Delayed charging Debacle

[jackobyte]

Yes, once more into the breach :I find myself attempting this futile complaint

Last night I made my first attempt at a delayed charge, only to get non-compliant feedback from the vehicle. Since I had BMW assist, which you shouldn't be without if you own a BMW I contacted them as I could not determine if charging was occurring.
I explained that I had just got ne over to Octopus GO from octopus Outgoing and was attempting my first delayed charge.
I explained that I had set it to start at 1 am and end at 4am well within the reduced tariff period.
I had awoke due to nocturia and thought "Good let me check the delayed charging scenario. The octopus wireless meter thingy showed a drain of 4KW,
I thought "good its charging".

After a half hour i thought l" Let me go check the vehicle to make sure "rather just sitting under the illusion of the Octopus device.
Unfortunately when I got to it the charging port was Dark /Dunkel instead of the expected pulsing blue light detailed in the manual that is supposed to show the state of the charging system. Having experienced expensive electrical system repairs before I was quite concerned to nip any developing malfunction in the bud and contacted Assist. The operator advised that the only 2 options available to me was a tech later that morning or a tow to a dealer."Ok" I said "the former please".
So I continued to stare at the meter waiting for the drain to reduce as when I parked it was at 84% and had hopefully been on for an hour already even. Then it suddenly did drop and I heaved a sigh of relief.

However I decided to venture to the vehicle again to try and verify the KW hadn't vanished into the Phantom Zone. I had also done the google thing earlier where I found many delayed charge anomalies.
One mentioned that stop and restarting charging worked for them, another that setting the cable to full charge allowed delay charging to start when programmed.
Anyway the port was again Dunkel but on the key fob I pressed unlock and lock again resulting in the affirming pulsating blue light.
I retreated indoors again planning to come out and check again in a half hour or so.
Unfortunately the socket was again Dark so I repeated the on off fix. I then noticed the blue light only pulses for 5 secs or so.
I thought I need other verification of correct op, so, sat inside it and brought up the % charge reading. Thankfully it had climbed from the 84% parking state to 91% so thankfully the electric was not going into a black hole.

My main complaint then is really the tech that turned up who blamed everything under the sun except BMW., he said the charging light is meant to go out i.e. it doesn't really mean its charging or not. What foolishness is this I thought? what absurdity resulted in the manual not advising of this. HE then tried to blame the electric supplier as they had got many complaints with them as suppliers (Octopus) and that I should contact them, as if they control i3 led lights, or that spuriously it could also be some interaction between my Rolec charger and solar panels!, in other words excuse after excuse and obsfuscation after lie. rather than correcting the manual to specify the truth of operation, he even suggested mis-translation of the manual. I remarked pull the other one it has very loud piercing horns on it.

No doubt you will again regard this complaint as null and void. I understand that there was nought to fix or perhaps he knew not how to fix the firmware to continue to pulse the light whilst charging as clearly specified in the manual. I expected the darn fellow to make an absurd green claim excusing the pulsing stopping after 5 secs but thankfully he did not.
As you can read I am not a happy camper of i3 and this instance of tech replete of fake excuses. I told him what I tell people who ask me of the car and I may as well tell you and especially BMW HQ : "I now know why and how Germany lost the war despite their falsely vaunted engineering".

I advise the BMW executives squatting in their Bunkers to come out into the light and fix the many faults of their productions, at the very least write handbooks that contain the truth. the whole debacle and probably all the other complaints attributed to Octopus could be lain to rest by just truly linking the blue light to the charging state continuously despite the mu Amps saving by switching them off. really... Get a life Hans.
The only true Fix you could supply is to return the money spent on the vehicle and you can Have It... for your very own personal head ache.
JackoByte

 

[EvanstonI3]

The Blue pulsing light only stays on if you LOCK THE CAR while charging. If the car is unlocked, the Blue light goes out after a bit but it continues to charge. This is clearly spelled out in my owner's manual under "Display of Charging Status"

I posted backwards so I am updating. Alohart's comment is correct.
Car Locked: Blue Pulsing Light goes out after awhile
Car Unlocked: Blue Pulsing Light stays ON until charging is done.

 

[alohart]

The Blue pulsing light only stays on if you LOCK THE CAR while charging. If the car is unlocked, the Blue light goes out after a bit but it continues to charge. This is clearly spelled out in my owner's manual under "Display of Charging Status"

The digital Owner's Manual that I downloaded as well as the BMW Guide smartphone app state:

"When the vehicle is locked, the indicator light goes out after some time.

When the vehicle is unlocked, the blue indicator light flashes continuously. The other indicator lights go out after some time."

