Siemens VersiCharge Preconditioning Fault

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Ghaleon

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Hello all,

I finally got my electric work done about 2 weeks ago to mount my Seimens VersiCharge EVSE, and have run into a problem twice now when starting preconditioning via the HondaLink app. The preconditioning will start, but charging does not, then when I get to the charger it is indicating a grounding fault (Fault Indicator plus number 4 for those familiar with this EVSE). I have not had any faults when plugging it in to charge when I get home at night, only when initiating preconditioning. Has anyone else seen anything similar? My electrician was stumped when I brought it up and I'm looking to educate myself a bit more before I start hounding Siemens and/or Honda to figure out what is going on.

Thanks
 
Ghaleon said:
Hello all,

I finally got my electric work done about 2 weeks ago to mount my Seimens VersiCharge EVSE, and have run into a problem twice now when starting preconditioning via the HondaLink app. The preconditioning will start, but charging does not, then when I get to the charger it is indicating a grounding fault (Fault Indicator plus number 4 for those familiar with this EVSE). I have not had any faults when plugging it in to charge when I get home at night, only when initiating preconditioning. Has anyone else seen anything similar? My electrician was stumped when I brought it up and I'm looking to educate myself a bit more before I start hounding Siemens and/or Honda to figure out what is going on.

Thanks
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We saw the same issue with the Seimens VersiCharge. A couple times, when using timed preconditioning to start warming the car in the morning, it would throw a fault. However, once it got colder in the garage in the mornings, everything started working fine. My working theory is that if the car needs almost no power to precondition then it starts and almost immediately says "No, I'm fine now" and stops the preconditioning. I am guessing that this throws a fault in the Seimens.

It's also possible that the "public charger fix" might affect this behavior, but we don't have that applied yet.
 
Yes, I have the same problem with mine. I didn't specifically link it to preconditioning, but I think that's when it does happen. It's not a Honda thing, the same has happened with our Leaf. Thanks for posting here, I hope you can uncover a solution.
 
Mark W said:
Yes, I have the same problem with mine. I didn't specifically link it to preconditioning, but I think that's when it does happen. It's not a Honda thing, the same has happened with our Leaf. Thanks for posting here, I hope you can uncover a solution.
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That is unfortunate, preconditioning is the reason I invested in the considerable electric work to get the EVSE installed.. I'll certainly pass along any information I hear back from Siemens.

I wonder if the fact that it behaves better in the colder weather for mpeters42 is indicative of there being a hiccup on the vehicle side when the battery is completely charged and it is trying to enable power for preconditioning.
 
Mark W said:
Found this with a google search. Doesn't look like good news. https://www.chevybolt.org/forum/82-...ms-siemens-versicharge-time-use-charging.html
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Your google-fu outclasses mine; that does indeed not bode well. In my case, the silver lining is that I'm still within the return window with Costco, the downside being the ClipperCreek 40P that will use the same outlet is quite a bit more expensive; a shame, but if it's already tripped a failure 2 out of the 3 times I've tried it in 2 weeks, it's not worth the trouble to save $200.
 
Mark W said:
I got mine just under a year ago from Amazon. I wonder if they will take it back? Maybe replace it with this one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UB9R4K...&pd_rd_r=488b5286-e440-11e8-b0d8-57846f192c39
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I'd originally looked at the Juicebox but decided against it because the wifi features seem somewhat unreliable according to reviews. In addition to that, in my case I've already had a 15-60 outlet installed for the Siemens, and while it's not particularly hard to change to the 15-50 the Juicebox would use it's easier/cheaper to just go with the ClipperCreek that uses the outlet type I've already got.

I wish you luck on getting a refund, the Siemens does have a 3 year warranty, but I get the impression that they wouldn't consider the fact that the device doesn't play well with any sort of intelligent features the Clarity has to be a warranty claim.
 
Ghaleon said:
Your google-fu outclasses mine; that does indeed not bode well. In my case, the silver lining is that I'm still within the return window with Costco, the downside being the ClipperCreek 40P that will use the same outlet is quite a bit more expensive; a shame, but if it's already tripped a failure 2 out of the 3 times I've tried it in 2 weeks, it's not worth the trouble to save $200.
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Give clipper creek a call to see if they have any reconditioned units matching your set up - our 32A (hcs-40) was $400 and we chose that over the seimans. No problems.
 
This is a real bummer! I am very happy with the pre-conditioning feature, but have been getting this fault for the last few days. Can someone help translate what that means for us? For me, it is inconsistent. The delayed charging through the car or through honda-link app have always worked for me, and continue to work fine. The preconditioning worked fine when I did it manually, but when I do it pre-scheduled for every day, it causes the fault....why would it work manually but not scheduled - is scheduled the same as telling it to push the button for me at a certain time? Has anyone figured a resolution? Sadly, I did not buy mine from costco and will not be able to return it...Thanks all!!
 
michael shama said:
This is a real bummer! I am very happy with the pre-conditioning feature, but have been getting this fault for the last few days. Can someone help translate what that means for us? For me, it is inconsistent. The delayed charging through the car or through honda-link app have always worked for me, and continue to work fine. The preconditioning worked fine when I did it manually, but when I do it pre-scheduled for every day, it causes the fault....why would it work manually but not scheduled - is scheduled the same as telling it to push the button for me at a certain time? Has anyone figured a resolution? Sadly, I did not buy mine from costco and will not be able to return it...Thanks all!!
Click to expand...

My understanding is that there is a relatively low chance any time the car initiates charging (be it scheduled charging or remotely preconditioning via the app) that the VersiCharge will throw a grounding fault and remain out of commission until you manually reset it. From discussions I was directed to on other forums it is not unique to the Clarity, I read discussions of Bolt EV owners who were seeing similar behavior when using a scheduled charging setup. Hence why I ended up returning it and picking up a different EVSE. The discussion Mark W pointed me to by Bolt owners is earlier in this thread.
 
Hello, I know this post is a bit old. However I am in the market for a broken (preferred) or used Siemens VersiCharge. I see some users who have experienced dissatisfaction with their units. I have a similar issue and my unit is out of warranty. If you have yours taking up space in your garage and want to part ways with it, kindly PM me.
Thanks!!
 
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