Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:40 am**

Whilst in the process of home researching wall chargers for the ID.3 I came across OHME chargers.
OHME seemed to be a good choice as they appear to be future-proof with Octopus tariffs and any future energy advances that Octopus may make.

However...

I asked a question about communication compatibility with the ID.3 and it looks as though the most useful element is missing, API compatibility.
I got this reply

"So without the API, the charger will always assume battery is at 0% upon plugging in. This means that if you still have 20% charge left, and want the car to charge to 80%, you'd set a schedule to add 60%. The charger would then calculate when to start charging in order to reach this target by the set end time. "

That is not ideal....

Ideally I want to come home, plug in, and know that the charger itself will automatically:-
1) detect state of charge
2) initiate the charge
3) finish charging to my preferred set limit (probably 80%)

All ideally controlled via an app.

So, which chargers work this way with the ID.3 ?

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:48 am**

I have an INDRA pro at home and it seem to all the things you are looking for, and has been pretty reliable since we had it installed.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:52 am**

Why would you not just set the car to 80% charge via the App or in car? Am I missing something?

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:16 am**

Anduain wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:52 am Why would you not just set the car to 80% charge via the App or in car? Am I missing something?

according to OHME themselves - OHME chargers always assume the car (if they dont have the API for that model) is 0% as they have not worked out how to talk to the ID.3 to find out the battery level automatically.
So, the only way to ensure the car is charged to say 80% is to work out the % of charge wanted manually and input that into the car/allow the car to control charging.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:29 am**

itsjon wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:40 am Whilst in the process of home researching wall chargers for the ID.3 I came across OHME chargers.
OHME seemed to be a good choice as they appear to be future-proof with Octopus tariffs and any future energy advances that Octopus may make.

However...

I asked a question about communication compatibility with the ID.3 and it looks as though the most useful element is missing, API compatibility.
I got this reply

"So without the API, the charger will always assume battery is at 0% upon plugging in. This means that if you still have 20% charge left, and want the car to charge to 80%, you'd set a schedule to add 60%. The charger would then calculate when to start charging in order to reach this target by the set end time. "

That is not ideal....

Ideally I want to come home, plug in, and know that the charger itself will automatically:-
1) detect state of charge
2) initiate the charge
3) finish charging to my preferred set limit (probably 80%)

All ideally controlled via an app.

So, which chargers work this way with the ID.3 ?

I don't think the problem is with Ohme but with VW who have not exposed the API.

I have an Ohme and have it programmed to add 80% charge by 8:00 starting in the Octopus Go optimal time window. The car is set to charge to 80% and as final arbiter will stop the process when it hits that target. This works as you describe your ideal scenario except for detecting the state of charge.

You can override the scheduled charge at any time with the Ohme app and it or WeConnect ID can be used to stop the charge.

Also worth noting, Ohme customer service is very good in my experience which counts for a lot.

Maybe the famous 2.3 software upgrade or a future one will make the API available.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:52 am**

As above only with the Zappi.. Scheduled to charge every night from 00:30 duration 4 hours. Works no problem and car stops at 80%.
Have tried several times to use the 'Smart' feature to try and charge to a particular percentage by a particular time and despite using all my fingers and toes to work out how many kWs I need it just doesn't work.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:52 am**

itsjon wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:16 am
according to OHME themselves - OHME chargers always assume the car (if they dont have the API for that model) is 0% as they have not worked out how to talk to the ID.3 to find out the battery level automatically.
So, the only way to ensure the car is charged to say 80% is to work out the % of charge wanted manually and input that into the car/allow the car to control charging.

Oh, that's interesting indeed, useful info.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 10:55 am**

I bought an OHME granny charger using the Octopus offer and I have attempted to use that to charge in a SMART way but it (to me) seems less intelligent and more confusing to use than the Zappi. The suns out and I have a couple of kW spare solar so I might have another play with the chargers to see what I can get working.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 11:44 am**

I have an EO Mini home charger.
Then as advised here & elsewhere, set my ID3 to 80% max fill, and then set charging on Octopus Go 00:30-04:30 via the scheduled charging on my EO app.
Has worked fine so far.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 12:56 pm**

I have a Hypervolt Home 2 charger.
Then as advised here & elsewhere, set my ID3 to 80% max fill, and then set charging on Octopus Go 00:30-04:30 via the scheduled charging on my Hypervolt app.
Has worked fine so far.

Posted: **Wed Sep 29, 2021 4:28 pm**

Like most others, I set the car to do a max charge of 80% and then use my old chargemaster (to which I have added WiFi time control) to charge between 00:30 and 04:30 on Octopus Go. When VW sort out their charging capability on ID I will try that. My Audi used to work perfectly as did my Golf GTE, so VW must know how to make it work....

