C350e anyone considering one?

[B33fy]

Well i'm finally in Count down mode... NHS Fleet Solutions order in July - and i'm expecting "Early March 2016"... No contact made yet, but i'm hoping in the next 2 weeks.

Have sent the obligatory "Can i have the Mercedes Me" connected services pleaseeee! - and waiting for the most likely fail response!

Nearest Garage is Brighton/Hove about 45 mins away, hoping they are more receptive if the first attempt fails!

Dr Pat / Anyone else using NHS Fleet - have you got yours connected?

I know of one delivered, connected.

 

[noobmonkey]

Oooo.. great news. Thank you

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[RatCatcher]

I know of one delivered, connected.

NHS Fleet confirmed that mine (via Alphabet) will be connected. I just need to give the dealer my details when they call to arrange PDI and delivery. I'm guessing this will be the email address I've used to register on the connectme portal?

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[noobmonkey]

Hoping mine will be the same. Registered on there today. So crossing fingers. Yours due soon?

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[willow336]

A return to this important topic with some results of tests on a 13A socket I've just installed on the hardstanding where my C350e will be kept (no garage or car port). But first a comment on the cracked socket. In the bad old days it was often the PLUG of a 3kW electric fire that overheated, became brittle and cracked. Round pins and sockets were the culprits; flat pins and contacts were a solution. For the SOCKET to overheat suggests that the feed cable was not screwed tightly enough into the socket terminals. Poor contacts initially cause mild heating. Repeat heating/cooling and therefore expansion/contraction causes the contacts to loosen until it's bad enough to cause serious temperature rise. In multi-strand cable, if some of the strands break the rest carry more current and overheat even more. And so you can get cracking. Any socket from a leading supplier to the industry should be able to provide 13A continuously if properly installed.

So this socket of mine is about 35 metres from the ring main. With 8A drawing I get a four volt drop and with 12A drawing in a resistive load there is an eight volt drop along the cable at the socket for the car. This means that some 100W of energy is lost in the cable. You wouldn't want to put your hand on a 100W bulb but there is hardly any temperature rise detectable along the cable. But the voltage to feed the EV charge cable will be about 232 not 240 so the kWh available for charging will be affected - but not by enough to worry anyone.

I was unsure that 13A charging was possible from a domestic socket but this extract from a Jan 2015 press release confirms that it is:

"Thanks to an intelligent on-board charging system, the battery can be recharged in around 1 hour 45 minutes at a wallbox or at one of the growing number of public charging points (230 V, 16 A, 3.7 kW single-phase), which in some cases offer privileged parking. Alternatively, charging via a standard domestic socket is of course also possible. Depending on the connection, a charge time of around two hours is achievable (with 230 V and 13 A, 3.0 kW)."

but I don't know what it means by "depending on the connection".

I noticed tonight that after only 1 hrs charge that my 3pin plug was very hot almost too
Hot to hold.
I am a tad worried about this.
My charger plugs into an Out door double socket that is only approx 1 m from mains.

Any one think this is a fire risk ?

Thanks
Graham

 

[mbboyracer]

I noticed tonight that after only 1 hrs charge that my 3pin plug was very hot almost too
Hot to hold.
I am a tad worried about this.
My charger plugs into an Out door double socket that is only approx 1 m from mains.

Any one think this is a fire risk ?

Thanks
Graham

Something's not quite right for sure. Yes, a possible fire hazard if there is any flammable material in contact with the plug/socket or the cabling if that too is hidden away in the fabric of the property. Most fires in old properties start in the electrics; thatched cottages are specially vulnerable. Until you get this sorted, I'd suggest you limit the charging to 8A. Also can you try the charging cable in another socket to compare the results? Maybe the charging cable is dodgy. Or maybe the cabling to the socket is faulty as I described. It certainly shouldn't be too hot to touch. Hope you can resolve this and let us know how you get on.

