 present this problem. However, it could be the fault of the RAV4 EV itself. To wit, this feature works just fine on my Chevy Volt, but not on my RAV4 EV, using the same Leviton (32A) charger. It is an important feature for those of us on "TOU" electric rate plans, which usually means having to defer active charging until after midnight ("off peak") during the week.

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I think we should note the chargers that have problems with the scheduled delayed start. Tell me the model number and I will add it to the first post. Ideally, this thread should be a resource on which EVSE to avoid purchasing if you have a RAV4.

Does the 40A Leviton have problems? I would be surprised if it did since that is the one that Toyota recommends. That is why I think we should be specific.

My Leviton model EVB32-5ML (EVSE L2, 240V-32A, w/25' cord) has this problem, but again, I don't think it is the fault of the charger. I think the car controls this feature, not the charger. Nevertheless, it would be good to include this information in the "compatibility" list.

I have this problem regularly. I have the Leviton 40A charger. My Rav4EV has been with Toyota for a week now while they try to track down the problem. In the meantime, I have their "rental" Rav4EV and it also has the problem. I have narrowed it down for me that I have the issue almost every (but not every) Tuesday and Wednesday. This follows my Monday and Tuesday commute which is 55 miles one-way, followed by a manual 110V charge for 6-8 hours and then 55 miles return. On Monday and Tuesday mornings I do an extended charge. For me, almost every other day, I use 1/3 tank or less, but on Monday and Tuesday I usually have a quarter tank or less left when I finally plug back in for the night.

My theory is that this has to do with "glitches" on the control pins. Those glitches temporarily alter whether the Rav4EV sees the charger as what it really is, or as something else (such as a different voltage or current, or possibly as just not there). That interrupts the charge schedule, and even if the signal returns to normal, the schedule has been stopped for that night. I have been keeping logs of all the information I can glean to help narrow this down, but Toyota/Tesla haven't been able to find anything yet. I have asked them to give me a data recording device to run all night connected to the two OBD ports (Toyota's in the front and Tesla's in the back) so we can see if any glitches appear. If this is the case, then simple software de-glitching is what is needed. I also am looking to try to duplicate the OBD work that Tony did in this thread and see if I can find any readings providing charger information.

SeaMonster, please keep us posted. I also suspect there is a problem with software in the RAV4 EV, but it is really surprising something like this did not turn up during Toyota or Tesla's validation testing. I don't think this is related to a hardware "glitch" though.

I have the Leviton 40a charger and have occasional problems with the scheduled charge completing as it's supposed to, but have not yet been able to nail down a pattern. Interestingly, before my car went in for the extended heater service call (3 weeks) I did not have any problems. When I had the dealer's rental, I had one or two occasions where scheduled charges failed. Since getting my car back just before Christmas, I have had a couple of failures on my car as well. No charging hardware was changed out according to the service records, so I think I may have just been lucky before.

Of course, I have found one very consistent cause of a charge not getting completed. Forgetting to plug the car in. I've done that a couple of times as well. Oops.

Yea, there is that squishyware problem. I wish I could say I had never forgotten to plug it in.

I am working on a possible solution for that one but need some parts to start testing it.

Joyride said:

Of course, I have found one very consistent cause of a charge not getting completed. Forgetting to plug the car in. I've done that a couple of times as well. Oops.

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My car has failed several times to charge on the timer. I'm considering adding a timer to the Clipper Creek (easy to do, as there is a pin for it on the CC, or you could use a proximity signal interrupt on the timer for other brands).

This morning, I had a new problem. The car charged for about an hour and stopped. I noticed when I went to unplug the car that the J1772 wasn't latched to the locking pin on the car (in other words, it wasn't pushed all the way on). With the big, clunky ITT 75 amp cable that I'm using, it is slightly more difficult to get a 100% proper insertion of the plug. I'm considering some dielectric lubricant (that also won't attract dust and dirt) to help. NOTE >> don't put dielectric on the pins or contactors !!!!

So, what's most likely in today's situation is that just about anything could have caused a pilot signal or proximity signal interrupt, which halts charging. I'll call that "operator error".

The other times, I've been quite cognizant to ensure the connector was all the way on, and observed the two alternating flashing lights to indicate the car timer is on. I have about 5 or 6 non-charge events so far, and haven't pinpointed a cause. It just seems so random.

