"Charging interrupted" at 99%, repeatedly.

  • Thread starter Thread starter SameGuy
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That's what it seems like, my regular and repeatable problems started a little over a month ago. Today's repeated test was a top-up last night, left plugged-in, no cabin conditioning before this morning's departure, and no issues. I'm plugged in now and fully charged, and will initiate conditioning in the morning before leaving. If it pops up the error, I'll try disabling the Grizzl-e's wifi for a few tests cycles.
 
SameGuy said:
... I'll try disabling the Grizzl-e's wifi for a few tests cycles.
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If your unit is anything like mine, its a pain to disable and re-enable wifi as, in addition to getting into the box and setting switches, you will have to set up wifi again. Set up to me was a process filled with opportunities for operator error... and reopening the box and to try again.

If it was me, if it now is working as you like, don't touch it.. :)
 
This morning's test was conclusive enough, pinning down behavior, but not yet the cause. Started cabin pre-con from just outside the car right before leaving, the cluster showed the red "unable to charge" error and 100%, which dropped to 99% within a few seconds. Next test will be a different EVSE, probably Sunday morning.
 
Initial test with the BMW Flexible Fast Charger (FFC). Sigh. Everything went without a hitch. Charged to 100% yesterday afternoon, left plugged in. Called for cabin pre-conditioning a half hour before departure, and got to a toasty car that was showing 100% and no check control messages. I'll repeat the test tomorrow, then likely contact United Chargers for guidance.
 
And there we go, Grizzl-e worked fine as a dumb EVSE. Charged from 72 to 100%, then later called up cabin conditioning and ran it for 20 minutes, car remains at 100% with no messages. Will do a wifi reset and check my firewall and PiHole, then try again.
 
Ok, I need clarification here. Resetting the wifi has disconnected the Smart from ChargeLab. I do not want to connect to ChargeLab, but I want to keep the unit online for any OTA firmware updates it might get. Must I connect to ChargeLab to actually get it online? Ran pre-con for a while (unplugged) to eat some juice and will charge again with reset wifi connected. Fingers crossed!
 
Filed a ticket with United Chargers, including the following note:

I purchased this EVSE in hopes of being able to use it as an internet-connected smart charging system. The ChargeLab app has never lived up to my expectations, and in March of this year I was informed by your tech-support that an update would be available soon to allow the use of the in-house Connected app. For the past couple of months, though, I've experienced issues while charging my car. The Wi-Fi of my Grizzl-e Smart interferes with my car's charging, if I call for cabin preconditioning while the EVS is connected, I get an error in my car and charging is interrupted, and the cabin preconditioning draws down my car's battery rather than using mains power from the wall. This is repeatable. I've used other EVSEs (including the BMW Flexible Fast Charger that came with the car) without any issues, and when I disable WiFi (via the dip switch) on my Grizzl-e charging and cabin conditioning works without issue, so it is definitely the Grizzl-e Smart at fault. I have done multiple Wi-Fi resets to no avail. Now I learn that there is an upgrade path for the Smart, but because my EVSE was built 2022/04/13, I must pay $150 plus shipping both ways for this upgrade. Considering the Wi-Fi is defective in my unit and interrupts my car's ability to charge, I think it is absurd that I would have to pay over $200 for the upgrade. I should get a replacement unit with the latest Wi-Fi board and firmware under warranty without having to pay. Please advise.
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SameGuy said:
Ok, I need clarification here. Resetting the wifi has disconnected the Smart from ChargeLab. I do not want to connect to ChargeLab, but I want to keep the unit online for any OTA firmware updates it might get. Must I connect to ChargeLab to actually get it online? Ran pre-con for a while (unplugged) to eat some juice and will charge again with reset wifi connected. Fingers crossed!
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Years ago United Chargers outsourced firmware updates to chargelab. You need to be connected to chargelab to get firmware. Dunno if they can disable everything else.
 
I saw a notice on their facebook page that they are launching their own software for smart features and figuring out how to connect all chargelab chargers back to their server. Sounds like a work in progress. So you found that the charger will require an update to work with United Charger servers?

BTW, the reviews of the app says it is pretty much junk at this time.

OK, saw this:

https://grizzl-e.com/chargelab-unit-upgrade/
 
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Mine was made before their cutoff date, so they want $150 plus shipping both ways. I'm not impressed.
 
The ChargeLab TSR has been looped into my ticket, and reported back to the Grizzl-e TSR that she'd downloaded a snapshot of my EVSE's signal strength reports and events.

IMG_2451.webp
Waiting for Grizzly-e to follow up now.

Hello Francesco,

Thank you for contacting us about your issue and your charger.

I understand that having your charger not be able to charge reliably is very frustrating and inconvenient.
We can absolutely replace the charger if it is found to be defective.
I am going to contact ChargeLab on your behalf to see if they can find any server side issues or signal strength issues with the charger that may be causing the problem.

Please provide me some time to investigate.

ChargeLab Can you please let us know if GRS-00000000437f is having signal strength or any other issues.

Thank you,
United Chargers.
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Hi Alex,

Thank you for your message!

Please find attached to this email a plot of the Wi-Fi signal strength over the last 30 days to include completed charging session (transactions), offline states, and faulting activity. Horizontal/diagonal "flat lines" indicate periods of time where the charger was disconnected from the server.

The charger is running the latest firmware, and was connected until Dec 18th. The wi-fi signal was good. Please, review the screenshot attached.
On Dec 18th the ground fault was reported, and charger went offline.

I advise to request the lights behavior.

Thank you!

___
Grizzl-e Smart: Product User Manual
https://autochargers.zendesk.com/hc/en-ca/user-manual

Wi-Fi Troubleshooting:
https://autochargers.zendesk.com/hc/en-ca/sections/wi-fi/troubleshooting


Regards,


Anna
Customer Operations Specialist
Hours: M-F | 9-5 ET
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Hello Francesco,

ChargeLab got back to us and confirmed that your signal strength is strong and falls within the required strength consistently.
Please provide us a short while to get back to you on options we can provide.

United Chargers.
Click to expand...
 
I noticed the same precondition thing a couple days ago. So there are at least three of us. It was plugged in overnight as I was expecting an early morning trip and wanted to precondition without eating into battery range. But I was disappointed to find it failed to connect. After unplugging and plugging back in it accepted the apps's precondition command and I let it warm up a bit on AC power before taking off. Similar to issues with charging lately where it won't connect until I unplug and plug it back in. Dunno if its the colder weather (15F) or recent firmware updates as previously it reconditioned just fine.
 
I'm plugged in right now and at 100%. I'll initiate and report back. I think I was half asleep Friday morning and called for cabin precon and didn't notice any errors but maybe I didn't do that; it was mild on Friday and my garage was warm so I don't remember the car being particularly toasty.
 
Update: initiated preconditioning with the car plugged in and fully charged (solid green light). I let it run 25 minutes and went to the garage: the compressor was cycling normally, and the green light was flashing, indicating it was drawing juice from the mains. Unplugged, sat in the car and started up: 100% and no errors or check control messages, and the HVAC switched from Comfort Climate mode to Automatic. I shut down and plugged back in, the light began its flashing-blue "handshake" signal without switching to either green signal. I just picked up my phone and this is the Lock Screen:

IMG_2516.webp
 
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