Charging from Solar PV panels: iSmart software repeatedly resets Charging Settings and stops charging prematurely

[GadjoDave]

Equipment:

MG4 Trophy LR
3.8 kW solar panel array
Latest firmware, infotainment, and MGiSmart iPhone app versions*
MGiSmart Charging settings: Target Battery Level 100%. Scheduled Charging: Off. Scheduled Battery Heating: Off. All settings Saved.
Zappi tethered home charger with latest versions of firmware and MyEnergi iPhone app*
Tesla Powerwall v1 domestic battery with latest firmware*. 100% charged.
Octopus "Intelligent Octopus Go" tariff (cheap rate electricity 23:30 - 05:30)

* as of today (1/6/24)

When charging from solar panels using the Zappi's Eco+ mode*, the MG4 Trophy initially accepts the charge, supplemented by top-up from the Powerwall as required.
If there is inadequate current available (eg. sun gone behind a cloud, or increased domestic usage), charging would pause with the Zappi and MyEnergi app displaying the message "Waiting for Surplus". Then, when there was more output from the panels available, charging would resume automatically, and continue until the preset Target Battery level (eg. 100%) was reached.

*(The MyEnergi app is set to Eco+ mode with the "leaf" slider setting on 1% - ie. draw current from Powerwall or grid as required if solar panel output is insufficient),

This is the desired behaviour, and this is how my system worked until I got the most recent upgrade of MG firmware and MGiSmart iPhone app last week.

Since then, if the output from the solar panels dips transiently (eg. clouds moving across the sun; using electricity for domestic appliances such as boiling a kettle or using the electric stove), the MGiSmart app reports "Charging Completed", and the MyEnergi app reports "Charging Delayed" indicating that the MG is no longer accepting charge.

When the sun comes out again or the kettle has finished boiling, the MG subsequently refuses to resume charging, even though the charge in the battery is nowhere near the Target Battery Level, and any surplus electricity from the solar panels is diverted to be exported to the grid.

When I look at the Charging Settings on the MGiSmart App, it seems that they have spontaneously reset to: Scheduled Charging: On (Start time 22:00 End time: 06:00). Scheduled Battery Heating: On.
This is why the MG is not accepting charge, even when surplus is available.
I correct these settings and press Save again.
I then try to Start charging from the MGiSmart App.
The app sometimes requires me to re-enter my 4 digit PIN; sometimes not.
However it is unable to Start charging, and the message "Please Insert The Charging Plug" is displayed (despite the charging plug remaining inserted throughout).

The only way to resume charging from the solar panels is to physically get into the car and power it up.
I touch the "battery" graphic on the home screen, and go to Charging Settings where I find that these have all been reset to the same settings as the iSmart App (Scheduled Charging: On, Scheduled Battery Heating: On).
Again, I have to reset these to "Off" and Save them.
However, unlike the MGiSmart app, the MG firmware recognises that the charging cable is still connected.
I then have to press "Start charging" on the Charge Settings Screen, and charging resumes.

This sequence of events happens repeatedly when I am trying to charge the MG from my solar panels: basically every time the sun goes behind a cloud or a domestic appliance draws current for more than a minute or two.
Each time, I have to reset the charge settings on my iPhone app, then get into the car and boot up the software and reset the charge settings before charging will resume.

The fact that charging from the solar panels all worked fine until the latest MGiSmart App update; and that the MGiSmart Charging Settings ignore the saved values and keep resetting to "Scheduled Charging: On" every time there is a break in flow of current to the car during the charging cycle all seems to suggest that the cause is buggy software in the latest update of the MGiSmart App.

I'd be grateful for any shared experiences, advice or workarounds.

And if anyone from MG is reading this:
You have an potentially excellent EV which is being seriously let down by ongoing buggy and badly written software to the point which makes for an dreadful user experience.
I would currently hesitate to buy another MG or recommend MG to friends and colleagues.
A software fix is simple and cheap to implement. Get it sorted!

 

[Tig170]

I have something similar, my ohme charger was installed with its own consumer unit, so the house battery / solar system doesn't see the car (as the CT clamp for the ESS is only on the house circuit) - it works very well in that in the winter as get cheap overnight energy to charge the car. In the summer I just use a granny charger during the day. Its very rare that I export to the grid. My total electric bill for house & car (including standing charge), was £500 last year.

