@Ben_OVO the car stayed with Renault for 2 weeks while we were away on holiday, and they tested charging in various settings (and it worked) but also performed a software update.
We collected the car a week ago, and have since performed 4 out of 4 successful charges.
The key learning (for me) is not to use the MyRenault App for scheduling or charging. On collecting the car new, I was advised by Renault to let the car App lead the charging, but my own experience, and research has since shown this to be problematic and inconsistent.
I said I would share my findings, and here they are.
I have now completed four successful on demand charges at home in the past 7 days, and since I started letting the OVO Charge App lead the charging it seems to be working smoothly.
Here is how mine is set up:
CAR - Renault 5 EV 52kWh (Roland Garros +)
CHARGER - Hypervolt Home Pro 3
ELECTRIC - OVO Charge Anytime
SCHEDULING - Because OVO Charge Anytime is a flat tariff charge to me, and available for 24 hours, I don’t use scheduling, so my requirement is for an immediate charge (using the OVO discounted rate, not Urgent rate), and for a sufficient time to add the required battery level. I usually do this during the day, but I have left the car charging over night twice, with a Car Ready time around midnight/1pm, but then used the car (with charge complete) many hours later.
SET-UP :
- Switch off any Charging programmes from the MyRenault App (MR), and also from the car infotainment system. Take off all schedules from MR App, and charge without reference to the MR. N.B. On collecting the car new from Renault, the Sales guy told me to always use the MR App for scheduling and charging. I've found it to be much better without MR, especially because MR has regular outages as well. It's far better to use 2 components, (Electricity and Charger Apps) if you can, rather than adding a 3rd variable to the mix of charging Apps. This means I can’t Precondition the car, but I would rather have a reliable charging programme than the perfect temperature in the car.
- In OVO Charge App (OVO), “Account/Devices” add your Hypervolt (H) charger to the OVO app.
- In OVO again, in ‘Account/Devices” add your type of car to OVO.
- In H, first check the linking of H to OVO Charge Anytime, so that in the H Home screen, "OVO Mode" is showing, so that the two are connected.
- In H again, make sure that the toggle in "Charger Settings”/“Random Start” is set to “Disabled” - this stops OVO delaying the start of charging, and the car going to sleep.
- Decide what charge level you require for the car (80%?, 100%?), and set this in the Car or MR before thinking about charging.
- Then set a "Car Ready" time in OVO before connecting, and it’s best to set this "Car Ready” time several minutes BEFORE connecting the car to the charger to give OVO time to receive the command.
- Put in this “Car Ready” time in OVO at least 1 hour later than your connection time, and slightly over the time that is needed to get the charge to your required level, e.g. 80/100% - this stops the car “sleeping” waiting to charge. I have been giving OVO an “Extra” 10-30 minutes more time than is necessary to charge the car to the level that I set.
- Connect the H charger cable to the car, with the cable fully uncoiled - to ensure that there is no power loss or heat build-up in the cable.
- Check that after plugging your EV in, that the H Home screen is showing the car nearby and connected and that OVO is showing either Smart Charging/Waiting to Smart Charge.
- Once connected, the Display in the car charging flap should quickly change from “White/White Flashing” to “Blue” and this means that the charging has started, and H and OVO should also both show charging in process. The MR App should also notify you that charging has commenced, and you can then use the MR to check charging progress.
- For charging connection and unconnection there is no need (or place even) to press any buttons in the H App; the H App simply shows you a picture of what is happening.
- when charging is complete (and the car display in the charging flap should show as “Green”), simply unlock the car, and then unlock the Charging cable using the Unlock button inside the car charging flap. Both OVO and H will then show charging has stopped.
Below is a Troubleshooting List that I've compiled should the charger not start for some reason. As of yet, I haven't had to do this:
TROUBLESHOOTING :
Connectivity check on the car.
Ensure you have subscribed to Renault Connected Services - To establish communication with your vehicle, you'll need a subscription to Renault Connected Services.
Your Renault Connected Services package will need to include charging control.
From the Car main menu, press “Services”.
The “Settings” menu enables you to adjust Car Connectivity and Data:
- “Data sharing settings”. Ensure that Data Sharing is activated.
OVO AND HYPERVOLT
To resolve a possible connectivity issue between H and OVO, you can refresh the connection in the OVO Charge app by following these steps:
- Go to the 'Schedule' section of the app.
- Select your charger and tap the refresh option.
- Wait 15 minutes for the connection to re-establish before starting your next charge.
If refreshing does not work, the next step is to remove and re-add your charger:
4. Delete the Charger:
- Close and reopen the OVO Charge app.
- Go to the 'Schedule' section, where you should now see a 'connect a device' option.
- Follow the on-screen process to add your car back.
- Open the OVO Charge app.
- Navigate to the 'Account' section.
- Click on 'Devices' at the top.
- Select your charger from the list.
- Choose the option to 'remove and delete' it.
- Re-add the Charger:
After re-adding the charger, please allow 30 to 45 minutes for all connections to fully re-establish. Your vehicle should then be ready for its next charge.
5. If your charger is offline, try resetting the unit by following these steps:
- Switch off power to the charger completely at the fuse box to Re-Boot H. Switch off HyperVolt at fuse box and wait 10-15 seconds before switching back on to re-do the “handshake" with OVO
- Wait for 2 minutes before turning the power back on.
- Allow 10 to 20 minutes for the charger to reconnect online.
Once the charger is back online, you can attempt to re-link following the above steps. If it still stays offline, please reach out to the charger manufacturer for further assistance.
Re-try the steps 1-5 above
CAR SLEEPING AND NOT CHARGING :
The Car can “sleep” after 2-4 minutes following connection if no charging instruction is received, so disconnect the charger and start again.