Renault Zoe Charging Issues. - Cheap Fix

[@steveevans444]

Very lucky to have such s qualified technician. My Zoé 41kwh charger failed, it charges at home but not on public chargers. I live in France, they want to charge me 3900 Euros to replace the WHOLE unit. But your video proves thus isn't necessary.

[@Mladjasmilic]

Probably L3/N relay failed in closed position.

[@norbert-robertmarczin6104]

Where i found this relay because the same probleme i have ​@@Mladjasmilic

[@davidspencer7254]

you have no idea how much confidence in ev ownership this series has given me.

[@supernova1976]

Top Technician Electrician , not easy to find expertise in this field. This is excellent .

[@marks-0-0]

We will have a lot more confidence in EV's in the future when we know that repairs are possible to individual parts like this. Well done James and Matt.

[@davestarr.8772]

I'm just about to purchase a used Zoe from David at Cleevely EVS. This video has given me much confidence in this company. Well done Pete.

[@MCSMIK]

A repair done properly by people that know what they are doing. Excellent video and wonderful skills shown

[@JeanPierreWhite]

Impressive they have all the diagnostic tools and know how. Easy access to purchase the individual parts. Nice. Tesla watch out, second hand EV's have to be repairable at reasonable cost out of warranty. Parts availability is key. Renault are doing well by their customers.

[@edlowry1]

But this job cost £500, the Renault dealership would cost thousands?

[@JeanPierreWhite]

@@edlowry1 yep. The point is the parts are readily available. Good luck getting these types of parts from Tesla

[@edlowry1]

@@JeanPierreWhite Ah I see what you mean, hopefully Tesla will be able provide after market parts eventually, Renault have been doing it for a while I guess.

[@williamarmstrong7199]

@@JeanPierreWhite plenty of parts avaliable from.scrap Teslas'

[@JeanPierreWhite]

@@williamarmstrong7199 how many of those scrap parts are new and come with a warranty?

[@iainmackie7064]

Not that I needed reconfirming, but it has confirmed two things; 1. I am going to leave this sort of thing to experts, and 2. I live FAR too far away from Matt’s Magic Motor Cave. Very interesting and educational video. Great stuff.

[@gregorvanegdom]

"An inductor smoothes out current like a capacitor smoothes out voltage" Wow. Thanks I've never had it explained so simply.

[@janvanrookhuijzen8309]

Every garage needs a Pete

[@zxyqwerty123]

Great explanation of how it all works, really enjoyed watching, Not sure I’d call several hundred quid a cheap fix though, cheaper than a dealer though I suppose. Nice to see they built it with maintenance in mind to swap out parts rather than changing the whole lump 👍

[@pollywollydo]

Some idea of replacement part prices would be interesting

[@zaballe]

Great job! Thank you for this video! From a French guy having a Zoe R240 since 2019 jan. and never had electric troubles but likes to learn !

[@JonathanPorterfield]

This is fantastic , unlike a Renault main dealer who will just 'throw your money at it' until it works ! Diagnostic is key , and skills too.👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@itchywitchy]

Great to see in dependent garages carrying out EV repairs at sensible prices, this should give a lot of people confidence in buying an older EV.

[@gramamg100]

Nice to see a tech who really knows his stuff, I wonder how many there are around at his level. It would be great to have a channel just explaining the car electrical systems. Just for those of us who just like to know.

[@bucklelanefarm]

Loving this series James. We’ll see mechanics skilling up like this over the coming years and repairing/modifying EVs will be no more scary than it is with ICE cars today.

[@jeremylister89]

Just don't touch the 800V battery terminals (new kia)

[@richardgledhill]

Impressive stuff! Is it sad that I recognised the Infineon IGBT pack and associated capacitor before you said what they are...? Very impressive knowledge there, nice one.

[@Ikbeneengeit]

This guy knows exactly what he's talking about, very impressive.

[@SimonHollandfilms]

great stuff... diagnostic and critical part fix. that's what all dealers need to learn to do.

[@RWBHere]

Thanks for this one, James. I've bookmarked it for reference, in case we need Pete's assistance anytime.

[@GlynHudson]

Good job! Really enjoying these technical videos. Please continue to make them as you encounter issues with customer cars at Cleevely EV

[@Richardincancale]

The beauty of EVs, you can strip down the systems without getting covered in oil and black gunge!

