Faulty Charging Cable

moff1959 said:
None of those are "Chargers" and you don't have a "charging cable" you have a power cord and AC supply equipment for the EV's on board charger. The EVSE has a few functions, it provides a "Handshake" between the EV and the EVSE this is through a pilot pin within the plug using low voltage 12v supply. Once it receives the correct reading back it will energize the AC supply contactor inside the EVSE and supply the on board charger with AC power.

The only external charging is at the two bottom pins on the vehicles socket this is where the external DC supply can be fed to the high voltage battery for charging.
I talked to Tom in the past about "Chargers" and it looks like we have already got off to using the incorrect terminology, this will suit some suppliers so they can charge $500 to $1000 per unit when they all do the same basic functions. I get it people want to use an app to control the EVSE and if that's what you like to do then go for it, me I like technology but I also like to keep it simple if I can.
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Some people are perfectly happy calling them charging cables. You must be a joy to talk to at parties.


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I think the 'charging cable' discussion is akin to "I could NOT care less" and "I could care less". We know the first phrase is the correct way to say it, but both have come to mean the same thing in dialogue. Not a big deal.
 
moff1959 said:
None of those are "Chargers" and you don't have a "charging cable"
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I agree with the first part, because the actual "charger" is always built into the EV, but the second part, "charging cable," seems to make sense--at least in the US. I suppose it would be more correct to say "portable EVSE" or "active charging cable" to contrast with charging stations in Britain and Europe don't have cables, you must bring your own cable. Speaking of "charging stations," what would be the verdict on that phrase? (This took me a half-hour to write.)
 
Tommy Electric said:
I don't mind having incorrect usages of terminology pointed out to me and, ultimately, I'm happy to use whatever terms allow me to communicate my point effectively.

I would note that pages 218-219 of the USA Mini Cooper SE Owner's Manual refer to the "Level 1 charging cable", "Level 2 charging cable", etc. so this seems to be the terminology adopted by Mini.

https://www.miniusa.com/content/dam/mini/PDF/archiveownermanuals/MY20/2020_COOPER_SE_ELECTRIC.pdf
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They do it on their site as well. Much like the pre-conditioning term it's used interchangeably in their usage. So I won't correct someone when they use what they read. In IT I don't correct as it never ends well and confuses them more :D
 
I've got my service appointment booked in for next week so I'll report back as to the results. Annoyingly, Mini Service Dept. needs the charging cable AND the car for the day.
 
Tommy Electric said:
I've got my service appointment booked in for next week so I'll report back as to the results. Annoyingly, Mini Service Dept. needs the charging cable AND the car for the day.
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I had a feeling it would be more painful than, "See? Red light is on...Thank you for the replacement charging cable, goodbye."
 
I've been keeping an eye on another Mini SE forum (mostly UK users) and saw an actual SE mechanical problem fixed under warranty: they had to replace the "KLE Charging Unit" because the Mini would not charge. But I believe that is the first major problem I have seen posted in 6 months, other than this thread with the bad cable.
 
I like the Tesla terminology I cut my EV teeth on: "connector."

The superCHARGERs are the big, 100kW+ highway (and some city) stations that Teslas pay to use (or receive as a purchase incentive). They pump DC directly into the car's traction battery.

CONNECTORS are all other units, either wall mounted, outdoor post mounted, or plugged into the wall, that use 120-240VAC and *connect* to the car's internal *charger*.
 
Mini now dropped off at the service center. I have to say, the quality of the customer service seems a big step up from my previous experiences leaving my ICE vehicle with the local grease monkeys. Welcomed very warmly on arrival, a brief consultation with a service rep. to discuss the problem followed by an offer (politely declined) to give me a lift to wherever I need to go.
 
Tommy Electric said:
Mini now dropped off at the service center. I have to say, the quality of the customer service seems a big step up from my previous experiences leaving my ICE vehicle with the local grease monkeys. Welcomed very warmly on arrival, a brief consultation with a service rep. to discuss the problem followed by an offer (politely declined) to give me a lift to wherever I need to go.
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Any updates yet?

I will say BMW has rubbed off of service in a good way. I've always had good experiences taking my car in.
 
The mystery deepens.

BMW service center staff were able to plug in and charge my car using the cable without any problem. They actually charged the car overnight to try to replicate the time when I first encountered the problem but it still charged successfully. I picked up the car this morning and, after having taken it out to run a few errands this afternoon, plugged it in my carpark using the exact same socket that I used when the problem first arose. The car is now charging fine with no apparent problem with the cable!

Keep in mind that when I originally encountered this problem I tested the cable using different sockets in my carpark on different days and, on all these occasions, the flashing "fault" light could be seen (as shown in the original post). So I'm baffled. o_O

BMW/Mini said they'd communicate the issue to HQ to see if they could shed any light on the problem but I'm not optimistic.
 
Tommy Electric said:
The mystery deepens.
The car is now charging fine with no apparent problem with the cable!
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Oh wow! As a person who has worked in and closely with Information Technology my entire career, I am just now realizing that the car I have ordered is landing really close to IT! "Have you tried rebooting your car, Mr. Smith? Have you downloaded the latest firmware?" I guess I better get used to this type of thing with EV tech. "It's working now? Let us know if it happens again."
 
GvilleGuy said:
Oh wow! As a person who has worked in and closely with Information Technology my entire career, I am just now realizing that the car I have ordered is landing really close to IT! "Have you tried rebooting your car, Mr. Smith? Have you downloaded the latest firmware?" I guess I better get used to this type of thing with EV tech. "It's working now? Let us know if it happens again."
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GvilleGuy said:
Oh wow! As a person who has worked in and closely with Information Technology my entire career, I am just now realizing that the car I have ordered is landing really close to IT! "Have you tried rebooting your car, Mr. Smith? Have you downloaded the latest firmware?" I guess I better get used to this type of thing with EV tech. "It's working now? Let us know if it happens again."
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I'm also an IT person. You really need to watch the IT Crowd that was quoted here.

"Have you tried forcing an unexpected reboot" gets me along with the is it plugged in?

But yes, cars are often more electrical/tech than they used to be for sure!


F14Scott said:
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Seriously my favorite TV show I've seen

Puppethead said:
Yes! I was not really a car head but ever since getting the SE I've been obsessed with everything, because to me it's a computer on wheels. Or maybe a robot, writing software for robots would be my dream.
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I like the idea of a robot!
 
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