 

[JP350e]

I noticed tonight that after only 1 hrs charge that my 3pin plug was very hot almost too
Hot to hold.
I am a tad worried about this.
My charger plugs into an Out door double socket that is only approx 1 m from mains.

Any one think this is a fire risk ?

Thanks
Graham

That's normal - exactly the same as mine and it's due to the fact you're drawing a constant 13 amps for a fairly long period of time. There's no fire risk, as long as the cables used for the socket are up to the job and the socket itself is installed correctly.

If you're worried, the simple answer is either to use the lower (8 amp) setting on the brick or have a dedicated charge point installed (this would be the best solution!).

 

[RatCatcher]

Hoping mine will be the same. Registered on there today. So crossing fingers. Yours due soon?

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'Late April' is my expected delivery date. I called them and they told me it's due at the dealer on the 20th so I'm hoping to collect on or around the 25th![emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji1]

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[noobmonkey]

'Late April' is my expected delivery date. I called them and they told me it's due at the dealer on the 20th so I'm hoping to collect on or around the 25th![emoji106] [emoji106] [emoji1]

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Great news, not so long to wait now!
I've not had any information except the usual weekly emails, which still says early march. Have pushed them for more info, so hopefully will get a response today...

I'm assuming its being delivered to my work like the golf was 2 years ago, fine by me, but always nice to have some warning.

 

[JP350e]

I have my car back!! A month after it went in to be fixed I finally have it back and it is really good to have it back. I gave the loan s class back and got into mine and it feels fantastic, every bit as refined as I remember!

Only problem is it now has some scratches on courteousy of the garage. Not impressed, it's going back in again to have that fixed in a few weeks!!

My car is now back in the garage to have the scratches on the bumper that that garage accidently caused when it was in for the charging problems. It also needs a further bumper repair at the same time as the automatic gate at work managed to close across the back of the car on Friday and damage the back..

I'm not having the best of luck with this car so far, at least it's getting cleaned regularly with all of these visits to the garage!

 

[Dr Pat]

Well i'm finally in Count down mode... NHS Fleet Solutions order in July - and i'm expecting "Early March 2016"... No contact made yet, but i'm hoping in the next 2 weeks.

Have sent the obligatory "Can i have the Mercedes Me" connected services pleaseeee! - and waiting for the most likely fail response!

Nearest Garage is Brighton/Hove about 45 mins away, hoping they are more receptive if the first attempt fails!

Dr Pat / Anyone else using NHS Fleet - have you got yours connected?

Im taking mine into the dealer on Thursday morning for the software update on connection to mercedes me. When I spoke to NHS fleet solutions they said there shouldnt be any problems. Just waiting on them to send me the V5 and a letter of approval from the lease company.

 

[mbboyracer]

I noticed tonight that after only 1 hrs charge that my 3pin plug was very hot almost too
Hot to hold.
Graham

That's normal - exactly the same as mine and it's due to the fact you're drawing a constant 13 amps for a fairly long period of time. There's no fire risk, as long as the cables used for the socket are up to the job and the socket itself is installed correctly.

If you're worried, the simple answer is either to use the lower (8 amp) setting on the brick or have a dedicated charge point installed (this would be the best solution!).

This is far too important a topic to be brushed aside with the comment "that's normal". The fact that there are two similar examples of an extreme case is no criterion of normality; what may be "normal" is not necessarily right. If the plug is almost too hot to touch under load, I would guess that if you removed the plug and touched the "L" pin you could burn yourself. I've done it.

Don't be misled by the warmth felt in a'phone or laptop charger. This IS normal and acceptable because work is being done and in a properly designed charger there are heat-sinks to dissipate the heat harmlessly. But there should be no work done in the socket/plug interface.