[@computerbob06]

But for some engineers, that's half the fun!

[@peterhric2942]

there is a lot of oil and other liquids in EVs as well :)

[@Richardincancale]

@@peterhric2942 True - but they aren’t nearly as messy as they aren’t mixed with burnt blow-by combustion products.

[@hughmarcus1]

But there’s a chance you could fry yourself 😬

[@maseratirijder]

​@@hughmarcus1There IS a risk to gaz yourself or burn yourself with a combustion engine aswell 🤣🤣 both have their UPS and downs

[@eamonstack4139]

Very important video by independent expert member of the EV community. This is a vital community capacity and service in order to accelarate thr transition to sustainable transport.

[@peterwaller]

So many EV KZbin channels. This is a great niche. Very interesting and as others have said confidence inspiring for the future. Thanks James.

[@bruceharrison9798]

Yet another fantastic vid, thanks for all your hard work James, merry Christmas.

[@MrKOenigma]

When i saw him handling the igbt rectifier on the concrete floor, i immediately thought: that's going to need replacement as the cooling contact plate is damaged. Then he told us that's the culprit he's going to replace.... I was so relieved😂

[@robsmith1a]

I don't have a Zoe any more but that was interesting. People are so used to throwing out perfectly good parts that they don't think about this kind of repair. I have always had similar frustrations with ICE vehicles too.

[@jeremylister89]

All very interesting👍 More concerning is WHY did the Infineon module fail? If it's a common issue like you said, it sounds like a design fault meaning ALL modules are at risk.

[@engleblerthumferlumpadinck6536]

✋ Sshhhhhusssh! You'll force Zoe prices down with comments like that

[@dennislyon5412]

Nice to see that service can be broken down to individual devices inside the larger package. We don’t necessarily like to see a repeatable failure on an EV, since that appears to be a sort of design or performance shortcoming, which could steer people away from a particular brand if the likelihood of failure is high, and it can occur outside of warranty. Is the replacement part “improved”? Or could/will the same part fail again?

[@vincentdeviry1228]

congratulation, best reward to engineers who have designed that car so as to be easily repared! thanks!

[@eDriver]

Great training video, well done! Thanks!

[@petersylvester2905]

Excellent, the mechanics that get in early and learn how to repair EVs are going to do well, and so they should.

[@daveg56]

Excellent video, really helpful to understand how it works. Having the same vehicle it's good to know where to go for any issues!

[@lallaveokenvensuensang7138]

Have a Zoe that is taking 18 hours to charge on a 43KW charger and I have been told by Renault dealer that the whole thing needs to be change, over £6000 for a car that is barely 5 years old. I lost faith on EV and unfortunately on Renault. I'm thinking to go back to petrol until mechanics figure out how EV works, unless @james knows best and can help : )

[@marceln.5216]

Hey guys. First of all, awesome documentation. It’s nice to know there is someone who can diagnose this cars. My big problem is to get Information to repair these parts. And to offer it to my clients. I try to find information about the parts in the ZOE. Talk to Renault and Continental but they won’t give me informations about this stuff. So I searching for workshops which repair these parts for me. It is possible to get in contact with these technicians? Best regards

[@sooperzero4087]

Thanks for sharing this info with us! Great to see these vehicles being fixed and put back on the road!

[@3coppynook]

Interesting video, my zoe going in next week for charging issues, thankfully James got the car running ok at home and charging in the Tempory condition ok with no heat or air con but usable.

[@ashleylee4446]

Clearly nothing ‘Cheap’ about this (cheap has connotations of shoddy and inadequate). Hope I’m not sounding picky here James. This is obviously a very professional job done by a company and technicians that know what they’re doing. Great job James and the crew at Cleevely. As others have said, it’s great to know that there are facilities available such as this to keep older EVs on the road at economically viable prices.

[@Beorn.]

I had decided to go for an ev next but after having to make a longish drive at night recently 125 miles and return within an hour I realised if I'd of been in an EV it would not of been possible. I am now thinking of a hybrid such as Peugeot 3008 hybrid 4. It has good reviews and is affordable. The bulk of journeys I can do in EV mode but with the ice to fall back on. I did check there is only 1 public charger en route as well but on this occasion I was on a tight schedule.

