Latest PMCC OTA update broke charging my Tesla Model Y long range…

daveo4EV

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Team,

I'm working with my local service advisor to escalate a complex problem. EV chargers - EVSE's like the PMC+/PMCC should not be vendor specific, and like USB chargers eventually you won't need one of these to be delivered with each vehicle. There is honestly no reason you shouldn't be able to charge your Ford Mach-E from your Porsche PMCC unit - or vice versa…

however with the latest OTA update for the PMCC unit - my 2022 Tesla Model Y can no longer charge reliably - and prior to the update it worked fine.

So I''m attempting the impossible - I'm trying to get Porsche to care about:
  • an EV only issue
  • with their EVSE
  • that doesn't affect their vehicles
  • but does affect the overall EV eco-system
I have low expectations - but thought I would try anyways - my local service guy is GREAT - beyond great and super to work with - he has agreed to forward my comments to PCNA and see if we can get any traction on this issue - again I have LOW expectations - but maybe we'll get another update to the PMCC that addresses this regression…

my letter w/research data is included below for your entertainment value - again I do not expect to hear any details from Porsche…but we'll see where this goes…

I already did not like or respect the PMCC and feel it's an inferior product for it's market segment - this experience has not changed my opinion - there are better choices for your garage in the EV home charging space - they are cheaper, better, and higher quality than the PMCC - if it wasn't included with the vehicle there would be NO REASON to buy the PMCC given a vastly superior products at vastly better price points…

I pity anyone who isn't technical attempting to deal with this BS when they can't get their PMCC to charge their non-Porsche EV - it is the very definition of horrible customer experience and no one taking responsibility to making sure everything actually works…I pity the ordinary consumer in this space, and this is one concrete example of how far we need to come to improve EV's for broader adoption - frankly this problem should NEVER happen…

please do yourself a favor and get any EV charger other than the PMCC - it will just be sooo much less BS.

[NAME Omitted - But he's the service guy],

TLDR; (too long didn’t read summary)

  • latest PMCC software fails to charge most non-VW/Audi/Porsche vehicles at a full 40 amps
    • the PMCC's internal breaker will “trip” interrupting the charging session and requires manual intervention to restart the charging session - very very awkward at 2 am…
    • my 2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range had _ZERO_ issues charging with the PMCC prior to the latest PMCC firmware update - now it faults when attempting a charging session at full amps
  • swapping PMCC charging cables had no effect in avoiding the fault - and the 2022 Tesla Model Y still encountered a fault with the original and loaner charging cable
  • adjusting the PMCC’s own AMP’s “lower” via PMCC LCD screen settings had _NO_ effect - the PMCC will still encounter a fault at any PMCC amp setting when charging my 2022 Tesla Model Y EV
  • I have not been able to get a non-VW/Audi/Porsche product to successfully charge at full AMP’s since the update (see below for list of vehicles tested)
  • VW/Audi/Porsche EV/Hybrid Products I’ve tested all charge at full AMP’s with NO faults during the session
  • the same problem occurs on both of my PMCC units (2020 Taycan PMCC & 2021 Cayenne PMCC)
  • I have discovered a work around - _IF_ you adjust the charging amps via Tesla’s in car charging settings to 4 amps lower than current “max/adjusted” PMCC settings - the charging session will complete with no PMCC faults
    • if the PMCC is set to 40 amps - one must set the Tesla to 36 amps or lower to avoid the PMCC breaker trip
    • if the PMCC is set to 36 amps - one must set the Tesla to 32 amps or lower to avoid the PMCC breaker trip
    • if the PMCC is set to 32 amps - once must set the Tesla to 28 amps or lower to avoid the PMCC breaker trip
    • [AGAIN - EMPHASIS] - adjusting the PMCC’s AMP to lower setting and then attempting to allow the Tesla to charge at the “FULL” PMCC AMP’s will lead to a PMCC breaker fault during the charging session
  • PCNA is encourage by it’s customers “ME” - to add similar control to Taycan/Macan’s in car charging session to allow their owners to work around similar problems when attempting to use a flaky EV charger when away from home - like the PMCC in this case…in attempting to charge my Tesla - I’m able to work around the PMCC’s fault in this case by using Tesla’s in car charging software to lower the vehicle’s power demand to avoid tripping the PMCC”s breaker - this happens more than you realize in the real world - PCNA should encourage Porsche Germany to modify the Taycan/Macan software to offer a similar override to avoid similar problems.
  • I plan to return the loaner vehicle charging cable when I bring my Taycan in for service on Thursday May 19th
  • 4 photos have been enclosed in a zip file - comments/thoughts about each photo and why it’s important are in the details section