Once charging starts, I've never paid attention to the charging indicator lights. I had assumed that they always turn off after a couple of minutes, but apparently the blue flashing light stays on when the car isn't locked. I always lock our i3 when charging in our apartment parking garage parking space, so I've never seen the blue flashing light remain on.

 

[jackobyte]

I guess the owners handbook is as poorly designed as the vehicle, yes it mentions it goes off after sometime if locked a couple of lines down but such an important human feedback item should have been at least high lighte in bold if not red if that was so expensive and immediate adjacent to its purpose rather than the after thought it appears to be, rspecially when a lot of devices requiring charging di not exhibit that behavior. as to why that behavior is defaulted to the locked case is baffling as I would wager that thats how most people would charge because it is hardly a rapid thing that you would hang around the car and need continuous feedbackof or maybe; if no one was around to watch the light would it still flash? apparentlu not, even when you return not.Probably arrogant design decision from a know it all: that how i'd like it thats what every one gets. It would seem trivial to flip this behavior, or if its such a trivial thing why have the light at all. Insertion of cable implies charging don't worry be happy.

 

[mojo]

I wonder if this is something that has changed during the course of production? I'm certain that mine does not stay on when the car is unlocked, because my car is always unlocked when charging (kept in a garage).

I can believe that they might have changed the behaviour after feedback from people who have to charge on the street, because brightly flashing lights on vehicles can attract the wrong sort of attention from drunks and other people, and it may have led to more cases of vandalism than expected.

 

[alohart]

I guess the owners handbook is as poorly designed as the vehicle,

The i3 doesn't seem to be the EV for you based on how dissatisfied you seem to be. Sell it and buy another EV.

Many i3 owners probably use the charge indication lights only to determine whether charging has started without error. They don't care or even know what happens to these lights after the charging session has started. The My BMW app or the instrument panel indicates whether charging is active and when a full charge is expected, so the charge indication lights don't seem too important after charging begins successfully.

 

[Simoni3]

‘Mountain out of a mile hill’ comes to mind …

The app clearly shows if charging or not, can check that sitting down, simple

 

[cpallenjr]

I’m pretty sure my 2017 Rex’s blue charge indicator light goes off after a while even when the car is unlocked.

I generally charge immediately - plug in, check dash display to confirm charging and duration, and walk away confident it will be fully charged in the morning. I think people run into problems when their departure time, charging window, and state of charge won’t allow the car to be fully charged at the designated departure time. In this case, the car will charge as necessary to try and be ready at departure.

 

[McDuff]

Yes, once more into the breach :I find myself attempting this futile complaint

Last night I made my first attempt at a delayed charge, only to get non-compliant feedback from the vehicle. Since I had BMW assist, which you shouldn't be without if you own a BMW I contacted them as I could not determine if charging was occurring.
I explained that I had just got ne over to Octopus GO from octopus Outgoing and was attempting my first delayed charge.
I explained that I had set it to start at 1 am and end at 4am well within the reduced tariff period.
I had awoke due to nocturia and thought "Good let me check the delayed charging scenario. The octopus wireless meter thingy showed a drain of 4KW,
I thought "good its charging".

After a half hour i thought l" Let me go check the vehicle to make sure "rather just sitting under the illusion of the Octopus device.
Unfortunately when I got to it the charging port was Dark /Dunkel instead of the expected pulsing blue light detailed in the manual that is supposed to show the state of the charging system. Having experienced expensive electrical system repairs before I was quite concerned to nip any developing malfunction in the bud and contacted Assist. The operator advised that the only 2 options available to me was a tech later that morning or a tow to a dealer."Ok" I said "the former please".
So I continued to stare at the meter waiting for the drain to reduce as when I parked it was at 84% and had hopefully been on for an hour already even. Then it suddenly did drop and I heaved a sigh of relief.

However I decided to venture to the vehicle again to try and verify the KW hadn't vanished into the Phantom Zone. I had also done the google thing earlier where I found many delayed charge anomalies.
One mentioned that stop and restarting charging worked for them, another that setting the cable to full charge allowed delay charging to start when programmed.
Anyway the port was again Dunkel but on the key fob I pressed unlock and lock again resulting in the affirming pulsating blue light.
I retreated indoors again planning to come out and check again in a half hour or so.
Unfortunately the socket was again Dark so I repeated the on off fix. I then noticed the blue light only pulses for 5 secs or so.
I thought I need other verification of correct op, so, sat inside it and brought up the % charge reading. Thankfully it had climbed from the 84% parking state to 91% so thankfully the electric was not going into a black hole.

