MG5 Instavolt charging problems.

Alton MG said:

Has anyone else had problems charging at Instavolt station? Have spent the last hour trying to charge at Banbury charging station. Tried four different chargers and assisted by Instavolt helpline but everyone stopped charging immediately after starting. The help person finally said it must be our car. Has this happened to anyone else?

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Yes. I experienced exactly the same problem with my 5LR at several different chargers in Dumfries (Scotland) in September last year. I’ve charged okay on the few occasions when I’ve been lucky enough to find a working Instavolt charger elsewhere that wasn’t being used by a DPD van

Happened to me on some of the new McDonalds chargers a while back, tried for a good half hour, going back and forward between the two, using the app or direct with a card; no luck, next time I used a week or so later they worked. I don't think I did anything different, apart from start the charge while the car was locked, and maybe a few other superstitous routines I've picked up.

Charged up at an instavolt on Friday, no issues at all and good charging speed.

gazoh01 said:

I don't think I did anything different, apart from start the charge while the car was locked

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That's exactly the thing to do. The car seems to only be able to start charging within a small window. Locking the doors then starting the charge seems pretty reliable.

I've used InstaVolt twice, never had any issues on my 5SR. Now, GeniePoint at Morrissons... don't get me started! In fact that's EXACTLY the problem... they never start!

Petriix said:

That's exactly the thing to do. The car seems to only be able to start charging within a small window. Locking the doors then starting the charge seems pretty reliable.

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Perhaps that’s usually the case, but it didn’t work for me.

Buchanty said:

Perhaps that’s usually the case, but it didn’t work for me.

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Sometimes it seems to get into a state where it won't accept charge. It happens at home occasionally where it just sits there saying 'connected, uncharged'. Unplugging, locking and walking away for a few minutes always fixes it. Instavolts usually work without issue but occasionally fail in you don't get the timing right. I have their RFID card (saves faffing with the app) which works well on all their older units.

I had one fail to negotiate then cause system fault which took 10mins or so of leaving the car locked to clear, it worked after that.

Going to start carrying a spanner to disconnect the 12v I think.
Might also see if it's possible to clear the fault with an OBD2 dongle. (Cheap code scanner didn't work as can't talk to car). My old bluetooth OBD2 can talk to the car but it's not supported on iOS

Alton MG said:

Has anyone else had problems charging at Instavolt station? Have spent the last hour trying to charge at Banbury charging station. Tried four different chargers and assisted by Instavolt helpline but everyone stopped charging immediately after starting. The help person finally said it must be our car. Has this happened to anyone else?

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The MG ZS EV does the same. Sometimes it charges no problem, other times it stops straight after starting or won’t connect.

Last week tried two instavolt chargers at two McDonald's and both failed with same issue with charge stopping immediately after it starts, drove to an EVPOINT charger worked first time! This is the reason why EV adoption is faltering, so much lack of confidence that you can A get a charger when you need it, B that it will work and C how long it can take, I love my MG5 but these issues are an ongoing concern.

I occasionally get this with Instavolt, particularly at my local hub where one of the connectors doesn't seem to like my car for some reason. Last time it happened some suggestions appeared on the screen, including locking the car after plugging in and then holding the connector up slightly to ensure it locks in. This worked so I try to do this every time now. Don't have this issue elsewhere though.

Rapid charging with the MG5 can bit sketchy if you don't lock the car first. I've also found once a charge fails, getting it going again can be a bit of a nightmare and might even need the car turning off for 10 mins before it'll charge correctly.

To avoid this, power off the car, connect the charger, then either lock the entire vehicle, OR tap the 'lock' button on the central display BEFORE starting charging.

Once charging is underway, you can turn the car on again to use the heater etc. whilst waiting.

NB: if you lock the entire car, charging will pause when you unlock it until locked again. If you intend sitting in the vehicle, I'd recommend just tapping the 'lock' button on the screen instead before starting charging to ensure no interruptions.

I've had failures with Instavolt, EVPoint and Ionity until I started ensuring everything was locked before charging. Now, I haven't had a single failed charge.

xblackwolf90 said:

Rapid charging with the MG5 can bit sketchy if you don't lock the car first. I've also found once a charge fails, getting it going again can be a bit of a nightmare and might even need the car turning off for 10 mins before it'll charge correctly.

