Mobile Charger Red Lights

[lukine]

When I first got my Macan 4 and I started charging it using the mobile charger that came with it, the lights would flash green when I plugged it in. Then a month or two ago, I woke up and all the lights were lit solid red. I found it odd, and even after I removed charging port from the car , it remained lit solid red. I couldn’t reset it by pressing the reset button on the bottom either. I had to unplug it in order for it to reset. Now, it hasn’t done that again, however every time I plug the charger to the car, all the lights now flashes red. then the 50% or 100% lights up green, but the power light is now yellow. Now I’m not certain if it used to be white, green or yellow, but I feel like it wasn’t yellow before.

I’m wondering if your macan 4’s mobile charger does the same thing as mine. My local Porsche centre told me there is nothing wrong with the charger or the PCM control unit. And they even told me that the lights flashing red is a communication handshake between charger and the vehicle and that it is normal. But I’m skeptical, and I am not sure if I can trust what they’re telling me.

Upon reading the owner’s manual, any kind of red lights typically indicates a possible fault.

So what should I do? Charger is currently charging. But the red lights worries me.

See attached video.

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[W1NGE]

When I first got my Macan 4 and I started charging it using the mobile charger that came with it, the lights would flash green when I plugged it in. Then a month or two ago, I woke up and all the lights were lit solid red. I found it odd, and even after I removed charging port from the car , it remained lit solid red. I couldn’t reset it by pressing the reset button on the bottom either. I had to unplug it in order for it to reset. Now, it hasn’t done that again, however every time I plug the charger to the car, all the lights now flashes red. then the 50% or 100% lights up green, but the power light is now yellow. Now I’m not certain if it used to be white, green or yellow, but I feel like it wasn’t yellow before.

I’m wondering if your macan 4’s mobile charger does the same thing as mine. My local Porsche centre told me there is nothing wrong with the charger or the PCM control unit. And they even told me that the lights flashing red is a communication handshake between charger and the vehicle and that it is normal. But I’m skeptical, and I am not sure if I can trust what they’re telling me.

Upon reading the owner’s manual, any kind of red lights typically indicates a possible fault.

So what should I do? Charger is currently charging. But the red lights worries me.

See attached video.

What supply rating are you connected to and is the setup properly earthed?

 

[wmras]

When I first got my Macan 4 and I started charging it using the mobile charger that came with it, the lights would flash green when I plugged it in. Then a month or two ago, I woke up and all the lights were lit solid red. I found it odd, and even after I removed charging port from the car , it remained lit solid red. I couldn’t reset it by pressing the reset button on the bottom either. I had to unplug it in order for it to reset. Now, it hasn’t done that again, however every time I plug the charger to the car, all the lights now flashes red. then the 50% or 100% lights up green, but the power light is now yellow. Now I’m not certain if it used to be white, green or yellow, but I feel like it wasn’t yellow before.

I’m wondering if your macan 4’s mobile charger does the same thing as mine. My local Porsche centre told me there is nothing wrong with the charger or the PCM control unit. And they even told me that the lights flashing red is a communication handshake between charger and the vehicle and that it is normal. But I’m skeptical, and I am not sure if I can trust what they’re telling me.

Upon reading the owner’s manual, any kind of red lights typically indicates a possible fault.

So what should I do? Charger is currently charging. But the red lights worries me.

See attached video.

Your light sequences seem slightly different than ours but I would not be concerned, except for the all red. Ours normally only shows 100% and On/Off as green when charging. On/Off turns yellow when charging has paused. The left side symbols flash on when connecting or turning on - they are error conditions. We leave it on and it goes to sleep and wakes up when connecting to a car.

We use ours on our 2024 Macan Turbo Electric and a 20220 Taycan Turbo S. The charger seems to behave slightly differently when waking up but works perfectly with both cars.

If you suspect odd charger behavior, turn the electrical panel breaker off for two minutes and then on - this will give internal capacitors time to discharge and get a clean reset.

 

[ColdCase]

I think that means it detected a grounding or power fault but it doesn't affect operation. You can turn off the detection, instructions are in the manual.

I would carefully inspect the oulet for heat damage, however.

 

[daveo4EV]

agreed - check your circuit and inspect the socket for any signs of thermal damage - also make sure your NEMA socket is "EV rated" - that's the Hubble or Leviton EV sockets - lesser/normal/common residential NEMA 14-50;6-50 sockets are not design for the long duration high demand operation that EV charging causes…a socket that is not rated for EV charging loads may cause electrical connection issues during charging sessions leading to electrical connection faults…

finally if it continues to be a problem consider an alternative EV charger (EVSE) - the Porsche EVSE has not proven itself to be a quality product - it in fact in 5+ years in the Taycan community has proven itself to be the opposite of a quality product

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...uide-to-the-porsche-evse-pmc-pmcc-pwcc.13886/

also review Porsche's recommendation/requirements for proper install of their EVSE's - their suggestions/recommendations/requirements follow industry established best practices (they are not unique and mirror other EV vendor's excellent advice) - but they are spot on with calling out the requirement for a Hubble Commerical quality NEMA socket…I would also consider the Leviton EV rated socket - but it was not available as a product at the time Porsche published their recommendations

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...-related-porsche-ntsb-article-analysis.13902/

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10222530-0001.pdf

Better and higher quality EVSE's are below (listed in random order to avoid bias)

• Porsche Wall Charger
• ChargePoint Flex
• Tesla Universal Wall Charger
• Autel
• Enphase/ClipperCreek
• Wallbox
• others…

 

[lukine]

What supply rating are you connected to and is the setup properly earthed?