Edit: 3.8Kw (max?) solar, isn't really enough to support car charging, but it should still work if its also using the battery as a buffer. To be honest I've never touched the MG settings, as just let the ohme or granny charger take control

 

[GadjoDave]

I have something similar, my ohme charger was installed with its own consumer unit, so the house battery / solar system doesn't see the car (as the CT clamp for the ESS is only on the house circuit) - it works very well in that in the winter as get cheap overnight energy to charge the car. In the summer I just use a granny charger during the day. Its very rare that I export to the grid. My total electric bill for house & car (including standing charge), was £500 last year.

Edit: 3.8Kw (max?) solar, isn't really enough to support car charging, but it should still work if its also using the battery as a buffer. To be honest I've never touched the MG settings, as just let the ohme or granny charger take control

Thanks - yeah: I can granny charge during the day by taking power from a 13A socket and using available solar generation and/or Powerwall, but I get potentially faster charging (up to 5 kW/h) if I use the Zappi. I didn't fiddle with any settings: I just used to plug in and let the Zappi do its stuff in "Eco+" mode. Depending on sunlight, the MG4 would trickle charge at up to 3.8 Kw, supplemented by the Powerwall if the solar generation fell below the threshold of (?) 1.5 kW. If there were clouds, increased domestic demand, or the Powerwall ran low, the Zappi would just say "Waiting For Surplus", and the MG would continue to charge as soon as surplus was available again.
It all worked fine... until last week's MGiSmart upgrade. ...sigh...

 

[Tig170]

It all worked fine... until last week's MGiSmart upgrade. ...sigh...

I must have missed this update, and havn't charged much in recent weeks - anyway I'll have a look to see if Im having similar.

Edit: My current version is V2.0.2 - so will update and see if I get any issues

 

[Martinonline]

Did the problem occur after the MG update or after the iSmart update? I have always understood the app reflected the car's settings but that changing the app settings changed the car's settings. So is the car resetting first and the app is just reporting that? When it happens next time you could look in the car first before opening the app.

 

[GadjoDave]

Did the problem occur after the MG update or after the iSmart update? I have always understood the app reflected the car's settings but that changing the app settings changed the car's settings. So is the car resetting first and the app is just reporting that? When it happens next time you could look in the car first before opening the app.

Thanks for the helpful suggestion: I'll look in the car before opening the app. My next opportunity to try a solar charge will be tomorrow so I'll report back.
I've just got the car back from our local dealership, where it's been for 3 weeks following a problem where a "software glitch" made it spontaneously change from "D(rive)" mode to "R(everse)" when pulling away from traffic lights (described in detail in another thread). The repair involved updating the software in the Gateway, BCM and Selector. I updated the MGiSmart app to the latest version last week too.
For what it's worth, the information displayed by the app often seems to be out of sync with the actual status of the car, or the app doesn't work at all. I'm living in a rural location, but the domestic WiFi reaches the car and there's a good 4G signal...

 

[MickeySw]

The repair involved updating the software in the Gateway, BCM and Selector. I updated the MGiSmart app to the latest version last week too.
For what it's worth, the information displayed by the app often seems to be out of sync with the actual status of the car, or the app doesn't work at all. I'm living in a rural location, but the domestic WiFi reaches the car and there's a good 4G signal...

From my understanding the iSmart app in general is just displaying the car status, to make changes one needs to actively send a command via the app.
I’d be surprised if you were the only one using such a setup, therefore if the issue is caused by the app we would have heard about it right after a new version was released.
I gather therefore whatever they did to the car to fix the other issue seems to have created a new problem for you…

 

[Rolfe]

I have just finished my third shot at charging my car from my brand-new Zappi on sunshine, and the first time I have taken it to 100% on solar. My impression is that the car has done what it was supposed to do and resumed after any interruption, but it's been pretty sunny and interruptions have been few.

This morning I was about to leave the house at 9.30 (for a local appointment, by bicycle) and saw the system - which had been recharging the house battery then moving on to heat the water using the Eddi - was starting to export. So I plugged the car in, and it all happened automatically. Waiting for surplus - surplus - some clicks and clonks from the car - charging.

