Mobile Charger Red Lights

[lukine]

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.

Yea the same happened to me. I was unable to reset and had to power cycle by unplugging it completely. It hasn’t frozen again since, but now the red lights flashes every time when connecting charger to the car’s charging port. It still charges, thank god. But I can’t help feel uneasy about it because what if left unchecked it could cause more serious problems. So perhaps you could also look into whether the electrician used the proper NEMA socket and if it was properly grounded etc. I am trying to get the electrician to come back to fix things. Will update post once they’ve rectified the issue and will let you know if the flashing red lights goes away after the fix.

Sponsored

 

[daveo4EV]

NOTE: this is not necessarily a problem with the socket - in fact replacing the socket may or may not "fix" the issue - the NEMA socket is a "correctness" thing but rarely a functional problem - I have zero expectations that replacing the NEMA socket will change anything in terms of charge/no-charge or red-light faults

however the proper NEMA socket is recommended/required for long term operation of any EVSE - inappropriate sockets do not fail right away - rather they fatigue over time and gradually degrade under the heavy use imposed by EVSE's (thermal stress induced failure due to repeated cycles of heating up and cooling down - leading to "softening" of the plastics and eventual failure due to repeated daily heat/cool cycles) - this leads to eventual failure as the socket becomes less and less suitable for operating in high-current conditions as it degrades due to thermal stress imposed by an EVSE - and in particular the high operating temperatures of the Porsche EVSE's - so the recommendation for the correct NEMA socket is a robustness and lonvgevity issue - but not a functional issue in terms of EVSE operation. Cheap/normal NEMA sockets will operate just fine until they don't - higher quality NEMA sockets will operate for longer and they are not expected to eventually fail, which can not be said of the non-commerical sockets in this application.

I have no expectations that swapping out the NEMA sockets will resolve the red-fault-light - but the NEMA socket will be more suitable for the Porsche EVSE's or alternative EVSE operation long term.

the history with Porsche EVSE's is that the are temperamental and somethings can not be satisfied with a perfect good installation. Some taycan owners were never able to satisfy the the Porsche EVSE's even after repeated testing/dianostics of their Electrical circuit. The eventual solution was typically a non-Porsche EVSE that then typically worked flawlessly with no issues.

YMMV my $0.02

 

[lukine]

NOTE: this is not necessarily a problem with the socket - in fact replacing the socket may or may not "fix" the issue - the NEMA socket is a "correctness" thing but rarely a functional problem - I have zero expectations that replacing the NEMA socket will change anything in terms of charge/no-charge or red-light faults

however the proper NEMA socket is recommended/required for long term operation of any EVSE - inappropriate sockets do not fail right away - rather they fatigue over time and gradually degrade under the heavy use imposed by EVSE's (thermal stress induced failure due to repeated cycles of heating up and cooling down - leading to "softening" of the plastics and eventual failure due to repeated daily heat/cool cycles) - this leads to eventual failure as the socket becomes less and less suitable for operating in high-current conditions as it degrades due to thermal stress imposed by an EVSE - and in particular the high operating temperatures of the Porsche EVSE's - so the recommendation for the correct NEMA socket is a robustness and lonvgevity issue - but not a functional issue in terms of EVSE operation. Cheap/normal NEMA sockets will operate just fine until they don't - higher quality NEMA sockets will operate for longer and they are not expected to eventually fail, which can not be said of the non-commerical sockets in this application.

I have no expectations that swapping out the NEMA sockets will resolve the red-fault-light - but the NEMA socket will be more suitable for the Porsche EVSE's or alternative EVSE operation long term.

the history with Porsche EVSE's is that the are temperamental and somethings can not be satisfied with a perfect good installation.