[@kjelllindberg6987]

You could do that in a Zoe ZE40 without a problem, at least down to -5C if staying below 95km/h, even with a crappy battery. With the new Zoe ZE50 no problem to go 110km/h all distance even at -10C. My best so far has been 238km with 7% left at -17C (comfort 20C inside and 95km/h highway usage) but that was with an SoH (State of Health) at 99% battery. 59000km SoH is at 97% in 15 months. Or as a backup plan, preheat the battery/compartment for at least 3 periods (stupid french programmers) before starting the journey than on the way back go for eco mode and stay below 90km/h and no heat... Then it would work just fine even at -10C in ZE40

[@cjmillsnun]

Before lockdown I was commuting 120-130 miles a day in my ZE40 without charging. It could technically be done in a ZE40 with a Q motor or a ZE50 as long as you had a rapid charger en route. Something like a Hyundai Kona or a Kia E-Niro could do it in one but are more expensive. All I'll say is maybe not now, but soon you'll have an affordable EV option for that type of journey. The at night bit makes little difference as the lights are run off the 12V battery and the only connection with the 12V circuit and the traction circuit is the DC - DC converter that takes a small amount of power from the traction battery to keep the 12V battery topped up.

[@wolffgramm]

Thanks a lot for this info ! I am having charging issues with my Kangoo Z.E. 22 KwH and are at the point of selling it for a way to low price. It is in new state !!! I will find out at Renault tomorow if I can buy these parts. Thanks again !

[@clivetimbrell]

I met a Zoe owner at a rapid charger in Evesham. She said that it wasn't able to charge at home or work. She'd bought it second hand and her dealer had "very kindly" exchanged it for a Cloe to help her out. Trouble is she will not be buying electric in future.

[@V10PDTDI]

Great fix I’m wondering did any of the module made any fault codes ?

[@gino2465]

Very intresting, are parts only avalable via Renault only

[@stephenclay6852]

Hi James yet another fantastic video. With what you said about how much the main dealer would charge for that job thank god for these people. Is it the same garage you did all your other videos from and can they work on any Ev. Once again James a very informative and interesting video.

[@MrRicey155]

Love this series on the zoe 👌 Cheap cures always welcome 💕

[@sheepcute]

As a LEAF owner myself, where I'm from the issue is a lack of people with this kind of expertise - so you end up taking the car to the main dealer who has little idea what they're working on. I cannot imagine them even replacing the OBC, let alone repairing it!

[@gabechiplin8140]

Thanks James and Pete, love this sort of content.

[@kitemanify]

Any teardown technical documents, diagnosis tools etc you can share further on this repair? Or any good sources for used/rebuild BCB's? Are they car/VIN specific or swappable? I have a 2013 with a defect BCB. Are damaged sub-components typically visually diagnosable?

[@simonloker8334]

Hi great video. I also would like to know if we are able to get parts from internet. rather than dealers?

[@bellshooter]

Another great independent garage value repair.

[@EVPaddy]

Mine didn’t charge 3 phase anymore and threw an error after every 100% charge. It also didn’t charge if the battery was over 27ºC. With a special software I was able to reset the error over and over again. Suddenly, now the error doesn’t show up anymore and I can charge single phase at least just fine, as if nothing happened. I did’t dare to try whether I can charge 3 phase because when I had the problem this made a horrible short circuit. PS: Renault behaved horribly, refused to grant warraty. I paid 1650€ for a new filter and after 600km I had the same problem (as discribed above) again. So they wanted to sell me a new motor for 4000€. Nope.

[@ricardoaguiar8841]

True horror stories from Renault. And not all of us live near one of these centres of excellence.

[@ssouza5364]

Nice work! Did you use a OBD scanner to diagnose? If so which one would do the job?

[@alandavis5059]

What diagnostic equipment do you use?

