Looking for some advice on a home charging error

[tjmsquared]

Before I get started on describing the problem I'm having, I want to say that I've already got a ticket in with Rivian and I'm waiting to hear back. I just want to see if anyone has had a similar experience and if they can help me troubleshoot the issue.

For the past week or so (I'm not sure when it first started) I've had errors charging my truck at home. The first time was during a storm, and I figured there was some kind of short interruption with the electricity going to the house and that messed it up. When it happens, I get the following error in the app:

Unplugging and plugging back in fixed it, so I didn't think anything of it. Since then it has started to get worse such that I can't seem to finish any home charging session without it erroring out several times. This is what a typical charge curve looks like in the app now:

So, here are some of the details on what I've tried and some of the symptoms I've noticed:

• I've reset the circuit breaker to the wall charger and that seems to have no effect.
• I've closely inspected both the charger and the truck and nothing seems to be loose or out of place with either one (Rivian has detailed pictures / videos of both).
• When this happens, I've noticed that I don't have to actually unplug the charger to resume the session. If I just unlock the vehicle, it seems to "wake up" and resume the session.
• I've done one session on a public Level 2 charger recently for almost two hours and did not have this problem. I've had it go as long as 2.5 hours at home without failing though, so it could be that I just got lucky.
• I've noticed that the bars in the charging graph just stop once they reach the peak charge when charging at home. On a public charger they show the level of charge over time.

If anyone has experienced something similar I'd love to know where the problem was (with the truck or the charger) and if there's anything I can do to get it resolved. It's a minor pain to have to babysit each charging session.

EDIT:

I'm not sure if it matters, but the charger is inside the garage, and the truck charges outside on the driveway.

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[electruck]

Drop the truck's charge rate to 40A and see if the problem goes away.

 

[tjmsquared]

Drop the truck's charge rate to 40A and see if the problem goes away.

Thanks, I'll try that with my next charging session.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Drop the truck's charge rate to 40A and see if the problem goes away.

This^ . And if it continues keep lowing charge amperage. 48, 40, 32, 24,16, etc

Rivian service might also be able to pull logs and give insight on the "vehicle error".

Was the public charger also 48 amps (11kw)? Many public chargers are lower 40 or 30 amp units.

Need to isolate charger or vehicle as the source of problem.

Let us know what you find out.

 

[Claydogg]

I’m having the same issue intermittently for the past couple months. I’ve reduced charge rate from 48A to 46 to 44 and it still happens. Rivian sent a tech to my house to inspect the port and charger plug for arcing or other anomaly and he found no issues. Rivian is replacing my charger (they just advised me yesterday).

 

[PlopPlop]

I've had this issue for a few months now. After taking the truck in for service they determined there was nothing wrong with the truck, it was the charger. I submitted pictures of my charger installation yesterday and am waiting for the next step.

 

[Zardoz]

Me too, me too! Please excuse my exuberance, but having the exact same problem (and under identical circumstances), I'm thrilled to know it's not just me. There's nothing worse than being the only one out here with such an issue.

 

[josephponline]

+1 after the latest software update. I get a similar issue. One or two bars if charging then a fault and then it kicks back in again.

I’m using a Tesla wall plug with Tap adapter. It was by pure luck that I even worked out something was wrong. I normally plug in and head into the house. I had to go back in the garage an hour after and noticed the red charging indicator on the charge port. That led me to the app where I saw the intermittent charging OP saw.

I initially put it down to frequent top ups after vampire drain … so I unplug when the vehicle reaches my 75% level … but awaiting the next update to fix the issue.

 

[tjmsquared]

First of all, thanks for all of the help on this. It's too bad that there are a handful of us that have this problem, but it is good to have an active community that can help troubleshoot these issues. Here's some feedback on some of your specific questions / statements:

Was the public charger also 48 amps (11kw)? Many public chargers are lower 40 or 30 amp units.

The public charger was not 48 amp (11kw). I think it was a 7kw.

I’m having the same issue intermittently for the past couple months. I’ve reduced charge rate from 48A to 46 to 44 and it still happens. Rivian sent a tech to my house to inspect the port and charger plug for arcing or other anomaly and he found no issues. Rivian is replacing my charger (they just advised me yesterday).

Since I may end up in the same boat, I'd like to know of Rivian is going to have their own tech replace the charger, or will they just ship you a new one and you have to have an electrician install it yourself?

+1 after the latest software update. I get a similar issue. One or two bars if charging then a fault and then it kicks back in again.

That's interesting. I just got the latest update last night, so all of my issues were on the previous software version (2023.18) and not the latest (2023.22).

Update:

Now for an update on the issue. I just finished a 2.5 hour charging session at 40 amp without any interruptions. It's a slightly slower charge (about 20 mi / hour vs. 25 mi / hour), but worth it if it is stable and does not require any babysitting. I'll keep an eye on it for my next few charges and see if the 40 amp configuration remains stable.

Thanks again for all of the feedback. I'm still waiting for Rivian to get back to me with their diagnosis, and I'll provide another update once they get back to me.

Here's what the charge curve looks like on the 40 amp charge:

 

[Voronbrg]

I have the same issue. Mine shows up while DC fast charging as well. Anything over 8kw and truck in sleep will trigger error. It's at the service center for a 2nd time but they don't actually have any chargers capable of 11kw. That's why they couldn't recreate the issue. I think the engineers are busy because nobody can help pinpoint the issue even when I'm sending diagnostics.

Odd thing is if the truck is awake it has no problem taking any speed, 11kw or DC fast.

 

[Claydogg]

Rivian is having a tech remove the old charger and install the new one. They just asked for photos of the charger from 10 ft away and of the breaker panel from 10 ft away.

 

[TucsonST]

Exact same thing has been happening to me. Following this thread. Haven't submitted a ticket yet.

 

[HockeyDad]

Dropping the charge to 40A usually resolves the issue especially if you’re “plugging in” vs “hardwire” (relating to the charger). Also depends on the charger as well as the thermal overload will kick in which again is resolved by lowering the charge.

 

[Claydogg]

My gut tells me it’s heat related…so the thermal overload makes sense. never had the issue in the colder months, and now our garage can get into the 90’s. The plug gets hot to the touch… so I put a fan on it while charging and it seems to go longer without a charge error. I haven’t dropped the charging amperage below 44A, as my expectation is that the Rivian should charge at 48A without issues! the funny thing is we use the Rivian charger for my wife’s Tesla X also, and have never had an error. Of course the onboard charger on the Tesla can handle much more amperage and charges her car at a much faster rate (35+mph). I

 

[User433]

I've had a ticket open for a month on this. I call every few days and they say "oh we need more info or another picture". It's pathetic how bad their charging support team is. I've spent 100s of dollars at level 3 chargers and I'm done playing nice.

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