2014 RAV4 EV & Siemens Versicharge not working

[mihalakj]

I have a 2014 RAV4 EV and back in September I installed a Verisicharge charging station. Model# is https://www.dropbox.com/s/uy6d1xkv2yu8pj6/Photo%20Dec%2006%2C%2012%2039%2006%20PM.jpg?dl=0

This charging station worked 100% great up until I went on Thanksgiving vacation. I went away for about 8 days, came back plugged in the Versicharge and it lights up green like its about to charge, but never makes the clicking sound. The RAV4 EV doesn't illuminate it charging indicator lights either. When I plug in the 110V charger that came with the vehicle it works without any problems, but of course charges slow.

I called Siemens support, which took a few days to get going. When I was troubleshooting with them, the Versicharger started working again without me making any significant changes. About a week later the problem came back. Siemens sent me another charger, which I installed this weekend. It worked for about 2 days and now the replacement unit is doing the same thing. Again, as soon as I plug in the 110V cable that came with the vehicle it works without a problem.

I'm going to call Siemens support back again, but I'm thinking maybe I'm doing something wrong with the RAV4 EV thats causing the problem. Anyone have any ideas? I do have the RAV4 set to charge immediately upon plugin. I usually do not use extended charging, but have tried both regular and extended charging modes, neither seesm to make a difference.

If anyone has encountered a similar issue please let me know what you did to solve it! Thanks!

 

[smkettner]

Check the voltage on your 12v battery first.

Mine failed to charge due to the gateway computer went bad. Would charge sometimes and always fine at the dealer until it quit completely. Had other symptoms such as the dash not displaying correctly as the door opened or during shut down. So not really the same thing.

 

[mihalakj]

So do I just make sure its putting out 12-14V?

Just take it to autozone to test? How do I test the battery effectively?

 

[miimura]

The RAV4 EV's 12V battery could be causing the problem, but there are many people who have had problems with the Versicharge units too. Some other EV forums have people who have needed 2 or 3 replacements before they got one that was reliable for them. As long as the Toyota-Pansonic 120V cord that came with the car works, I would assume the problem is with the Versicharge.

 

[Tech26]

A healthy 12v battery should be at 12.6 volts, or sometimes higher (13v-14v) if it's being supported (charged) by the HV battery. You could take it to Autozone for testing, or you could purchase a digital voltmeter and be able to check it yourself whenever you want. Voltmeters come in handy for lots of things around the house and in the garage...

If you do have a weak 12v battery, make sure you get a new one made by Interstate. I've had good experiences with Interstate 12v batteries, and bad or mediocre experiences with other brands. I should note that the batteries Toyota/Lexus carries are also very good, but they might be marked up Interstate batteries or hard to find/expensive Panasonic 12v batteries.

Does your car charge normally at other charging stations that can supply at least 30 amps?

 

[mihalakj]

Strangely enough my voltmeter reads 26.8V when I test the voltage of the battery. It only has 500V & 200V settings to it may not be sensitive enough. For charging stations, I live in Ashburn, VA which is near Washington DC. Charging stations are not abundant here so I have actually not used a 30A station other than this one. It did work for about 2-3 months without one peep. The weather got a bit cold, but the 110V charger has never failed no matter the temperature.

I will have Siemens send me another unit and see what happens. Unfortunately it takes about 2 weeks to get the replacement.

 

[Tech26]

Huh, weird. Was your voltmeter set to AC or DC? AC will have a wavy line next to it like, "~" and DC has a dash like "_" with a few dots under it. You want to be measuring DC volts.

 

[mihalakj]

Yes it was AC.

And if I'm wrong, I'll turn in my man card.

 

[mihalakj]

Aaaand you said DC, so looks like I need to turn in both my man card & reading card.

Undaunted, I shall measure this again when I return home from work tonight and report back.

 

[mihalakj]

The DC reading is 12.68V

I called Siemens, they said to do a "hard reset" which means turn off the breaker for about 1.5 hours. It worked, but the problem is intermittent. I would be surprised if it didn't come back.

 

[miimura]

One failure that can be reset is a glitch. If it stops working again, Siemens needs to repair or replace the EVSE. My Leviton died and they quickly repaired it by replacing the logic board inside. I was back up again in less than a week. Luckily I have another 240V EVSE.

 

[mihalakj]

Siemens seems to think its the car not telling the charger to 'go', but again the 110V goes right away so.... Below is what I got from Siemens

Hello Jake,

Thank you for speaking with me earlier.
First thing I wanted to go over with you, is that it is actually the vehicle which determines when the charger turns on. There are two communication pins within the handle which allows the charger and the car to communicate with each other. If the car and charger are communicating but no charge command is received, the charger will sit in the ready to charge state which you are describing. Once the car sends the charge command, then the charging station will close the contactor providing the 240v to the car.
Having two chargers react the same way sounds like it may be an issue with the car instead of the charger.
I would first recommend performing a hard reset on the charger itself. This can be done by turning off the charger by either unplugging the unit or turning off the breaker. Once off, let the unit sit de-energized for at least an hour and a half.


Best Regards,
Dan Keith

Siemens Industry, Inc.
Customer Services
Technical Support
Customer Care Center: 800 333 7421
Outside USA +1 423 262 5710

 

[TonyWilliams]

Check the proximity pin and micro switch in the handle.

Put a voltmeter between proximity and ground. You should measure 150 ohms. That's what signals the car to wake up. Press the release button, it should read 480 ohms. What happens is the release button typically does not fully seat itself in the vehicle inlet, and stays in the 480 ohm shut off position.

Fix this.

The other pin (Pilot) should measure 12 VDC.

 

[n3ckf]

the other problem i had with this charger (which i have had one of for 3 years now) is separation of the cable coming out of the charger (the thick one that goes to the car) from the case. there's a plastic housing and nut (inside the case) that holds it on and the cable feeds through that. If its not tight, the cable will actually come out and pull against the contacts inside.

Do what tony says first but if the cable is loose where it goes into the housing you want to take the cover off and fix that. (in mine the plastic nut on the inside had just come off. once i screwed it back on it was solid.