shpub
Established Member
This came up on a private forum so I have copied it here as I cannot link to it. As I am not sure that MG5s or other models have the ability to stop a DC charge from the car - I always stop it at the charger or app - it could be a real issue for us. It talks about problems with BMW i3 but has been reported with other makes e.g. e-Niro
Basically when charging on a Tesla supercharger using a bank card, there may be no easy way to stop the charge and with the i3 that means waiting till it is 100% charged. The alternative is to use the emergency release cable which means on an MG5 taking the front cover off unless you have extended the cord so that it hangs above the cover. That is definitely a last resort considering the high currents and voltages that are going through the plug/socket when it is disconnected. It should shut down before the power connectors break but.... Do you feel lucky?
Tesla apparently cannot remotely stop it. The user or operator should be able to disconnect the charger and on others this can be done by swiping the card or pressing a button. IIRC it is included in one of the CCS standards that covers the user interface. Not needed with Tesla cars so not implemented.
Moral is to use the Tesla App to start and stop the charge and not a bank card.
Public service announcement for any owners of the BMW i3 who want to use an open TESLA supercharger. By all means do so. - they are GREAT .. BUT
... please ,please be aware that due to the unique foibles of this car
use the APP to start the charge and do NOT use a bankcard on the terminal to start the charge as it is then not possible to stop it.
The only way to stop the charge on the i3 at that point is to wait to 100% or pull the emergency release cord. Pulling the cord often leads to the cord breaking (as it's very flimsy) and/or issues with the locking pin. I've been there when it's happened to someone and also seen reports on the i3 Drivers facebook group about this problem but thought I'd mention it here. The person I was with tried all sorts of things to no avail and then called Tesla but they could do nothing - for some reason could not stop it remotely.. he had to wait until 100% - thankfully it was the smallest battery car.. but still that last 1% took ages.
I know this issue has occurred with users of some other vehicles but sometimes there are different solutions for them (eg setting a charge % limit) .
Some points that may come up in comments but this is very specific to the BMW i3 and its unique setup:
There is NO stop charge button either hardware or software on a BMW i3 that stops a DC charge. Setting timers only works for AC and there is no charge % limiter due to the way the charging software works. Every other DC charger I've used with the i3 either stops the charge by re-swiping the card (no that didn't work) or with a stop button on the charger.. and also as a last resort has an E-stop button (the tesla chargers do not seem to).
On some of the chargers there's a microswitch button on the charger head that is supposed to stop charge this didn't work for the person I was with. Two possibilities - it had been broken by the head being dropped and the other is that it only works with Tesla vehicles... not sure which was the case.. but if you're an i3 owner and that button worked for you great - but don't rely on it the way the heads go into the V4 chargers particularly they don't fit in very positively so it's easy for them to drop back out.
Locking and unlocking the car multiple times did nothing - it temporarily pauses an AC charge but still didn't unlock the cable to get the DC plug out.
Just thought I'd give the headsup. Using the app (make sure it's the official Tesla app named only TESLA and with a red logo) starts the charge fine (as long as you have signal of course) and then you get charging stats / times etc for the session in the app, plus a nice big STOP CHARGE button.. very helpful for the i3.
.. As you were
Basically when charging on a Tesla supercharger using a bank card, there may be no easy way to stop the charge and with the i3 that means waiting till it is 100% charged. The alternative is to use the emergency release cable which means on an MG5 taking the front cover off unless you have extended the cord so that it hangs above the cover. That is definitely a last resort considering the high currents and voltages that are going through the plug/socket when it is disconnected. It should shut down before the power connectors break but.... Do you feel lucky?
Tesla apparently cannot remotely stop it. The user or operator should be able to disconnect the charger and on others this can be done by swiping the card or pressing a button. IIRC it is included in one of the CCS standards that covers the user interface. Not needed with Tesla cars so not implemented.
Moral is to use the Tesla App to start and stop the charge and not a bank card.
Public service announcement for any owners of the BMW i3 who want to use an open TESLA supercharger. By all means do so. - they are GREAT .. BUT
... please ,please be aware that due to the unique foibles of this car
The only way to stop the charge on the i3 at that point is to wait to 100% or pull the emergency release cord. Pulling the cord often leads to the cord breaking (as it's very flimsy) and/or issues with the locking pin. I've been there when it's happened to someone and also seen reports on the i3 Drivers facebook group about this problem but thought I'd mention it here. The person I was with tried all sorts of things to no avail and then called Tesla but they could do nothing - for some reason could not stop it remotely.. he had to wait until 100% - thankfully it was the smallest battery car.. but still that last 1% took ages.
I know this issue has occurred with users of some other vehicles but sometimes there are different solutions for them (eg setting a charge % limit) .
Some points that may come up in comments but this is very specific to the BMW i3 and its unique setup:
There is NO stop charge button either hardware or software on a BMW i3 that stops a DC charge. Setting timers only works for AC and there is no charge % limiter due to the way the charging software works. Every other DC charger I've used with the i3 either stops the charge by re-swiping the card (no that didn't work) or with a stop button on the charger.. and also as a last resort has an E-stop button (the tesla chargers do not seem to).
On some of the chargers there's a microswitch button on the charger head that is supposed to stop charge this didn't work for the person I was with. Two possibilities - it had been broken by the head being dropped and the other is that it only works with Tesla vehicles... not sure which was the case.. but if you're an i3 owner and that button worked for you great - but don't rely on it the way the heads go into the V4 chargers particularly they don't fit in very positively so it's easy for them to drop back out.
Locking and unlocking the car multiple times did nothing - it temporarily pauses an AC charge but still didn't unlock the cable to get the DC plug out.
Just thought I'd give the headsup. Using the app (make sure it's the official Tesla app named only TESLA and with a red logo) starts the charge fine (as long as you have signal of course) and then you get charging stats / times etc for the session in the app, plus a nice big STOP CHARGE button.. very helpful for the i3.
.. As you were
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