A smart change was scheduled but my car never started charging

Modified on Wed, 18 Sep at 3:30 PM

We understand that it can be frustrating when a smart change was scheduled for your car to start charging, but it never actually started charging. There are a few reasons why this might happen, and we're here to help you troubleshoot the issue.

First, it's important to check if your vehicle and charger are online and set up correctly. Assuming everything looks good on that front, one common issue we've found is that some cars may go into hibernation or "deep sleep" mode to conserve battery, especially if plugged in early.

For example, if you plug in at 4 pm and your cheaper tariff rate starts at midnight, this gives the vehicle 8 hours to go into hibernation mode, which may prevent it from accepting charging commands.

To avoid missing a charge due to the car being asleep, here are a few tips:

Check the car and any accompanying car app for any "battery save" settings or similar to prevent it from falling asleep.
Plug in as late as you reasonably can to minimise the time the car is unused before off-peak hours.
Open and close the car door before bed, as this has a high success rate of waking the car up and making it more likely to accept the charge as planned.
If your vehicle is an MG or Renault Zoe consider enabling trickle charging, which sends the smallest possible energy to your vehicle to keep it awake, then ramps up to a full rate charge once off-peak hours have been met. However, this should be considered a last option due to the added cost in peak hours.
If you have a Tesla Model 3 make sure Sentry mode is enabled

We understand that dealing with these issues can be frustrating, but we're here to help you find the best solution for your specific vehicle and lifestyle. We recommend trying the open/close car door method first, as it's the least inconvenient and has a high success rate.

Feel free to do your testing and see what works best for you, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need further assistance.