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David P J
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March 8, 2023
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Smart meters and EV chargers - no CT clamp with fitted

  • March 8, 2023
  • 37 replies
  • 9940 views

Hi 

has anyone had trouble after a smart meter was fitted with their charger ? I have as the meter was fitted correctly but a clamp that must be in place for the charger to work was omitted. Ovo refused to come out and help in spite of many requests and denied anything was wrong. Most irritating. Now fixes BT replacing clamp

Best answer by M.isterW

Updated on 30/01/26 by Ben_OVO

We would always recommend seeking professional advice from an electrician for anything related to your home’s electrics. 

 

I assume you are talking about the CT clamp that would have been put round the "live" meter tail when the charger was installed? Just clamp it back round the new meter tail. You don't need an electrician to do it. It should have an arrow on it to show which way it goes. Make sure this points towards the load (i.e. the consumer unit).

A CT clamp is a current transformer that clamps round a cable. They use the current flowing in the cable to generate a small current that is sent to whatever device they're connected to (car charger, solar battery etc). The device uses the current to determine how many amps are flowing in the cable. A car charger will use this measurement to make sure it isn't drawing too much current.

 

We would always recommend seeking professional advice from an electrician for anything related to your home’s electrics. 

 

 

37 replies

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Blastoise186
Super User
Blastoise186Super User
Super User
July 25, 2023

That… Shouldn’t happen…

What do you mean by disables the charger?

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    Newcomer
    AndrewV
    Newcomer
    July 25, 2023

    The EV charger DID work and now, after the smart-meter has been fitted, it stopped working.  From looking at another thread in this Forum it looks like the OVO Engineer may have forgotten to re-fit  the “CT Clamp”?  Like another member, I’m having a lot of difficulty in even speaking to someone in customer services (I’ve been trying for 5 days) who can resolve this problem without saying “I need to wait until the end of August for an appointment” (evidently there is a minimum 17, working days, before OVO will book an Engineer to visit, even thought it was and OVO Engineer who made the error.  
     

    #Tim_OVO.  You were able to reply / help with the other customer thread, are you able to help me?  

    Blastoise186
    Super User
    Blastoise186Super User
    Super User
    July 25, 2023

    Initially, I’d try putting that CT Clamp back on and have a word with the charger manufacturer. Fixing this may be out of OVO’s scope.

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      AndrewV
      Newcomer
      July 25, 2023

      I don’t know what a “CT Clamp” is … there’s nothing (loose/unattached) remaining in the meter box … I can only assume that the OVO Engineer removed it and took it away.  I’m not an electrician so I’m reluctant to try and fix this myself.  It’s annoying because the OVO Engineer said that he thought the EV Charging cables (connected to the meter) were the “wrong colour” so he took it upon himself to change them (he didn’t ask my permission) and I didn’t think to ask him to check that the charger still worked.  I assumed that he knew what he was doing.  Do you think that my logic is wrong and that this, somehow, wasn’t an impact of what the Engineer did?  Would there have been a “CT Clamp” on the *non* smart-meter, or would a “1984 dumb-meter” simply not need a “CT Clamp”?  Thanks for your help, much appreciated.   I spoke to Pop Point (who installed the Charger) and they wanted to help but they thought it would take OVO Energy returning to finish the job to resolve the issue.  So I’m stuck without the Charger working at all and it was a pretty important part of my house. 

      Blastoise186
      Super User
      Blastoise186Super User
      Super User
      July 25, 2023

      I’ll need to have a think about this. I’ll be back!

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        AndrewV
        Newcomer
        July 25, 2023

        Thanks .. 

        BPLightlog
        Super User
        BPLightlogSuper User
        Super User
        July 25, 2023

        Hi @AndrewV , presumably you have something like a Solo 3 (or similar) charger? There is an installation guide which explains about the CT clamp https://cdn-www.pod-point.com/PP-D-230027-1-Solo-3-Home-Install-Guide-Web-Dip-Switch-Version.pdf

        The charger needs to measure the current flowing which is why one is required. 
        Obviously I’m not suggesting this for you to fit but it’s mainly for info. I would have thought the cables connecting the charger to be out of scope for the engineer as they don’t connect straight to the meter

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          Newcomer
          AndrewV
          Newcomer
          July 25, 2023

          Many thanks, much appreciated.  Pod Point have been AMAZING … they’ve been incredibly helpful.  I’ve sent a photo of what is now in the meter-box and they have confirmed that the CT Clamp, that they installed and is my property, appears to have been removed.  My charger is actually an ARCH2 model but your Link was very helpful in me seeing what is missing (evidently the same principle applies as per the Solo model).  Pod Point say my Charger won’t work without this CT Clamp, irrespective of what ‘meter’ it is attached to (analog or digital).  OVO have opened a Health & Safety case to come and fix the issue but it will be up to 5-days before I hear when this will be booked.  In the interim,  I’m left without an EV Charger and having to buy petrol instead.  Very frustrating and totally in the opposite direction from where I want to go.  I agree, this should be out of the scope of the OVO Engineer, I wish that he’d left it alone.  If he had, I wouldn’t have had all of the aggravation of trying to get it put back!  Thanks for your help,  it’s been very useful. 

            Blastoise186
            Super User
            Blastoise186Super User
            Super User
            July 26, 2023

            Thinking about it… The cables were probably swapped to comply with current regulations. The colours did get changed sometime between the 1980’s and early 2000’s after all!

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              BPLightlog
              Super User
              BPLightlogSuper User
              Super User
              July 26, 2023

              Thinking about it… The cables were probably swapped to comply with current regulations. The colours did get changed sometime between the 1980’s and early 2000’s after all!

              The unit connects to the distribution board not the meter directly and so should not be in scope for the engineer to swap. If it was the wiring from the meter to the db, they should have simply unclipped the CT and then re-clipped it back on

              Bring me Sunshine ~ E&E {Solar PV, Battery Storage, Hybrid EV, ASHP and Home Assistant automation}
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