gory gory - oh sooooo gory details and photos below…

with the recent OTA software update to the Porsche Mobile Charge Connect (PMCC) I now consistently have problems charging my 2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range @ 40 amps - prior to the latest software update on the PMCC charging the Model Y at 40 amps in my home setup was problem free and 100% reliable - Plug it in and walk away - which is as it should be. The day after applying the latest OTA update the PMCC will fault with an internal circuit breaker trip and interrupt the charging at some point during the charging cycle - meaning you will wake up in the morning with partially charged Tesla Model Y - which is depressing.

Being the guy you know I am, I have pursued additional information in a quest to help Porsche identify reproducible problems to help isolate this unfortunate change to the PMCC firmware and hopefully resolve the issue in a future PMCC OTA update.

The problem occurs in the following circumstances:

  • charging with the PMCC unit updated to the latest software that was delivered with my 2020 Taycan (July 2020)
  • charging with the PMCC unit updated to the latest software that was delivered with my 2021 Cayenn (April 2020)
  • both PMCC units are plugged into a NEMA 14-50 outlet on a 50 amp breaker for 40 amps of EVSE charging
  • all testing occurs on my home electrical grid with only one PMCC active at a time - so I’m not overloading my home’s electrical grid
  • the PMCC’s also faults when charging a 2022 BMW X5 Hybrid
  • the PMCC’s also faults when charging a 2018 Model 3 Performance
  • the PMCC's also faults when charging a 2019 Chevy Bolt
  • the nominal charging rate for the PMCC is 240V/40 amps (50 amp breaker)
    • as you may or may not know you can adjust the maximum amps via the LCD screen on the PMCC unit
    • adjusting the amps “lower” on the PMCC unit to 38, 36, 32, 24 amps still eventually causes the PMCC to trip it’s internal breaker when Charging my 2022 Model Y
      • vehicles plugged into the PMCC when the amps are lower attempt to charge at the lower AMP rate advertised by the PMCC and yet still fault
  • the PMCC faults when charging with the vehicle charging cable provided as a warranty replacement
  • the PMCC faults when charging with the vehicle charging cable _YOU_ provide me as a loaner to help isolate this problem

the PMCC does _NOT_ fault when charging the following vehicles @ 40 amps

  • my 2020 Taycan Turbo
  • my 2021 Cayenne eHybrid w/7.2 kW onboard charger
  • my friends 2021 Audi eTron SUV
  • my neighbor’s 2022 Cayenne eHybrid
  • my neighbor’s 2022 VW ID.4

Solution found! - Work Around - lower the charging AMP _IN_ the Tesla’s charging settings by 4 amps from the PMCC’s advertised maximum - not great but it works

I can “work around” the PMCC problem by adjusting the charging AMP’s on my 2022 Tesla Model Y Long range to 36 amps or less - a software feature of the Tesla’s that Porsche desperately needs to add to the Taycan (and Macan) to work around exactly this type of issue when using someone else's “faulty” charger (say a hotel or business) - please forward this feeback to PCNA - Taycan owners need the ability to select lower AMP’s when plugged into public AC chargers - being able to adjust AMP’s lower sometimes allows an owner to successfully charge from a public/business EV charger that is experiencing difficulty operating at it’s advertised maximum.

