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[Ronhogwarts]

I took an Eva EsseEsse9 2018 for a demo ride (UK), the bike was brilliant but failed to DC fast charge on this Engenie, stuck on the initialisation screen despite unplugging and trying several times with plug inserted or charger started first. What are people's experience DC charging with the different chargers and networks especially in the UK? Poor compatibility could be a deal-breaker, so I'm hoping this is an isolated issue. Instavolt and Ecotricity are of particular interest in the UK.

I have heard about several techniques to get it working or ways to get the diagnostic codes. Any feedback or experience of DC fast charging, especially in the UK would be helpful to build up an idea of what to expect.

[DonTom]

I took an Eva EsseEsse9 2018 for a demo ride (UK), the bike was brilliant but failed to DC fast charge on this Engenie, stuck on the initialisation screen despite unplugging and trying several times with plug inserted or charger started first. What are people's experience DC charging with the different chargers and networks especially in the UK? Poor compatibility could be a deal-breaker, so I'm hoping this is an isolated issue. Instavolt and Ecotricity are of particular interest in the UK.

I have heard about several techniques to get it working or ways to get the diagnostic codes. Any feedback or experience of DC fast charging, especially in the UK would be helpful to build up an idea of what to expect.

I cannot speak for the UK, but here in the USA it is sometimes important to NOT follow the instructions on the machine.

For an example, some CCS chargers say to plug in first, but if I do it will never work. I sometimes have to activate  the charger when NOT plugged in and then it will work. Different CCS chargers are often made by different companies and some even by the same company  may be running older firmware. What works well at one station many not work at another.

There have been many times I had to play around with the charge station to get it to work, but so far, I have always been able to get them to work by one method or another, usually by the third try. I have gotten many errors on the charger stations (but not on the bike's screen)  before getting it to work.  But other times, it works on the very first try.

YMMV

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[SBK74]

I have a 2018 SS9, and sometimes indeed, not following the sequence can help. Also there is a limited time window to get the charging going after initialization started. Otherwise plug in and out again. A connector not locking is also a possibility.

[Crissa]

(This is true for J-plugs, too.)

-Crissa

[DonTom]

(This is true for J-plugs, too.)

-Crissa

J1772 is just AC into the vehicle charger, much like an AC outlet.  J1772's are not chargers at all. Not to any more of a degree than a house AC  outlet.

The  CCS DC chargers run a rather complicated program.

I know in some cases, the problems are caused by CCS firmware updates in the CCS chargers. They update the FW, but do not always change their old written  instructions.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Crissa]

(This is true for J-plugs, too.)

-Crissa

J1772 is just AC into the vehicle charger, much like an AC outlet.  J1772's are not chargers at all. Not to any more of a degree than a house AC  outlet.

The  CCS DC chargers run a rather complicated program.

I know in some cases, the problems are caused by CCS firmware updates in the CCS chargers. They update the FW, but do not always change their old written  instructions.

-Don-  Auburn, CA

None of that changes that even J-plugs suffer from the 'sometimes it needs to see that you're plugged in first, sometimes it wants to know nothing is plugged in first' problem.

-Crissa

[reini]

I have a 2018 SS9, and sometimes indeed, not following the sequence can help. Also there is a limited time window to get the charging going after initialization started. Otherwise plug in and out again. A connector not locking is also a possibility.

To get back on-topic, I had the same issue on the weekend. The station wanted me to plug in before pressing "Start" on the display and presenting a RFID card. Then the communication would time out. Instead, I pressed start first, presented the RFID card and immediately plugged in after successful authentication. This did the trick after a few seconds of "DC initializing". It was an ABB charger if that is important, and I got 24 kW from 40 to 80%

[DonTom]

None of that changes that even J-plugs suffer from the 'sometimes it needs to see that you're plugged in first, sometimes it wants to know nothing is plugged in first' problem.

If you're talking about how the J1772 switches on when there is a connection, that's true. But that in no way compares with what happens with CCS where there is more communication between the vehicle and charge station. That sometimes is sometimes tricky just  to get it started.

I have never had an issue getting a J1772 to start. It happens fairly often with CCS, and I assume everybody who uses CCS a lot has experienced such a few times. Usually not a big deal, as most of the time we get it to work by the third try, but it is rather annoying to have to keep on unplugging for each error.


-Don-  Auburn, CA

[Crissa]

But that in no way compares with what happens with CCS...

I mean, mechanically, it's the same problem.  The user can't change the programming communication at all, that's invisible.  And if the instructions on the station are wrong, well, they're just as wrong.

-Crissa

[PWM]

I have heard about several techniques to get it working or ways to get the diagnostic codes. Any feedback or experience of DC fast charging, especially in the UK would be helpful to build up an idea of what to expect.

The authentication hand-shake seems rather complex...

https://v2g-clarity.com/knowledgebase/basics-of-plug-and-charge/

It may behoove us to get more specific on which technique works for which charge station because it's doubtful all players are in full compliance to the various protocol standards.  These work-around techniques are likely repeatable for a given charge station OEM and documenting such info can help isolate the issue e.g. Energica is a small fish in the large EV pond hence not likely a test-case for acceptance testing by charge station OEMs.

[Anubis-R]

I do have an eva 80 kW 2018  (Europe) with Firware 28, and never have been able to DC charge...

My dealer said that there was an update of "DC language" post 2017 and mine may not have been updated...

What a pain in the ass to make it replaced... my dealer is stuck since 6 months with Energica to find a solution...
I hope this is not your case...

[MVetter]

I do have an eva 80 kW 2018  (Europe) with Firware 28, and never have been able to DC charge...

My dealer said that there was an update of "DC language" post 2017 and mine may not have been updated...

What a pain in the ass to make it replaced... my dealer is stuck since 6 months with Energica to find a solution...
I hope this is not your case...

I have a 2018 SS9 and almost exclusively DC fast charge. Get the newest firmware and, if it's not working, request a new Charge Manager. Your bike is under warranty.

[DonTom]

  And if the instructions on the station are wrong, well, they're just as wrong.

The problem is the instructions are on the charger itself, not the screen, so it doesn't get updates when the FW does. Such as the "Electrify America" CCS chargers which the instructions always say "plug in first". You should only do that when you want it NOT to work. At least on some of them in the past depending on its FW version.

What always works is to  activate the machine via the Electrify America app while it is NOT plugged in to the vehicle.  Then the charger  FW version doesn't matter. At least that is my experience with them so far.

I prefer the ones that have their own card, such as EV-GO, ChargePoint, GreenLots and I think all the others. I think Electrify America is the only one that doesn't have a card. Not counting Tesla Superchargers which needs no card, it just reads the VIN  number when connected and the charge is automatic to my Tesla account. The easiest of all to use and never had a problem, but I have only supercharged my Tesla a few times in the two years I have owned it.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[Anubis-R]

I have a 2018 SS9 and almost exclusively DC fast charge. Get the newest firmware and, if it's not working, request a new Charge Manager. Your bike is under warranty.
[/quote]

It's not anymore under warranty anymore because they waited during 8 months to try something...

[Crissa]

You may wish to double check that, warranty is usually at point of report, not point of repair.  So if you reported it, and they didn't fix it, the warranty running out wouldn't matter.

I can't say for your country, but that seems unlikely to be different.

-Crissa