Don’t buy an Ohme Charger

Faults and Technical chat for the Volkswagen ID.3
ItshardtobuyId3
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Post by ItshardtobuyId3 »

sidehaas wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 6:35 am To Newfie, itshardtobuyid3 and anyone else who has been having trouble getting the Ohme Home Pro to work reliably at full charge rate with their ID3 for scheduled charging (with the charge from 0030 often only running at 4kw until manually stopped/restarted):

I have now, touch wood, got a solution. I emailed Ohme after a couple of frustrating charges two weeks ago and they have applied a setting change to my charger remotely. This was their description of it:

"The team have created this setting to simulate the car being unplugged each time Ohme has delayed the start of the charge. This has been shown to help with some cars either failing to wake up for the delayed charge or refusing to accept the charge rate Ohme has scheduled."

Since this change was applied I have had three successful charges. I don't have the API link to the car set up (have never tried it) and I purposefully set these charges to add three different amounts (48%, 40% and 30% respectively, 48% is just slightly more than what the charger thinks it can add in 4 hours.) I'm pretty sure one or two of these would have failed before so I'm optimistic now that the change has worked.

My other settings are that 'save money' is selected but the options to be greener and protect the battery are off and the setting to never charge above £x is also off (instead, my charge is timed to finish at 0430 and as long as the charge works correctly this has the same effect). I don't know if having different settings would matter.

I hope this helps someone else. I would recommend emailing Ohme and describing the problem you have. They can remotely view the details of your recent charge sessions. They'll probably suggest the same change as above, but if not you could prompt them. I have generally found their customer service to be good.

It might be helpful to change the title of this thread so it indicates a solution has been found.
They have been testing this with my account since about a week or so after I started the thread and closed my ticket about a couple of weeks ago. I’d asked them if they’d make it available for others before it was closed to I’m glad they have. They said they had used it successfully on other cars with similar problems like the Enyak. I’ve not had a failed charge since they applied the setting to my profile although they described it to me as it stopping the car going to sleep.

I don’t know how to change the topic title? I’d like to since they came through in the end and have been very helpful since got mad with them.

They seem to think the 3.0 ID3 software will fix it beyond them having to do something to keep the car awake.
ID3 Life Pro Performance
Glacier White
East Derry alloys
Driver Assistance pack
[traded in for]
Cupra Born V1 with Typhoon Alloys - Aurora Blue - Tech pack L

ItshardtobuyId3
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Post by ItshardtobuyId3 »

sidehaas wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 8:16 am
G43FAN wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 7:30 am Are they suggesting it is more of a car issue still? There 'fix' seems to suggest they think it's the car not accepting the charge which I find highly unlikely. As others have said elsewhere, the car will 'take' what is offered. Rather glad I got the Zappi, 14 months in and the only time it fails to charge is when I forget to plug it in.
It's an interface issue. The Ohme doesn't schedule a straight 7kw for a period of time, it purposefully schedules more complex charging routines involving stop/starts and variable charge rates. The simplest thing it does is gradually ramp up to the 32A rate, starting at 8A for a short period, then 16A for a period, then 32A. Sometimes it will start a charge for a period at 0030, then stop for a while before restarting when it needs to in order to finish by y 0430. This is by design, for good or bad. Apparently with most cars it works fine but some, including the ID3 will sometimes not like it, depending on what the exact schedule is and how long in advance you plug it in. The symptom seems to be that the car then prevents the charger from sending more than 16A.
Ohme would like to put the blame on VW but personally I think it's because the Ohme charger is trying to be overly-clever. Problem is, to me this is a pretty strong indication that there will be problems for people who sign up to things like Octopus Intelligent.
With all the data they shared with me it seems that the car hates being left for ages then going straight to 32A. When it was scheduled to start a 16A first it seemed to charge fine. I did suggest to them they just start for a short period at a lower rate but they came back with the profile they have applied to solve it with other cars. It’s worked great for me even with super all-over-the-place scheduling and I’m using the API.

When my GO deal runs out I want to switch to intelligent so hopefully the ID3 will handle it now as Ohme is supported.
ID3 Life Pro Performance
Glacier White
East Derry alloys
Driver Assistance pack
[traded in for]
Cupra Born V1 with Typhoon Alloys - Aurora Blue - Tech pack L
sidehaas
Posts: 1774
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:04 am

Post by sidehaas »

Glad yours is fixed too.
Ohme told me today that they have also now made this adapted profile available publicly to anyone who removes and re-adds their car; the profile is called 'CPWL' for some reason.
This is an image they sent me.