  • Charging the 2022 Model Y @ 40 amps - eventually “trips” the PMCC’s internal breaker - interrupting the charging session and can not be remotely restarted via the Tesla app due to the PMCC requiring acknoledgement on it’s LCD screen
  • charging the Model Y @ 39 amps via Tesla in vehicle charging settings - trips the PMCC breaker
  • charging the Model Y @ 38 amps via Tesla in vehicle charging settings - trips the PMCC breaker
  • charging the Model Y @ 37 amps via Tesla in vehicle charging settings - trips the PMCC breaker
  • [SUCCESS] - charging the Model Y @ 36 amps via the Tesla in vehicle charging settings has no demonstrated problems during a charging session - so this is a work around

Setting the PMCC’s own AMP settings to lower DOES NOT avoid the fault - the fault will still occur when attempting to charge my Tesla Model Y - the ONLY successful work around for a reliable charging session I’ve found to date is that for any AMP setting with the PMCC one _MUST_ adjust the in car Tesla settings to 4 amps “lower” than the current AMP settings for the PMCC - this seems to avoid the PMCC’s own internal breaker fault and will allow a Tesla (non VW/Audi products) to successfully charge with a PMCC with the latest software - unfortunately for VW/Audi/Porsche customers that own other non-Tesla EV’s - most other EV’s do not provide AMP override settings in their vehicle charging software controls - and will therefore be unable to work around this particular problem with the current PMCC firmware.

Photos comments and thoughts

  • Photo #1 is the LCD screen while charging the 2022 Tesla Model Y - the interesting bit here on screen is obvious (to me) - the PMCC’s reported amp draw is 41.7 amps - even though the maximum amps allowed in this circumstance is 40 amps - prior to the software update when charging the 2022 Tesla Model Y the reported amps on the PMCC screen were 39.x AMPs…
    • things that make you go hmmm - why is the Tesla charging at 41.7 amps when the EVSE J_1772 protocol limit is advertised at 40 amps - and why did the Tesla charge at Just below 40 amps prior to the PMCC software update?
    • prior to the latest software update - charging my 2022 Tesla Model Y Long Range would NOT show a value above 40 amps on the PMCC - something has changed.
  • Photo #2 is the reported charging stats from perspective of the Tesla app/in-car charging software - what is interesting here
    • is that the on screen data shows that the Tesla “thinks” it’s charging at the maximum amps of 40 - when the PMCC clearly shows the session is drawing 41.7 amps
    • the discrepancy between the two numbers - the AMP’s on the PMCC’s LCD screen and the Tesla’s charging software is _NEW_ behavior with this PMCC firmware update - prior to the update - the PMCC did _NOT_ show more than 40 amps on it’s LCD screen when charging my 2022 Model Y - for some reason the PMCC’s software change appears to be allowing the TEsla to draw more amps - leading to the eventually internal breaker trip????
  • Photo #3 - this is the PMCC LCD screen after the charging session as failed - one is required to get out of bed and physically visit the PMCC at 2 am to check the ok box- and then unplug and replug the charging cable into the Tesla Model Y to allow the charging session to continue - this is awklward and annoying at 2 and 3 am…
  • Phone #4 - PMCC sofware version information - no further comments

Additional comment and thoughts in no particluar order:

  • for some reason I never get a charging session fault when the Tesla is at 50% or less battery SOC - you only get the faults once the Tesla’s battery is 50% or more - so the charging session can run for several hours at 41.7 AMPs if the Tesla’s battery is low enough
  • Once you are above 60% Tesla battery SOC the time between faults and having to restart the charging session is more frequent - once it’s above 90% SOC - it only take a few min of charging for the PMCC to “fault” - below 50% it takes hours for the PMCC to fault
  • I have no be able to correlate PMCC Load to fault frequency - i.e. there is no correlation to how long/hard the PMCC has been run to fault - I would think if it gets hotter from longer session it would ‘fault’ more - but no - even letting the PMCC “reset” for hours and then restarting the session will fault sooner depending on the Tesla’s battery SOC…
  • I find it odd that the Tesla’s battery SOC has an effect on the PMCC’s internal breaker - but it _IS_ what my observations/data are telling me…

I expect no direct answer to this eMail - as is the nature of big compnay fault reports.

I’m hoping a future PMCC firmware update will restore the PMCC’s usefulness to future Porsche owners.

