MG5 limiting charge to 1.5kW when using Zappi on sunny days…

[ElectricBenSolar]

Does anyone know why my MG5 trophy (facelift) limits charge to 1.5 kW on sunny days? I’m guessing it is something to do with overheating somewhere along the lines, but surely this is ridiculous as that’s the whole point in solar panels, a home charger and charging a car… Is that it charges the car, on sunny days… I’ve tried starting the car and stopping it, taking it for a quick drive and then charging, turn it off and back on and then charging, nothing seems to work. It just sits at 1.5 kW and puts the rest to the grid, not ideal.
However, on cloudy days, with some sun, it charges at 3.5 kW no problem.

 

[Les burrows]

This is strange I have a Zappi and solar PV and an MG5 FL and have never had any issues like this, I’m sure you know this but, the Zappi there are 3 settings you can use to charge on the car,
Fast, gives you a constant 7-7.4 kW from the grid,
Eco + always gives you around 1.4 kW from the grid plus any excess solar.
Eco ++ ( + and ++ on the screen might be a leaf symbol. ) this gives excess solar only, or should do,
You don’t say which of the settings you are using I have had my Zappi for 3-4 years now with no issue like you are having with the 2 MG5s and an MG4 so I would suggest a call to MyEnergi they are very helpful and will run a test with you over the phone to check you unit is set up correctly.

I stopped using the Eco ++ setting a long time ago to avoid the charge going on and off as the clouds pass over the sun, so I use the Eco+ setting as it never stops the charge if the sun does go behind a cloud it just drops to around 1.5kW until the sun is out again and then increases to what ever you solar is give out as excess.
Les

 

[MickeySw]

I stopped using the Eco ++ setting a long time ago to avoid the charge going on and off as the clouds pass over the sun..

Makes sense as others have reported that the MG5 (depending on FW version) seems to stop charging altogether after a few interruptions on Eco++.

 

[ElectricBenSolar]

Thanks for your replies, sorry if I wasn’t clear, it charges correctly when there are interruptions, for example on a cloudy day, all as it should do. It is on eco+ or Eco ++ (I’ve tried both in this particular situation) However during unbroken (no cloud days) with full sun, when it’s charging from excess solar, it sometimes limits the charge to 1.5 kW. It definitely seems to be a car ‘limiting’ issue, I’ve been in touch with myenergi and they confirmed it was down to the car.

My main query I suppose was: is it limiting it due to the car/battery overheating due to the full sun for long periods? Or if anyone knew something that was limiting the charge due to the car doing something etc. If so, I will need to try and construct some form of shade for the actual car to avoid this in future. It is maddening when it is a fully sunny day 3+kW coming in from solar panels, but the car is only taken 1.5 kW of it, and the rest is either being “wasted” / being sent back to the grid.

Thanks.

 

[Verdigris]

Just as a general point, you can get paid more to "waste" your solar to the grid than it costs to charge the car off-peak.

 

[ElectricBenSolar]

Update: it’s just done it again today, charging fine at around 2.4 kW with Eco plus on since this morning with uninterrupted sun. And now has changed to being limited to 1.5 kW to the car and the rest going to the grid. No change in settings on my side. I guess it must be the car overheating. It’s strange though, it hasn’t always done this. Seems to be now and then, perhaps it is lack of wind cooling things down?

Better to be safe I suppose when it comes to battery heating etc.

Just as a general point, you can get paid more to "waste" your solar to the grid than it costs to charge the car off-peak.

Thanks, I installed the system myself (to all the standards and specifications MCS etc an electrician would do), but because I did it myself it can’t be certified, which unfortunately means no SEG tariff.

 

[MickeySw]

Update: it’s just done it again today, charging fine at around 2.4 kW with Eco plus on since this morning with uninterrupted sun. And now has changed to being limited to 1.5 kW to the car and the rest going to the grid. No change in settings on my side. I guess it must be the car overheating. It’s strange though, it hasn’t always done this. Seems to be now and then, perhaps it is lack of wind cooling things down?

Better to be safe I suppose when it comes to battery heating etc.

If you have an OBD dongle/app you can read out the battery temperature to see if your suspicions are correct.

Another option would be to switch to the granny charger when it starts limiting power to see if that changes anything?

