Why is my home EV charger not charging my car?

A home EV charger that will not charge is usually failing in one of four places: no power is reaching it, a setting or schedule is holding charging back, the charger has flagged a fault, or the problem is with the car or its connection. You can narrow it down by looking and noting, without opening anything. The electrical checks that find the cause belong to a licensed electrician, because Emporia's guide says the voltage, ground and wiring checks should be performed only by a qualified professional.^[1]

Start with what the charger is showing

Look at the lights before anything else. Emporia's guide says to confirm the breaker controlling the charger is on and that the green power light is lit; if the light is off, the charger is not receiving power.^[1] A dark charger with a tripped breaker points to the circuit. A dark charger with the breaker on points to something between the panel and the charger, and that is an electrician's job to trace.

If the light is flashing, the charger is telling you what it thinks is wrong. Emporia's Classic charger shows faults as a count of slow and fast orange flashes,^[2] and its table covers low and high input voltage, over-temperature, current leakage, output short circuit, over current, a fused relay and a charger that is not grounded.^[2] Other makes use their own patterns, so check your manual. For a fused relay, Emporia says to disconnect from power immediately.^[2] Write down the pattern or take a photo; it is the most useful thing you can hand an electrician.

Settings that look like a broken charger

Plenty of "dead" chargers are working as told. Check these from the app or the car's screen:

• The charger itself. A charger set to Off in its app will not charge even with a car plugged in, and a schedule can block charging outside its hours.^[1]
• The car. Emporia notes the car's own charging settings, such as departure times or a charge schedule, may be delaying the session, and the battery may already be at its set charge limit.^[1]
• The connection. The connector should be fully inserted and latched. If you use an adapter between the charger and the car, Emporia says it must be compatible with Level 2 AC charging.^[1]
• The car's small battery. A low 12V battery can prevent the vehicle from accepting a charge.^[1]

If you can, test one thing at a time. Emporia suggests testing with a different vehicle, and the car on a different Level 2 charger.^[1] If the car charges happily elsewhere, the fault is in the charger or what feeds it. If another car fails too, the car is not the problem.

Faults that come and go

Some faults clear on their own. Grizzl-E's manual says that when a charging session is interrupted by a temporary error condition, the charger restarts charging automatically once the cause returns to normal.^[3] It also says its charger monitors the error for 60 seconds and, if the condition clears, takes a further 60 seconds to reset.^[3] A single hiccup after a storm or a utility blink may be nothing.

A fault that returns is different. Emporia notes that a loose connection is a common cause of intermittent faults,^[2] and loose connections sit inside the charger or at the outlet, where you should not be. Heat and cold matter too: the Emporia Classic is rated for operation between -22°F and 122°F,^[2] so a charger in direct afternoon sun or an unheated, exposed spot may fault on the extremes and charge fine the rest of the time. Note when it happens and tell the electrician.

What not to do

Do not use a charger that looks damaged. One manufacturer's manual says do not use the product if the cable is ragged or has broken insulation, or if the enclosure or the connector is broken or cracked.^[3] The same manual says not to use the charger with an extension cord or electrical adapter.^[3] Check your own charger's manual before putting anything between the charger and the car. Do not open a hardwired charger or an outlet to look inside, and do not keep resetting a breaker that trips again; a breaker that trips repeatedly is reporting a real problem.

When to call a licensed pro

Call a licensed electrician when the charger is dark with the breaker on, when it shows a fault that returns, when the breaker trips again after one reset, or when you see scorched plastic, smell burning or find a hot plug or outlet. Stop using the charger until it is checked in those cases.

Virginia law backs this up. The Code of Virginia says no individual may engage in work as a tradesman unless licensed (or working under a licensed tradesman's supervision),^[4] and it defines a tradesman as anyone who does work for the general public for pay in the electrical, plumbing and HVAC trades.^[5] DPOR says the Board for Contractors regulates individual tradesmen who work in the electrical trade.^[6] Use DPOR's licence lookup before you book.

To see what the visit will cover, read what an electrician checks on a home EV charger that stops working. For the money side, see how much EV charger repair costs in Virginia, and if the breaker is the symptom, read why an EV charger keeps tripping the breaker.

Loclis lists DPOR-licensed electrical businesses with their licence number. Browse electrical repair services or read more electrical repair answers.

When your car still will not charge after the checks above, describe the problem once and licensed local electricians quote the repair.