Short-term high-current appliances such as kettles, toasters etc can cause a rise in temperature in the plug without a problem. What makes this a situation that has to be fixed is that the 3kW/12.7A load is sustained and usually unmonitored for up to 1.5hr until the charging circuit controller reduces the demand. The resultant heat build-up at the plug is not caused by any work being done but a faults in the series of contacts between the wire from the mains and the wire leading to the car. This contact path is the socket screw, the socket blade, the plug pin, two fuse contacts, and the plug screw. That is a very demanding path; if all stages were perfect there would be no resistance and therefore no heat.

There's a lot about this on the Web to read if you are so inclined. Here's where some professional sparkies discuss this topic:
IET Forums - plug pin getting hot and melts fuse carrier

I like this quote:
"In my opinion the use of plugs and sockets for continuous loads at or approaching 13A is a no-no. I have had umpteen occasions where catering equipment (Ban Maries) in our canteen kitchen have their plugs burning up - mainly located around the fuse and/or L pin.
The load is a near constant 12.7A. I have replaced plug and socket each time with MK ones.
I think the design of the fuse carrier is poor as it cannot sustain amperages towards 13A."

Other posters on this "IET" forum find fault with moulded plugs. When I get my car and equipment, if I find this overheating to be a problem the first thing I will do is change the moulded plug for a best quality "MK" plug. Oh, and in the ideal world, the BSI recommendation is that sustained loads should not be fitted on the ring-main but on a radial feed direct from the consumer unit.

I could go on but this is enough. The message is don't take liberties with electrics. Remember you cannot see most of what is going on in the walls and ceilings.

 

[N_Jepson]

IMHO ... use the government grants that are available and get a qualified sparky to fit you a suitable dedicated circuit.

For me it's a no brainier ...


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[Dieseldrinker]

Short-term high-current appliances such as kettles, toasters etc can cause a rise in temperature in the plug without a problem. What makes this a situation that has to be fixed is that the 3kW/12.7A load is sustained and usually unmonitored for up to 1.5hr until the charging circuit controller reduces the demand.

I've experienced a 'warm' plug which I wouldn't call too hot to touch but was hotter than you'd expect. Most appliances of around 3kW cycle power on and off or are on for a short period as mbboyracer suggests, so the plug top gets chance to cool down. And as he rightly notes that is the bit you can see - never mind the part of the installation that is hidden away buried in walls or under your floorboards in who knows what condition.

I think the answer if you're planning on charging for anything like the full charge using the 13A plug it is best to charge it at the slow rate for safety, and if in any doubt, get a proper 16A or 32A socket installed with connectors that are designed to take a higher, constant load.

 

[derekthetree]

Just saw a brilliant blue saloon in a carpark, looked really good and reminded me of my laid up one Waiting one more part for a repair but lease company are chasing hard.

 

[paulhx]

Any one think this is a fire risk ?

Thanks
Graham

Unfortunately not a question that can be answered on a forum. Maybe try taking it down to 8A and supervise the charge and heat generated. But ultimately to put your mind at rest, either get an electrician's opinion or use the grant to fit a dedicated outdoors charger as others have suggested.

I would like to think that MB have safety tested the PSU, but they can't legislate for any home electrical issues.

 

[TheCorm]

Unfortunately not a question that can be answered on a forum. Maybe try taking it down to 8A and supervise the charge and heat generated. But ultimately to put your mind at rest, either get an electrician's opinion or use the grant to fit a dedicated outdoors charger as others have suggested.

I would like to think that MB have safety tested the PSU, but they can't legislate for any home electrical issues.

If you don't have a driveway )but have a suitable path for charge cabling to your car) I don't think you can get the grant which is a shame.

My plan is to charge at 8A, I might give 13A when i'm out there doing stuff so I can monitor heat at all parts, i'm planning to get a brand new socket installed for charging purposes (and mowing the lawn!)

 

[willow336]

Any one got the text message reader working, if so, how?

Thanks
Graham

 

[willow336]

Any one got the text message reader working, if so, how?

Thanks
Graham

 

[famousgrouse]

Any one got the text message reader working, if so, how?

Thanks
Graham

Yeah. Didn't do anything, it just worked off the bat...