But this evening when the car got to 100%, instead of balancing for 35 minutes as it always does, it only balanced for ten minutes, then the MyEnergi app showed the car as being full and charging stopped. Out of curiosity I plugged in the granny lead to see what would happen, but it didn't resume balancing and I was absolutely unable to make it do it. Worth keeping an eye on that and ensuring that the car gets a proper chance to balance on mains power as often as necessary. (Mine balanced on a destination charger last Tuesday, so not worried.)

Having had a look at the graphs for the three days in question, I think the only time the car might have been interrupted due to insufficient surplus was during my first shot on Thursday. My impression is that it started again, but I can't be sure.

If simply plugging it in when there's surplus gets it to start charging spontaneously, why wouldn't it restart if surplus resumes and it's still plugged in? I don't get it. I also don't get why an update to the app would cause this behaviour.

 

[NLMGSAN]

From my understanding the iSmart app in general is just displaying the car status, to make changes one needs to actively send a command via the app.
I’d be surprised if you were the only one using such a setup, therefore if the issue is caused by the app we would have heard about it right after a new version was released.
I gather therefore whatever they did to the car to fix the other issue seems to have created a new problem for you…

There should be others with that setup. But I doubt it that they come in large numbers. And, you also should have an MG4 to suffer...

Something definitely changed with the new app.
When I got my car back after some updates, the next charge went up to 100% as apposed to my normal 90%. So I changed it back to 90%. The car than showed the same level.
After that, the app was dead for a couple of hours. Until it came alive with the new version. But it had decided the target level was now 80% (both car and app). Changed it again and I hope it stays that way.

Your situation is more interesting though. Before the update, what happened if the solar system does not deliver and your Tesla is empty?

 

[Tig170]

Now on V2.0.5., but everything is working as it should (and charges on either ESS via Granny, or Ohme). Is the Tesla powerwall system AC or DC coupled? my system is here (DC coupled, with seperate EV charging): VRM Portal - Victron Energy

 

[GadjoDave]

Now on V2.0.5., but everything is working as it should (and charges on either ESS via Granny, or Ohme). Is the Tesla powerwall system AC or DC coupled? my system is here (DC coupled, with seperate EV charging): VRM Portal - Victron Energy

Thanks. That's interesting:
When I navigate to Settings>Update on my MGiSmart app, it shows v2.0.4. When I click on update, a message at the bottom of the screen says "The current version is the latest version!" and doesn't offer an update to 2.0.5. , so I don't know how I can update to v2.0.5 unless I try uninstalling and reinstalling the app, but I'm reluctant to try this as I'll have to go through the tedious process of trying to link the app with the car again...
The app frequently loses synchronisation with the vehicle status showing charging data that is several hours old, repeated messages about security settings being activated or inactivated, and often "this service is not available". WiFi and 4G signals are good so I'm wondering if this is a problem with the MG server rather than the app?
Also the Clear Cache is showing 7.80 MB - I'm not sure if clearing the cache will help.
My Tesla Powerwall is the original version (2 years old), and is AC coupled: it takes AC input ie.: Solar panels 12 V DC -> Solar Panel inverter -> 230 V AC -> Powerwall

There should be others with that setup. But I doubt it that they come in large numbers. And, you also should have an MG4 to suffer...

Something definitely changed with the new app.
When I got my car back after some updates, the next charge went up to 100% as apposed to my normal 90%. So I changed it back to 90%. The car than showed the same level.
After that, the app was dead for a couple of hours. Until it came alive with the new version. But it had decided the target level was now 80% (both car and app). Changed it again and I hope it stays that way.

Your situation is more interesting though. Before the update, what happened if the solar system does not deliver and your Tesla is empty?

Thanks for your reply

>>Before the update, what happened if the solar system does not deliver and your Tesla is empty?

The Zappi would show a purple LED indicator and the message "Waiting for surplus" on the Zappi's LCD screen and MyEnergi app.
When solar panel output exceeded the minimum threshold required for charging (? >1.5 kW), after a 30s countdown and an RCD test with some clunking from the MG's relays, charging would resume automatically. The Zappi's LED indicator would change to flashing green and the LCD display and MyEnergi app would display "Charging" and the current power in kW.

No user intervention was required, I didn't need to use the MGiSmart app, and the system would continue to stop and resume charging automatically as required, depending on the level of generation and surplus from the PV panels.

