Reliable charging with Octopus IOG and Zappi?

[SkysTheLimit]

It seems this Cupra *really* doesn't like working with Intelligent Octopus go. It aways takes the first charge that Octopus send though, but if the schedule changes and Octopus turn the charge off, the car will just show "Error" when Octopus turn it back on again. This leaves the car at best only partially charged.

This isn't an issue with the wife's Peugeot, Octopus can turn the charge on and off multiple times in the evening/overnight without any issues at all. The Cupra will only ever take the first charge presented to it, after that, it needs to be physically unplugged and re-plugged to get it working again.

The Zappi wall box is on the latest firmware etc.

I really don't want to set it to behave as a regular "dumb" charger and schedule from within the car itself, or link the car to IOG instead of the Zappi as the wife's car won't benefit from the cheap rate when that's charging (other than the fixed overnight hours after 23.30). Any suggestions how to get this working reliably?

 

[DiscerningBell]

It seems this Cupra *really* doesn't like working with Intelligent Octopus go. It aways takes the first charge that Octopus send though, but if the schedule changes and Octopus turn the charge off, the car will just show "Error" when Octopus turn it back on again. This leaves the car at best only partially charged.

This isn't an issue with the wife's Peugeot, Octopus can turn the charge on and off multiple times in the evening/overnight without any issues at all. The Cupra will only ever take the first charge presented to it, after that, it needs to be physically unplugged and re-plugged to get it working again.

The Zappi wall box is on the latest firmware etc.

I really don't want to set it to behave as a regular "dumb" charger and schedule from within the car itself, or link the car to IOG instead of the Zappi as the wife's car won't benefit from the cheap rate when that's charging (other than the fixed overnight hours after 23.30). Any suggestions how to get this working reliably?

I've just had the same issue with E.ON and Zappi, wanted to start early next day in morning so can set off with warm battery. Tried to also start using wifi early this morning but kept timing out, wifi was a bit off and on. Had to manually disconnect and restart, the Zappy also required '+' key to start, so may have been in some kind of error state.

 

[SkysTheLimit]

I've been given a workaround that seems to work so far.

* Remove the Zappi from the Octopus account, and wait 20 minutes.
* Re-add the Zappi, but tell Octopus you've got a Polestar 4 LR (which has a 100kwh battery)
* When setting the schedule, tell the app you need 100% charge by 4am.

Octopus will then give you a massive block of time (more than enough to charge the 59kwh battery on the Born) in one block, especially if you plug in the car during the evening.

 

[SkysTheLimit]

Interesting that this has been an issue since 2020... https://myenergi.info/vw-ev-s-and-eco-t2447.html

 

[Tell]

I've pinned the thread in case this is the solution it comes up on other Cupra EVs on the board... they might see it. Moans about Octopus ? cutting short their charging etc.

 

[Tell]

Google gave me this today as something I might be interested in. I share if Google didnt decide you should know about.

The UK’s largest energy supplier has created its own EV charger | The Verge https://share.google/gPI5MNJoBzTUZCU3x

Octopus intend to supply their own charger later in the year. Might be the missing bit to sort out the reliability issue in charging with Octopus tariffs.

 

[SkysTheLimit]

Problem is that the issue isn't with the charger, it's with the car not fully complying with IEC standards. IOG works 100% reliably on every other car we've tested it with at our house, using the same charger.

Changing the charger likely won't make the slightest difference, and I'm certainly not paying another grand to replace I charger I only had installed 6 months just to see if it does resolve it.

I've been battling with Cupra customer services for the last month over this, and even when presenting them with evidence on my side that it's not Octopus or Zappi, including linking them to forum threads all over the place showing issues with multiple different charger brands and suppliers across most of the VW range, the best I get from them is "speak with Zappi Charger or Inteligent Octopus", even though I've already done that just to humour them. They don't even know the names of the other providers so I have almost zero confidence they even know what the issue is to be honest ...

 

[Tell]

Did your work around solution work thou that you posted above ?.

