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"Charging Problem" error message, unable to charge

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ecarfan

Well-Known Member
Moderator
New problem with my 1.5: starting last night, when it started to charge as scheduled from my HPC, charging stopped and the VDS showed a "Charging Problem" error message, that message went away and a second message appears "Powertrain Problem, Service Required".

I unplugged the charging cable from the car, opened and closed the charge port door 5 times, tried again to charge, same error messages. Car otherwise operates normally, I can turn it on and drive it.

Just to make sure the problem was not related to the HPC (though I was sure it wasn't) I tried to charge on 120V using the yellow charging cable, same error messages, wouldn't charge. My HPC and my 120V outlet in my garage are on different circuits.

Anything else to try before I take the car to my local service center tomorrow morning?

Fortunately my service center is only 10 miles away. I have just 35 miles or range left, and that is in Range Mode. I went for a long drive yesterday and haven't been able to get the car to charge since then.

Thanks.
 
Did you drive your vehicle in rain or did the underside get wet? Have seen this issue after my roadster was washed. I let the car sit for a while and whatever got wet dried out and was able to charge. Hopefully this is your issue. Good luck!
 
Did you drive your vehicle in rain or did the underside get wet? Have seen this issue after my roadster was washed.
Thanks for your suggestion. The car was driven 82 miles yesterday in dry conditions, no rain. It was parked overnight in my garage. The charging issue has now persisted over 18 hours since it has been in my garage. I don't think it is a moisture-related issue, unfortunately.
Good luck. Let us know what they find out. When something similar happened to us, it ended up being a PEM issue that they replaced.
That would be one of the worst possible explanations. I want to spend my spare cash on a new 3.0 battery, not a PEM replacement!
 
I'm in the same boat.. Got errors 283, 287 and 1084 after parking for 14 hours in a rainstorm. That was yesterday. Now still unable to charge... I just finished removing and cleaning the 400V controller in front, cleaning the grounds, still no luck. Just taking a coffee before removing the PEM and check what my eye can find there..

- - - Updated - - -

I did have problems with the interior fans lately. They stopped working and then kicked in usually after a bump. If that happens you have 30 seconds before the heater starts smelling, so that one is still working fine then. Also the HVAC is working fine or there would be other errors. Not sure if it's related, a bad contact causing all this? I'm not ready yet to dive into the dash...
 
My Roadster is now at the Burlingame, California, Service Center. Battery is at 23% according to the OVMS. The service manager told me that they can charge the car through a "service port" even though I can't charge it from my power sources at home. Is that correct?

I can tell from the OVMS text alerts that they have already attempted to charge it and it won't charge. Sure hope they can get it charging soon.
 
Cleaning my PEM and motor & checking all connectors didn't help nor revealed any signs of water intrusion.

My Roadster is now at the Burlingame, California, Service Center. Battery is at 23% according to the OVMS. The service manager told me that they can charge the car through a "service port" even though I can't charge it from my power sources at home. Is that correct?

I can tell from the OVMS text alerts that they have already attempted to charge it and it won't charge. Sure hope they can get it charging soon.

Keeping the SOC on an acceptable level is now my worry as well.. Still 230km on Std range for now. But if I want to get a replacement car from the road assistance, I need to be at least 50km from my home when I call them. Stupid rule...
So tomorrow morning I'll do my usual 105km commute to the office. The drive could heat/dry some parts and maybe it'll charge normally when I arrive.. Wishful thinking :)
If not, then I'm at least far enough from home and only 5km from the SC..

My last attempt now is letting it sit in the garage with 2 electrical heaters bringing ambient temp to over 30°C for a few hours..
 
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Just heard from my service center, good news, PEM replacement not needed, the problem was traced to two blown fuses in the PEM, they are going to replace them and I will get my Roadster back tomorrow.

Really great service! I took the car in this morning at 8AM, obviously did not have an appointment, they made the time to investigate and diagnose the problem the same day and get the car back to me the next day!
 
