EV Charger Troubleshooting

1. The charger won’t start charging

Work through these in order — the first three solve the majority of “it’s not charging” calls:

• Check the schedule first. This is the number one cause. Most smart chargers (and many cars) are set to charge overnight on a cheap tariff — plug in at 6pm and nothing happens until the schedule says so. Check the charging schedule in both your charger’s app and your car’s own settings; either one can delay charging.
• Check the car, not just the charger. Is the car’s charge limit already reached (many are set to stop at 80%)? Is the cable fully clicked in at both ends? Try unplugging, locking and unlocking the car, and reconnecting.
• Restart the charger. Most units have a restart option in the app, or can be power-cycled using their clearly labelled isolator switch if one was fitted. Wait 30 seconds before switching back on.
• Try a different cable (untethered chargers only) — quickly rules the cable in or out.
• Check for error lights. Note the colour and pattern — your manual or app will identify the fault, and it’s exactly what we’ll ask for if you call us.

Still not charging? If the schedule is clear, the car is willing and a restart hasn’t helped, the fault likely lies in the charger or its installation — see “When to call us” below.

2. The app won’t connect, or Wi-Fi keeps dropping

• Confirm it’s the charger, not your internet. Stand next to the charger with your phone: does your phone hold Wi-Fi there? If your phone struggles, the charger will too — chargers often sit at the edge of Wi-Fi range, outside, behind a brick wall.
• Restart your router, wait for it to fully reconnect, then restart the charger.
• Check for app updates — many connection problems follow phone or app updates.
• Re-pair the charger using the app’s setup process if it still shows offline.
• Weak signal at the charger? Very common and permanently fixable: a Wi-Fi extender, a powerline adapter, or (on some units) wired Ethernet. We fit these during installations and can retrofit them.

Worth knowing: most smart chargers keep charging your vehicle even when offline — you lose scheduling and app control, not charging. But if you’re on a smart tariff, an offline charger may be charging at expensive times, so it’s worth fixing promptly.

3. The electrics trip when charging

• If it trips once: switch it back on and try again. Occasional nuisance trips happen.
• If it trips repeatedly, or immediately every time you charge: stop. Don’t keep resetting it. A protective device that trips every time is detecting a genuine problem — in the charger, the cable, the car’s onboard charger, or the circuit — and repeatedly forcing it defeats the protection keeping you safe.
• One useful test: if you can safely try a different vehicle (or your vehicle on a public charger), it helps identify whether the fault is on the car side or the charger side.

This is the one issue we’d always ask you not to live with. Tripping electrics need a qualified electrician to diagnose — a straightforward job for us to test the circuit and identify the cause.

4. Charging is slower than it should be

• Check what “should” means for your car. A 7kW charger adds roughly 25–30 miles of range per hour. Some plug-in hybrids and older EVs can only accept 3.6kW — the charger isn’t slow; the car is drawing its maximum.
• Check the charging rate setting — easy to leave turned down.
• Load balancing may be working as designed — it deliberately slows charging when your home is using lots of electricity (cooking, showers, tumble dryer) and speeds up later. Overnight should be full speed.
• Solar diversion modes (Zappi and similar) charge at whatever your panels produce — slow on a grey day by design. Switch to Fast mode for a quick top-up.

Genuinely slow with none of the above? A charger consistently well below its rated output may have a developing fault worth investigating.

5. The cable is stuck in the socket

• Unlock the car first — nearly every “stuck cable” is the car’s locking pin still engaged. Unlock the vehicle (some cars need the session stopped in the car’s screen first), then remove the cable.
• Check your car’s cable-release setting — many EVs can auto-release when charging completes.
• Look for the manual release — most EVs have an emergency cable release (often a pull-cord in the boot); your handbook shows where.
• Never force it. Forcing damages the socket — far more expensive than the callout to release it properly.

6. Error lights or fault codes

Every brand uses its own light patterns and codes, so: note exactly what you see (colour, flashing pattern, any code in the app), check the app and manual for that code, try one restart — and if the fault returns, don’t keep clearing it. A recurring fault code is your charger telling you something is genuinely wrong.

Send us the code, a photo of the unit and your charger’s make and model, and we can usually tell you what you’re dealing with before anyone visits.