Currently, I have end charge times with preheat for 7am, M-F, and just end charge time for 7am on Sat/Sun. These times tend to fit in the midnight to 5am "super off peak" window that I have, but unfortunately, this is another reason to have a timer on the EVSE that will come on from 12:03am to 4:57am.

My CC EVSE does have a way to offer a 6 amp signal the rest of the time, and that MIGHT be enough to trigger the preheat from shore power, but I really don't know how that system works on Rav4.

I don't think I've forgotten to plug the car in, even once. The rule is ANY time that car is in the garage, it is plugged in. Even if I think I'll be leaving in 10 minutes.

There is another manifestation of this (or a related) problem. Sometime on a schedule charge (no preconditioning) the charge starts way too early in a scheduled window. For example, I usually have the scheduled charge completion time set in the car to be 7am the next day. Before I go to bed the night before, I make sure my car is plugged in well before midnight (say around 11pm just before bedtime), only to discover the next morning, the charge did, in fact, initiate automatically (earlier than expected at 11:25pm), completing at 2:45am (way earlier than 7am). It gave me a full charge already, but this is NOT exactly the time frame I wanted it to be charing within. My lowest cost, off-peak electric rate starts after midnight, so for about 35 minutes I was paying (unnecessarily) more for the electricity used for that portion of the charge!

This problem "seems" to have something to do with the car not knowing what time it is, or becoming somehow confused by how much actual capacity the charging station has, thereby turning it on somewhat randomly too early, or asssuming much less than actual charge capacity is currently available to the J1772 charge port. But, surely the car has a way of determining the "charging rate" once a proper connection is made, and a way (in software) to more accurately estimate the time duration required to complete the charge just before the scheduled completion time. This is the whole point of scheduling a charge in the first place!

Using the same charging station on my 2012 Chevy Volt to do the same scheduled charge works perfectly, which suggests my Leviton EVSE L2 (32A) charging station is doing its job to automatically start and stop, under the control of the car, thereby completing a scheduled charge within the actual time window desired. But, this is NOT the case on the RAV4 EV, which apparently does not know how to tell time properly, or just randomly starts charging way earlier than necessary for some unknown reason.

This is the kind of problem I DO NOT want to take it in to the dealer to investigate. I have no confidence that they will be able to troubleshoot such a problem! I think this is more likely something TESLA has the proper knowledge to deal with, but Toyota is not Tesla, and vice versa, and this in itself is a problem with respect to servicing the RAV4 EV. :roll:

I agree that these issues are likely related. I also have the same thing happen. Sometimes my charges finish near the departure time and sometimes long before it. I doubt it is from the car loosing track of time. I think instead the car either misreads or gets a glitch when reading the capacity of the charger. The car does not seem to properly double/triple/quadruple check the reading it gets. Being it is an analog reading, it would be easy to have mistaken readings, but proper software should be debouncing. And since the car sits for a long time waiting to charge, at any point throughout the night the car could get an anomalyous reading and react by either starting too early or deciding that the charger can't finish the charge on time and hence not even start charging.

Toyota has brought Tesla in on the investigation of my car. I am hopeful that they will find something. In the last week they have chased quite a few "bad" theories and they told me today that they are now looking at the charger signals which I had suggested they do. Tesla seems to come and go, and Toyota doesn't have any diagnostic tools that can talk to the OBD in the back. Now that I have shown them that I can make their loaner do the same thing, on the same schedule as my car, I am hoping to get my car back and let them poke around on their own car.

SeaMonster, I'm glad to hear Tesla is finally investigating this problem. They are the real "experts", not Toyota.

I think it is affecting ALL RAV4 EVs, but not everyone uses scheduled charging and it is something many that do are probably just ignoring it. However, this problem DOES have major customer dissatisfaction coming Toyota's way with more cars are sold, and after many more RAV4 EVs hit the streets, more owners will be complaining.

Imho, this is an important feature and a lot of Off-Peak electric rate payers want and need to use. Eventually, it will become a much BIGGER problem than it is now affecting many hundreds of RAV4 EV owners. Toyota would be "smart" to get Tesla involved NOW to come up with a fix asap BEFORE a whole bunch of our cars have to be fixed under warranty.

Please keep us updated! TIA.

SeaMonster, any news???

Not yet... I promise, I will post whatever I learn.

SeaMonster said:

Not yet... I promise, I will post whatever I learn.

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What dealer? My car is going in soon for the 5000 mile checkup.