Just heard from my service center, good news, PEM replacement not needed, the problem was traced to two blown fuses in the PEM, they are going to replace them and I will get my Roadster back tomorrow.

Really great service! I took the car in this morning at 8AM, obviously did not have an appointment, they made the time to investigate and diagnose the problem the same day and get the car back to me the next day!

That's good news... PEMs are expensive.

We're on our 2nd replacement (2nd one after our 2nd annual service this past September). My wife and I have talked about creating a "PEM Reserve" to protect from future issues.
 
Just heard from my service center, good news, PEM replacement not needed, the problem was traced to two blown fuses in the PEM, they are going to replace them and I will get my Roadster back tomorrow.

Really great service! I took the car in this morning at 8AM, obviously did not have an appointment, they made the time to investigate and diagnose the problem the same day and get the car back to me the next day!

Did they tell you which fuses they were? There are six fuses under the access cover (at least on a 2.x). Probably the two main fuses.
 
Did they tell you which fuses they were? There are six fuses under the access cover (at least on a 2.x). Probably the two main fuses.

Please share more info about those fuses. Maybe we should start a "Where are the fuses" topic, honestly.

I found a hidden 30A fuse on a black cable, just next to the 400V Eberspächer controller, under the hood.
Then another one hidden at the right side of the PEM, just next to the APS 12V connector. In the picture below, it's the most left little black box.

attachment.php?attachmentid=87915&d=1437313468.jpg



Then inside the PEM, you have 4 fuses in the "cable room":
  • the 2 fuses for the 2 fan controllers(?) - yellow in the picture below
  • 2 round grey fuses for ??? - located just next to the yellow fuses
attachment.php?attachmentid=87918&d=1437313584.jpg
 
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Please share more info about those fuses. Maybe we should start a "Where are the fuses" topic, honestly.

I found a hidden 30A fuse on a black cable, just next to the 400V Eberspächer controller, under the hood.
Then another one hidden at the right side of the PEM, just next to the APS 12V connector. In the picture below, it's the most left little black box.

Then inside the PEM, you have 4 fuses in the "cable room":
  • the 2 fuses for the 2 fan controllers(?) - yellow in the picture below
  • 2 round grey fuses for ??? - located just next to the yellow fuses

Under the PEM access cover (the "cable room") you found 4 fuses. There are 2 more. These are the 2 that @ecarfan had replaced and they are on the charging cable. They are under the black chokes on the B+ and B- cables. The US Roadsters don't have those chokes. You are correct the yellow fuses are for the rear fans. The cylindrical grey fuse holders are for the battery coolant heater.
 
Under the PEM access cover (the "cable room") you found 4 fuses. There are 2 more. These are the 2 that @ecarfan had replaced and they are on the charging cable. They are under the black chokes on the B+ and B- cables. The US Roadsters don't have those chokes. You are correct the yellow fuses are for the rear fans. The cylindrical grey fuse holders are for the battery coolant heater.

I'm con-FUSE-d here!! :)

"The 2 fuses that @ecarfan had replaced, are under the chockes on the B+ and B- cables."

Can you tell me where exactly? Under the chockes located in the "cable room" (arrows picture 1), there's nothing but 2 cables. You can see the cables free on the 2nd picture. Or do you mean the ones outside the PEM (green arrows second picture)?

24163942354_8262e72daa_c.jpg


24765867086_a7f16fcc2b_c.jpg
 
I'm con-FUSE-d here!! :)

"The 2 fuses that @ecarfan had replaced, are under the chockes on the B+ and B- cables."

Can you tell me where exactly? Under the chockes located in the "cable room" (arrows picture 1), there's nothing but 2 cables. You can see the cables free on the 2nd picture. Or do you mean the ones outside the PEM (green arrows second picture)?

View attachment 110165

View attachment 110164

What ernst said. In your second picture you can see two large fuses bolted in the bottom of the cable room. Actually you can see one of them pretty well and the other has an orange wire crossing it. They are also shown on the wiring diagram printed on the card that flips up when you open the access cover.