[@Bazakilouis]

Thanks for the video. If I will have problems charging in the future maybe I wanna give this a try with some help of a mechanic

[@pedrocarrilho6188]

Hi. Great video. Do you know our can explain how to replace the water pump in a Zoe ZE40 R90? THANKS

[@madal101]

My wife’s 2015 Zoe (Q210) has just come up with that fault code.. we’ve tried 2 other charge points in case our home charger is faulty, but still same. Battery charges when being driven (braking, slowing down), but not from charge point. Only happened this week when it was really hot, charged fine on Sunday.. really stumped now

[@RedBatteryHead]

Great technical explanation. I would do the bits on a workbench though 😉

[@keithw32123]

For vehicles sold in the United States, its a federal mandate for car manufactures to provide an 8 year warranty for the battery, electric motor and electric components including the inverter and charge controller. So a 2014 vehicle would still be covered, for no cost repair at the dealer assuming they have someone trained with the know how. For example, Chevrolet says on its web site... in addition to the Bumper-to-Bumper Coverage described previously, Chevrolet will warrant certain components for each Chevrolet Volt, Bolt EV, and Malibu Hybrid for 8 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 kilometers) , whichever comes first, from the original in-service date of the vehicle, against warrantable repairs to the specific electric propulsion components of the vehicle. If you don't have something like that in the UK, tell your MOT staff they should add that to the car manufacture's requirements as part of the 10 point plan green revolution recently published. Well done.

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

Nice one James. Great to see that proper repair and diagnosis is being done. Are the component subassembly parts available from Renault or are they aftermarket only? (So Renault just does bigbit swapping as you describe). Great video!

[@klisurski]

He said that it is Infenion circuit, so I suppose he is ordering the black box from Infenion directly.

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

@@klisurski Infineon? I doubt he ordered it directly from them. That's not how Tier ones to OEMs work.

[@klisurski]

@@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524 I don't think it is OEM made for Renault. I believe Renault picked available at the time components from Infeneon's catalogue (and other brands too) and combined them together into the aluminum casing as a Renault part.

[@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524]

@@klisurski Yes indeed. How many times as a small possibly even single item buyer have you bought anything from Infineon? They are a B2B company! You have to buy through multiple intermediteries if the part is even available throught that route... Not always guaranteed.

[@klisurski]

@@ruaraidhmcdonald-walker9524 you are correct-I thought I've bought some SMDs for ECUs from their website in the past, but it was actually a reseller's website. I just confirmed now.

[@Whereswally606]

I have to say that it is really great to see that you can order the components new from renault. Nissan fails badly in this area. Also they appear to have been designed with maintenance in mind. Again Nissan fall down here too.

[@klisurski]

I doubt he ordered the black box from Renault directly. Rather from Infenion or other electronics store

[@MrKOenigma]

I need to find these kind of specialists in my area! Top

[@zoltantoth2801]

Hi, thanks the lecture video, it was very informative. I have a question (maybe not a wrong supposition), I am curious about your answer: is it reasoneable assumption, that the AC charging (up to 22kW) is much better for an EV battery's lifeterm (like Zoe), than the DC charging (50kW and beyond)? What do you think about it, what is your experience? What battery-degradations you have perceived yet? If my supposition is right, it means, the Zoe could be better choice, than many newer EV (in long term), because of its 22kW recharging possibility (if that is better for the battery than the DC charging). And btw it's cheaper, too! What is your opinion?

[@wobby1516]

That’s brilliant, just shows than contrary to what some say, these cars can be repaired and at a reasonable price by specialist repair shops. This is another fledgling industry born out of BEVs. alongside mining for lithium in Cornwall and the supply and maintenance of charge points both domestic and commercial..

[@RichardMoy-m8e]

Atm it’s a distant dream having a ev mechanic that knows what they are doing! Having t charging issues with my kangoo ze! Can’t find anyone who can fix it! Is this gentleman in the London area by any chance?

[@tmtcschannel]

Had charging problem last last year with my 2013 Leaf, would only charge on chademo port. Nissan dealership had her for 1 week, charging unit replaces at £2700 pounds. best extended warranty I ever took out for £300 pounds. I wonder how much of this is still down to dealerships not understanding the tech they are working with.

[@klisurski]

None of it. Dealers are replacing the whole units. There are cases where for similar problem, as the one in the video, dealers are quoting replacing the entire drivetrain as parts were hardcoded by VIN. Most of the dealers don't understand electric modules at all. They would have to learn at some point in order to keep their jobs.