When surplus solar is available and the Tesla is charged to <100%, the Tesla also wants to use solar generation to charge itself up to 100%. However if there is an attempt to charge the car in progress, the current settings on the Tesla and Zappi seem to allow the Zappi to take priority - ie. recharging the car takes priority over recharging the Powerwall - which is the desired behaviour.

There should be others with that setup. But I doubt it that they come in large numbers. And, you also should have an MG4 to suffer...

Something definitely changed with the new app.
When I got my car back after some updates, the next charge went up to 100% as apposed to my normal 90%. So I changed it back to 90%. The car than showed the same level.
After that, the app was dead for a couple of hours. Until it came alive with the new version. But it had decided the target level was now 80% (both car and app). Changed it again and I hope it stays that way.

Your situation is more interesting though. Before the update, what happened if the solar system does not deliver and your Tesla is empty?

Navigating from the home screen on the app using:
Battery icon> EV Management screen > "hex nut" icon (top right) > Charging Setting

Every time I use the app to change and Save the charging settings to:

Target Battery Level (eg. 100%); Scheduled Charging: Off and Scheduled Battery Heating: Off

The settings immediately reset to: Target Battery Level 80%; Scheduled Charging: On (22:00 to 06:00; Scheduled Battery Heating: On

So this refusal to Save the Charging Settings has got to be a basic software bug
The bug must be in the iSmart app; or else it's in the MG's new firmware, and the app is just echoing the settings from the car's firmware.

If the system keeps ignoring my saved settings and defaulting to Scheduled Charging 22:00-06:00, this would explain why the car will not accept a charge from the Zappi / PV panels during daylight hours, and why the Zappi is showing "Charge Delayed" (which usually means "the car won't accept the charge"); instead of "Waiting for Surplus" (which means "the car will accept the charge, but there's not enough at present being generated from the PV panels; however charging will resume once generation levels increase").

I think when the "Charged Delayed" condition occurs, the Zappi will continue to try to deliver charge to the car for a certain period of time; but after several minutes of being unable to get the car to accept any further charge, the Zappi gives up trying to send charge to the car, and the Zappi and MyEnergi app show "Charge Completed"

 

[Martinonline]

You do not need to rebind the car as it is linked to the account and deleting the app does not delete the account. Just login in with exactly the same credentials as you used when creating the account. I seem to remember that you need to update via the app store as the app thinks it is ok. But it may be different if you have an iPhone as the update has, in the past, come later than the android version.

 

[MickeySw]

I think when the "Charged Delayed" condition occurs, the Zappi will continue to try to deliver charge to the car for a certain period of time; but after several minutes of being unable to get the car to accept any further charge, the Zappi gives up trying to send charge to the car, and the Zappi and MyEnergi app show "Charge Completed"

Charge delayed simply means Zappi recognises that a schedule is set on the MG, you tried (unsuccessfully) to disable it via the app or the car.

All worked fine before you brought the MG to the garage, so that’s where I would start..

 

[NLMGSAN]

After the update to 2.03 the app is going crazy (Android). It changed my load percentage and there is a constant lack of connection with the servers. Even in the car it fails (some commands apparently go through server connections always). Most likely, it is the app playing tricks with you. But setting up a schedule? The time frame you mentioned is the default in the app.

 

[GadjoDave]

You do not need to rebind the car as it is linked to the account and deleting the app does not delete the account. Just login in with exactly the same credentials as you used when creating the account. I seem to remember that you need to update via the app store as the app thinks it is ok. But it may be different if you have an iPhone as the update has, in the past, come later than the android version.

Many thanks! The fact that v 2.0.4 did not recognise that an update to v 2.0.5 is available indicates that v 2.0.4 was buggy. I've just updated the iPhone app to v 2.0.5 from the App Store. As you said, it was easy: just download the latest version from the app store, no need to re-bind the phone, and the update seems to have retained all the user settings from the previous v 2.0.4.

After the update to 2.03 the app is going crazy (Android). It changed my load percentage and there is a constant lack of connection with the servers. Even in the car it fails (some commands apparently go through server connections always). Most likely, it is the app playing tricks with you. But setting up a schedule? The time frame you mentioned is the default in the app.