I have a 240V line connected to the charger. How can I tell if it was grounded properly or not? The line was installed when the house was built 7 years ago.

edit: actually, looks like on the plate it has the letters GRDG, does this mean it’s grounded?

 

[lukine]

Your light sequences seem slightly different than ours but I would not be concerned, except for the all red. Ours normally only shows 100% and On/Off as green when charging. On/Off turns yellow when charging has paused. The left side symbols flash on when connecting or turning on - they are error conditions. We leave it on and it goes to sleep and wakes up when connecting to a car.

We use ours on our 2024 Macan Turbo Electric and a 20220 Taycan Turbo S. The charger seems to behave slightly differently when waking up but works perfectly with both cars.

If you suspect odd charger behavior, turn the electrical panel breaker off for two minutes and then on - this will give internal capacitors time to discharge and get a clean reset.

I will try that. However, what if there is an unknown underlying problem we haven’t figured out?

 

[lukine]

agreed - check your circuit and inspect the socket for any signs of thermal damage - also make sure your NEMA socket is "EV rated" - that's the Hubble or Leviton EV sockets - lesser/normal/common residential NEMA 14-50;6-50 sockets are not design for the long duration high demand operation that EV charging causes…a socket that is not rated for EV charging loads may cause electrical connection issues during charging sessions leading to electrical connection faults…

finally if it continues to be a problem consider an alternative EV charger (EVSE) - the Porsche EVSE has not proven itself to be a quality product - it in fact in 5+ years in the Taycan community has proven itself to be the opposite of a quality product

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...uide-to-the-porsche-evse-pmc-pmcc-pwcc.13886/

also review Porsche's recommendation/requirements for proper install of their EVSE's - their suggestions/recommendations/requirements follow industry established best practices (they are not unique and mirror other EV vendor's excellent advice) - but they are spot on with calling out the requirement for a Hubble Commerical quality NEMA socket…I would also consider the Leviton EV rated socket - but it was not available as a product at the time Porsche published their recommendations

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/t...-related-porsche-ntsb-article-analysis.13902/

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10222530-0001.pdf

Better and higher quality EVSE's are below (listed in random order to avoid bias)

• Porsche Wall Charger
• ChargePoint Flex
• Tesla Universal Wall Charger
• Autel
• Enphase/ClipperCreek
• Wallbox
• others…

Upon inspecting the socket, there doesn’t appear to be any burn marks and looks like it’s a Leviton EV socket. See photo attached. So then my next thing to check is if it has been properly grounded?

 

[daveo4EV]

socket look undamaged agreed

but not EV rated

https://store.leviton.com/products/...NKcn1QeX-gdmQQY7gDZ_-sDIciQcaz5VtnAURqgfxy5EE

 

[lukine]

socket look undamaged agreed

but not EV rated

https://store.leviton.com/products/...NKcn1QeX-gdmQQY7gDZ_-sDIciQcaz5VtnAURqgfxy5EE

I wonder if the reason it hasn’t overheated or show any burn marks is because I typically only charge at 50% (Level 1), and usually charge between 40%-60% SOC. Occasionally I would charge using Level 2 up to 100% SOC when I need to drive out of town and need enough juice to get back without needing to stop to DC charge, but that’s maybe once every two weeks. I would have thought the electrician would have known to use an EV rated socket instead. And they supposedly have a lot of EV charger installation experience too.

 

[lukine]

socket look undamaged agreed

but not EV rated

https://store.leviton.com/products/...NKcn1QeX-gdmQQY7gDZ_-sDIciQcaz5VtnAURqgfxy5EE

Actually could the white plate be covering the EV rated symbol on the socket itself?

 

[daveo4EV]

Actually could the white plate be covering the EV rated symbol on the socket itself?

unlikely but possible

 

[PrudentOcean]

Actually could the white plate be covering the EV rated symbol on the socket itself?

It would have to be very thin and flimsy. It would also compromise the contact surface since you wouldn’t be able to insert the plug fully.

 

[daveo4EV]

I wonder if the reason it hasn’t overheated or show any burn marks is because I typically only charge at 50% (Level 1), and usually charge between 40%-60% SOC. Occasionally I would charge using Level 2 up to 100% SOC when I need to drive out of town and need enough juice to get back without needing to stop to DC charge, but that’s maybe once every two weeks. I would have thought the electrician would have known to use an EV rated socket instead. And they supposedly have a lot of EV charger installation experience too.

most electricians are clueless when it comes to EV charging even those that have done EV installs

at a minimum your install does not match Porsches recommendations on the NEMA socket used - which mirrors other EV vendor’s recommendations - if they actually knew what they were doing you’d have a hubble commercial socket since most EV vendors recommend that and is best practice for an EVSE- so your electrician didn’t do any research or missed the memo…

Porsches install document - page 2

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2022/MC-10222530-0001.pdf

is unusually clear, precise and unambiguous as to their recommendations even going so far as to provide component part numbers for the best NEMA socket - i find it hard to understand how anyone who has reviewed that document would come up with an alternative install plan

 

[BruceS2]

I had the exact same thing happen with mine. In my case, I've used the charger in the 50% mode for several months. A week ago I switched it to 100% and charged the car. After it charged I noticed the red lights. I disconnected and figured it would reset itself...several days later I noticed the lights were still red and no buttons would do anything...so I removed power and it came up normally. Did another touchup charge with no issues.

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