GE Wattstation Quit Working

[Fluke]

I have had a GE Wattstation for about one year and it has worked without any issues up until this week. I came home and plugged in as usual, but the charging process did not initiate. The unit had no lights, even though it did have power. I called GE and they were very accommodating and had a new unit on the way to me via 2nd day air. Unfortunately, the new unit also does not work.

I checked that the L1 and L2 terminals see 240v between them and 120v from each leg to ground. Fuses are working, there are no obvious connection problems, and the unit gets 240v to the input side of the relay but no joy for charging. Any other suggestions for checking it out before I contact GE again on Monday?

 

[WattsUp]

I have had a GE Wattstation for about one year and it has worked without any issues up until this week. I came home and plugged in as usual, but the charging process did not initiate. The unit had no lights, even though it did have power. I called GE and they were very accommodating and had a new unit on the way to me via 2nd day air. Unfortunately, the new unit also does not work.

I checked that the L1 and L2 terminals see 240v between them and 120v from each leg to ground. Fuses are working, there are no obvious connection problems, and the unit gets 240v to the input side of the relay but no joy for charging. Any other suggestions for checking it out before I contact GE again on Monday?

If we perhaps assume that both GE units are actually okay, and your 240V power supply is not an issue, then the only other commonality is your FFE.

Do you possibly have access to another EV you could try with either GE unit?

 

[Fluke]

If we perhaps assume that both GE units are actually okay, and your 240V power supply is not an issue, then the only other commonality is your FFE.

Do you possibly have access to another EV you could try with either GE unit?

Good point, I forgot to mention that the car will charge with both the Ford 110v charger and a SPX 240v charger that I have for my wife's Volt with no problems.

The other thing I noticed was that the original Wattstation charger had no LED light ring and no charging or fault lights showing when attempting to charge. There is a tiny green LED on the main circuit board that lights when the unit has power, it no longer lights up either.

The new Wattstation does power up, the charging light comes on briefly when attempting to charge, the fault light then comes on and slow flashes continuously with the LED ring going dark. The owner's manual describes various light combinations between the fault light and the LED ring, but this is not one of them. The LED on the main circuit board lights up on this one.

 

[WattsUp]

Hmm, well then, unlikely as it seems, I guess both GE units have some kind of issue (though not exactly the same issue, based on the different behaviors). That's unfortunate.

Seems nothing is wrong with your FFE. And, I presume the working SPX was used on the same 240V circuit as the GE unit? If so, that would seem to imply that there are no power issues (no faults in your house wiring, etc.).

Very strange. Sorry, I have no other suggestions for you. Perhaps someone else out there with the same GE unit does? Otherwise, looks like you'll be talking to GE again. :?

 

[Fluke]

I may have time this afternoon to try a couple things I didn't try yesterday when I ran out of time. I can change out the breaker feeding the circuit even though there is no indication that there is a breaker issue (that I can tell). I can also try powering the SPX charger from the FFE's circuit breaker. A bit more difficult would be to temporarily move the SPX unit to be powered from the FFE circuit and breaker.

 

[jeffand]

Can you charge the Volt with the GE Watt station? At 240 volts the Volt draws about 15 amps. While the Focus draws 30 amps. The issue you may be seeing is a low voltage fault. This can be verified by measuring the line voltage while charging. A low voltage under load can be caused by a poor electrical connection. Under sized wire can cause a low voltage problem. Long wire runs that have high current levels can cause a significant voltage drop. You should keep voltage drop below 5%. Voltage drops above 10% should be looked into. This may require the wires to be up sized. Note: If you are getting a low line voltage into the charger, this means that power is being dissipated someplace else. This will cause whatever it is to get hot, and may present a fire hazard because of the heating.

 

[Fluke]

Can you charge the Volt with the GE Watt station? At 240 volts the Volt draws about 15 amps. While the Focus draws 30 amps. The issue you may be seeing is a low voltage fault. This can be verified by measuring the line voltage while charging. A low voltage under load can be caused by a poor electrical connection. Under sized wire can cause a low voltage problem. Long wire runs that have high current levels can cause a significant voltage drop. You should keep voltage drop below 5%. Voltage drops above 10% should be looked into. This may require the wires to be up sized. Note: If you are getting a low line voltage into the charger, this means that power is being dissipated someplace else. This will cause whatever it is to get hot, and may present a fire hazard because of the heating.

Another good idea. I tried charging the Volt and get the same fault on the charger upon connecting it as I've been getting with the FFE. When I installed the wiring, I tried to future proof the wiring by using a gauge one size larger than recommended. If I can get the charger to actually charge something before I get it replaced again, I'll double check the loaded and unloaded voltage.

I think the problem may go back to shipping damage or possibly the unit was refurbished. The outside of the box, was not visibly damaged, but one of the small gauge wires had a broken plastic terminal retainer where it connects to the LED terminal. I checked that all the other wires were securely attached and landed on the same terminals as the original unit, but there could be hidden damage.

 

[jeffand]

On the charging station are you getting the red fault light come?
Does it come on when you power on Wattstation, or when you start charging?
Is the Wattstation programmed for a delayed charging?
Was the whole unit replaced or was just the circuit board?

 

[Fluke]

On the charging station are you getting the red fault light come?
Does it come on when you power on Wattstation, or when you start charging?
Is the Wattstation programed for a delayed charging.

The Wattstation does not have any on-board charging delay function. On initial power-up, the LED, charging (green) and fault (red) come on sequentially. I believe this is part of the normal startup process, but never really paid much attention to it before having problems. The flashing red fault light comes on after trying to charge either car.

I moved my SPX unit to use the circuit normally used by the Wattstation to see if there was an issue with the circuit or breaker feeding the Wattstation. The SPX was able to charge both the FFE and the Volt with no issues using this circuit.

I checked voltage drop under load and the difference between loaded and unloaded voltage is 0.1 volts.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm convinced that I got a (hopefully) rare dud charger and will take it up with GE tomorrow.

 

[jeffand]

I would agree with you, because it seems we have exhausted most of the logical problems. So send it back. Most likely they sent you a refurbished unit.

 

[Fluke]

I discussed the issues I've had with GE today. They have a new unit headed my way, hopefully functional this time. Through these issues, GE has been very easy to deal with.

 

[Fluke]

Just to close the loop, I received the second replacement Wattstation last night and got it installed. This one worked with no issues and no changes to the circuit or circuit breaker. I was just very unlucky to get a non-working replacement for a defective unit.