ID.3 car model.jpg

ID.3 Family Pro Performance (Jan 22), Makena Turquoise / East Derry alloys. Ohme Home Pro charger.
Newfie
Posts: 540
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:09 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by Newfie »

I sent an email off this morning as regards to what they have planned for mine after looking into a few failed charges that I've sent them details about.
I've heard nothing back yet but will keep this thread updated to their response.
ID.3 Tour 77kWh Pro S 204PS Manganese Grey S/W 3.2
On order Skoda Enyaq 85X Sportline Plus
ItshardtobuyId3
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Post by ItshardtobuyId3 »

sidehaas wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 7:53 pm Glad yours is fixed too.
Ohme told me today that they have also now made this adapted profile available publicly to anyone who removes and re-adds their car; the profile is called 'CPWL' for some reason.
This is an image they sent me.
ID.3 car model.jpg
Excellent thanks, I was told I’d lose the settings if I logged out of WeConnect so won’t need to worry about that now.
ID3 Life Pro Performance
Glacier White
East Derry alloys
Driver Assistance pack
[traded in for]
Cupra Born V1 with Typhoon Alloys - Aurora Blue - Tech pack L
ItshardtobuyId3
Posts: 258
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2021 9:53 pm

Post by ItshardtobuyId3 »

Newfie wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 8:58 pm I sent an email off this morning as regards to what they have planned for mine after looking into a few failed charges that I've sent them details about.
I've heard nothing back yet but will keep this thread updated to their response.
I’d give that CPWL profile a try.
ID3 Life Pro Performance
Glacier White
East Derry alloys
Driver Assistance pack
[traded in for]
Cupra Born V1 with Typhoon Alloys - Aurora Blue - Tech pack L
Newfie
Posts: 540
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:09 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by Newfie »

ItshardtobuyId3 wrote: Mon May 23, 2022 9:50 pm
I’d give that CPWL profile a try.
The only thing that concerns me with that is that I'd imagine is that the new profile CPWL is for you 58kWh batteries.
I need to check with Ohme first.
ID.3 Tour 77kWh Pro S 204PS Manganese Grey S/W 3.2
On order Skoda Enyaq 85X Sportline Plus
xtonys
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:23 am

Post by xtonys »

Newfie wrote: Fri Apr 22, 2022 7:27 am I'm still having issues with my Ohme Pro.
It charges so erratically. Its charge rate is up and down like a yoyo and I believe when it sticks at 3.7 kW that the car saying its had enough and is protecting itself.
I have 2 of these Ohme Pro's (one for my wifes impending EV) and they are both the same in the way they charge.
I have even noticed when I've needed more than what the 4 hour window of Octopus Go it is not a constant 7.4 kW charge so you are missing out on the cheaper rate.
I've spoken to Ohme about all this but like the OP they go all quiet and you here nothing back.
Have you got 3 phase supply to allow for 2 7kwh chargers to charge simultaneously?
If only standard single phase, there will be load balancing of some kind between your two chargers, or did the installer ask Ohme to reduce the max power of both chargers?
Jimmybones100
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2022 6:05 am

Post by Jimmybones100 »

My Ohme is working properly now since they sent me an email on what to do,I can paste it in here if anyone wants to read what they say but mine is charging properly now since with my tour pro.
sidehaas
Posts: 1774
Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:04 am

Post by sidehaas »

Jimmybones100 wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 7:00 am My Ohme is working properly now since they sent me an email on what to do,I can paste it in here if anyone wants to read what they say but mine is charging properly now since with my tour pro.
Yes, please, I would be interested in case I need to change away from my current settings in future and the problem recurs. (I assume your problem was reduced charge rates like others above?)
ID.3 Family Pro Performance (Jan 22), Makena Turquoise / East Derry alloys. Ohme Home Pro charger.
Jimmybones100
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2022 6:05 am

Post by Jimmybones100 »

This is what Ohme said to me:
First things first the ID3/4 have a known issue where they don't like to be smart charged. Essentially the car wants to be in control of your schedule as it doesn't want the charger to defer the charger till later. This means sometimes the car will actively choose to limit the power it will accept.

We have a solution for this but it needs the car to be connected via its APi to the Ohme Charger. I can see from your settings in our server that you don't have this option enabled so to get access to this fix you would need to look into the VW We Connect app and connect your car to his and then once setup go into the Manage My EV section in the Ohme app, select switch car, select other and scroll down to Volkswagen ID3/4 and use the account sign in (with your We Connect details). This will link your Car and the Ohme App together and when we see the slow charging issue we apply an automated fix to it via our server.

Off peak charging. I have replicated your tariff on my phone and everything should work fine with the price cap enabled.
If you click on the My Charger section, then Price Cap. If you enable the option you should see below it in the next 23hrs, this would limit charging to 00:00-07:00. Could you confirm that? If it does then the system knows it should only schedule your charging in that 7hr window.

