If your charger doesn't work, follow this guide.
Check if your charger is online
If your charger is offline, read article Offline Charger.
If it's online, continue reading.
Check the charger status
What is the status of your charger?
Faulted / Locked
Faulted / Locked
Try unlocking your charger in the app. If it's already unlocked, try locking it and unlocking it again.
🔗 How to lock/unlock charger
If that doesn't work, the charger probably has an error. Read here what to do:
🔗 Faulted charger
Waiting for available power
Waiting for available power
The charger doesn't have enough power to charge. This issue is often related to load management.
Try charging in Boost mode instead of Solar. If this fixes the issue, you might want to learn more about Solar Charging.
🔗 Solar Charging
If the charger still doesn't charge in Boost mode, this means there is not enough power in your building left to charge your car. Try turning off some devices in your building that use a lot of power and see if that fixes it.
🔗 Dynamic Load Balancing explained ("Boost" mode)
If you think there should be enough power to charge in the Boost or Solar modes, but the charger still says it's waiting for available power, there may be a problem with the energy meter or load balancing settings.
🔗 Load or Solar balancing issue
Preparing
Preparing
This means the transaction is being set up, but hasn't started yet:
The car is connected, and the charge card is not swiped / accepted.
ORThe car is not connected, but the charge card is swiped / accepted.
To fix the issue, connect the car or swipe the card. If that's not working, follow these steps:
Disconnect the car
That the charger should go to the "Available" status. If it doesn't, swipe your charge card. Otherwise, reboot the chargepoint or wait for it to go to Available after 2 minutes.
Swipe your charging card
If the charger doesn't go to "Preparing" status, it means the card is not accepted, or less commonly that the card reader is broken.
🔗 Charge card rejected
🔗 Broken RFID card reader
If the charger does go to preparing, or if you use Plug & Charge, continue to the next step.
Connect the car
If now the charger still stays "Preparing", it means it does not see your car.
🔗 Charger and car can't communicate
Waiting for vehicle
Waiting for vehicle
This means the charger is offering power to the car, but the car is rejecting the power. It usually happens when the car is full.
If the car's battery isn't full, try the following steps:
Check your car's app and dashboard console
Try turning off any Energy Management features of your car such as scheduled charging, battery charge limits, and smart charging features. Furthermore, check for anything the car says about the charger.
🔗 Car reports problem with charger
Try charging at a different AC charger
Try charging your car at a different AC charger, so a neighbour's charger or a charger in the street. Don't try charging at a fast charger, because this is DC and the power will bypass your car's inverter. If you also cannot charge at different chargers, there may be a problem with your car's inverter and you should contact your dealer.
Available
Available
If the charger is "Available", it means the car is not connected and the charging card is not swiped. Try the following steps:
Disconnect the car
Connect the car
If now the charger still stays "Preparing", it means it does not see your car. Follow these steps:Disconnect the car again
Power off the charger
Power on the charger, wait for it to come back online and to status "Available"
Try connecting your car again
If the charger is still "Available", it means it cannot see your car.
🔗 Charger and car can't communicate
If the charger goes to "Preparing", follow the next step.
Swipe your charging card
If the charger stays in the "Preparing" status, it means the card is not accepted, or less commonly that the card reader is broken.
🔗 Charge card rejected
🔗 Broken RFID card reader
N/A
N/A
This means the charger has never connected to the Volt Time Cloud.
Read the guide: 🔗 Connecting your charger to Volt Time Cloud
How to check charger status
How to check charger status
App
In the app, you can find the charger's status by going to the Charger page. The status is displayed the top.
Portal
In the web portal, you can go to Chargers>View. The charger's status is displayed under "Charger"
If you don't know the charger status, continue reading.
Check the LED / Display
This chart is for Volt Time chargers only.
If you have a different charger, it's best to check the charger status. Otherwise, check your charer's manual to understand what's happening.
LED color Source 2(s) | Display message One | Explanation |
No LED | No display | ❌ Charger is powered off |
Red |
| ❌ Charger is faulted OR locked |
Red (short) |
| ❌ Charging card is rejected. |
Green |
| ❌ Car not detected |
Yellow |
| ✅ Car connected OR charge card accepted ❌ Transaction not started |
Light blue (blinking) |
| ✅ Transaction has started ❌ Charger doesn't have enough power |
Light blue |
| ✅ Transaction has started ✅ Charger has enough power ❌ Car does not want power |
Dark blue |
| ✅ Transaction has started ✅ Charger has enough power ✅ Car is being charged |