Charger stuck in charging port

[Burt]

Was charging at an EA/ Evolve charging station in upstate NY. (Don’t know what the combined name indicates) The charger would not activate and when I tried to remove the plug It would not budge. Year ago a friend had a similar problem with a Tesla and took hours to resolve. Was not happy. My wife came over to see why I was upset. Showed her the stuck plug. She saw what she called a button inside the charging ring in the E charging port. It had backlit writing I didn’t have a chance to read. She pushed it, I heard a click and the plug released.

I have owned the car since 12/21 and never knew the center of the charging display ring in the charging port was a button, and never saw it lit, possibly because I never had a stuck plug.

Just posting to tell others my experience not really knowing if my experience was just a lucky coincidence or an actual procedure for releasing a stuck plug, never had seen the center of the charging ring display a message, and was not aware it was a pushable button.

Posting because it might help someone else and hoping someone can clarify what actually happened.

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[RickMachE]

So you have been fast charging and not pushing the button to disconnect? That should be done EVERY session. It's also on the screen inside the car.

Manual...

 

[lifebythemile]

So you have been fast charging and not pushing the button to disconnect? That should be done EVERY session. It's also on the screen inside the car.

Manual...

I had this happen the second weekend of owning the car. All DCFC to that point had been ended on the charger's screen which would prompt the unlock. I had no idea that button was also an "unlock" button. That was until the gas station attendant pointed that out and was able to disconnect the the charge cable after both of us fiddling with it for 15min, and even trying to consult the manual in a panic. I very sheepishly said thank-you and got in my car, told my partner that we would never speak of this again, and drove away.

 

[ack154]

Was charging at an EA/ Evolve charging station in upstate NY. (Don’t know what the combined name indicates)

Electrify America operates the station but it was funded/planned by EVolveNY. They also have some EVConnect stations that are also part of the EVolveNY program - but I think most of those are L2. So it might be that EA does all of their L3 and EVConnect does the L2 (not 100% sure on that, just a guess).

https://evolveny.nypa.gov/

 

[Maquis]

I used to be that if you ended the session via the charger, the car would indicate “Charging Fault - See Manual” on the IPC. It’s best to use the unlock button in the car’s charge port.

 

[HuntingPudel]

I used to be that if you ended the session via the charger, the car would indicate “Charging Fault - See Manual” on the IPC. It’s best to use the unlock button in the car’s charge port.

Yep. And since the button is marked as an unlock, I used to routinely hit it before detaching my L2 even though it only functions for L3. ??

 

[Maquis]

Yep. And since the button is marked as an unlock, I used to routinely hit it before detaching my L2 even though it only functions for L3. ??

When I first got my car (Feb 2021), it locked the L2 connector. That was disabled in an early OTA update.

 

[HuntingPudel]

When I first got my car (Feb 2021), it locked the L2 connector. That was disabled in an early OTA update.

Yeah, they definitely “fixed” that before my car was produced. ?‍?

 

[Mach-Lee]

I have owned the car since 12/21 and never knew the center of the charging display ring in the charging port was a button, and never saw it lit, possibly because I never had a stuck plug.

You've been doing it wrong the whole time. You're supposed to press the unlock button (on the charge port or the SYNC screen) and wait for the white signal before unplugging from a DC fast charger. You've been forcing the latch down and possibly damaging the lock mechanism. The latch is not supposed to be hard to press down.

To sumarize, for AC charging you can just unlatch the J1772. For DC charging you MUST UNLOCK the cable first. The unlock button is only used for DC charging.

 

[Deezul]

Tell me you haven't read the manual, without telling me you haven't read the manual.

 

[zvez]

I've only public charged twice in 3+ years and that was just to make sure I knew how to do it. I did remember that an emergency release cable is in the frunk, if it gets stuck, not sure if that helps in this situation. I'm glad I read the thread to remind me of how to stop dc charging.

 

[Detroit33]

You've been doing it wrong the whole time. You're supposed to press the unlock button (on the charge port or the SYNC screen) and wait for the white signal before unplugging from a DC fast charger. You've been forcing the latch down and possibly damaging the lock mechanism. The latch is not supposed to be hard to press down.

To sumarize, for AC charging you can just unlatch the J1772. For DC charging you MUST UNLOCK the cable first. The unlock button is only used for DC charging.

This is an interesting comment for me. I've DCFC'd maybe 5 times, though always at the same two Red E locations (one in Grayling, MI and one in Elk Rapids, MI). I have never had to use the unlock button to remove the cable, nor have I been "forcing" the latch down. In all sessions charging was complete, so maybe the latch had already unlocked itself and was easily removed from the vehicle.

 

[Mach-Lee]

This is an interesting comment for me. I've DCFC'd maybe 5 times, though always at the same two Red E locations (one in Grayling, MI and one in Elk Rapids, MI). I have never had to use the unlock button to remove the cable, nor have I been "forcing" the latch down. In all sessions charging was complete, so maybe the latch had already unlocked itself and was easily removed from the vehicle.

If you stop it on the charger it may unlock, but that can set charge faults so it’s best to use the unlock button. And you probably shouldn’t be charging to 100% on a DC charger.

 

[IMDIDOC]

Just had a similar experience on EA. The charge never engaged to charge, so I was going to another tower, but I could not remove the plug. No lights on the port and the sync was grayed out.
After about 5 minutes, my 11 year old granddaughter removed it without issue. Now if I'm going on a long trip, she as to come with us like it or not.

 

[dtbaker61]

Was charging at an EA/ Evolve charging station in upstate NY. (Don’t know what the combined name indicates) The charger would not activate and when I tried to remove the plug It would not budge. Year ago a friend had a similar problem with a Tesla and took hours to resolve. Was not happy. My wife came over to see why I was upset. Showed her the stuck plug. She saw what she called a button inside the charging ring in the E charging port. It had backlit writing I didn’t have a chance to read. She pushed it, I heard a click and the plug released.

I have owned the car since 12/21 and never knew the center of the charging display ring in the charging port was a button, and never saw it lit, possibly because I never had a stuck plug.

yup, if you read the manual carefully, or took a really good guess at the meaning of the icon, the little 'open padlock' with a plug tail, you might have figured it out on your own.

even more hidden, and less documented, is the 'ripcord' manual pull to unlock in case the button and electronic relay fail....

you have to:
-open hood
-pull off rear and drivers side 'beauty covers'
-and fish around in the area behind the chargeport until you find a string&handle to pull to release.

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