Rolec car charger problems

jimmyging

Hi all

I'm having problems with rolec car charger which seems to have a loose connection .When I plug in lead from the ev I have to jiggle it around to get the click sound from the charger and for it to start charging.It has now begun to stop mid charging session which is very frustrating .I find if I dont get that click that it doesnt engage and start charging .Has anyone else had this issue (it was installed in 2019 so no warranty ).I would love to hear your thoughts .

...Ghost...

Have you tried any other Level 1 charge point to see if you have the same problem? It is most likely the rolec, but could also be an issue with the car.

zg3409

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058250333/rolec-car-charger-problems

Is it a tethered cable? You can get replacement cables and if competent replace cable but better to get electrician. Do you have granny charger to try that to see if it works?

handpref

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058250333/rolec-car-charger-problems

Is is tethered or untethered?

if untethered have you tried the cable you use with the Rolec on another charger ?

Have you checked all the connections inside the Rolec ? All the terminals are accessible-

UID0

The click is the contactor engaging, which will only happen when the EVSE has detected that the car is attached and ready to accept power. The issue can be with the connector on the charge point, the cable, the car or the charge point controller. To narrow it down, try the car on a different charge point, a different car on your charge point and a different cable. Given you have to jiggle it around to get it to start charging, I would expect that it is either the port on the charge point or the cable, so getting someone else to try with their cable should tell you which it is.

jimmyging

thanks everyone ,

It is untethered and I have tried the cable on another charger and it worked fine so it must be the rolec charge point itself .I can take off the 6 screws and have a look for loose connection would probably be the next best step i'm thinking

handpref

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119208446#Comment_119208446

Sounds like a plan, knock her off at the mains and have a look-

When you jiggle it around it’s the cable end that’s in the charger your holding ? If you plug it in and just leave it will it start ? As UIDO said it can take a little time for the communication between the car and the charger to kick in -

When you open the charger there will be two half’s, the connector you plug into and the wires linking back to the contactor and control circuit. If it’s been in 3 years everything is due a good tightening and a check, look for blackening or evidence of heat or arcing on the terminals and rcbo on the top -

You could have a loose connection and an issue with say the rcbo which is letting go after a while giving you the stalled charge - fear not, any individual part inside is readily available and serviceable.

slave1

Why is a 2019 install not under warranty? Check your consumer rights if charge point faulty, ignore silly “12 month guarantee” nonsense, your rights extend way beyond that.

jimmyging

ok ,so i took off the screws and had a look under the panel and there seems to be a scorch mark on the right hand side of the rcbo .I'm guessing with my limited knowledge that replacing this might make a difference so I am going to make a trip to my local electical wholesalers tomorrow with photo to see if I can get this part .many thanks for all your suggestions thus far

CoBo55

The blue cable at the bottom of the contactor looks to have come out of its connector, have you tried loosening the screw and pushing it back up and re-tightening the screw? I'd do that first before doing anything else.

...Ghost...

The RCBO needs replacing even if the blue wire is loose. Very common problem. I changed mine a couple of months ago. Ordered replacement from Rolec to keep the switch out as simple as possible. Cost around €50. Make sure when putting the new one in, you get it proper tight. The cables need to be held in very securely. I thought mine were tight, but had problems a few days later and once I got the screws tight, I haven't had an issue since.

Black_Knight

Almost feels like anyone with a rolec charger should be opening it up once or twice a year to check for scorch marks. Like an annual service.

handpref

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119222429#Comment_119222429

Totally agree, I have over 300,000km’s of electric charging through my Rolec here, any machine with old school contactors and switch gear should be getting an annual maintenance, I’d do the same on my heat pumps here and the main board- 7kw’s for 7-8hrs a night is a considerable load and a machine working that hard should be well maintained. The constant vibration of the contactor coil will eventually loosen the tightest of contacts, seen that on hundreds of machines over the years.

...Ghost...