Posted: **Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:13 am**

Thanks everyone for the heads up.

I was not aware the ID.3 could cap the % as a default setting and stop the charging process itself.

Posted: **Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:19 pm**

I'm worried, I have to have BP PULSE as I'm a disability owner.Nobody has mentioned them are they not very good?

Posted: **Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:36 pm**

Anduain wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:52 am Why would you not just set the car to 80% charge via the App or in car? Am I missing something?

That is what I do. When I see some of the scheduling and non-charging issues that certain other brands/models have frequently, I'm glad I have an Ohme.

Posted: **Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:34 pm**

itsjon wrote: ↑Wed Sep 29, 2021 9:40 am Whilst in the process of home researching wall chargers for the ID.3 I came across OHME chargers.
OHME seemed to be a good choice as they appear to be future-proof with Octopus tariffs and any future energy advances that Octopus may make.

However...

I asked a question about communication compatibility with the ID.3 and it looks as though the most useful element is missing, API compatibility.
I got this reply

"So without the API, the charger will always assume battery is at 0% upon plugging in. This means that if you still have 20% charge left, and want the car to charge to 80%, you'd set a schedule to add 60%. The charger would then calculate when to start charging in order to reach this target by the set end time. "

That is not ideal....

Ideally I want to come home, plug in, and know that the charger itself will automatically:-
1) detect state of charge
2) initiate the charge
3) finish charging to my preferred set limit (probably 80%)

All ideally controlled via an app.

So, which chargers work this way with the ID.3 ?

There are no API-compatible chargers currently available because there is no VW API. The Elli chargers are most likely to use any API in future as they are part of the VW group.

As soon as an API becomes available I’d expect Ohme to be one of the first adopters of it, given their historical receptiveness and business model.

Although I don’t have an Ohme home charger (I went Andersen in the end) I’d have no qualms installing an Ohme at all, assuming you like the look of it.

Equally I hear good things about Indra, Viridian and Hypervolt chargers. Hypervolt was my second choice for us, but SWMBO preferred the cleanliness of the Andersen on the driveway.

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:45 am**

There *is* a VW API. There's even a Python library to drive it. Not sure why Ohme say they can't use it.

I've been playing with it on my laptop and can successfully read the SoC, turn on the air con, etc. Not as capable as I'd like (doesn't appear to be a way to edit the charging times, etc.) but it does exist.

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 10:10 am**

Alanpyle wrote: ↑Sun Jan 02, 2022 2:19 pm I'm worried, I have to have BP PULSE as I'm a disability owner.Nobody has mentioned them are they not very good?

This is an older thread specifically around the data available via API. There are many Home charger recommendation threads that mention BP Pulse if you search on BP Pulse or Home charger

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 12:18 pm**

SteveH wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:45 am There *is* a VW API. There's even a Python library to drive it. Not sure why Ohme say they can't use it.

I've been playing with it on my laptop and can successfully read the SoC, turn on the air con, etc. Not as capable as I'd like (doesn't appear to be a way to edit the charging times, etc.) but it does exist.

It’s not published and is a reverse-engineered open-source effort. Ohme would have to support it to their customers. Far too much work and no guarantee it won’t just disappear or fail at a moment’s notice.

But you’re right; I should have said there’s no supported VW API from VW.

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 1:59 pm**

Utumno wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 12:18 pm
SteveH wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:45 am There *is* a VW API. There's even a Python library to drive it. Not sure why Ohme say they can't use it.

I've been playing with it on my laptop and can successfully read the SoC, turn on the air con, etc. Not as capable as I'd like (doesn't appear to be a way to edit the charging times, etc.) but it does exist.

It’s not published and is a reverse-engineered open-source effort. Ohme would have to support it to their customers. Far too much work and no guarantee it won’t just disappear or fail at a moment’s notice.

But you’re right; I should have said there’s no supported VW API from VW.

Interesting stuff! I have an Ohme cable and it has the same (or similar) issue with Stellantis cars as we have an e208 with ID3 on order. To be honest it isn't a problem providing you can look at the % SOC in the app and just ask Ohme to add the required amount to reach 80%. It does overshoot by 2-3% sometimes though. I have got so used to doing this now I'd probably be confused if it started reading the SOC!

Posted: **Mon Jan 03, 2022 4:32 pm**

The real WTF to me is why chargers need an API at all - why isn't stuff like SoC made available to them through the charging cable?!

Volkswagen ID.3 Forum

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