My main complaint then is really the tech that turned up who blamed everything under the sun except BMW., he said the charging light is meant to go out i.e. it doesn't really mean its charging or not. What foolishness is this I thought? what absurdity resulted in the manual not advising of this. HE then tried to blame the electric supplier as they had got many complaints with them as suppliers (Octopus) and that I should contact them, as if they control i3 led lights, or that spuriously it could also be some interaction between my Rolec charger and solar panels!, in other words excuse after excuse and obsfuscation after lie. rather than correcting the manual to specify the truth of operation, he even suggested mis-translation of the manual. I remarked pull the other one it has very loud piercing horns on it.

No doubt you will again regard this complaint as null and void. I understand that there was nought to fix or perhaps he knew not how to fix the firmware to continue to pulse the light whilst charging as clearly specified in the manual. I expected the darn fellow to make an absurd green claim excusing the pulsing stopping after 5 secs but thankfully he did not.
As you can read I am not a happy camper of i3 and this instance of tech replete of fake excuses. I told him what I tell people who ask me of the car and I may as well tell you and especially BMW HQ : "I now know why and how Germany lost the war despite their falsely vaunted engineering".

I advise the BMW executives squatting in their Bunkers to come out into the light and fix the many faults of their productions, at the very least write handbooks that contain the truth. the whole debacle and probably all the other complaints attributed to Octopus could be lain to rest by just truly linking the blue light to the charging state continuously despite the mu Amps saving by switching them off. really... Get a life Hans.
The only true Fix you could supply is to return the money spent on the vehicle and you can Have It... for your very own personal head ache.
JackoByte

Did you check the charge limit in the Octopus app? I've only recently discovered that the Octopus app (on iPhone and iPad) had way more information and control than the Octopus website.

I suspect that the tech was right to blame factors outside BMW's control: there are the chargepoint control system and Octopus's control system as well as poor signal to the car and chargepoint. It's a long chain of control with several points of potential problems. The car and its control system are pretty well designed in my view.

 

[Skye2002]

‘Mountain out of a mile hill’ comes to mind …

The app clearly shows if charging or not, can check that sitting down, simple

Couldn't agree more. I think some people have way too much time on their hands...

 

[Skye2002]

The i3 doesn't seem to be the EV for you based on how dissatisfied you seem to be. Sell it and buy another EV.

Many i3 owners probably use the charge indication lights only to determine whether charging has started without error. They don't care or even know what happens to these lights after the charging session has started. The My BMW app or the instrument panel indicates whether charging is active and when a full charge is expected, so the charge indication lights don't seem too important after charging begins successfully.

Yes! Hit the nail on the head Alohart... someone appears to have purchased the wrong car

 

[Gonville]

‘Mountain out of a mile hill’ comes to mind …

The app clearly shows if charging or not, can check that sitting down, simple

I think that can be misleading. The app retrieves the last recorded status at the BMW server. If the car doesn’t have appropriate cell tower access then the charge status may be entirely historical. Not unusual if the car is parked in a not spot, underground, steel shuttered garage, poor meteorological conditions affecting SMS message transmission.

 

[Gonville]

I guess the owners handbook is as poorly designed as the vehicle, yes it mentions it goes off after sometime if locked a couple of lines down but such an important human feedback item should have been at least high lighte in bold if not red if that was so expensive and immediate adjacent to its purpose rather than the after thought it appears to be, rspecially when a lot of devices requiring charging di not exhibit that behavior. as to why that behavior is defaulted to the locked case is baffling as I would wager that thats how most people would charge because it is hardly a rapid thing that you would hang around the car and need continuous feedbackof or maybe; if no one was around to watch the light would it still flash? apparentlu not, even when you return not.Probably arrogant design decision from a know it all: that how i'd like it thats what every one gets. It would seem trivial to flip this behavior, or if it’s such a trivial thing why have the light at all. Insertion of cable implies charging don't worry be happy.

It’s quite easy to just touch the door handle to reactivate the lights if needed. With Comfort Access. Otherwise the design is entirely logical. As soon as the light switches to flashing blue the car is locked and I know I can walk away. No need to keep the entire neighbourhood awake with flashing lights.

The design goal would be if you are with the vehicle and it is unlocked, or in a secure location, then it will stay on. If it is locked and therefore secure there is no need to attract attention any further. The charge activity can be monitored remotely from the app. So just thinking the design is appropriate. After 10 years I think it is right.

Now to octopus.

Oh and while we are at it Rolec. That is a well know poorly designed liable to melt piece of equipment. Many pictures on the internet. I have a collection.