YMMV my $0.02

This makes sense, thank you for the detailed explanation. I was also thinking they can confirm that the line is grounded, to eliminate that possibility. And if it happens to be ungrounded, perhaps that would fix the red lights flashing. But I totally want to make sure I get the proper NEMA socket installed for longevity and peace of mind without worrying about degradation or operation failures. If after all the checks are done and the lights still flashes, then at least I did all I could and accept that it’s just Porsche’s mobile charger that’s temperamental and I either need to learn to live with it or swap it out for a different one. Which EVSE charger do you use? I read that the Chargepoint Flex is good, but can I still set departure time to optimize charging the same way as in the Porsche connect app? Would I still use the Porsche connect app to set charging threshold or I can do it on the Chargepoint flex app?

 

[daveo4EV]

This makes sense, thank you for the detailed explanation. I was also thinking they can confirm that the line is grounded, to eliminate that possibility. And if it happens to be ungrounded, perhaps that would fix the red lights flashing. But I totally want to make sure I get the proper NEMA socket installed for longevity and peace of mind without worrying about degradation or operation failures. If after all the checks are done and the lights still flashes, then at least I did all I could and accept that it’s just Porsche’s mobile charger that’s temperamental and I either need to learn to live with it or swap it out for a different one. Which EVSE charger do you use? I read that the Chargepoint Flex is good, but can I still set departure time to optimize charging the same way as in the Porsche connect app? Would I still use the Porsche connect app to set charging threshold or I can do it on the Chargepoint flex app?

this very well could be a grounding problem - I wish you luck (honestly) - being an engineer I like finding "root problem cause" and then "fixing" it - it's always quite satisfying to actually find/fix the problem…I wish you luck in finding it's a grounding issue and then fixing/changing the ground would resolve the issue - that would be best outcome (cause it's an actual fix).

all charging is controled by the vehicle - not the Porsche charger (EVSE) - so if you swap EVSE's there is no change in how you control the vehicle's charging - since it was never the EVSE in the first place. Some advanced EVSE's offer their own charge scheduling and what not - but that is not their main role.

an EVSE is actually a gloried extension cable with an on/off switch for safety - they are not smart - all charging is controlled by the vehicle which is why it doesn't matter what EVSE you use to charge your EV.

post #5 has the list of EVSE's that most Taycan owners have migrated to if/when they choose to swap Porsche for something else…

https://www.macanevowners.com/forum/threads/mobile-charger-red-lights.20475/#post-310208

any of those choices are excellent and expected to operate flawlessly with any EV - including VW/Audi/Porsche.

 

[cogtooth]

The electrician who installed the NEMA 14-50 when my 2 year old house was built not only used a cheap outlet, but only put in on a 30 amp breaker. It was very easy to switch to a Hubbell outlet and a 50 amp breaker after confirming that wiring was 6 gauge. The Hubbell is way heftier than the original cheap one and definitely feels much safer to use.

 

[W1NGE]

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?

Not an expert on US electrical supplies - was hoping to get the AMP output that is coming from the socket - I can see that it is rated to 50A. If that's what you're getting then low power (red light) was what I was thinking but if getting 50A then not but if 6A or less then potentially that's your issue.

Grounding - you'd have to get that checked by a qualified sparky. I have the PMCC and it indicates whether grounding is in place or not.

 

[cogtooth]

You could open up the outlet after flipping the breaker and check if all the wires are correctly tightened. Loose wires will cause a poor connection. The reason behind the recommendations for an ev outlet is that the wires can be more thoroughly tightened. I think this is your outlet:

https://leviton.com/products/1279-s50

 

[ColdCase]

Outlets are rated for xx amps intermittently (like a welder) or continuous.(like a EV) .
The heat created by poor connection either in the contact blades or wire lugs when a xx amp EV is plugged into an intermittent xx rated outlet can damage the outlet over time.

For years electricians have been thinking welder applications for garage outlets. It was not easy to tell the difference until relatively recently with EV labling.

Industrial grade does not mean it supports continuous xx amps, just that it is more durable (plugging and unplugging).

The grounding testers check for continuity between Neutral and ground. Sometimes you find that the ground wire is not run to the outlet box. So its not as easily to check safely.