I welcome any questions, comments or conversations and I’m deeply interested in both resolving this issue and working with VW/Porsche/Audi to improve their existing and future EV offerings.
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KensingtonPark

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Good to know and sorry to hear this. I have a PMCC, but have never once used it largely because I already had an EVSE that was working well.
 
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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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still broken

it's gotten worse - even the work around of dialing the amps down in the Tesla charging user interface no longer works

radio-silence (as expected from Porsche) after my detailed fault write up.

the PMCC sucks as an EVSE - if it wasn't included I highly highly reccomend you consider an alternate vendor for your EVSE.
 
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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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2+ years with my PMCC has not improved my opinion - the more time I have with the PMCC the worse it becomes

it's really really not an excellent product.
 


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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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no update - complete radio silence so far since initial report (as expected) - but still broken - I'm using my trusty 6 year old Tesla Wall chargers to charge my Son's model Y - 48 amps - and no problems.

I fully expect porsche to never care about this.
 

Windpower

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but still broken - I'm using my trusty 6 year old Tesla Wall chargers to charge my Son's model Y - 48 amps - and no problems.
I could never get my PMC+ to charge my Tesla Y at full rate (I could charge the Y when I moved the PMC+ to 50%). When I tried to charge the Y at full rate, the PMC+ would kick an error and stop charging.
So I ended up canning the PMC+ and moving to a new Juicebox 40. Now both my Taycan and Tesla Y charge at 32 amps (my circuit breaker is 40 amp).
 


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I could never get my PMC+ to charge my Tesla Y at full rate (I could charge the Y when I moved the PMC+ to 50%). When I tried to charge the Y at full rate, the PMC+ would kick an error and stop charging.
So I ended up canning the PMC+ and moving to a new Juicebox 40. Now both my Taycan and Tesla Y charge at 32 amps (my circuit breaker is 40 amp).
How did you charge at something other than 50% with the PMC+ on a 40A breaker?
 

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How did you charge at something other than 50% with the PMC+ on a 40A breaker?
Ignorance is bliss? I never popped a breaker.
I plugged in the PMC+ to my 14-50 connector and was able to charge my Taycan at its full rate without issue. When I used it to charge my Tesla, it faulted until I cut the power to 50%.
 

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@daveo4EV a few other threads chattering about this issue but figured I would return here with some ideas. Perhaps you’ve already considered the possibility of regression in configuration, but if not you might check the web admin screens for spontaneous enabling/disabling of previous settings particularly:
  • Vehicle or Group authorization. Is that being policed by the PMC. where before it wasn’t?
  • PLC connection to the vehicle
Im thinking of the family of bugs where a developer is adding a new default and perhaps inadvertently clobbers user preferences, or a software update changes how saved settings are persisted, and fails to migrate some old settings to new.
 
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daveo4EV

daveo4EV

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@daveo4EV a few other threads chattering about this issue but figured I would return here with some ideas. Perhaps you’ve already considered the possibility of regression in configuration, but if not you might check the web admin screens for spontaneous enabling/disabling of previous settings particularly:
  • Vehicle or Group authorization. Is that being policed by the PMC. where before it wasn’t?
  • PLC connection to the vehicle
Im thinking of the family of bugs where a developer is adding a new default and perhaps inadvertently clobbers user preferences, or a software update changes how saved settings are persisted, and fails to migrate some old settings to new.
I have reviewed the settings and nothing along those lines is setup or configured - and in my case of attempting to charge non-Porsceh vehicles it's an internal safety feature in the PMCC where during the charging session the PMCC's internal circuit breaker is tripping interrupting the charging session.

the PMCC charges the Tesla for some period of time but eventually trips the breaker which requires rebooting/resetting the PMCC for charging to continue (can't be done remotely must do on the PMCC LCD screen)

as noted in my report - this is new behavior post software update - as prior to the update the same PMCC charged my son's 2022 Model Y Long range without issue…

I do not believe 'breaker safety tripping' is should/could be related to vehicle identification or configuration - it's a electrical system's fault internal to the PMCC own monitoring and safety procedures, but my guess based on observations is that the PMCC is reporting an inaccurate max amp value to J-1772 vehicles - and in my case the Tesla is being "told" it can do 42 amps (41.7 from the screen shot) so it does 42 amps, but the PMCC is a 40 amp charger so the breaker trips…

the PMCC is confused and corrupts the maximum amps reported to J-1772 vehicles...