Thanks. Interesting that you're having a similar problem with the Android version of the app - sorry to hear that - and that the App uses Scheduled Charging as default.

My current hypothesis is:
There's a bug in the MGiSmart app v 2.0.4 that is causing the App to ignore the user when the user attempts to change and Saves Scheduled Charging from the default of "On" to "Off".
The app then causes the car's settings to keep reverting to Scheduled Charging: On.
When insufficient charge is available from the PV system due to the sun going behind a cloud or increased domestic use, the Zappi pauses ("waiting for surplus"); then attempts to resume charging once more charge is available.
However, when charging stops and restarts, the app and/or car reverts to Scheduled Charging: On.
With Scheduled Charging mode On, the car will not accept any charge from the Zappi (as it is in daylight hours, not within the 23:00 - 06:00 window for Scheduled Charging), and therefore the Zappi reports "Charging delayed".
After trying for a few minutes, the Zappi gives up and messages "Charge Completed".
... and the car does not achieve its set Target Charge Level

It's a sunny morning here in S. Wales.
I've plugged the Zappi into the car, sat in the car, and checked the Scheduled Charging Settings on the infotainment screen, which were set to "On".
Whether this default behaviour was caused by the iSmart app instructing the car to set Scheduled Charging:On" or by the car's own firmware it's impossible to know at this point.
I've changed the Scheduled Charging Settings in on the car infotainment screen to "Off".
Hopefully the car will remember this setting, and my newly upgraded v 2.0.5 of the iSmart App will not intervene and cause this to revert to "Scheduled Charging: On"
It seems to be happily charging from the PV panels at 2.3 kW at present.
I'll stress the system by turning on some domestic appliances briefly to interrupt the current charging cycle, and see if it resumes when I turn the appliances off again.

If charging does resume, then problem solved, and my previous problem is probably due to a buggy v2.0.4 iSmart app reverting the settings in the car to Scheduled Charging: On".
If charging doesn't resume and still reverts to "Scheduled Charging: ON" with the v 2.0.5 iSmart app now installed, then the same bug exists in v 2.0.5 of the iSmart app; and/or the problem lies within the MG's own firmware.

OK. So I've just turned the washing machine, oven and kettle on, which has diverted 5.4 kW power from the solar panels and Powerwall to these appliances; and cause power to temporarily stop being supplied to the Zappi.
The Zappi has indicated "Waiting for surplus" as it should.

I've turned the appliances off.
The Zappi is reporting "Charging Delayed" then "Charging Complete", and has stopped at 64% instead of achieving the Target Battery level of 80%.

The MGiSmart app v 2.0.5 has yet again ignored user Saved preferences, and reset itself to "Scheduled Charging: ON", so this is an ongoing bug that hasn't been fixed and needs to be fixed immediately.

When I sit in the car, the infotainment screen shows that it has remembered my settings for "Scheduled Charging:OFF" (hurrah!), but I get the error message "Unable to Complete Charge", and charging has stopped.
There's a button on the infotainment screen to Start Charging, and when I touch this, charging resumes.

So unfortunately it seems that the problem lies in both the latest release of the iSmart app v 2.0.5, and also in the latest release of the firmware.

I guess I'll have to talk to my dealership tomorrow, but expect to be met with shrugs and the response that all they can do is install the latest upgrades that MG send out to them.

This is one of a huge number of very basic software bugs that I've experienced with my MG.
These bugs would and should have been identified if even a basic level of testing had been done before releasing the software.
I love the car, but the ongoing problems with the software are becoming frustrating to the point that I would not consider buying another MG in future, and would not recommend MG to friends and colleagues.

It's not feasible to have an EV that requires you to sit in the car and restart charging every time you boil a kettle.

Update: Possible workaround:

Each time charging stops due to insufficient surplus available, I'm currently having to manually re-start charging by getting into the car, waiting for the infotainment system to boot up, and press "Start Charging" on the screen.

A possible workaround seems to be to use the MyEnergi App and cycle it to "Stop" then "Eco+" again.

This still requires me to continually check that charging hasn't stopped prematurely, and if so, manually intervene to get it to resume; but at least I can do this from the MyEnergi App instead of having to physically get into the car and boot up the system each time.

I didn't have to do any of this before the latest MG firmware and app upgrades: previously if insufficient surplus was available, charging would pause, then resume automatically when there was surplus.

