What can cause a charging station to interrupt charging?

If your electric car stops charging before the battery has reached 100%, there can be several reasons:

The car's software settings

Electric cars have a smart charging mode that lets owners optimise the charging process.

Depending on the make and model of the vehicle, smart charging mode allows the car to adjust the charging speed based on factors such as the battery level, electricity consumption, time-of-use pricing, amperage levels, a maximum state of charge and more. In addition, if the “scheduled departure / departure time” function is enabled, the EV may also interrupt a charging session if attempts are made to start one outside the car's charging schedule.

If an electric vehicle is not charging, it may be because smart charging mode has been activated to stop the battery reaching a full charge too early.

These settings are the reason the car ends charging — it is limited in software.

A voltage drop

If the charging station or the car experiences a sudden surge or drop in the supply voltage, the car may end charging or reduce the charging speed to avoid damaging the battery or the charging system.

This can happen if you use a charging station at peak times, in extreme weather or in an area with poor energy infrastructure. The phenomenon is most often seen with Tesla.

Teslas monitor the operating voltage of the supplied current closely, and if it drops significantly the car ends the charging session for safety reasons — specifically, to prevent the supply line from overheating.

The charging cable

If the charging station detects a problem with the charging cable (twisting, overheating), it can end charging as a safety measure.

A damaged cable can raise safety concerns, disrupt the physical connection between the charging station and the electric vehicle and cause interruptions to the charging session.

If the cable is damaged in any way it affects communication between the car and the hardware, and the charging station may fail to communicate with the car in order to start a charging session.

It can also affect the flow of energy going to the car, bringing the charging session to a premature end.

User error

Some of the user errors that can stop an electric car owner charging their vehicle at a charging station are:

1) Connecting the charging cable incorrectly: a common user error is not connecting the charging cable to the EV properly. This can mean the connector is not fully seated or is not correctly aligned in the car's charging port.

2) Not activating the charging session: most EV charging stations require users to activate the charging session before charging can begin. If the user forgets to activate the session through the app, the charging station will not start charging.

3) Using the wrong charging adapter: if the user's electric car has a port that is incompatible with the charging station, they may not be able to charge. The most commonly used is Type 2. Every electric car comes from the manufacturer with the appropriate charging cable.

4) Insufficient funds in the charging account: if the user does not have enough funds, the charging session will not start, or will be interrupted while charging. Follow the operator's instructions or monitor your charging sessions through your app to make sure the session is running correctly.

A power cut

The charging station may not work because of a power cut in the area. This can be caused by a variety of factors, such as bad weather, equipment failure or maintenance work on the electricity grid.

A software fault

Like any software, that of a charging station can contain bugs or coding errors that cause malfunctions. These errors can be caused by problems such as incorrect programming, conflicts between different software components or even user errors, such as using the system incorrectly or entering data incorrectly.

The software also relies on a network connection to communicate with the charging station and other systems. If there are connectivity problems, such as a network outage, software faults can occur.

Charging station software relies on firmware updates to keep the system current and functioning correctly. Because of the nature of the infrastructure, these updates can be carried out remotely. However, if a user happens to coincide with a firmware update, any charging session in progress or any attempt to start one may be interrupted or fail.

In conclusion, it is important that electric car drivers read the instructions provided by the operator or manufacturer of the charging station carefully, along with the guidance from the car manufacturer, and follow best practice to ensure smooth and efficient charging.

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