Electrify America popping fuses in EVs

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megreyhair

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Just sharing some news.
There are reports out there that Electrify America's DC chargers were blowing the 'fuses' in EVs and the cars were disabled and need towing. Some of them were repaired under warranty but some weren't.

I know our cars don't have fast DC but it still possible to blow a protective circuit in the charging unit. Glad no one has reported any such issue yet. :) Hope it doesn't happen to any of us.
 
megreyhair said:
There are reports out there that Electrify America's DC chargers were blowing the 'fuses' in EVs and the cars were disabled and need towing. Some of them were repaired under warranty but some weren't.
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I'm assuming that like Level 1 and Level 2, that the 'charger' is really located inside the vehicle with fast charging too. If so, then this is intriguing because regulating the current and protecting it's own fuses should fall primarily under the vehicle's control and not in the EVSE equipment.
 
megreyhair said:
I know our cars don't have fast DC but it still possible to blow a protective circuit in the charging unit. Glad no one has reported any such issue yet. :) Hope it doesn't happen to any of us.
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DC fast charging is a whole separate can of wax than L1 or L2 charging. It’s high voltage DC directly to the battery, rather than AC being converted to DC via an onboard charger.

An “over current” situation would “pop” the fuses/breakers in an EV. It’s likely that the DC charging station is not correctly identifying the charging limitations of the vehicle.
 
3 is 3 too many, considering the cost involved to replace the unit, not to mention the headaches, towing, getting stranded,etc
Wish you can change the fuse like you normally could.
 
megreyhair said:
3 is 3 too many, considering the cost involved to replace the unit, not to mention the headaches, towing, getting stranded,etc
Wish you can change the fuse like you normally could.
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The Car and Driver article indicates that the Ford and Rivian were repaired at no cost to the owners. The Bolt was a total loss and the owner, apparently, received an insurance settlement. The Bolt remains a mystery. It was deemed to have a failed battery pack, which may or may not have been caused by the charging station.

In a perfect world, the vehicles wouldn’t need protective equipment. In a near perfect world the breakers would be self-resetting or user serviceable. The typical motorist should be discouraged from fondling high voltage components. In reality, with 2-3 issues for every 6 million charging sessions, nothing is going to change.
 
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megreyhair said:
3 is 3 too many, considering the cost involved to replace the unit, not to mention the headaches, towing, getting stranded,etc
Wish you can change the fuse like you normally could.
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Do we really want to mess with a high voltage circuit? We are talking about hundreds of volts that can kill you, not a puny 12 volts.
 
megreyhair said:
I was thinking more like a circuit breaker where you can just reset instead of replace.
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It seems that three different manufacturers have decided their vehicles should remain inoperable after certain protective equipment has been activated. This allows them to examine the vehicle, determine the cause of the fault and look for any other components that may have been damaged. It also may relieve them of any liability that could arise from allowing an owner to energize a system that may have been damaged.

It’s a reasonable approach, and one we should all follow whether we’re replacing a 5A automotive fuse or resetting a 15A breaker at home.
 
MrFixit said:
I'm assuming that like Level 1 and Level 2, that the 'charger' is really located inside the vehicle with fast charging too.
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It's actually separate, generally in the fenced-in area near the "chargers", which themselves are mostly just a fancy box to hold the cord, cord cooling equipment, and payment stuff. As I understand it, car tells the charger what DC voltage it needs and the max amps it will pull, then charger responds with what it can actually provide and car just puts that directly into the battery.
 
zman0900 said:
As I understand it, car tells the charger what DC voltage it needs and the max amps it will pull, then charger responds with what it can actually provide and car just puts that directly into the battery
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Thanks for clarifying this...
It seems like this creates a situation where a malfunctioning charging station could very well damage a vehicle.
With the Level 1/2 schemes, the potential for damage seems much less.
 
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