Nexon EV: How I solved a very common charging port related issue

Models like Nexon, Tiago and Tigor from TATAs and ec3 from Citroën, i.e. models which have their charging port located just above the wheel well are more vulnerable to this problem.

BHPian electric_eel recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

With the replacement of the gun locking actuator, I think we have managed to wiggle out of the niggle. It is worthwhile to summarize what has happened.

Symptoms

1. Charging gun refuses to unlock even after pressing the unlock gun switch

2. A more serious issue is the gun refusing to lock

3. In the worst case the charging itself is bad leading to unbalanced cells and sudden SoC drops.

The problem

Dirt and water gets into the charging port. Models like Nexon, Tiago and Tigor from TATAs and ec3 from Citroën, i.e. model which have their charging port located just above the wheel well (traditional fuel inlet position) are more vulnerable to this problem as the wheels kick in a lot of dirt and water during monsoon.

Temporary solution

1. Make use of the manual release to unlock the gun (see the reference video below). For nexon ev max it is a ring that you need to pull.

2. A couple of dry days would mean that the locking mechanism will start working and you will be able to slow charge the EV. Usually a couple of charging cycle with fix the battery out of balance issue.

Solution

The locking pin actuator needs to be replaced (costs approx Rs 6100/- as of today). This is a well known problem and the SC did not have any hesitation for replacing the part under warranty.

Unsolved Issues

The primary reason for this problem is a design flaw and cannot be rectified as it requires relocating the charging port. At best we can think of an aftermarket cover of sort, but this requires some care as one would still want access to the manual unlocking.

One might think that since the issue is primarily a cleaning issue, a through cleaning would help. However think again as pressure washing is not recommended (as per Manual). And recall that water getting into the locking pin can be even more problematic.

Unlocking the gun by hand (Nexon Prime)

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.