MG5 - Charging whilst unlocked

[SimonomiS]

Some have said it’s when the car is left for a while and goes to sleep that there can be a problem. Worth checking.

Fair point. I'll do test #2 tomorrow!

 

[Richie]

Richie, let me know how you get on. Purely from my expeience as soon as I unlock the car it stops charging. I'm trying to get MG Customer Support help provide clarification on this issue as some people can get this to work and others can't. You would think they would wish to help. Perhaps they could join this thread as a Company representative and address the issues

Hi Jon, as I said I've not picked up the car yet as waiting to collect in March. I can only say what I had seen and experienced at the dealer for the test drive. And from reading the replies following on regarding the waking up to charge I cant say.
I'm reluctant to say "My Car" as not I'm not sure if I will take delivery as waiting for the roof rail issue to be resolved and now hearing no wake up for charging is another concern for me.

We were at the dealers to day for the ZS BMS update (that's all fine so far) and had a nose around the stock and "my car" is parked in the compound. I spoke to one of the tech's who was around and he said the charging is fine on a timed charge. And something else I read on another thread regarding the black bar under the rear index plate some have. I asked if I have the car can we not have a larger plate like on the LR Discovery and he said yes, we fit the larger plate using all the holes in the boot lid. Asked about little black bar and apparently it comes with the car from the factory and some dealers use it as the smaller plate costs less!

 

[Jon]

Thanks Richie and apart form the charging issue (not yet a problem) I like the MG5.

As far as the charging issue, it seems that some EV chargers actually put out a 'keep alive charge'' @ 1kW which stops the car going to sleep (confirmed by Rolec) until the off peak period, however I think the MG does wake up as I did the same as SimonomiS with the granny charger but waited 2.5hrs before plugging in the charger to the mains and it seems to work. I'm still waitihng for the EV home charger to be installed so I can still not say for definite.
On the issue of sitting in the car whilst charging with the heater on... that seems to be CCS leads but again I have not tried it.
MG are being particulalry unhelpful as they are repeatedly say it will not work. I will of course try it again when the car needs charging and let you know.

 

[SimonomiS]

Thanks Richie and apart form the charging issue (not yet a problem) I like the MG5.

As far as the charging issue, it seems that some EV chargers actually put out a 'keep alive charge'' @ 1kW which stops the car going to sleep (confirmed by Rolec) until the off peak period, however I think the MG does wake up as I did the same as SimonomiS with the granny charger but waited 2.5hrs before plugging in the charger to the mains and it seems to work. I'm still waitihng for the EV home charger to be installed so I can still not say for definite.
On the issue of sitting in the car whilst charging with the heater on... that seems to be CCS leads but again I have not tried it.
MG are being particulalry unhelpful as they are repeatedly say it will not work. I will of course try it again when the car needs charging and let you know.

Thanks Jon, very interesting. My experiment with the granny charger didn't seem to wake the car up this morning but I'll try again and see what happens. Just enjoying some sunshine to charge the MG5 right now! I didn't know about the 'pulse' with smart chargers, my method so far has definitely been dumb. @Richie I have also very much enjoyed the 275 miles I have so far clocked up...

 

[EWD]

Thanks Richie and apart form the charging issue (not yet a problem) I like the MG5.

As far as the charging issue, it seems that some EV chargers actually put out a 'keep alive charge'' @ 1kW which stops the car going to sleep (confirmed by Rolec) until the off peak period, however I think the MG does wake up as I did the same as SimonomiS with the granny charger but waited 2.5hrs before plugging in the charger to the mains and it seems to work. I'm still waitihng for the EV home charger to be installed so I can still not say for definite.
On the issue of sitting in the car whilst charging with the heater on... that seems to be CCS leads but again I have not tried it.
MG are being particulalry unhelpful as they are repeatedly say it will not work. I will of course try it again when the car needs charging and let you know.

I can confirm you can charge the MG5 with the heater on, unlocked and in ready mode on a 7kw fast charger.

 

[RossN]

I tried a rapid charger for the first time this morning. Charged my MG5 from about 13% to 90% in about 40 mins with my heaters and radio on. Got it for free as well as a couple of rapid chargers in central Scotland are free with Chargeplace Scotland...RESULT !

 

[Alansurfer]

My car (new 29th December) has been at the dealership for 18 days as has AC charging problems, unfortunately they don't seem to have the knowledge or equipment to quickly diagnose such a simple problem. I tried 5 different public chargers and my home pod point that's 5 years old and worked fine with the ZS for the last year. They're now waiting for a workshop test charger to swap out the onboard AC charger to see if it's that. It is crazy as my custom builds I have Bluetooth and usb connectivity for motor controller, BMS, charger etc for updates, rewriting software, system checks, tuning etc all from a tablet or mobile (and a a simple gauge for testing wiring and connections)!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgrhfnokI693JNcLXAicOPAsj2gaQDp3j

 

[Davloc]

I tried a rapid charger for the first time this morning. Charged my MG5 from about 13% to 90% in about 40 mins with my heaters and radio on. Got it for free as well as a couple of rapid chargers in central Scotland are free with Chargeplace Scotland...RESULT !

