Odd Charge Interruption Notification Behavior

I charge my RAV4 most nights, for a 6AM Departure.


When the charging starts I get this email from Entune:

"Charge Start Notification" (for this example I received this at 3:26 AM)



When the charging finishes I get this email from Entune:

"Charge Completion Notification" (for this example I received this at 4:45 AM)



The odd part is that sometimes when I unplug the plug from the RAV4 (usually between 6:30-7:15AM) I get this email from Entune:

"Charge Interruption Notification" (for this example I received this at 7:08 AM)


Keep in mind that the RAV4 had finished charging at 4:45 AM. Also, there were no charging lights on and the RAV4 indicates that
the charge was complete before I unplug it.

Most of the time I unplug it (after charging is complete) I receive no notification emails.

I can't figure out why sometimes I get the email and sometimes I don't. I would think I should never
get this email when I disconnect the plug after the charging is completed.


Has anyone else experienced this or can anyone explain why this is happening?

I see similar behavior and I would like to understand it too.

That is what we have already been discussing on this other thread over here . . .

http://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=104

It may be useful to continue this discussion in the other thread, but I do think this behavior is different. The OP is getting the "charge interrupted" notification AFTER his scheduled departure time. In fact, well after. The other thread is mostly discussing finishing the charge WELL BEFORE the scheduled departure time and then continuing with other tasks (balancing, topping off) up until the departure time. Not sure if they are related or not, but they seem distinct to me.

Yes...I think they are different issues.

The email notification happens way after charging is complete and right after the Plug is unplugged.

A full charge had completed successfully.

A belated "charge interrupted" email notification is only telling you - albeit perhaps not in the best choice of words - that the charging cable was removed from your vehicle's charging port. Although this may be technically what happened, it need not infer that an "in-progress" charge was ABORTED. On the other hand, I believe you will receive the exact same alert message when the opposite occurs, i.e. when an in-progress charge is aborted by an "unexpected" removal of the charge cable. This would be the case when say you are using a public charging station and somebody else's parks their EV right next to yours, and that person disregards charging etiquette by simply unplugging your vehicle (while a charge is still in-progress, possibly without knowing the actual status) to start charging his vehicle instead. In this case, the alert notification you will receive takes on an entirely different meaning.

Unfortunately, it appears the RAV4 EV does not differentiate a "charge interrupted" from a "charge cord unplugged (after charge completion)" message; at least not consistently.

Do you also have Remote Climate running or a scheduled Pre-Condition around the time you disconnected the charging cable?

I ask because I have my car set to complete charging for a 5am departure. I don't actually leave much before 8am, but I like having that extra buffer. I don't normally have my schedule set to pre-condition the cabin for my usual 8am departure. However, it seems that when I do either kick off a Remote Climate or do have a precondition scheduled, that if I disconnect the charging cable while the A/C is doing it's business, I get the "Charge Interrupted" message.

When I just let it finish charging as usual, disconnect before turning the car on, and don't do much else, I do not get the interruption message.

My theory is that if the car is drawing current for some reason after the charge has completed, the current is being supplied via the charger, and thus if you disconnect the cable, you have interrupted the charge, at least to the extent that the car's limited understanding of what charging is.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.

-Chris

I have never used the Remote Climate Control option.

The odd thing is sometimes I get the message when I unplug and sometimes I don't.

It would make sense that I should not get the message because nothing was interrupted.

I also SOMETIMES get the interruption message when unplugging well after a charge has completed, and sometimes I don't. It's not a major problem, but the inconsistency bothers me.

If you have another departure scheduled (maybe the following day) then eventually the Rav4 needs to start sending interruption notices if you unplug before that charge finishes, or even before it begins. Obviously if you got home from work and plugged in, expecting the car to charge overnight, you would want an interruption notice if someone unplugged you before the charge even began. Maybe if the charge completes and I unplug while the current charge registers as full then I don't get a notice. But if the charge drops, even just a very little, below full, then maybe unplugging registers an interruption for the following day's charge. I'm just guessing here.

One other possible explanation is that the J1772 charge port connector is super sensitive to "make-break, or break-make" contact cycles. I think the slightest wiggling on the charge cord connector while mated inside the charge port receptable can cause a false reinitialization of the car's charging system. Thus, the RAV4 "thinks" a new charging cycle is about to begin, when in fact, the operator is simply trying to unplug the connector after a previously scheduled charge has already completed.

This behavior could also be caused by multiple switch activations of the J1772 release latch at the same time you are trying to unplug. The charging electronic control system should have a built in time delay to compensate for something called "contact bouncing" to avoid this phenomena. I am not familiar with the J1772 spec, so I do not know if there is a provision in the standard for contact debouncing.

Another way false switching can be avoided is to incorporate "make-before-break" physical contacts, so the control signal cannot initiate a charging system microcontroller to activate a new 'charging operation' until all power connections are securely made first on a plug in event. Conversely, the power connects must be disconnected first while the control circuit is still alive, until the charge cord connector is fully extracted (at least far enough to prevent false starts caused by an improperly debounced set of control signal contacts).

Another potential issue here, is that unfortunately Leviton chargers do not have a flashlight built in to the charge cord connector (nor do hardly any other OEMs). This makes plugging in (perhaps even unplugging) more difficult to do in the dark, which could also be the cause of false charging events.

The Chevy VOLT's OEM charging cord connector has this flashlight feature, which quite frankly should have been REQUIRED in the J1772 standard.