You schedule looks good as well however I would suggest changing the target to 59% as this is the amount the charger can supply in a 7 hour window (7*7=49kWh - Charger) (82/100*59=48kWh - Battery). Now when you change to APi if you want to be getting to 80% as normal then yes leave it that way as otherwise you have to adjust it each session but for non APi charging I would always set the target to be the max it can deliver in that window. Its what I do with my car and it just means every time you plug it in it will attempt to charge at full speed till either the price cap kicks in or the battery is full. Keeps it nice and simple.

I did notice though you have Battery Life, Save Money and Green Energy selected. I would say that as you have a fixed off peak period I would remove the Save Money option as it won't benefit you, Green Energy can also limit speeds through your session and battery life will look to charge longer and slower so till we have you up and running as we would expect to see which is 7kW between 00:00-07:00 or until your battery is full I would turn these all off. If you want to turn them back on at a later date that is not a problem but I would keep the Save Money off as the price is doing that for you and turn one option for a week and see how it effects your normal charging and if your happy with the changes then keep it and try the next one. I should say that Green Energy can be less predictable though so you may see more changes with this rather than battery life is when applied is fairly consistent in how it effects your charging schedule.
G43FAN

Post by G43FAN »

Jimmybones100 wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:43 am This is what Ohme said to me:
First things first the ID3/4 have a known issue where they don't like to be smart charged. Essentially the car wants to be in control of your schedule as it doesn't want the charger to defer the charger till later. This means sometimes the car will actively choose to limit the power it will accept.
LOL - But only with certain chargers, seems to work fine with Zappi, Andersen and others.
Jimmybones100 wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:43 am We have a solution for this but it needs the car to be connected via its APi to the Ohme Charger. I can see from your settings in our server that you don't have this option enabled so to get access to this fix you would need to look into the VW We Connect app and connect your car to his and then once setup go into the Manage My EV section in the Ohme app, select switch car, select other and scroll down to Volkswagen ID3/4 and use the account sign in (with your We Connect details). This will link your Car and the Ohme App together and when we see the slow charging issue we apply an automated fix to it via our server.

Off peak charging. I have replicated your tariff on my phone and everything should work fine with the price cap enabled.
If you click on the My Charger section, then Price Cap. If you enable the option you should see below it in the next 23hrs, this would limit charging to 00:00-07:00. Could you confirm that? If it does then the system knows it should only schedule your charging in that 7hr window.

You schedule looks good as well however I would suggest changing the target to 59% as this is the amount the charger can supply in a 7 hour window (7*7=49kWh - Charger) (82/100*59=48kWh - Battery). Now when you change to APi if you want to be getting to 80% as normal then yes leave it that way as otherwise you have to adjust it each session but for non APi charging I would always set the target to be the max it can deliver in that window. Its what I do with my car and it just means every time you plug it in it will attempt to charge at full speed till either the price cap kicks in or the battery is full. Keeps it nice and simple.

I did notice though you have Battery Life, Save Money and Green Energy selected. I would say that as you have a fixed off peak period I would remove the Save Money option as it won't benefit you, Green Energy can also limit speeds through your session and battery life will look to charge longer and slower so till we have you up and running as we would expect to see which is 7kW between 00:00-07:00 or until your battery is full I would turn these all off. If you want to turn them back on at a later date that is not a problem but I would keep the Save Money off as the price is doing that for you and turn one option for a week and see how it effects your normal charging and if your happy with the changes then keep it and try the next one. I should say that Green Energy can be less predictable though so you may see more changes with this rather than battery life is when applied is fairly consistent in how it effects your charging schedule.
OHME seem to have developed their charger around the idea that the charger knows the SoC of the car, unfortunately that data is not transmitted across an AC connection, OHME didn't seem to know this and are now trying to blame their lack of understanding on VW. Fundamentally they got it wrong but they are clearly never going to admit it. I have an OHME Granny charger, and it took about 2 attempts to test it out for me to realise their 'Smart feature' was fundamentally flawed as the SoC of the car is unknown to it. This leads you to having to calculate rates of charge via time to get the required percentage etc etc.. Or alternatively use a charger that just times when it will charge and either delivers maximum charge for the alloted time period or stops when the car says Enough. (80% or whatever set in car)
Newfie
Posts: 540
Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2021 7:09 pm
Location: East Yorkshire

Post by Newfie »

xtonys wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:57 am
Have you got 3 phase supply to allow for 2 7kwh chargers to charge simultaneously?
If only standard single phase, there will be load balancing of some kind between your two chargers, or did the installer ask Ohme to reduce the max power of both chargers?
I have not yet had the oppurtunity to run both at the same time. I'm on a single phase and house electrics is capable of running the 2 together.
Only one of the chargers has a CT clamp.

All my woes with charging seems to be now solved after lengthy consultations with Ohme and I must say they have been brilliant. Nothing seemed to be too much bother.
ID.3 Tour 77kWh Pro S 204PS Manganese Grey S/W 3.2
On order Skoda Enyaq 85X Sportline Plus
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