Leviton L2 won't charge my Bolt

[nostickers]

I have a Leviton EVB40-PST Evr-Green 400 on a dedicated 50-amp circuit:
- the unit charges my 2014 BMW i3 Rex without any issues
- the unit repeatedly clacks on/off loudly (i.e. contactor chatter) shortly after plugging in to my 2017 Chevrolet Bolt

I've tried another L2 EVSE with my Bolt and it worked fine. I've never been able to charge the Bolt with my Leviton.

I called Leviton customer service and they advised me that EVs can be in different modes (standby mode, charge mode, finish mode) and it sounds like the charger trying to open the contactor but something from the EV is telling the EVSE not to allow it. The technician advised that there isn't any sort of firmware update on his end, and since the Leviton charges my i3 just fine there's likely nothing wrong with the EVSE. He suggested that some sort of update needs to be done to the EV.

Anyone else experience an issue like this? I'm not sure how to troubleshoot and solve the issue.

 

[marshallinwa]

It's possible that your EVSE is slightly out of spec and your BMW is less sensitive to this issue.

You might consider joining Plugshare. Perhaps there are a few folks in you neighborhood that will let you plug into their L2 EVSE. That should help narrow it down to either your car or your EVSE.

 

[sparkyps]

The contactor closes the circuit when the EVSE and Bolt finish negotiations. What could make the EVSE open the contactor could be many different things:

1) Bolt detects a low voltage and stops the charge session, perhaps your EVSE was installed incorrectly and the BMW was less sensitive to voltage drops?

2) A ground fault problem. Is your EVSE hardwired? I don't think ground fault detection is required in a hard wired EVSE. Perhaps the Bolt is more sensitive to ground faults than your i3?

Find a nearby Bolt owner. If their car works then your Bolt has an issue. If it doesn't, your EVSE has an issue. If your EVSE has an issue and is out of warranty, sell it to someone who can confirm it works with their car and buy a Clipper Creek.

 

[timeToy]

I have a Leviton EVB40-PST Evr-Green 400 on a dedicated 50-amp circuit:
- the unit charges my 2014 BMW i3 Rex without any issues
- the unit repeatedly clacks on/off loudly (i.e. contactor chatter) shortly after plugging in to my 2017 Chevrolet Bolt(...)

I have that exact same L2 charger and it DOES works fine with my Bolt EV.
When I plug in my Bolt it DOESN'T clacks on/off loudly like yours seems to do.

:idea: What is your charging rate on the i3? "Reduced"@20A or "Maximum"@32A? Maybe you are on "reduced"@20A so it works and when the Bolt is trying to pull 32A it doesn't, that will point to a electrical circuit that is not really 50A?

 

[nostickers]

Sorry for the lack of response -- I need to change my notification settings because I didn't get notified about this response.

To answer your question... my i3 is set to Max (30A)

I called Leviton and got a live person on the phone right away, who promptly e-mailed me a prepaid shipping label to send it in for inspection. The unit passed their tests, so they did some additional testing... no issues found. But instead of sending it back to me, they sent me a brand new EVR40-B25. Now my Bolt and i3 are both happy with the L2 charging situation at home.

 

[Anonymous]

Got my Bolt today. I have exactly the same problem with the same charger. Previously had a RAV4 EV for 3 years, never an issue. It's been 15 months since I used it. Will call Leviton tomorrow. Glad I'm not the lone ranger

 

[Anonymous]

And my RAV4 charged at 40 amps, whereas the Bolt is only 32.4.

 

[Anonymous]

I have this same Leviton charger, purchased in 2015. However, I do not appear to have this problem. Instead, when I the car first starts to charge, I get a 'charge interrupted' notification from OnStar. When I go and check on the car, the charge status indicator is blinking green as it should and the range increases. So, so far, I get this unnecessary message when the car is plugged in, but I do not appear to have an actual charging problem.