Rapid CCS charging issue

[ooid]

Hello,

Sorry for ignorant post. I'm having issue with Rapid CCs chargers. The car is about 6 months old (smart 1). I have been charging usually at local shell station with CCS no issue. About a month ago, it did not charge. I have tried multiple ports in the same station, no luck. Tried BP too no luck. By luck, I have tried the public charging point (TFL) on the street and it worked?! Today, after a month later I tried again usual Rapid CCS it does not work. It simply does not start, looks like a communication problem. The car is Salary sacrifice lease, so I'm planning to call and return it tomorrow really, unless there is better solution ? I can't do home charging yet, I need a proper electrician to come and set it up for us (trust me, I tried two already, they did not show up).

Thanks!

[samoht]

Buy a three-pin charger for £130 and charge at home, slow but can leave it all night and cheaper than public charging
https://www.screwfix.com/p/masterplug-10a-2-4kw-mo...

The TFL point is likely AC charging, the public CCS are DC charging (the latter is where you have to remove the little rubber plug from the lower section of your charging point before you can plug in). So it's quite possible the DC charging function on your car isn't working but the AC still is.

I'd call a dealer and see if someone can take a look, might be simple, might need a proper investigation but should be under warranty anyway.

[TooLateForAName]

ime shell and bp are both terrible for reliability. Have you seen anyone charging successfully at those places? Check zapmap for user comments.

Have you tried any of the more reliable charge suppliers?

[Diderot]

You’ve probably done this OP, but due to the weight of the CCS cable, you might need to hold it firmly in place when you plug it in until the handshake is complete and charging starts.

[ooid]

Thanks all,

Yes I tried all sorts of positions really

I have tried another BP station today but no luck. The CCS simply does not work. Type 2 is working, not sure why.

I'm currently trying to get the car towed to the dealer and looked at it, no way trying to chance it to drive at least 20 miles to the dealer/service. I have been told it is quite common but its quite disappointing, not sure if thats the case ?

[TheDrownedApe]

TBH never heard of this. Do as others have advised and buy a 3pin granny charger, charge it at home, drive to dealer and get them to fix.

You seemed to have made a big issue complaining to Tusker but you need to try yourself first.

[Mikebentley]

I would call the Smart customer service team. When I got my #1 I had issues on the first two days they were extremely helpful. As others have said plug it in at home.

[this is my username]

Try somewhere other then BP.

Tesla chargers (the one open to all vehicles) are pretty good, or one of the other suppliers such as Ionity.

If you have off-road parking then (as others have said) just use a granny charger until you can get your proper charge point fitted.

You don't really need to go nuclear with your car supplier until you have tried a few alternatives and work-arounds. Taking the car back to the dealer isn't a zero-hassle option. At least if you can tell them "it works on AC charging but not on DC" they will have some sort of place to start.

[ooid]

TheDrownedApe said:

You seemed to have made a big issue complaining to Tusker but you need to try yourself first.

The dealer they offered me to drive to is quite far away and simply not possible for me to take the day off from work.They have a quite rigid appointment system, you can not just show up and leave the car. It is a big issue, a brand new car just made 1,000 miles so far and the charging does not work. I'm not complaining about a small cosmetic problem really? Anyway, I will update here, but a few owners on FB page messaged me, they had the same issue and CDD unit had to be changed (and took a while).

[danp]

As mentioned, try a more reliable network (or 2!) that is nearby eg Instavolt, Osprey, Ionity.

[5s Alive]

You've probably checked already, and I know the car is less than a year old, but is the charge port completely clear and free of foreign objects that could prevent the ccs connector seating properly? Do the DC pins look undamaged? Could there have been significant water ingress? - there's a drain hole at the bottom of the port.

If it's a previously reported problem then it does look like you may have the same issue. Good luck resolving it.

[Mikebentley]

ooid said:

TheDrownedApe said:

You seemed to have made a big issue complaining to Tusker but you need to try yourself first.

The dealer they offered me to drive to is quite far away and simply not possible for me to take the day off from work.They have a quite rigid appointment system, you can not just show up and leave the car. It is a big issue, a brand new car just made 1,000 miles so far and the charging does not work. I'm not complaining about a small cosmetic problem really? Anyway, I will update here, but a few owners on FB page messaged me, they had the same issue and CDD unit had to be changed (and took a while).

I get this as a #1 owner there aren’t many dealers actually selling them. I think when they started the # range they severely reduced the dealer network. With previous Smarts I think all Merc dealers could work on them. Speak to customer service, get a Screwfix plug and try different charge networks. I wish you lived near me I would let you charge at mine till you got it sorted.

[ooid]

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it. There is instavolt near me also, give that a try tomorrow, if not it will be picked up from the street when it's completely out of battery. Our electrician has not sorted my driveway sockets yet so that's why I can't use type 2 at home yet. There is a dealer near me but the network has been quite rigid not to offer any help with them.

I know it sounds easy to just use type 2 connector and get on daily, but I found this issue before going for a long trip so completely messed up our weekend plans and so on... I'm glad I found it actually before we left!!

[Funky Squirrel]

I remember reading on a forum some cars don't like only being DC charged.

They require a full AC charge every now and again to balance the battery cells and will lock of the DC charge until that happens.