T8 charger cable stuck locked to XC90

[allycat]

Originally Posted by john850kershaw

Hi if you can remove the NSF wheel arch liner there is a small nut/ screw that you can turn and it will wind the locking pin back and you can release the charger cable
JK

Thanks for this tip. It isn't something I can do though, I will leave it to the dealer

Originally Posted by AB-UK

I suspect you've tried this already, but have you held down the fob's Unlock button for 5 secs and then tried pulling out the cable?

I've tried this but it didn't help, all it did was open all the windows on the car as it should, no help with the locking pin I am afraid.

Originally Posted by Philip Fisher

Stupid question but did you try to push it in before pulling it out? Mine just needs a push in to release the pin before pulling it out.....

Yes, thanks I had already tried this but it didn't help.


I did also check a whole load of fuses in the engine compartment to see if any of them had blown but all the likely ones were intact. I couldn't find the fusebox that is supposed to be underneath the glovebox which I found a bit odd !


I have now disconnected the charging cable from the wall box so I can at least drive the car to the dealer. Only four wires to disconnect (Live, Neutral, Earth and a thin signal wire) and took photos to ensure I can rewire it correctly.

I took it out for a test run and the battery was 3/4 charged and it used the battery as normal and I could set it to charge while driving and it increased the charge as it should and it would hold the charge as well. It seems the internal charging system works OK and as designed, but the test run did not reset the system at all, it still reports a charging error when you turn it on and will not release the plug. Off to the dealer on Monday and let them sort it out.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

[Philip Fisher]

Originally Posted by SwissXC90

The physical connector is in no way smart.

It is tough, durable, has reliable pins for good connections.
But smart?
No.

The "smarts" are built into the controllers in the charging station and the vehicle.
But not in the connector/socket.

We are kind of getting bogged down in semantics here. The smart functionality is only possible because of the design of the plug and socket. Such functionality would not be possible with a normal 3 pin 16amp external connector. This is why such a socket is necessary.

Whilst I take your point about a 7 pin socket itself is not smart, it is an integral part of a system which is smart.

[allycat]

So the dealer managed to look at it yesterday and called to say they had managed to disconnect the charger cable. The car requires a new internal charger as that caused the problem apparently. I was able to drive the car with the cable attached and get the car to charge the battery while driving so I am a little puzzled, since one would think it goes through the same charging unit. Perhaps not if the charging unit has to handle converting 230V AC to whatever the car requires in DC terms for charging, and maybe the current generated while driving and charging is DC already and therefore bypasses the faulty internal charger?

The units are on a 2 week back order from Volvo at the moment so I asked if it was driveable in the meantime but they said no, they have had to partially take the car apart to get the cable disconnected and the faulty unit out. That doesn’t sound cheap but it is the lease company’s issue. I will report back when I know more, like the total cost !

[allycat]

So I got the car back on Thurs 23 Jan having left it with them on 31 Dec and been quoted a 2 week back order lead time for the part on Fri 03 Jan, so overall 3 weeks without the car. Although it is a lease car I asked the dealer to let me have a copy of the invoice so I knew what the cost was.

He said that there had been quite a lot of communication with Volvo UK who had agreed to contribute to the cost of the parts. This is interesting because the car is 3.5 years old and outside the 3 Year / 60,000 mile warranty period even though it has only done 29,900 miles. He did say they have "had a few of these need replacing", so I wonder if there is a design fault and Volvo are quietly paying up to keep it quiet. Also why there is a backorder situation for the part.

Anyhow the final costs came to £1090 billed to Volvo Warranty and £1125 billed to the lease company (both excluding VAT). Basically Volvo Warranty paid 60% of the replacement parts costs and the lease company paid 40%, but they also billed the lease company £499.00 for something unspecified on the invoice; it was a line item with no description; they didn't bill a similar line item to Volvo Warranty though.

The two large part costs were £337.50 for a new "Charging connector" (the socket into which the plug is inserted - it is a new one on the car) and £927.00 for the Battery Charger OB ("onboard", I guess). There were a number of other line items for what look like consumable parts, some with descriptions and some without, which totalled £380.15 between the two parties, with Volvo Warranty paying more, plus the previously described £499.00 charge just for the leasing company. The invoice included a request to look at a squeaky rear brake but I couldn't identify any specific costs related to that.

Total cost overall was therefore £2214.79 + VAT = £2657.75.

Ouch. I'm glad I don't have to pay that privately. All seems well and it charges and releases OK from a 13A socket and a fixed 32A charging station so far.

[Ian Reid]

This happened twice. The first time I travelled to the dealer with the cable stuck in the port. It required service and then a worked fine until the first freezing temperature.

This time I heated the charge port with a hair dryer, and it then worked normally. Presumably moisture gets into the mechanism that freezes ? Condensation ?