If charging stops
My car isn't charging—where do I start?
Start with what you can see and any message on the car or charger. Choose the problem below to find safe checks and who to contact. You do not need to diagnose the wiring yourself.
Electrical warning signs and urgent help
Which description is closest?
Select a problem to see what you can check safely. A warning light or one failed charge is not enough to tell you which part is faulty.
- The charger appears completely dead
- The charger has power, but the car will not charge
- Charging starts, then stops or pauses
- A breaker or RCD keeps tripping
- Charging works, but it is unexpectedly slow
- Scheduled or app-controlled charging is not behaving as expected
- The app, network connection or account is the problem
- The car refuses more than one compatible, known-working charger
- There is a wider property power problem
The charger appears completely dead
- Check whether other household equipment has lost power too. If so, see the advice below about a wider power problem.
- Some chargers have a sleep or standby mode. Check your charger's handbook for its usual lights or messages.
- Look only at safely visible, labelled controls and indicators. Do not remove covers or investigate wiring. If a protective device has tripped, do not keep resetting it.
Who to contact
Contact the original installer or a qualified electrician if the charger appears to have no power. Contact the charger manufacturer's support team if it has power but will not start up or show its usual lights or messages.
The charger has power, but the car will not charge
- Record the exact message on both car and charger. Follow the normal connection/unlocking sequence in their handbooks; never force a plug or lock.
- Check whether the car has already reached its chosen charge limit and whether a schedule is delaying the session.
- Confirm any required app/RFID authorisation and that the cable is the correct, undamaged type. Do not try improvised adaptors or extension leads.
Who to contact
Charger manufacturer/support if the issue happens only on this charger. Vehicle manufacturer/dealer/support if the car also refuses another compatible, known-working charger.
Charging starts, then stops or pauses
- Note how long charging lasted, the battery percentage, the lights and the exact error message. Charging may stop normally when it reaches the target or the end of its schedule.
- A compatible load-balancing system may reduce or pause charging when the house needs more power. Check the charger's explanation rather than changing installation limits.
- If a breaker/RCD trips or you notice heat, damage or a burning smell, stop using the equipment and follow the safety advice at the top of this page.
Who to contact
Charger manufacturer/support for repeated unexpected session failures on this unit; original installer/electrician where the circuit, monitoring or protective devices may be involved. Vehicle support if the same fault repeats on other known-working chargers.
A breaker or RCD keeps tripping
- Stop using the charger. Do not repeatedly reset a protective device to get another session started.
- Do not open the charger or consumer unit, bypass protection, or change breaker ratings.
- Keep the fault message and circumstances for the electrician. Describe visible damage without touching hot, wet or suspect equipment.
Who to contact
Original installer or a qualified electrician first, to assess the installation and equipment safely. They can involve the charger manufacturer where an internal unit fault is suspected.
Charging works, but it is unexpectedly slow
- Compare the car's maximum AC rate—not its advertised rapid DC rate—with the charger's rating and installed power setting.
- Battery temperature, state of charge, household demand and load balancing can affect the actual rate.
- Do not raise installer-set limits or disable protection to speed up charging. Compare an ordinary session with the handbook's expected behaviour.
Who to contact
Charger manufacturer/support for an unexplained unit limit or error; original installer for supply, phase, current-setting or monitoring questions. Vehicle support if the unexpectedly low AC rate follows the car across chargers.
Scheduled or app-controlled charging is not behaving as expected
- Write down schedules in the car, charger and energy-supplier service before changing them. Overlapping schedules can prevent the expected session.
- Check the charge target, clock/time zone and tariff window. Some covered smart chargers have default off-peak settings or a randomised start delay; check the handbook.
- If the manufacturer provides a safe 'charge now' option, follow its instructions for a one-off session. Do not alter electrical limits or protective settings.
Who to contact
Charger manufacturer for its app/scheduler; vehicle manufacturer for the car's scheduler; energy supplier for supplier-controlled charging, tariff eligibility, smart-meter or billing questions.
The app, network connection or account is the problem
- Check whether other devices have internet access and whether the manufacturer's service reports an outage.
- Use the official pairing/account-recovery instructions. A second-hand property may need account ownership transferred by support.
- Whether charging is possible offline depends on the model. Follow its handbook rather than assuming the app must always work—or that offline charging is always available.
Who to contact
Charger manufacturer/support for pairing, firmware, charger-account ownership or its cloud service. Broadband provider for wider internet failure. Vehicle support for the car's account/app, or the energy supplier for its charging service.
The car refuses more than one compatible, known-working charger
- Only try an alternative through ordinary safe use, and only if there are no damage, shock or tripping concerns.
- Keep the errors from both sessions. Check the vehicle's charge target and any schedule first.
- Do not force the inlet lock or attempt repairs to the vehicle's charging connection. Failure on two chargers is useful evidence for support, not proof of a particular fault.
Who to contact
Vehicle manufacturer/dealer/support. Explain that the same car fails on multiple compatible, known-working chargers and provide the exact messages and charging method.
There is a wider property power problem
- Check safely whether the problem affects the whole house or several circuits. Do not open electrical equipment to investigate.
- For a network power cut in Great Britain, call 105 or check your local network operator's outage information. In Northern Ireland, use NIE Networks' power-cut contact information.
- If only your property/circuits are affected, an electrician may be the appropriate contact. Prepayment-credit, energy-account and smart-meter questions belong with the energy supplier.
Who to contact
Electricity network operator for power cuts or suspected network/supply-equipment problems; qualified electrician for property wiring/circuit problems; energy supplier for credit, account, tariff or meter questions.
Have these notes ready for support
- Car model/year and the AC or DC charging method used.
- Charger model, serial number and original installer details.
- Exact error messages, indicator colours and when the failure happens.
- Battery percentage, charge target and active schedules.
- Whether other chargers or household circuits work normally.
- Any recent app, tariff, account, software or network change.
Share serial numbers, account details and photos through the manufacturer's official support channel, not a public forum. For a slow but otherwise normal session, the charging-time calculator helps set realistic expectations.
Further reading
Sources
- Last reviewed
- Electrical safety advice for electric vehicles — Electrical Safety First. Dedicated charging equipment, competent installation and stopping use of damaged charging cables.
- Regulations: electric vehicle smart charge points — GOV.UK / Office for Product Safety and Standards. Great Britain rules for covered private chargepoints, including default off-peak settings, randomised delay and continued charging without a communications connection.
- Power-cut help and finding your network operator — Power Cut 105 / Energy Networks Association. Great Britain power-cut reporting and network-operator contacts; 105 is not the energy-supplier billing service.
- Power-cut and network information — NIE Networks. Northern Ireland electricity network operator and its current contact information.
Operating sequences, indicators and offline behaviour differ by model. Follow your car and charger's instructions, and contact the appropriate support service if the problem persists.