How to Solve Charge Port Issue in Volkswagen Golf GTE
The effects of climate change have forced automobile manufacturers to shift their focus from producing Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) vehicles to hybrids and electric cars. The new kind of vehicles are slowly becoming the norm in the automotive industry and the market has started to accept them. More people are accepting EVs with open arms than ever before, which is a good sign for the environment.
However, the technology must be perfected to satisfy modern standards of quality, reliability, and safety. It must be done before the industry completes this transition to green energy. If improvements in reliability keep playing second fiddle to quick implementation, a disaster would not be too far away.
A living example of this recently came into our garage.
Mr. L drove into the Fergies workshop in his 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTE, complaining about a charging cable and charging issue. The charging cable was not locking into the port, which was affecting the charging procedure. That’s not immediately concerning, given the car in question is a PHEV. But if the vehicle would have been purely powered by electricity, the issue would have brought the car to a standstill.
Luckily, that wasn’t the case with Mr. L’s Golf GTE, but the magnitude of the problem still forced him to book an appointment at our garage at the first opportunity.
He was welcomed by our EV specialist, Jason, who listened intently to all of Mr. L’s comments. It turned out that our client took his Golf GTE to another garage before coming to Fergies. The other workshop was unable to fix the issue, which wasted Mr. L’s time and hard-earned money.
Our senior Golf GTE thanked the client for bringing his car to Fergies because that gave us a chance to inspect the Golf in detail. Interestingly, Jason had never seen or heard of a fault like this in his entire career as an EV and Volkswagen specialist.
But that wasn’t going to stop our technician from doing his job. Instead, the unusual problem motivated him to trust his training to find a way out of this mess.
Faults Found
Jason had to test the problem himself to ensure there was no margin for error. And so, he tried connecting the high voltage system charge cable to the port. The result was the same as the client had described.
The cable was indeed not locking in place, and as a consequence of that, the system wasn’t registering the charge. The most obvious explanation of the circumstance was that either the cable was faulty or the port was out of shape.
It is also possible that something else had gone wrong. But in our field, there is no room for speculation. The full focus of our technicians is on evidence. So, finding evidence to support his theory was Jason’s first course of action.
He devised a plan of action and charted all possible ways he could tackle the problem to find a viable solution.
Our hybrid specialist resorted to the most powerful weapon in his arsenal – the 15-step diagnostic procedure. The comprehensive diagnostic process is used by all the technicians at Fergies. It helps them reach the solution more efficiently.
The first task on Jason’s to-do list and also the first step on the 15-step diagnostic procedure was to check the car for fault codes.
The full vehicle scan is the go-to tool for all technicians, as it reveals all the faults inside the car in a matter of minutes. Jason used VW’s Odis tool to scan the 2017 Golf GTE and as a result, a few error codes popped up.
Jason sifted through the various other fault codes to find the ones relevant to the charge port problem. He found two appropriate codes:
- P31D500 – Charge socket A recognition connector lock (device electrical error)
- P31C900 – LED module charging socket A (electrical error)
Diagnostic Procedure
The initial scan of the Golf GTE showed two relevant fault codes. They pointed toward problems in the high voltage electrical system and the hybrid system. But that was just rudimentary information, that solved nothing.
So, our VW expert had to perform live data checks and compare the results with the norm. Once again, the readings were abnormal and out of the ordinary. The only way to reach a conclusion was to perform further checks, and Jason did exactly that.
He examined the two charging cables that came with the Golf on both ends. Our VW specialist had to ensure the external equipment was working fine, before proceeding to look at the components inside the vehicle. It turned out that both cables were in perfect working condition.
Thereafter, Jason used the official Volkswagen Odis tool and searched for a test plan for the hybrid charging system. He found the appropriate one and followed it to the tee. The test involved the inspection of all the relevant components, including the charging ports, the wiring, and the battery.
It was not long after our expert began the test that he reached the core of the problem. It turned out that the issue was in a small sensor hidden inside the charging port.
Jason breathed a sigh of relief and started with the solution immediately.
Solving The Problem
Our VW specialist removed the high-voltage charging point and found the solenoid position sensor to be the culprit. The component was failing intermittently, which was justified by the huge amount of dirt and debris encompassing the sensor. Fortunately, the fix for this is easy.
Jason removed the sensor, cleaned the entire area, including the sensor, and put the components back in their place. Afterward, our technician put the high-voltage charging point back in its original place and proceeded to scan the car for fault codes.
The scan came out clean, which only left one thing on the cards. Jason had to see if the vehicle was charging or not after the repair. Luckily, the charging cable was locking in place and the high-voltage charging point was working perfectly.
Jason wrapped up the job and handed over the keys back to Mr. L, who sighed in relief. The 2017 VW Golf GTE was good to go back on the road.
But before Mr. L went on his way, our technician advised him to change the sensor before the problem revisited the car.
Summary
A client came into our garage complaining about a charging port issue. Our VW expert took the car under his wing and he began the 15-step diagnostic procedure to weed out all the possibilities.
The issue was new and something our specialist hadn’t seen before. But Jason was adamant about solving the problem. He took it as a challenge and a test of his skills. And so, after a grueling battle between our technician and the Golf, Jason’s expertise came out victorious.
In the end, Jason’s training and motivation came to his help and as a result, he handed over the car to Mr. L on the same day.
That’s the kind of service you get at Fergies. It doesn’t matter if the problem is new or old, never before seen or common, our technicians will always solve it.
If you have been looking for a garage like this and found nothing that comes close to the mark, it is time to switch to Fergies. We offer the best value for your money along with low lead times compared to the main VW dealer.
Call us on this number 01635 903173 and set your appointment now!