So this is an MG software problem, not a problem with the Zappi or Powerwall and their associated apps.

Thanks to everyone who has replied with helpful suggestions: I guess I'm stuck with this suboptimal solution until MG correct the problem in a new software/firmware upgrade.

 

[Robf]

Update: Possible workaround:

Each time charging stops due to insufficient surplus available, I'm currently having to manually re-start charging by getting into the car, waiting for the infotainment system to boot up, and press "Start Charging" on the screen.

A possible workaround seems to be to use the MyEnergi App and cycle it to Stop then Eco+ again.

This still requires me to continually check that charging hasn't stopped prematurely, and if so, manually intervene to get it to resume; but at least I can do this from the MyEnergi App instead of having to physically get into the car and boot up the system each time.

I didn't have to do any of this before the latest MG firmware and app upgrades: previously if insufficient surplus was available, charging would pause, then resume automatically when there was surplus.

So this is an MG software problem, not a problem with the Zappi or Powerwall and their associated apps.

Thanks to everyone who has replied with helpful suggestions: I guess I'm stuck with this suboptimal solution until MG correct the problem in a new software/firmware upgrade.

There is a link in the app to contact developers, I sent them a message about something else without response, probably goes to Mavis the cleaners phone

 

[GadjoDave]

There is a link in the app to contact developers, I sent them a message about something else without response, probably goes to Mavis the cleaners phone

Thanks! I'll give it a try, but I won't hold my breath...

 

[MickeySw]

Maybe this might work, forget about the app for a minute, on the infotainment system leave the schedule on but change the times to include “sun hours”?

Btw my iPhone app automatically updated to 2.0.5 this morning but didn’t change my charging settings…

 

[GadjoDave]

... so I made the mistake of putting the kettle on for a mid-afternoon cuppa.
Again, with the increased demand from the kettle, surplus from the PV panels was unavailable for a couple of minutes. Charging paused, then stopped instead of restarting after the kettle had boiled.

This time, I avoided doing anything with the MGiSmart app, sat in the car and went straight to the car's Charging Settings.

They had spontaneously reverted to "Scheduled Charging: On"
There was no option for "Include charging during Sun Hours"; but "Allow charging to continue after set end time" had also set itself to "ON".

This time, my work around of toggling the MyEnergi App between "Stop" and "Eco+" had no effect.

The only way I could get charging to resume was to repeatedly physically unlock and disconnect the charge connector from the car's charging port; stop the Zappi; plug in again, and try to re-start the Zappi in "Eco+" mode.
It took 3 attempts of doing this series of actions before the car eventually responded and began accepting charge again.
Great way to spend a sunny afternoon...

So the problem with the charge stopping prematurely when charging from PV seems to be due to the recent latest firmware upgrade, and probably not due to the MGismart app (although the app is pretty useless and unreliable too...)

I tried to find details of the name/number of the current firmware version to share in case anyone else experiences similar woes.

The only software version details that I could find in the menus were in the "Upgrade" menu:
Entertainment System version: SW168-29958-1300R40
Telecommunication Version: SNAKP21E32

However I'm not sure if these details also refer to the firmware that controls the Charging Management system. If this has a different identifier, I'm not sure which menu to look in that will display this. If anyone knows where to find this, please let me know and I'll post the details of the firmware involved,

When my car was repaired at the dealership last month after unexpectedly spontaneously throwing itself into Reverse, apparently the sensors were re-calibrated and 3 sets of firmware were updated to the most recent versions: The Gateway, BCM, and Selector; so I would imagine that it is the latest version of the Gateway and/or BCM firmware which are responsible for the current problem with the Charging Management System.

I'll be speaking with the dealership first thing tomorrow...

 

[MickeySw]

This time, I avoided doing anything with the MGiSmart app, sat in the car and went straight to the car's Charging Settings.

They had spontaneously reverted to "Scheduled Charging: On"
There was no option for "Include charging during Sun Hours"; but "Allow charging to continue after set end time" had also set itself to "ON".

Sorry, the ‘charging during Sun Hours’ isn’t an option, it’s a reference to setting a start/end time for the charging to take place (e.g. 9am-10pm), but given your description of the always reverting to ‘default settings’ I doubt that it will make a difference…