Most of the various council owned chargers are free to use with CPS, except Fife Council, which started charging (no pun intended) for theirs last November. £1.60 connection + 15p kWh.

Took the opportunity for a free charge at the Forth Bridge visitors centre yesterday on the way home before crossing back into Fife ?

 

[Alansurfer]

My car (new 29th December) has been at the dealership for 18 days as has AC charging problems, unfortunately they don't seem to have the knowledge or equipment to quickly diagnose such a simple problem. I tried 5 different public chargers and my home pod point that's 5 years old and worked fine with the ZS for the last year. They're now waiting for a workshop test charger to swap out the onboard AC charger to see if it's that. It is crazy as my custom builds I have Bluetooth and usb connectivity for motor controller, BMS, charger etc for updates, rewriting software, system checks, tuning etc all from a tablet or mobile (and a a simple gauge for testing wiring and connections)!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgrhfnokI693JNcLXAicOPAsj2gaQDp3j

.....just to add there is no problem charging on DC with my car.

 

[EWD]

.....just to add there is no problem charging on DC with my car.

It does sound like a dodge AC charger or an ECU that needs a firmware update.

 

[Ranger]

Most of the various council owned chargers are free to use with CPS, except Fife Council, which started charging (no pun intended) for theirs last November. £1.60 connection + 15p kWh.

I don't mined paying for my charge, however connection charges are the worst thing. Especially when charging fails so you retry and gat charged again.

 

[Davloc]

I don't mined paying for my charge, however connection charges are the worst thing. Especially when charging fails so you retry and gat charged again.

Yeah, took me a couple of goes to get the rapid charger going the first time I used it. Luckily it didn't incur any additional connection charges.

 

[Jocko]

I am currently reading the manual, and there is a large warning at the start of the charging section, which says:
DO NOT attempt to switch the vehicle power
system to READY during charging.
Is this damaging to the vehicle?

 

[Jocko]

Continuing reading the manual:
With AC charging points.
Note: If the vehicle is unlocked during the charging
process, charging will be suspended. Charging
will resume after 1 minute. If charging does not
automatically resume, it may be necessary to remove
and refit the charger cable.

However, a couple of pages earlier it says:
Note: The car will not charge whilst in an unlocked
state. During charging, if the charging port is unlocked
charging will be suspended, it will reinstate when the
charging port is locked again. If charging does not
automatically recommence please remove and refit
the charging cable.

Extremely ambiguous. Perhaps anomalies during Chinese to English translation.

 

[EWD]

Continuing reading the manual:
With AC charging points.
Note: If the vehicle is unlocked during the charging
process, charging will be suspended. Charging
will resume after 1 minute. If charging does not
automatically resume, it may be necessary to remove
and refit the charger cable.

However, a couple of pages earlier it says:
Note: The car will not charge whilst in an unlocked
state. During charging, if the charging port is unlocked
charging will be suspended, it will reinstate when the
charging port is locked again. If charging does not
automatically recommence please remove and refit
the charging cable.

Extremely ambiguous. Perhaps anomalies during Chinese to English translation.

It could also be due to MG/SAIC updating the firmware on some ECUs before release but not updating the manual correctly with the new capabilities.

 

[Petriix]

The manual is clearly nonsense: it talks about the glasses holder...

 

[RossN]

I have been able to charge in nearly every scenario....locked , unlocked, fast/rapid/granny. different makes of charger so it seems all fine to me. Getting my Zappi tomorrow so will try that out.

 

[integrasparks]

Thanks everyone for the help.

MG are adamant their earlier comments are correct, but I will have another go myself. I've fallen out with their Customer Non-support Team

If anyone is bored and PM me their contact number I will happily call and write up a proper proceedure and post that on this forum to help other new MG5 owners.

Cheers

Jon

Hello Jon, may seem odd but how do I PM you? I have my own interface to a charger (Viridian) and in generally it works fine, but I am getting inconsistent re-starts. I am holding the charger off for 5 seconds which may be slightly on the edge so I will try slightly longer. Then turning it on. Sometimes it works sometimes it does not. What i really want to do, is start the Charge at say 32 amps then switch to a lower charge or any other charge. I can control in 1 amp increments between 6 and 32 amps and can switch off (which also releases the lock). Similarly I wanted it to track solar output, I can get the charger to respond but the Car seems to disconnect and not re-connect.

 

[3sheds]

Richie, let me know how you get on. Purely from my expeience as soon as I unlock the car it stops charging. I'm trying to get MG Customer Support help provide clarification on this issue as some people can get this to work and others can't. You would think they would wish to help. Perhaps they could join this thread as a Company representative and address the issues

Hi Jon, On my MG5 Excite it is the same. It stops charging if I unlock the car. I think this is because using the unlock key is the only way of disconnecting the car from the charging cable. My work around for this is EITHER: I don't lock the car when charging if I intend to sit inside it while I wait OR: if I need to check the status of charging while the vehicle is locked and charging, I press the button under the door handle and then go around to the drivers door to look through the window at the dashboard. As others have said I also try to keep the key away from the drivers side while doing this otherwise it may also interrupt the charge.

 

[5teep]

I think if you are charging on AC then unlocking the doors disconnects the cable lock ending the charge but you should be able to start ok with the doors unlocked.
Different on DC.