 

[lukine]

So the electrician came today and swapped the socket to an EV rated Leviton socket. He mentioned the wiring doesn’t look loose for the ground wire. After he finished swapping it out. I tested it by plugging it into the car, and the red blinking lights are gone.

I was glad to see no red lights but I forgot to ask if he tested that it was grounded. My guess is that he made sure it was grounded since that was my concern and now that I know we have the proper EV rated socket, I have peace of mind that it is safe now.

@BruceS2 perhaps you can use my case to help fix yours.

Thank you all for all your comments and help troubleshooting the matter.

 

[BruceS2]

Thanks for the comments about the socket. I do note that the red lights only happened with 100% charging...at 50%, no problem. So the higher current is the trigger for the issue I think.

 

[lukine]

Mine happened when it was at 50% as well. The weird thing is that the first time I plugged it in after electrician came, no red lights. But second time, red light flash came back. Then I removed plug from the car and plugged it back in, no red lights. So now I’m confused lol

 

[daveo4EV]

Mine happened when it was at 50% as well. The weird thing is that the first time I plugged it in after electrician came, no red lights. But second time, red light flash came back. Then I removed plug from the car and plugged it back in, no red lights. So now I’m confused lol

Porsche charger is temperamental.

 

[lukine]

Porsche charger is temperamental.

Yea, I now am wondering if it’s defective or they’re all just like this. This morning I woke up and charger lights all lit red, had to unplug for 60 secs to reset it before it would unfreeze. According to the manual, the operator control unit has a technical fault. But my Porsche service centre said there was nothing wrong with the charger or the car. Frankly speaking, I love the way it drives, but the car’s software is buggy. I’ve had issues like the radio’s sound all of a sudden is distorted and it sounds awful. Another issue that happened while I was reversing, the car automatically changed gears back to park, then I put it back on reverse and as I start to back up, it changed gear to park again. It did it several times, and I turned the car off and started it back up. I think that fixed it. Sometimes even though I press the P to put it on park, it doesn’t register and I have to press it again. Now I have to be careful not to let go of the brakes until I see that red P lit. Then there is the car play connecting and suddenly it disconnects and reconnects. Sometimes it doesn’t reconnect and I have to shut the car off and restart it before it would connect again. Trying to connect through device manager doesn’t always work.
Now the electrician that came to swap the socket is charging labour again of $230 and another $116 for the material. I feel like I’m getting ripped off

 

[W1NGE]

Yea, I now am wondering if it’s defective or they’re all just like this. This morning I woke up and charger lights all lit red, had to unplug for 60 secs to reset it before it would unfreeze. According to the manual, the operator control unit has a technical fault. But my Porsche service centre said there was nothing wrong with the charger or the car. Frankly speaking, I love the way it drives, but the car’s software is buggy. I’ve had issues like the radio’s sound all of a sudden is distorted and it sounds awful. Another issue that happened while I was reversing, the car automatically changed gears back to park, then I put it back on reverse and as I start to back up, it changed gear to park again. It did it several times, and I turned the car off and started it back up. I think that fixed it. Sometimes even though I press the P to put it on park, it doesn’t register and I have to press it again. Now I have to be careful not to let go of the brakes until I see that red P lit. Then there is the car play connecting and suddenly it disconnects and reconnects. Sometimes it doesn’t reconnect and I have to shut the car off and restart it before it would connect again. Trying to connect through device manager doesn’t always work.
Now the electrician that came to swap the socket is charging labour again of $230 and another $116 for the material. I feel like I’m getting ripped off

Check your electrical supply and outlet - earthing might be an issue too - looks like that's what you have in progress and hopefully resolves the issue.

 

[daveo4EV]

my money is on Porsche EVSE - the North American versions just continuously has problems - many many many Taycan owners gave up on Porsche EVSE's and moved onto any of many excellent high quality alternatives.

the Porsche unit offers no advantages and many downsides…cut your loses and move on.

Sponsored