 

[ElectricBenSolar]

If you have an OBD dongle/app you can get read out the battery temperature to see if your suspicions are correct.

Another option would be to switch to the granny charger when it starts limiting power to see if that changes anything?

OBD sounds interesting, I may well investigate thanks!

 

[Les burrows]

If you have an OBD dongle/app you can read out the battery temperature to see if your suspicions are correct.

Another option would be to switch to the granny charger when it starts limiting power to see if that changes anything?

Yes I was just about to write try a different charger if possible so I agree.
Ben solar is the car set for a maximum charge in the charging screen as you can on the facelifted trophy adjust how much you charge to and also discharge to, so just check it is set to the long trip mode
Les

 

[Amun]

The wireless Zappis have (AIUI) a design flaw, in that they over heat when it's sunny. Not in all cases, though - I suspect it depends on the siting.

When I had my Zappi installed last year I tried fast charging my MG5FL on a sunny but 17degC ambient day. It soon throttled the charge down to about 1.4kW as the unit was overheating, showing an internal temp of 67degC. This triggered the overheat protection, showing as wavy lines above the zappi symbol. At that time, there was no mention of siting in the Zappi manual, so it had been installed where I wanted it - on a west facing wall. To be fair to Myenergi, they did replace my original Zappi.

Soon after that they changed the installation instructions to warn about siting the unit in areas exposed to sunlight, making it the installers/owners problem. However, I note that the latest Zappi software is supposed to have improved the algorithm re temperature throttling, but I haven't installed it (yet)

I haven't made any changes to my set up as soon after having the Zappi installed I had solar and batteries fitted, and then moved to Octopus Go, which meant that I only charged overnight. A further move to IOG and fixed export means that it doesn't pay me to charge during the day or from solar, hence solving the overheating issue as a by product ;-)

 

[ElectricBenSolar]

The wireless Zappis have (AIUI) a design flaw, in that they over heat when it's sunny. Not in all cases, though - I suspect it depends on the siting.

When I had my Zappi installed last year I tried fast charging my MG5FL on a sunny but 17degC ambient day. It soon throttled the charge down to about 1.4kW as the unit was overheating, showing an internal temp of 67degC. This triggered the overheat protection, showing as wavy lines above the zappi symbol. At that time, there was no mention of siting in the Zappi manual, so it had been installed where I wanted it - on a west facing wall. To be fair to Myenergi, they did replace my original Zappi.

Soon after that they changed the installation instructions to warn about siting the unit in areas exposed to sunlight, making it the installers/owners problem. However, I note that the latest Zappi software is supposed to have improved the algorithm re temperature throttling, but I haven't installed it (yet)

I haven't made any changes to my set up as soon after having the Zappi installed I had solar and batteries fitted, and then moved to Octopus Go, which meant that I only charged overnight. A further move to IOG and fixed export means that it doesn't pay me to charge during the day or from solar, hence solving the overheating issue as a by product ;-)

Interesting, I didn’t know about the overheating Zappi issue. My Zappi 2.0 is in full sun. Will look into this ?

 

[Amun]

Interesting, I didn’t know about the overheating Zappi issue. My Zappi 2.0 is in full sun. Will look into this ?

My Zappi is 2.1, if that makes any difference. When it happens, check the internal temperature in their menu, and look for the zappi icon on the front panel for overheating symbol. IIRC, it's in the manual.

 

[Deleted member 13103]

Update: it’s just done it again today, charging fine at around 2.4 kW with Eco plus on since this morning with uninterrupted sun. And now has changed to being limited to 1.5 kW to the car and the rest going to the grid. No change in settings on my side. I guess it must be the car overheating. It’s strange though, it hasn’t always done this. Seems to be now and then, perhaps it is lack of wind cooling things down?

Better to be safe I suppose when it comes to battery heating etc.


Thanks, I installed the system myself (to all the standards and specifications MCS etc an electrician would do), but because I did it myself it can’t be certified, which unfortunately means no SEG tariff.

I installed my system (32A Isolator/Socket, plus an AliExpress 7kW charger), my landlord's Electrician gave it a once over and said it was OK and safe, I get the 7hr nightly EV tariff @ 6.9p/kW.