Oh Octopus. The main reason for the complexity of the delayed start or delayed pause with Octopus control is the lack of a ‘stop’ command to the i3. This doesn’t exist on the other models either who have a ‘stop’ command in the idrive. We don’t have that. So the only way Octopus can postpone a charging slot is by sending a delay until window command. Difficult. Plenty on the UK forums of how this so works but not many complaints about non-flashing. Probably is an EU requirement not to have light pollution.

Good luck with the Rolec. They are fine until they are not.

 

[robthebold]

I’m pretty sure my 2017 Rex’s blue charge indicator light goes off after a while even when the car is unlocked.

I generally charge immediately - plug in, check dash display to confirm charging and duration, and walk away confident it will be fully charged in the morning. I think people run into problems when their departure time, charging window, and state of charge won’t allow the car to be fully charged at the designated departure time. In this case, the car will charge as necessary to try and be ready at departure.

I've got a '17 Rex, too. AFAICT, the charge light stays on as long as my car is unlocked and is still charging. If I lock it or the charging completes, it goes out. Since I've only got the 'occasional use charger', it's often not fully charged when I go out to the garage.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

As someone who is just on the hunt for a 2021 i3s, I am reading many of the threads here to get a feel for things to look out for and to inform my search process.
I understand that Jackobite is in the UK, so his issues will not be mine. However, the subject of home interface devices between a 220/240 volt 14-50 NEMA dryer socket is one I have to address, and I don't want to pay for a wall box if the car I get has the BMW kit with both 110 and 220 plugs as supplied with new electric BMW electric cars today But I am seeing used i3s with either an "adapter plug kit" or no adapter mentioned at all. what kit were the i3s cars sold with at the end of production?

Flexible Fast Charger
$0
The Flexible Fast Charger is all you need to charge your vehicle in a home setting. It comes complete with a NEMA 5-15 adapter for use with standard sockets and a NEMA 14-50 adapter for 240V outlets for faster charging. It features a 20 feet (6m) long cable and includes a convenient storage

 

[alohart]

The 120 VAC Level 1 Occasional Use Cable was standard on all U.S. i3's. A relabeled dual-voltage TurboCord portable EVSE was offered as an extra-cost option for a few model years. I believe that it had a NEMA 5-15P for 120 VAC Level 1 charging and a NEMA 6-20P rather than a NEMA 14-50P for 240 VAC Level 2 charging.

 

[Mustrum Ridcully]

Thanks Art,
I know I. can come here for the facts from you and the rest of the regulars.
I wonder what BMW sells the "Flexible Fast Charger" for. Although it is included with all the EVs it sells today, it is not priced on its "Build Your ..." configurations.
Edit: it looks like it is between $300 and $430 on eBay right now.

 

[eNate]

VW sells a rebranded Westabo EVSE with similar dual voltage capabilities, just to help broaden your search.

I use a Zencar dual voltage unit that maxes out at 16 amps (similarly 120 or 240). Zencar sells the same unit with 32 amp capability, but only advertise it as a Level 2 box, but I'd bet a small sum of money (about $269) that it works at 120 volts with an adapter.

The nice thing about the ZenCar it has an LCD display that shows me input voltage, power delivered, elapsed charge time, and lets me set charge amperage and features a delay start function. This has proven super useful to me for plugging in at work.

 

[rcpmac]

I guess the owners handbook is as poorly designed as the vehicle, yes it mentions it goes off after sometime if locked a couple of lines down but such an important human feedback item should have been at least high lighte in bold if not red if that was so expensive and immediate adjacent to its purpose rather than the after thought it appears to be, rspecially when a lot of devices requiring charging di not exhibit that behavior. as to why that behavior is defaulted to the locked case is baffling as I would wager that thats how most people would charge because it is hardly a rapid thing that you would hang around the car and need continuous feedbackof or maybe; if no one was around to watch the light would it still flash? apparentlu not, even when you return not.Probably arrogant design decision from a know it all: that how i'd like it thats what every one gets. It would seem trivial to flip this behavior, or if its such a trivial thing why have the light at all. Insertion of cable implies charging don't worry be happy.

It IS highlighted on page 220 and is presented as a simple table of Light/ Status. From your long OP I suspect english is your second language and that might be the issue here.

 

[Redryder18]

The Blue pulsing light only stays on if you LOCK THE CAR while charging. If the car is unlocked, the Blue light goes out after a bit but it continues to charge. This is clearly spelled out in my owner's manual under "Display of Charging Status"

I posted backwards so I am updating. Alohart's comment is correct.
Car Locked: Blue Pulsing Light goes out after awhile
Car Unlocked: Blue Pulsing Light stays ON until charging is done.

My experience also.