To avoid this, power off the car, connect the charger, then either lock the entire vehicle, OR tap the 'lock' button on the central display BEFORE starting charging.

Once charging is underway, you can turn the car on again to use the heater etc. whilst waiting.

NB: if you lock the entire car, charging will pause when you unlock it until locked again. If you intend sitting in the vehicle, I'd recommend just tapping the 'lock' button on the screen instead before starting charging to ensure no interruptions.

I've had failures with Instavolt, EVPoint and Ionity until I started ensuring everything was locked before charging. Now, I haven't had a single failed charge.

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Sorry for my absolute ignorance "lock button on the screen" ?

philby123 said:

Sorry for my absolute ignorance "lock button on the screen" ?

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It's the one on the central display:



You'll immediately hear the charger lock, then you can start charging and power the car back on once started.

It's a bit of a fiddle getting out the car, plugging in, getting back in to lock, back out to start charging etc. But it does seem to work reliably.

xblackwolf90 said:

Rapid charging with the MG5 can bit sketchy if you don't lock the car first. I've also found once a charge fails, getting it going again can be a bit of a nightmare and might even need the car turning off for 10 mins before it'll charge correctly.

To avoid this, power off the car, connect the charger, then either lock the entire vehicle, OR tap the 'lock' button on the central display BEFORE starting charging.

Once charging is underway, you can turn the car on again to use the heater etc. whilst waiting.

NB: if you lock the entire car, charging will pause when you unlock it until locked again. If you intend sitting in the vehicle, I'd recommend just tapping the 'lock' button on the screen instead before starting charging to ensure no interruptions.

I've had failures with Instavolt, EVPoint and Ionity until I started ensuring everything was locked before charging. Now, I haven't had a single failed charge.

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Sorry for my absolute ignorance "lock button on the screen"

xblackwolf90 said:

It's the one on the central display:

View attachment 35315

You'll immediately hear the charger lock, then you can start charging and power the car back on once started.

It's a bit of a fiddle getting out the car, plugging in, getting back in to lock, back out to start charging etc. But it does seem to work reliably.

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My car is PFL so I don't think that's an option I have.

philby123 said:

Sorry for my absolute ignorance "lock button on the screen"

My car is PFL so I don't think that's an option I have.

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Ah that makes sense!

Lock the car before starting the charge and you might find the charging more reliable - the charger locks in when you lock the car.

Unlock when it's started and lock again when you get in to keep the charging going.

So when I spoke to Instavolt support, they told me that when using either the app or card you should pre authorise payment BEFORE you connect, tried this and it made no difference. So if I get you right, I should get out of the car, lock it, the pre authorise payment, then connect ?

philby123 said:

So when I spoke to Instavolt support, they told me that when using either the app or card you should pre authorise payment BEFORE you connect, tried this and it made no difference. So if I get you right, I should get out of the car, lock it, the pre authorise payment, then connect ?

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With each charging operator installing different hardware it can vary from charger to charger.

There's an EVPoint near work for me that needs you to pre-auth before the charging connector can be removed from the charging point itself, whereas Ionity Milton Keynes let's you plug in before you even start.

Ultimately, you want to lock the car as soon as you plug the charger in.

So, if you are using a charge point that needs you to scan your card or pre-auth before you can plug in, lock the car via the fob as soon as you plug the connector into the car and it should charge just fine. It takes a few seconds for the car and charger to handshake and get going, so locking as soon as you can seems to be the secret.

From my experience with these type of chargers:

1) Power off your car.
2) Open the charge port so you're ready.
3) Tap your RFID/payment card to release the charging connector
4) Plug the connector into your car.
5) Lock your car immediately on plugging in.
6) Wait for charging to start.

Once charging is underway you can unlocked and get back in, power on to enable heating etc.

Skip step 5 and it's a nightmare, with the charging stopping as soon as it starts. The charging point always indicates it's the car that's stopped the charge so operators can offer no help.

Once I've had a failed charge, no matter what I do there's no getting it going again. I have to turn the car off, lock it, leave it five mins then it's good to go.

Thanks for the advice, will test it out next week