I further belive the issue has to do with ISO EV standard vs. "pure J-1772" - VW/Audi/Porsche vehicle all negotiate a different session protocal with PMC+/PMCC/PWCC - the ISO standard includes vehicle ID, battery SOC and other meta data and is superior to J-1772 - so which you plug in a VW/Audi/Porsche vehicle you're using a different code path in the PMCC…

so I'm betting no one at Porsche tested fully with a pure J-1772 vehicle - and the latest update has a bug in the J-1772 protocol code, but not in the ISO code which is tested by default internal to porsche since I bet they test with the vehicle's they have, which are all Vw/Audi/Porsche…

two code paths (ISO & J-1772) - and only one code path getting tested on a regular basis…
 

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I have reviewed the settings and nothing along those lines is setup or configured - and in my case of attempting to charge non-Porsceh vehicles it's an internal safety feature in the PMCC where during the charging session the PMCC's internal circuit breaker is tripping interrupting the charging session.

the PMCC charges the Tesla for some period of time but eventually trips the breaker which requires rebooting/resetting the PMCC for charging to continue (can't be done remotely must do on the PMCC LCD screen)

as noted in my report - this is new behavior post software update - as prior to the update the same PMCC charged my son's 2022 Model Y Long range without issue…
What is the exact error message that is shown? Do you by chance have taken an image? I can't find it in your initial post, maybe I have missed it.

I further belive the issue has to do with ISO EV standard vs. "pure J-1772" - VW/Audi/Porsche vehicle all negotiate a different session protocal with PMC+/PMCC/PWCC - the ISO standard includes vehicle ID, battery SOC and other meta data and is superior to J-1772 - so which you plug in a VW/Audi/Porsche vehicle you're using a different code path in the PMCC…

so I'm betting no one at Porsche tested fully with a pure J-1772 vehicle - and the latest update has a bug in the J-1772 protocol code, but not in the ISO code which is tested by default internal to porsche since I bet they test with the vehicle's they have, which are all Vw/Audi/Porsche…

two code paths (ISO & J-1772) - and only one code path getting tested on a regular basis…
This has nothing to do with it and works quite differently. J-1772/IEC61851 works via PWM, ISO15118-2 works via TCP/IP.

First the default AC connection via J-1772/IEC61851 is initiated. Then, when PLC is enabled, the charger will try to establish an ISO15118-2 connection on the AC connection. This is very very similar to a DC connection. If the car supports ISO15118-2 over AC it will use that communication protocol instead of J-1772/IEC61851. By far most EVs do not support this. They will never run into this mode and will never be used.

Also ISO15118-2 over AC is NOT supported on the PMC+, that one only supports J-1772/IEC61851.

Your issue does not have anything to do with ISO15118-2 or "two code paths". J-1772 not being tested is your hypothesis, which we can not check.

I again offer my help to try to figure out what is going on. But I would need additional more specific error descriptions, e.g. what exact error the charger is showing.

If you log into the web interface of the PMCC as a technical user, and go to "Settings" -> "Service" there is a section called "Event Logs" with some codes. Please provide these codes once the charging error occurred together with the actual error message shown in the charger. They might help finding the cause of the problem.
 
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2+ years with my PMCC has not improved my opinion - the more time I have with the PMCC the worse it becomes

it's really really not an excellent product.
Hello Dave, I have the same problem. The mobile charger looks well built but useless , it tends to break the internal circuit breaker. The service guys at the Dealership don't seem to have a clue. I thought Iwas able to charge the Tesla Model S for a while. Now it trips the circuit breaker.

My son got the BMW I7 the PMCC does not work at all.

It appears Porsche doesn't seem to have a grasp of the software.

Please could you put me in the correct direction. To fix this simple problem.
I am not sure in Porsche NA can resolve this.
They simple need to adhere to some standards.
PMCC certainly does not meet the standards.

Thanks
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