Except it doesn’t pull 7kW per hour every night for 7-8 hours. At worst, it would have a 30kWh Leaf plugged in to draw power for 4-5 hours if completely empty.

Rolec made a shoddy product. They know it aswell as everyone else. You could see how embarrassing it was for them when Artisan Electrics spoke to them at the Fully Charged Live show this year.

There is simply no other brand which has consistently failed on so many levels. Their product is not for purpose as has been shown for several years on many forums and channels.

My Rolec needed the RCBO replaced this year. The CP gets used most nights, is well looked after and is nearly always in the shade, bar a few minutes of low sun exposure in the summer when the sun is setting.

In contrast, I ordered a no brand 32A charger from Ebay for my inlaws soon after Inhad my Rolec installed. It has never skipped a beat despite charging a 24 and 30 Leaf every day. It was €200 cheaper than the Rolec.

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119223129#Comment_119223129

€200 cheaper than a rolec? That's bloody cheap, or you overpaid for the rolec.

Our rolec typically runs for 8-9 hours when we charge. 77kWh id4 from low to 80% will do that. Granted it's not every night. I've a meter on my rolec (paid extra) and from that I've put 5300kWh through it in a bit over 3 years.

Not defending them though. I'd never buy one again

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119223685#Comment_119223685

I'll never buy a Rolec again either. The vast majority of Rolec owners are charging batteries of 30kWh or smaller. Regardless, the charger shouldn't be clocking out after a couple of years when it is only being used for its intended purpose. The sheer number of complaints is ridiculous. It's overpriced junk and they they it long before we did. I would never have bought from them had I known there were so many issues with them...and I am one of the lucky ones so far.

I paid €550 for the dual home charger from rolec. It's tethered and has a 3 pin socket built-in. It was only about €50 more than the standard tethered one. Gave us an extra outdoor socket and meant we could granny charge one Leaf and slow charge the other one at the same time. The CP would be drawing around 5kW per hour.

The unbranded CP was about €350 from Ebay. Has a digital display built-in. Very nice to look at and has never skipped a beat.

Black_Knight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119223994#Comment_119223994

Ah ok. I paid €440 for mine. Timer was £35 and got it in black for £10. At the time, I was looking for something around €400, but nothing much existed from my research.

jimmyging

Update

I bought a hager rcbo from my local electrical wholesaler(€25) and swapped it out and its back working again .Thank you all for your help on this again .

handpref

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119229351#Comment_119229351

Great result jimmyging- check the connections once a year and it should last you well, always nice to be able to open up a device and be able to change a specific part rather than bin the unit.

CoBo55

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119229351#Comment_119229351

Brilliant, well done, it's a great feeling when you do it yourself.

If only getting the network working on my EO mini was as easy.

andyr24

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058250333/rolec-car-charger-problems

Have the same problem with my rolec also installed in 2019. Was having issue with the handshake when plugging in car so swapped the type 2 cable which I had left on it for ease of use with the one in the boot of car seemed to solve the problem. However it now randomly trips out when charging which seems to be a fault which is common in these chargers.

jimmyging

I ended up switching both the rcbo and the connector which did the trick

g0g

Sorry for digging up an old thread but it saves creating a new one. Have a Rolec box (EVP32 used for 2015 Leaf with 6.6 charging) installed since 2017. Has a blue switch on the RCBO. Has served us well although the switch on the box used to trip periodically. It completely stopped working last week which looks to be a common problem and somehow related to the RCBO? The test button inside no longer does anything and it's dead when you flip the switch up on it. I'm comfortable tinkering with most come appliances but the big cable going into this yoke makes me nervous and I'm not 1,000,000% certain I've identified the right breaker thingy on fuse board.

Can anyone recommend an electrician in North Wicklow (or South Dublin) who specialises in EV stuff? I want to avoid having multiple visits and just find someone in the know who can show up with the part and fix the thing in one go!

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120205655#Comment_120205655

If replacing the rcbo yourself, just kill main power to the house while changing the part. Then check which breaker it is after you have it working again.