"Preparing to charge is cancelled" - NRG eVgo DC fast charge

[bwherry]

Hi all,

I had this problem twice yesterday so I wanted to share to see if others have had similar problems to help determine if the problem is with my i3 or the charging station. Anyway, at around 9pm last night I arrived at the eVgo DC fast charging station at Bristol Plaza in Santa Ana, CA. I've charged here a few times before with no problems. This time, however, after the "Preparing to charge screen"

I got this:

"Preparing to charge is canceled."

Huh? I sure as heck didn't cancel it. The "Information" button said something along the lines of "When it becomes safe to charge, charging will start automatically." But pressing the "OK" button just went back to the initial "Connect" instruction screen. So my confidence level in charging starting automatically after any period of time was low. So I tried the whole process a few more times... same result. Then I took a 3-5 minute break and tried again. This time it worked, and I was able to charge up.

Fast forward to ~45 minutes later. After driving back to the Los Angeles area on the 405 I needed some more juice for the remainder of the long weekend. I pulled into the eVgo DC fast charger at the Playa Vista Community Center and did the connection dance. Same problem! Only this time after retrying several times I gave up and drove home (range extender to the rescue).

The following morning (now) my car is charging like a champ at an L2 charger at my workplace, where I typically charge during the week.

If the "Preparing to charge cancelled" had happened only once I would have just assumed it was the charger but having it happen twice makes me wonder if something might be awry with the DC fast charging capability of my i3. The Playa Vista Community Center charger had some reports of problems from i3 owners on PlugShare the same day and the day before, but they didn't provide details. The Bristol Plaza one in Santa Ana didn't have any recent problems reported on PlugShare.

Has anyone had this "Preparing to charge cancelled" problem with any of the NRG eVgo DC fast charging stations? Is it indicative of a problem with the car, or the charger?

Many thanks,

Brian

 

[M2140]

I saw something similar on my I3 Rex the first couple of times I tried to charge. It sounds like the charge station is not properly communicating with your car. Here is what I did based on feedback from the nRG support team.

1. Disconnect your car
2. Press the emergency reset button on the Fast Charger (big red button)
3. Release the reset button (twist to release)
4. Connect the I3 again and attempt to fast Charge.

If you still seeing issues try it again. But if it still fails after 2 attempts to reset the station it sounds like there could be a problem with the I3 communicating with the Charging station. You will need a trip to the dealer.

Keep in mind that if your dealer does not have a Fast Charger there is nothing they can do. The dealer will just hold the car for weeks until they figure out how to test or ship it to the Oxnard BMW facility. I would recommend looking for a dealer with Fast Chargers on-site. I have not checked them all but I do know that Crevier BMW in Santa Ana has Fast Chargers on-site.

 

[bwherry]

Thanks for the reply, M2140!

I actually did do the reset button press-then-twist at the Bristol Plaza fast charger after many unsuccessful attempts, and it did work after doing this - though I'm not sure it worked on the very first try after resetting. Not sure why I didn't try the reset button later on in Playa Vista... brain must not have been functioning.

Good to know! I'll try the reset button if I have issues in the future!

Thanks,

Brian

 

[Blue20]

...

Keep in mind that if your dealer does not have a Fast Charger there is nothing they can do. The dealer will just hold the car for weeks until they figure out how to test or ship it to the Oxnard BMW facility. I would recommend looking for a dealer with Fast Chargers on-site. I have not checked them all but I do know that Crevier BMW in Santa Ana has Fast Chargers on-site.

The question is how many BMW i Dealer has a Fast Charger? I know in Canada is a big fat ZERO.

 

[jadnashuanh]

CHADEMO uses what amounts to an Ethernet connection (dedicated pins) to talk to the car when DC charging. The SAE J1772 protocol superimposes a signal on two of the EVSE control lines so that they can perform dual functions without needing four more pins in the connector. If the host charging device doesn't switch properly, they'll never connect, and you'll get faults. I've not had a chance to try one, so have no experience on their reliability. If the right mode had been selected by the computer in the CCS unit, it should work.

 

[justanotherdrunk]

I also have this problem.

The older charger on the end with the Leaf fails regularly.

The newer charger with my car has never failed yet.

I suspect the old charger connector needs replacing.

:?

:?

 

[bwherry]

Thanks for the info, justanotherdrunk. So bottom line, in all likelihood it's the charger that has a problem, not my car. Right?

 

[M2140]

Thanks for the info, justanotherdrunk. So bottom line, in all likelihood it's the charger that has a problem, not my car. Right?

It's a possibility and most likely the station. But it can be the onboard chargers. I've gone thru two i3s .My first one was declared a lemon because the DC fast Charging did not work.

