Hello every one! I’m glad to share BMW i3 repair techniques

[Stevick]

I also just checked my L2 EVSE with a voltmeter to determine if the charging handle was leaking voltage when not plugged into the charging port and read 0.0 volts. My check was not performed immediately after using it for a charge, since I had just fully charged with the L1 EVSE successfully without the 22287E "AC charging: Network voltage exists in spite of charging unreadiness" code being set. I'm not sure what to try next to determine if the L2 EVSE is the culprit for that fault, but now I at least know its not a safety hazard (though it may still potentially a hazard to the on-board charger).

 

[alohart]

Do you know if both on-board chargers are AC?

Yes

Is one for 120v (L1) with the other kicking in for the other 120v leg on a 240v L2 charge? or is one for DC and/or REX generator output?

In U.S. i3's (AC charging is only single-phase), both on-board chargers are AC chargers with a maximum charging power of 3.7 kW each. In early i3's, one charger was in the KLE and the other, in the EME. In later i3's, the charger in the EME was moved to the KLE.

I believe that an EV on-board charger always accept AC input and produces DC output to charge the battery pack. There must be some electronic circuitry involved with DC charging, but I don't believe that this circuitry is described as a charger.

I've never owned a REx and am not very familiar with how they operate.

 

[madasa fish]

Knocks from front suspension?
Could be piping running from front reservoirs down bulkhead and into channels running length of car. Stuff channels with insulation.

 

[AUTOMAN]

Greetings from reading your update I think you have found your problem which is your home charger,which is good .
Unfortunately an unforeseen issue has forced me to suspend my investigation for a few days but will not forget the quest . The information I posted was from the dongle I think you are reading the information from a fault code reader???
I will get the general information and post it up within a few days.
The road noise has been a feature of the vehicle from new I contacted a well thought of dealer in London who agreed with me with regards the level of road noise,, but I have nothing to compare it with on a smooth road fantastic but on average roads awful.

 

[AUTOMAN]

Hi Stevick. I did actually reply but it seems to have got lost , obviously you have found the fault which is good.
I will post up the dongle results in a few days I suspect you are reading your results from a code reader, hence the complex results. The reason I used the dongle was to find out how much running time was on the generator basically for servicing . The general road noise is a combination of hard tyres the chassis and the actual road surface.I would like to compare mine to another vehicle Regards

 

[Stevick]

AUTOMAN, I'm still unsure about the charging fault. I re-checked voltages on the unplugged L2 charging handle and there was 25 volts between the left large upper pin and the left center smaller pin (polarized). The L1 EVSE (which does not trigger the fault) was the same though. This still suggests that there may be no spurious voltage leakage from the L2 EVSE and the problem is on the car end - and perhaps even related to the problematic EME fault code. Given that Alohart has explained about the 2 on-board AC chargers, I'm beginning to wonder if one of the chargers (for 120v only) is fine and the other one (for the additional 120v @ L2) maybe potentially faulty, but I'm at an impasse now. I'm not quite ready to trash the L2 charger yet, which has served me well thus far. It came with a 120v outlet adapter to charge at L1, so I'll try that next to see if it throws a code using that. Unfortunately, I do not have another L2 EVSE to try, but if necessary, I may go a public L2 EVSE as the next step.

I am using a Creator C310+ hand scan tool. I got from Amazon. Despite being omitted in the listing, the scan tool does work with the I01 chassis and includes it in the vehicle selection menu. I also have a BT dongle that worked with BimmerCode, but never invested in BimmerLink as it doesn't seem to offer anything I can't already do with the Creator. The difference in the data available by our respective tools may make comparing difficult, but I'm hoping we can still get some insights.

 

[alohart]

I re-checked voltages on the unplugged L2 charging handle and there was 25 volts between the left large upper pin and the left center smaller pin (polarized). The L1 EVSE (which does not trigger the fault) was the same though.

This seems unusual to me because the center small pin should be at true ground potential. This means that there's a 25 V potential difference between the L1 pin and ground when either of your EVSE's is powered but not plugged into your i3. That doesn't seem right, but this is beyond my knowledge. Maybe this is due to a problem with your residence's electrical system. However, EVSE's generally detect such problems and refuse to charge.

Given that Alohart has explained about the 2 on-board AC chargers, I'm beginning to wonder if one of the chargers (for 120v only) is fine and the other one (for the additional 120v @ L2) maybe potentially faulty, but I'm at an impasse now.

I'm pretty certain that both on-board chargers function together whether the input voltage is 120 V or 208-240 V; i.e., one of them isn't dedicated to 120 V charging only with the other kicking in to handle 208-240 V charging. The AC input voltage is the voltage difference between the 2 AC power pins. For 120 V charging, one of these pins, L1, is 120 V vs. the ground potential with the other being the neutral line, L2/N, which should be close or equal to the ground potential. For 208 VAC charging, L2 is 120 V vs. ground potential but 120º out of phase with L1 (U.S. commercial power). For 230-240 VAC charging, L2 is 180º out of phase with L1 (U.S. or European single-phase residential power). Later European i3's could have a 3rd on-board charger to support 3-phase power at up to 11 kW.

If one of the on-board chargers isn't functioning in an i3 equipped for single-phase charging, charging would still proceed but at a maximum power of 3.7 kW (16 A @ 230 V) instead of 7.4 kW (32 A @ 230 V) when both chargers are functioning.

 

[AUTOMAN]

Stevick I must admit I am getting confused . Suggest you simply clear your fault code and use the commercial charger and see what is the outcome. If possible try the low rate charge first if you have that option in your area and then the high rate obviously at a later point. What you are trying to do is eliminate the fault code which I suspect is being produced potentially by your house charger . As Alohart mentioned you may have a fault with you home electrical system..
I have the technicans manuals for the i3 Rex and will look though the section you are concerned with .
The fact you are able to recharge your batteries indicates it could be a relatively minor issue.

 

[AUTOMAN]

Stevick I had look at the manual which was interesting as the American i3 has different charging ports to the uk version ,
reading the various notes on the leads ect it is important the lead and chargers are correct. By using the commercial chargers it will give you the answer. Think on how long it takes to recharge the batteries on slow charge and fast charge that will indicate what is happening.
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