Car won't charge / Onboard Charger Failure

[TonyWilliams]

Good to hear that this was resolved.

With the dozens of RAV4 EVs that we have repaired, there are few surprises. It’s always the same things, over and over.

We are the premier location for RAV4 EV repairs and fast charging with JdeMO™, and we have one of the best EV certified Toyota dealers in the world near us (just 10 miles away). We usually have multiple RAV4 EVs at any one time getting some issue resolved. We intend to maintain and upgrade these cars well into the future.

We stock ALL the common parts that need replacement:

1) Onboard Vehicle chargers (and we can program them to the car)

2) Drive motor / inverter assemblies, both new REV1 units, used, or rebuilt

3) Cabin heaters

4) Gateway ECU (and we can program this to the car)

5) Main Traction batteries

6) Main Traction battery contactors

7) DC 2 DC converters

8) Replacement 12 volt batteries

Plus, more than 10% of the fleet has our JdeMO™ fast charging kit that permits 30-45 minute charging at over 25,000 CHAdeMO locations worldwide (same plug on 5 continents and 70 countries).

 

[Tech26]

I think the onboard charger has failed in my 2013 RAV4 EV. Last six of the VIN: 001592 It has 69,078 miles at the time of this writing and I've owned it since about 30k miles with no issues, other than the drive unit whine noise, which it got replaced for back at the 35k-ish mark. And about three days ago I replaced the original 12v battery with a new Interstate unit from Costco.

The charge cable (known good charge cable because it charges my wife's EV just fine) clicks on and off a few times and then I get a message on the instrument cluster that says, "Charging: Stopped by System Malfunction"

I used to work for Tesla as a technician and I have replaced dozens of failed onboard chargers, but this time I don't have the diagnostic laptop to confirm the fault.

I live in Seattle and don't know if the local dealers would work on it, or which one would be best. I'd be willing to do the work myself if I had access to a diagnostic laptop and the parts. I still have all my tools from when I was a technician.

Only have 75 miles of range remaining.

 

[jimbo69ny]

I think the onboard charger has failed in my 2013 RAV4 EV. Last six of the VIN: 001592 It has 69,078 miles at the time of this writing and I've owned it since about 30k miles with no issues, other than the drive unit whine noise, which it got replaced for back at the 35k-ish mark. And about three days ago I replaced the original 12v battery with a new Interstate unit from Costco.

The charge cable (known good charge cable because it charges my wife's EV just fine) clicks on and off a few times and then I get a message on the instrument cluster that says, "Charging: Stopped by System Malfunction"

I used to work for Tesla as a technician and I have replaced dozens of failed onboard chargers, but this time I don't have the diagnostic laptop to confirm the fault.

I live in Seattle and don't know if the local dealers would work on it, or which one would be best. I'd be willing to do the work myself if I had access to a diagnostic laptop and the parts. I still have all my tools from when I was a technician.

Only have 75 miles of range remaining.

That really sucks. They are so hard to get to. So much has to come out in order to get to the charger. Do you have a warranty? Sounds like you need to tow it to a dealer.

 

[asavage]

Both Toyota of Seattle (my choice) and Toyota of Kirkland will do RAV4 EV repairs. TOS handled my wiper recall (2017), DU replacement (2019) and coordinated my battery warranty replacement (2019), though I had to ship the car to Sacramento for the actual battery work. All these repairs were handled by either the std. warranty or the extended warranty, so no out-of-pocket so far from me. My car has had the onboard charger replaced, before I bought it.

I bought my Toyota extended warranty (at 49k miles) through TOK, because they offered it quite a bit cheaper than TOS, but one member had questionable work done there (actual damage done by their techs' slovenly work habits) and I will not use them for service. I generally buy parts from TOK or Michael's Toyota, due to my commute route.

IOW, Toyota of Seattle is not afraid of working on our cars. I bought my RAV4 EV via Paramount Motors NW, and they had sold lots and lots of recently off-lease RAV4 EVs back in 2016-2017, and they also recommended TOS.

HTH

 

[Tech26]

Thanks for the reply Al. I'm closer to TOS and they handled the DU replacement... I'll give them a call tomorrow and ask about it.

Oh, and Jimbo, there would be no need to tow it. It starts and drives just fine. The dealer is only 10 miles away. I don't have the extended warranty, so... this could get expensive fast =/

 

[alflash]

... I used to work for Tesla as a technician and I have replaced dozens of failed onboard chargers, but this time I don't have the diagnostic laptop to confirm the fault.

I live in Seattle and don't know if the local dealers would work on it, or which one would be best. I'd be willing to do the work myself if I had access to a diagnostic laptop and the parts. I still have all my tools from when I was a technician.

Only have 75 miles of range remaining.

If possible, check these fuses in charger https://youtu.be/jMHu2x7RC_I?t=36

If need, we can do remote diagnostics, for example, https://www.facebook.com/groups/rav4ev/permalink/2385433211490756/
HTH,

 

[Tech26]

I called Toyota of Seattle to get a price quote on a new onboard charger: ~$3700 just for the part. I suspect labor and diagnostic would add another $1000 or more. Told my wife and she had a conniption fit while making some unsavory comments about my intelligence for buying a vehicle that is so expensive to repair.

So, I took the day off work, prayed for God to please let it just be a fuse, and removed the onboard charger (not to mention all the parts mounted above the charger! Good grief!). Opened it up and tested the two fuses, top one was bad, lower one still good. I ordered two new fuses (who knows how long the good/used fuse will last?) from Platt Electric in Renton that are the same part number / brand. They should arrive on Friday, May 1st. About $100 each for these 500V / 50 amp fuses.

It's still not fixed, but God has been answering my prayers so far! Perhaps my wife will take back her comments about my intelligence when the car is put back together and charging again for a fraction of what it might have cost.

 

[Tech26]

It's fixed! Charging again at ~40 amps!

The new fuses are made by Eaton, a brand that I suspect is higher quality and will last longer than the original Ferraz Shawmut units.

This got me thinking about what will fail next, probably the battery coolant heater because it's the ZeroStart branded one. The LG battery coolant heater is much better. Or maybe the DC/DC will go out, or if I'm really unfortunate one of the contactors or a module inside the HV pack... Coming up quick on the 8 year mark and the end of my HV battery warranty...

 

[asavage]

Thanks for the followup, and would you mind posting any info about the old and new fuses, or a link to a better resource if you feel your post would be a duplicate effort?

 

[Tech26]

The two original fuses are 500V and 50AMP rated, branded as Ferraz Shawmut, PN: A50P50-4
The two new fuses that I used are identical in size, shape, and specification, 500V and 50AMP but they are branded as Eaton (Bussman series) PN: FWH-50B

Basically I called up Platt Electric with the Ferraz Shawmut part number and they gave me these instead. Couldn't be happier really. I think it's a load of crap that a fuse will blow during normal use. I attribute it to poor quality fuses from Ferraz Shawmut, a brand I had never heard of before this week. On the other hand, Eaton is a well known brand that I have worked with before and been satisfied with the performance of their electronics.

 

[alflash]

Perhaps my wife will take back her comments about my intelligence when the car is put back together and charging again for a fraction of what it might have cost.

Thanks for Feedback!
What is her reaction to your successful repair?
: ))

 

[Tech26]

She said, "Oh, good. Does this mean you can do the dishes now?" :roll:

 

[jimbo69ny]

She said, "Oh, good. Does this mean you can do the dishes now?" :roll:

Lol. My wife is a big complainer. Don’t get her started on my Model X.... She didn’t want me to buy it in the first place and the nightmare of a time that I’ve head with Tesla has only made it worse.