I guess for Octopus they have decided to take out another random variable. They have a car business also so probably know about the idiosyncrasies of the cars and chargers. Decided they would do their own ?. Possibly good for their profit margin. The automated nature of charging at the optimum time is their selling point, so they probably get enough complaints from their customers and buck passing.

Home | Octopus Electric Vehicles

Octopus Electric Vehicles - electric vehicle leasing for personal, business and salary sacrifice including charging and cheap renewable electricity.

octopusev.com

 

[SkysTheLimit]

Yeah the workaround does the job as Octopus provide only a single large block of time, instead of splitting it up into 5 or 6 blocks of time. Car always takes the first charging block so it works, but Octopus could potentially look on it as gaming the system even though that's not the intention.

 

[SkysTheLimit]

Latest update from Cupra, they're blaming it on the Octopus app.

Please note that CUPRA does not provide support for third-party applications, including Octopus Charging. As this issue falls outside the scope of our support, we kindly recommend contacting the app provider directly for assistance with connectivity or functionality.

 

[jezyg]

Latest update from Cupra, they're blaming it on the Octopus app.

Please note that CUPRA does not provide support for third-party applications, including Octopus Charging. As this issue falls outside the scope of our support, we kindly recommend contacting the app provider directly for assistance with connectivity or functionality.

It is not an app issue though it is how the born and ID3 handle charging requests? We are going to stay with Fuse for now and see how that works out with our Ohme EV charger

 

[SkysTheLimit]

It is not an app issue though it is how the born and ID3 handle charging requests? We are going to stay with Fuse for now and see how that works out with our Ohme EV charger

Exactly. Trying to get that through to level 1 Cupra support is a nightmare though, technical details above their paygrade I feel. I've asked for it to be escalated to the right team 3 or 4 times now, but they just keep saying they don't support 3rd party apps and to contact Octopus. Pointed out that Octopus have exactly zero comms with the car as it's the charger they talk to. #whoosh

I've thrown in the fact that if we get solar, the nature of that could be off and on if the conditions vary so let's see what they say about that as well.

 

[Tell]

Going to be all the same across the Vag group. Parse the parcel.

 

[jezyg]

Having had our Ohme charger fitted; we are staying with Fuse, currently 20p kWh peak and 15p kWh off-peak where you get 5 hours at 15p between 2100 and 0700 every day. EV charge is higher but peak is lower and as we only charge once a week works out cheaper than Octopus overall. No issues using Smart charging so far...

 

[SkysTheLimit]

3rd and final "pass the buck" from Cupra support. They've investigated the issue (apparently), and they've come to the conclusion they only support "The official Cupra charger" and anything else isn't supported. What a joke....

Pretty much confirmation that what I've seen on the Zappi and other forums is that the VAG brands aren't 100% compatible with the IEC charging standards and are doing their own thing.

 

[Tell]

Still you got that trick you posted up if it works in the meantime.

Reliable charging with Octopus IOG and Zappi?

It seems this Cupra *really* doesn't like working with Intelligent Octopus go. It aways takes the first charge that Octopus send though, but if the schedule changes and Octopus turn the charge off, the car will just show "Error" when Octopus turn it back on again. This leaves the car at...

www.seatcupra.net

Does it pick up the Octopus Go slots when they start giving it away as freebies in the day when there is too much wind and solar to sell.

 

[SkysTheLimit]

Yeah the workaround does the job, but it's just that - a workaround. Would prefer an actual fix, as it doesn't help anywhere else where the charge might get interrupted (eg hotels).

 

[trebor]

3rd and final "pass the buck" from Cupra support. They've investigated the issue (apparently), and they've come to the conclusion they only support "The official Cupra charger" and anything else isn't supported. What a joke....

Pretty much confirmation that what I've seen on the Zappi and other forums is that the VAG brands aren't 100% compatible with the IEC charging standards and are doing their own thing.

But Cupra are fitting Ohme chargers for £99 as part of the deal of buying a car currently - no official Cupra Charger was offered ??