Having trouble charging my 2016 Fusion Energi

[Hudson41]

I bought a 2016 fusion energi and it charged fine for a year or so. Then, every once in a while I would get the flashing plug, but it still charged. I'm using the AH regular 110v charger. Then it for the steady triangle light and would stop charging. I was told to put it on a dedicated outlet with a 20amp breaker, so i did that, but it still gets the lights in about 10-20 minutes.

 

Today I took it to my parent's house (much newer) today and plugged it in. It took about an hour to get the blinking plug and another hour to get the steady triangle light. Again, not sure if that matters, but i figure you guys would know better than I would. 

 

Also, the plug gets hot on the charger. Like burn your finger hot, but not as hot while plugged in at my folk's house. 

 

So, that's pretty much where I'm at. My questions are...

 

Is this a car issue, house wiring, or charger issue?

 

I read in one post somewhere that one guy set up a dedicated ground for the outlet and that stopped his similar charging issues. Anyone try this?

 

Is there a different charger people are buying that doesn't have these issues, if it's the charger? 

 

I saw there was a charger recall for 2015 chargers, but that only went to AF and my charger is AH. It still gets super hot. Any newer info on this that would cover me?

 

If it's a charger issue, is that covered under the 8 year 100,000 mile electric car thing? 

 

Any other thoughts or info that might help me be able to charge my car again? 

 

Thanks!

 

Eric

[murphy]

The plug should not get hot.  That is an indication of loose wires connected to the receptacle.  It was probably wired using the stab holes in the receptacle instead of clamping the wires under the screw head.

Since the receptacle is now permanently damaged by the heat, replace it with a quality receptacle and make sure the wires are firmly clamped.  Do NOT use the stab holes if the receptacle has them.  They work fine for table lamps but not for a 12 ampere continuous load.

[Hudson41]

19 hours ago, murphy said:

The plug should not get hot.  That is an indication of loose wires connected to the receptacle.  It was probably wired using the stab holes in the receptacle instead of clamping the wires under the screw head.

Since the receptacle is now permanently damaged by the heat, replace it with a quality receptacle and make sure the wires are firmly clamped.  Do NOT use the stab holes if the receptacle has them.  They work fine for table lamps but not for a 12 ampere continuous load.

Thanks for the response! My friend that installed the dedicated outlet is a licenced electrician and we talked about that before he installed it. He used the screws on the sides, not stab holes.  

Edited July 31, 2021 by Hudson41

[Hudson41]

I was reading other topics and they said that maybe it was a cheap outlet. I bought one of these outdoor kits from Lowe's. Could a cheap outlet be the issue? 

 

I also notices that the little light on the outlet isn't green. It's green on every other outlet like this in my house. Could that be a tell of the problem? 

 

Again, thank you for your help and advice!

[murphy]

That is a GFCI outlet.  If the green light is not on either there is no feed to the outlet or it needs to be reset.  Push the larger button.

[Hudson41]

3 hours ago, murphy said:

That is a GFCI outlet.  If the green light is not on either there is no feed to the outlet or it needs to be reset.  Push the larger button.

It is pushed in. The reader says all is correct and the light still isn't on. Thoughts?

[murphy]

This could be the other type.  Push the little button (test) and verify the Sperry lights go out.

If the light turns on red it was designed to indicate tripped instead of ready to go.

Push the big button and verify the red light goes out and the Sperry lights come back on.

 

[Hudson41]

2 hours ago, murphy said:

This could be the other type.  Push the little button (test) and verify the Sperry lights go out.

If the light turns on red it was designed to indicate tripped instead of ready to go.

Push the big button and verify the red light goes out and the Sperry lights come back on.

 

Thank you!!

 

I pushed test and the lights went out. I looked closer to the outlet and it says "Replace GFCI if red light flashes". So, I guess not seeing the light means it's ok.

 

Which brings me back to why is my charger heating up and showing the flashing red plug, the steady red triangle, and not charging my car? 

 

The screws are being used on it.

 

It is a gfci outlet. 

 

The outlet seems good. 

 

Do you think I need to get a more expensive outlet? 

 

Or buy a new charger? 3rd party?

 

What would my next trouble shooting steps be from here? 

 

 

[Hudson41]

Ok, so I went and bought this. $21 at Lowe's. 20A 125v GFCI. Do the wires still go in on the screw on the outside, even though it would be touching that little plastic piece holding the screw straight? or in the hole on this one since the wire going on these holes actually get clamped down by the screw? 

[murphy]

The wire goes into the hole on this type of outlet.  There should be a guide in the plastic on the back to indicate the length of the bare wire.  Loosen the screw all of the way before inserting the wire to guarantee it ends up between the clamping jaws.  Once it is clamped it should be impossible to pull the wire back out.

 

[Hudson41]

43 minutes ago, murphy said:

The wire goes into the hole on this type of outlet.  There should be a guide in the plastic on the back to indicate the length of the bare wire.  Loosen the screw all of the way before inserting the wire to guarantee it ends up between the clamping jaws.  Once it is clamped it should be impossible to pull the wire back out.

 

Great! Thank you! I'll put it in this evening and hopefully this will fix the charging problem. I really appreciate the help!

