Technical What does 'Charging starts soon' mean?

[carriegee]

I bought a new Fiat 500e 87KW ICON a few months ago but have had frequent problems charging it at the Shell Recharge Ubitricity lamppost points where I live (in London). I confirm payment details then receive a 'Charging starts soon' message on my iPhone with an elapsed timer countdown. I've tried scanning the QR code and also going to the Ubitricity website and adding in the reference point. I haven't set a charging schedule or opted for Shell's Smart Charging, and have spoken to several people at Ubitricity but no-one cal tell me where I'm going wrong. Any advice, please?

 

[varesecrazy]

Does it seem to charge acceptably.. After a while?

Is it much better on other charge networks?

 

[carriegee]

Does it seem to charge acceptably.. After a while?

Is it much better on other charge networks?

There are lots of Shell Recharge/Ubitricity points near my house so I really need to work what the issue is and why it happens sometimes. I haven't tried elsewhere.

 

[gazz_bee]

Can't speak from experience as I'm a long way from London and Ubricity lampposts but is there any pattern to when it does and doesn't work? If you can rule out your car having a set charging schedule, do the Ubricity points have peak and off peak hours where charging might be paused during more expensive periods? Any fault messages on your car when attempting to charge?

 

[portland_bill]

When this happens, look around at the other charge points. If others are charging, you may have to wait before enough current is available. There's a limit to how much current can be supplied to the street, so as more vehicles plug in, the current is shared. If too many plug in, it can share such that no-one gets enough to make a difference. Their system may be avoiding that, by recognising one is near finishing, before starting yours.
There's a YouTuber, 'The McMaster' or similar, with a Porsche Taycan, with several stories of this happening. He'll arrive at a motorway charging station, and although there may be 10 charge points, you can't plug in more than 3-4 cars at once, otherwise they all sit showing 'charging', but not adding anything to their batteries.

Alternatively, is it waiting for your battery to 'condition' ready to accept a charge?

 

[carriegee]

Can't speak from experience as I'm a long way from London and Ubricity lampposts but is there any pattern to when it does and doesn't work? If you can rule out your car having a set charging schedule, do the Ubricity points have peak and off peak hours where charging might be paused during more expensive periods? Any fault messages on your car when attempting to charge?

No - as mentioned, I haven't set up Shell's Smart Charge which pauses during peak time. I can't see any fault messages.

 

[carriegee]

When this happens, look around at the other charge points. If others are charging, you may have to wait before enough current is available. There's a limit to how much current can be supplied to the street, so as more vehicles plug in, the current is shared. If too many plug in, it can share such that no-one gets enough to make a difference. Their system may be avoiding that, by recognising one is near finishing, before starting yours.
There's a YouTuber, 'The McMaster' or similar, with a Porsche Taycan, with several stories of this happening. He'll arrive at a motorway charging station, and although there may be 10 charge points, you can't plug in more than 3-4 cars at once, otherwise they all sit showing 'charging', but not adding anything to their batteries.

Alternatively, is it waiting for your battery to 'condition' ready to accept a charge?

There are very few electric cars in my area, so it's a good point, thanks, which I can rule out. However I'm not clear what you mean by 'is it waiting for your battery to 'condition' ready to accept a charge'? Please can you explain?

Thank you everyone for the very helpful suggestions so far - but has anyone else ever received this 'charging starts soon' on their app, please, and knows what it means?

 

[portland_bill]

There are very few electric cars in my area, so it's a good point, thanks, which I can rule out. However I'm not clear what you mean by 'is it waiting for your battery to 'condition' ready to accept a charge'? Please can you explain?

Thank you everyone for the very helpful suggestions so far - but has anyone else ever received this 'charging starts soon' on their app, please, and knows what it means?

Unlike a normal car's battery, that you can just stuff current into to charge it, the batteries in EVs are very sophisticated, with clever management programs. Many EVs will set the battery temperature to an optimum level before charging starts, using the battery cooling system. A battery that is cold, or too hot, will take longer to charge, and will reduce its capacity quicker. The capacity of every battery diminishes, whether you use it or not. Many manufacturers recommend not allowing it to drop below 10%, and only charging to 80%, and on a slow charger, to give the battery its longest life. Faster charging hastens its demise, as will charging when too hot or cold. Tesla will condition the battery while driving, if the nav system is taking you to a charging point.
If your car has a battery temperature system, it will probably do this. If not, it may still do clever things to regulate and balance cells before starting the proper charge cycle.

 

[carriegee]

Unlike a normal car's battery, that you can just stuff current into to charge it, the batteries in EVs are very sophisticated, with clever management programs. Many EVs will set the battery temperature to an optimum level before charging starts, using the battery cooling system. A battery that is cold, or too hot, will take longer to charge, and will reduce its capacity quicker. The capacity of every battery diminishes, whether you use it or not. Many manufacturers recommend not allowing it to drop below 10%, and only charging to 80%, and on a slow charger, to give the battery its longest life. Faster charging hastens its demise, as will charging when too hot or cold. Tesla will condition the battery while driving, if the nav system is taking you to a charging point.
If your car has a battery temperature system, it will probably do this. If not, it may still do clever things to regulate and balance cells before starting the proper charge cycle.

Thank you. I have the left the car for quite some time when this issue has occurred previously, but charging didn't start.

I rang Ubitricity yesterday who did a quick reboot and then told me to repeat the steps but to firmly keep hold of the connector to the car this time. That seemed to resolve the problem.

 

[portland_bill]

Thank you. I have the left the car for quite some time when this issue has occurred previously, but charging didn't start.

I rang Ubitricity yesterday who did a quick reboot and then told me to repeat the steps but to firmly keep hold of the connector to the car this time. That seemed to resolve the problem.

Are you acting as a conductor? Or do they suspect a poor connection? If me, I'd want this explained. Do you have to hold on for the whole charge cycle? Carry a deckchair and a good book.

 

[gazz_bee]

I would agree. The only plausible reason I can think of doing this is if the cable somehow sits slightly loose in the connector and needs to be held during the handshake process with the charger until it automatically locks in place.

The reason I asked about messages on the car is the the 500e will display when the charge port is open and should additionally display "Service Charging Station" or similar if it is plugged in but has not successfully handshaked. There are also coloured LEDs on the car charging port that display connection, error and charge status and, depending on status, I would expect these to be lit red, blue or green when a cable is connected.

 

[varesecrazy]

@carriegee

If that helps, do let us know

 

[The Panda Nut]

I would agree. The only plausible reason I can think of doing this is if the cable somehow sits slightly loose in the connector and needs to be held during the handshake process with the charger until it automatically locks in place.

The reason I asked about messages on the car is the the 500e will display when the charge port is open and should additionally display "Service Charging Station" or similar if it is plugged in but has not successfully handshaked. There are also coloured LEDs on the car charging port that display connection, error and charge status and, depending on status, I would expect these to be lit red, blue or green when a cable is connected.

My son has an ev. I was with him and this message came up. The charging station was not working properly. I think Ive also seen it when it wasnt plugged in as it should be. Look carefully at the charger connection instructions and check you are exactly right.