[@Mobile_Dom]

i woldnt even know where to start becoming an ev mchanic like this, but it seems quite fullfilling

[@chilam6227]

Brimage videos, thanks so much. I'm off to test drive an mg zs on Sunday. How did you manage to get a 5 day test drive lol

[@Jamesandkate]

MG HQ lent it to us. Enjoy your drive 👍🏻

[@belos65]

Hello! Thanks! Too good Videos. I read in a newspaper that it cost a Renault Zoe owner from Scotland 100,000 Swedish kronor to have a new charging port installed and connected. Do you know if this is really correct? Thanks! From Tommy.

[@mirlindaleci141]

What kind of diagnostics are you using ?

[@JanBartSpang]

You're making things look easy there! 😉

[@barryhaeger4284]

Interesting video because I know early Zoe's were very fussy on their charging requirements and I remember having a Zoe for 4-day trial which wouldn't charge on a granny charger at my home and I had to keep going back to the dealer every day for a couple of hours. Regarding the repair, isn't this sort of thing a warranty repair or does Zoe have a short warranty? Technical point but the camera you used in the workshop I think wasn't set to 50Hz lighting and the brightness (of the workshop floor in particular) had a pulsing effect.

[@DPortain]

I've had a similar repair done on my Zoe, and it's covered by the 5-year warranty on the drivetrain.

[@roodick85]

In having the same issue with my Nissan Leaf. I believe they share the same bits as well

[@klisurski]

I doubt there is a Nissan Leaf with 40kw AC charging as this ZOE.

[@FritsvanderHolst]

Hi, I am like stuck in such a problem. Zoë quick charge, had an upgrade to 41 kWh battery, got it second hand. Worked perfectly for me for 3½ years so the car is total close to 7 years old. Does not charge on 3 fase anymore, only 1 fase charging works which I can do at home only atm. Official Renault dealer saying, only fully replacing the rectifyer unit at 4200€ will fix the problem. Which just breaks the bank for us. As I had my education in electrical engineering (landed in IT specialist work, sorry 😉) it feels totally idiotic to throw away the whole rectifyer unit. And we simply can't spend this chunck of money in current crisis. Do you have any pointers where to find such a skilled repair shop in the Netherlands?

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Keep these coming... reality is good

[@ronaldmillsopp3802]

James &Kate, didn't you guys own a Zoe? What experience did you have of the Zoe ?

[@leoclarke6462]

Are you doing a 12m review of your MG EV ?

[@computerbob06]

Is Pete gonna setup franchises around the country?

[@willemajorwilliemajor476]

Hi there. Do you repair the Zoe drive unit. Won’t go above 20 mph. Battery light stays on so low voltage system not charging

[@Jamesandkate]

We do

[@nigelweir3852]

Ps don’t panic , had same Zoe , 42 000 + miles , perfect working, now with 50 , great cars

[@eDriver]

My Zoe Q90 now have 140.000 km (87 000 miles) and no problem so far.

[@veli-pekkaheinsuo]

Can you insert three phase charge to the Renault Kangoo 33kwh ?

[@alexanfilets7134]

Did it throw an error"Electric failure danger" on dashboard with that issue?

[@richardsedorski1206]

Another fantastic and interesting vid 👍👍👍

[@makpsv]

So it's just hardware parts? No need to reprogram or pair with the car? I signed on a 17 ZE 40 R90 on Thursday and they're supposedly giving it to me on Tuesday or Wednesday. The problem is yesterday I was googling for more info about the equipment of my model and trim level and I stumbled on a post about a car exactly as mine with charging problems that the dealer bought back because of that and that they had sold it like an R110. It's too much coincidence, the Km, first registration, location and everything seems to fit with my car... If it is the case and I have problems with charging it I could buy a used charging unit and swap it into mine? I'm a mechanic, but I've never touched an EV, so I would have to learn before I do anything to it. The problem is that there seems to be no garage in my area that specializes on EV, and if the dealer didn't help with the last owner... 😰

[@wolffgramm]

Can you tell me what parts and parts numbers are replaced ? Thanks and kind regards. Martin from the Netherlands.

[@AdamLilleyAdamamyplus3]

Did it have and fault codes? I currently have a 2019 with a 's2 relay' fault.. Any help or information on this would be greatly received 🙏

[@SirHackaL0t.]