[Hudson41]

Swapped the outlets, tested it. Two yellow lights on the tester. The flashing red outlet on the charger came on at about an hour and the charging stopped. The plug from the charger was warm too. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Any truth in the "designated ground" for the outlet helping?

[murphy]

54 minutes ago, Hudson41 said:

Swapped the outlets, tested it. Two yellow lights on the tester. The flashing red outlet on the charger came on at about an hour and the charging stopped. The plug from the charger was warm too. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Any truth in the "designated ground" for the outlet helping?

The earth ground in a properly wired circuit does not carry any current.  Some EVSEs will not work if the earth ground is not connected.

A GFCI compares the current in the hot wire and the neutral.  If they are not the same the GFCI will trip on the assumption that the mismatch is being caused by a person in contact with the hot wire.

 

We are now at the point where the source of the heat may be in the EVSE plug.  The EVSE that came with my 2013 Energi was recalled because it did not have a way to detect heat buildup in the plug.

Are the prongs on the plug clean and parallel?

 

Do you know anyone that owns a PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle).  Manufacturer does not matter, they are all the same.  If their EVSE works with your car at your house it means the problem is in your EVSE.

 

Take it to your dealer and have them charge the car using your EVSE and with their EVSE.  If they are an electric certified dealer they are required to have one or two EVSEs.

[Hudson41]

16 hours ago, murphy said:

Are the prongs on the plug clean and parallel?

 

Do you know anyone that owns a PHEV (Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicle) or a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle). 

 

Take it to your dealer and have them charge the car using your EVSE and with their EVSE.  If they are an electric certified dealer they are required to have one or two EVSEs.

The prongs are parallel, but definitely not clean.  This looks to have damage from overheating. Would cleaning these fix my issue? Worth checking?

 

My neighbor has a plug in, but it's hardwired. I'll try and find one, test it at my house, and then talk to the dealer. 

 

Thank you!

Edited August 2, 2021 by Hudson41

[Hudson41]

I cleaned the plug up really well and am testing it. It's been on without red lights for a little over an hour, but the plug is pretty warm. 

[Hudson41]

It took about 3 hours, but the plug got hot and the lights turned on. The prongs were hot enough to burn your fingers. 

 

Next step is to try a different charger.

[Hudson41]

I couldn't find a charger to borrow, but i did charge the car at a charge point station and it charged all the way up just fine. 

 

So, i bought a charger with adjustable current draw. It goes as low as 6a. Hopefully that will keep things cool and working. 

 

I know I bought the $21 outlet, but i did put the dirty plug in it and it has heated up twice. Do you think I should replace it before plugging in my new charger? 

[Hudson41]

Figured I'd update. Got the new charger and have been running it over night at 6 amps without any heating problems at all. It actually charged to the full 21 miles, which was more that the c max charger when it was working. Happy camper here. 

[MeeLee]

Just read this thread.
Sometimes older homes have aluminum wires instead of copper wires installed (especially homes built in the 1970s).
These power wires can only handle about 12.5 amps at 120V (or 1.5kWh).
Sometimes people don't know, and change their fuses to 15A or 20A fuses, as they usually fit, but which are only acceptable for copper wires (1.8-2.4 kW).
This is burst charge. Sustained you'd have to multiply it by 80%, or roughly 1500W for 15A fuses, and ~1900W for the 20A fuses.

 

It's important to use an L2 charger if you have something on that same power line (like a water heater or other).
L2 chargers only use between 6 to 8 amps per line, where as L1 chargers uses 15-16Amps for charging.
L1 charging is recommended though. If the software allowed you to draw no more than say, 10-12A for charging, it would have been ideal.
The slower charging is more efficient, and will DEcrease the charging time by only a few hours.
Since most people keep their car parked anywhere between 8-10 hours per day, it's more than sufficient to charge the car overnight.

Edited September 5, 2021 by MeeLee

[Hudson41]

On 8/21/2021 at 5:56 PM, MeeLee said:

Just read this thread.
Sometimes older homes have aluminum wires instead of copper wires installed (especially homes built in the 1970s).
These power wires can only handle about 12.5 amps at 120V (or 1.5kWh).
Sometimes people don't know, and change their fuses to 15A or 20A fuses, as they usually fit, but which are only acceptable for copper wires (1.8-2.4 kW).
This is burst charge. Sustained you'd have to multiply it by 80%, or roughly 1500W for 15A fuses, and ~1900W for the 20A fuses.

 

It's important to use an L2 charger if you have something on that same power line (like a water heater or other).
L2 chargers only use between 6 to 8 amps per line, where as L1 chargers uses 15-16Amps for charging.
L1 charging is recommended though. If the software allowed you to draw no more than say, 10-12A for charging, it would have been ideal.
The slower charging is more efficient, and will increase the charging time by only a few hours.
Since most people keep their car parked anywhere between 8-10 hours per day, it's more than sufficient to charge the car overnight.

Thank you for the reply. Makes sense. Very much appreciated!!

[JWW]

On 8/20/2021 at 6:39 PM, Hudson41 said:

Figured I'd update. Got the new charger and have been running it over night at 6 amps without any heating problems at all. It actually charged to the full 21 miles, which was more that the c max charger when it was working. Happy camper here. 

 

Which charger did you end up getting?  I have this same issue.  FYI, it happens no matter where I plug it in to charge (home/work/other).