 

[drb]

Its the charger, indeed, its the EvGo system, not your car. I've had this happen to me several times. I ended up calling EvGo and got it resolved after much hassle. As a consequence, I have stopped using the fast chargers. I drive on battery and then finish the trip on REx. What I value most is convenience and the EvGo system is anything but.

 

[stumbledotcom]

Thanks for the info, justanotherdrunk. So bottom line, in all likelihood it's the charger that has a problem, not my car. Right?

I've seen a similar message a couple of times. It always works on the second attempt. If you've charged successfully at an L3 station but later run into the bad connection message, it's almost certainly the unit or connector not the i3. Keep in mind the EVSE and vehicle have to handshake before the high-voltage current starts flowing. How many times have you needed to unplug and replug a phone, printer, hard drive, etc. into a computer? Same principle at work here.

 

[bwherry]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the responses!

Hopefully the DC fast chargers will only improve in robustness and quantity/availability over time...

Brian

 

[csk2015i3bev]

I also faced the same problem. First I tried this on the eVgo station (50kw) in Mountain View, California. Even after restarting the charging station using their emergency button, it did not work.

Then I tried the same in Fremont, CA (near the Lucky stores), after numerous attempts, it somehow managed to charge. After getting the enough charge, I tried to restart the charging again to see if it works, then the same story, it simply won't work.

I was getting variety of error messages such as "connection could not be established with the car", "connection cancelled", etc.

It is worth to mention that it took almost 2~3 minutes to pass the "establishing communication with car" phase, during that time, the car charging color was blinking amber/yellow, which was interesting...

I wonder how to explain this issue to a BMW dealer who doesn't have the eVgo installation in their location !

 

[csk2015i3bev]

I also faced the same problem. First I tried this on the eVgo station (50kw) in Mountain View, California. Even after restarting the charging station using their emergency button, it did not work.

Then I tried the same in Fremont, CA (near the Lucky stores), after numerous attempts, it somehow managed to charge. After getting the enough charge, I tried to restart the charging again to see if it works, then the same story, it simply won't work.

I was getting variety of error messages such as "connection could not be established with the car", "connection cancelled", etc.

It is worth to mention that it took almost 2~3 minutes to pass the "establishing communication with car" phase, during that time, the car charging color was blinking amber/yellow, which was interesting...

I wonder how to explain this issue to a BMW dealer who doesn't have the eVgo installation in their location !

I found couple of suggestions from this site: http://bmwiforum.bmwusa.com/thread/67/ccs-combo-charging-evgo-charger

"There is a trick to getting some of the machines started. Sometimes you can support the charge handle upward and press the button on the machine to start the session. Unfortunately you would probably need really long arms "

"Finally got the EVGO CCS's to work. Holding the plug upward a little while it communicates before the charge starts did work."

I will give this a try and let you guys know...

 

[jadnashuanh]

When doing a DC fast charge, with the J1772 standard, the acv input pins get repurposed and become signal lines between the car and the CCS unit. If that connection is not good, the communications can prevent successful syncing, and a failure to start. Adding the extra pins for the DC connection means the handle is a bit larger and heavier. Ensure that the latch is fully engaged to help support the plug in the socket. The plug they use in Europe has similar problems, but doesn't have the top latch like the J1772 plug to aid it as much in support, at least from what I can see from pictures (never having seen one in person).

 

[Kieodadie]

I was not able to charge today. The station could not "lock" in with my car. I tried several times to connect then disconnect but no luck. I even tried the other charging station next to it and it was the same problem. I kept trying but it still wouldn't. The station finally just said it doesn't know the cause of the problem.

I made sure the car was lock, doors were completely shut, car was off and the charger firmly in place in my car. Anybody had the same experience?

 

[davidzi3]

I have tried three different DC fast charging stations dozens of times each, many times after reading the suggestions on this feed. I also called BMW i help line and they were no help other than the items I already read about here and that sometimes its the locking mech that needs to be replaced at BMW. I thought of a possible cause when dropping car off to be corrected this week, in case anyone else had a similar situation. The occasional use cable would not unlock from the car one time and I had to find and pull the emergency release cable to remove charging cable. I think after doing that, the charging cable never really locked again, but it wasn't an issue for level 2 charges, then when using DCfast, it is an issue. i3 has now in BMW service for three days, they only have one person authorized to work on "electric" cars. First day never made it into shop, end of second day, going into shop. day three, they are calling tech support then working on fixing it. Loaner from BMW in ft laud, florida had the ac go out after a few hours, no more loaners so now i'm driving a prius. I can't wait for my tesla model 3. Everyone in Tesla service center knows how to work on an electric car.

 

[CanisLupus]

I had a similar experience last week at PowerTech Labs . It has the same brand of DC Fast Charge station . What seemed to overcome the issue
for me was going into the Charging menu to make sure 'Charge Immediately' was selected . Even if it is selected , try changing it , then selecting it again . That made the difference for me it seems .