EVCS in Auto mode imported 86% from grid, barely charged the car, and the screen is corrupted

Q&A and troubleshooting EVCS
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1

Hi,

I’m seeing a very frustrating issue with my Victron EV Charging Station in Auto mode and I’m trying to understand whether this is a configuration problem, a metering/reporting problem, or a charger/communication fault.

Setup

  • 3-phase setup (MultiPlus-II 48/6k5/100-50, firmware version: 2602560)

  • EV charger in Auto mode (firmware version: v2.07)

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  • Solar production yesterday was very good, for sure that was not the problem

  • Plenty of sun during the day, so there should have been enough excess solar available

What happened

The car stayed plugged in and “charging” for almost the whole day.
VRM showed that around 35 kWh had been charged during the session, so at first glance everything looked normal and there were no obvious errors.
However, the car itself only took around 2 kWh.

Later, I exported a VRM report and it showed that about 86% of yesterday’s EV charge came from the grid, which makes even less sense because solar production was strong and the charger was in Auto mode.
So the worst part is:

  • the system seems to have imported a lot from the grid,

  • the car did not actually charge properly,

  • and there were no clear errors shown in the app.

Additional symptom

The EV charger screen also looks corrupted, with vertical lines and the display becoming unreadable.

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Because of that, I no longer trust the local screen to show the real charging state or any warnings correctly.

After a restart, the screen is back to normal.

What I want to understand

  • Could this be a CP/control pilot communication issue between the charger and the car?

  • Could the EVCS think it is charging while the car is not actually accepting power?

  • Could this be a VRM/EVCS metering or reporting issue?

  • Could Auto mode be incorrectly taking power from the grid even when there is enough PV?

  • Is the corrupted display a sign of a broader EVCS hardware fault?

Questions

  1. Has anyone seen a case where VRM reports significant charged energy, but the car receives almost nothing?

  2. Has anyone seen Auto mode import heavily from the grid even with strong solar available?

  3. Can a CP/handshake issue cause the charger to appear active without actually delivering useful energy to the car?

  4. Could the broken screen be related to the charging/control issue, or is it likely a separate hardware problem?

  5. What logs, screenshots, or diagnostics should I collect next from VRM / GX / EVCS to narrow this down?

At this point, my main concern is not just bad charging performance, but the fact that the system seems to have pulled power from the grid without actually charging the car, which is obviously not what Auto mode should be doing.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

2

what car was that? if it’s a Zoe, make sure the minimum charging curent is higher that 10A as the device is recomending

3

yes, it was a Renault Zoe and the minimum current was the default one (6A)

4

Hi maryusmm97,

did the change of the minimum current fixed the problem?

I didn’t face the charging problem but the wallbox display look almost exactly the same.

The wallbox was allready at technical support, but after a 24h test the display error didn’t occur. So I received the wallbox without any changes.

After new installation the display topic showed aup again on the next da. Full restart fixed the problem for about 3 weeks. Now same display topic again.

Any hints or ideas?

firmware is: 2.09; integrated in full victron system

Greets

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5

Hi @cybermark

I haven’t tried anymore to charge that car (the Renault Zoe). I guess it should work with the minimum current set to 10A, but luckily it’s not my car and after that experience I won’t even consider buying a zoe.

Leaving that aside, I also have the same screen from time to time. It charges normally, but the screen looks exactly as in your picture.

The guys who installed my EVCS, came by my place about 3 or 4 weeks ago and made some changes to the motherboard (or some components on it) and said if I still encounter the same error, they will come and replace it.

I had it again, so now I’m waiting to get a new EVCS.