By the sounds of it this is a common fault in the Zoe Are the replacement parts a better design?

[@eDriver]

I hope this will not be a common problem. My Zoe Q90 has now 140.00 km after 2 1/2 years. And so far every thing ok. Almost zero problems. Except after 4 week, there was an error message on the display for 2 seconds "electrical system fault" So the Renault garage don't know why this happens and Renault told them to replaced the carbon brushes in the motor. But that was a warranty case... Until now all is fine!

[@SirHackaL0t.]

@@eDriver Carbon brushes? Really? Wow, my washing machine used to have those. They used to wear out and have to be replaced. I thought all EVs used brushless motors these days. Glad that it’s not a common issue.

[@klisurski]

@@eDriver I think Renault just didn't know what were talking about. Hopefully they were joking. This message usually appears when 12v battery is low, but not only. There are no carbon brushes in ZOE motors as the coils are in the stator (synchronous electric motor)

[@DPTech_workroom]

Hello! Is it possible to charge the car with one phase split by three ? To connect L1, L2, L3 on one phase? Or just to L1 and L2 and the L3 connects to the Neutral? I read somewhere, if charging only with one phase, the capacitor will dry out and on three phase charging can be an issue with time. Is it true?

[@Jamesandkate]

You can use 1p or 3p. If you start on 1p you can't switch to 3p without stopping the charge, if you do you'll damage it. Going the other way isn't an issue, it will pull the charge. It sets the type of charge from checking if you're on 3p/1p during initialisation. Charging on either for long periods is no issue. You can't split 1p across the three phases as the PEB drops L3 to neutral.

[@DPTech_workroom]

@@Jamesandkate ok. What will happen, if I split one phase to two? To L1 (230v) and L2 (230v) as the PEB drops L3 to neutral. Will it see it as a 1p charge? but using all 3 lines?

[@evmechanic]

Hi, we deal with a lot Zoe and can I know how can I order the rectifier blakc box and how much is it. Thanks

[@MrWobling]

How much of this equipment is different for rapid/Q models vs regular? We have a Q model Zoe, but I've heard there are less than 400 of them in the UK, which makes me worry about part availability.

[@dorsetengineering]

No difference, because this is a q model

[@Veoner]

I have problem with dc leakage, when use new charger, how to fix?

[@maerklin29800]

Are those kind of faults eventuelly caused by software bugs of those components (PEB, BCB, EVC, ...)? Because Renault offers different updates for each of those components which I forced my dealer to install. XD I heard that there was a bug where one compoment was smoked, when a charging station offered 2 of 3 phases and the Zoe then thought it could start a single phase charge or something. So this should be fixed with updating the components right?

[@klisurski]

The issue that you are describing is when 2nd phase goes down from your 3ph supply for some reason during charging (eg separate fuses in the fusebox and only 2 goes blown) then Zoe decides to switch to single phase charging as it monitors just 2nd phase to establish if 3phase AC supplybis available and decides the supply is single phase only. This causes a relay to short the 3rd phase to Neutral and BANG. I am not sure that monitoring the 3rd phase could be fixed with SW update, but disabling the auto 3to1phase switching could be. I might be wrong. The relay is in the filter box which is the smaller lid that he did not open in this video.

[@emrannayani6262]

Hi, I seem to have the similar charging issues. Where about are you based please?

[@franackerman295]

Do these guys work on PHEV’s? I got an outlander the could do with an early service?

[@neilcase]

So what's the typcial warranty period on the electronics in one of these EV's?

[@StationGarageSt]

Normie car owner "surely fixing my car isn't rocket science" (Oh wow, yes it is!). Matt showing a James Maxwell level of understanding of electricity not found (but much needed) in the brave new world of BEV service and diagnostics.

[@belos65]

Please! Can you please show how to change the brake fluid on a Renault Zoe Thanks! from Tommy Bertilsson From Sweden

[@jusaksiahaan9308]

so the rectifier - inductor - motor - motor windings and the voltage is step up to the needed voltage and then come back to the battery, it is the flow of charging in renault zoe. please comment me if I wrong

[@nickieredshaw7835]

Well done 👍 great job one happy Zoe and owner I bet

[@skippercaship]

Where can you get this work done thank you