This was the first EV charger fault we've worked on, but as the early wave of home charger installs starts to age, it's unlikely to be the last. The unit belonged to a neighbour, and we spotted the problem when we noticed they were running an extension lead out to charge their Tesla instead of using the charger.
The unit was just over three years old — outside its warranty period — and displaying an error code that pointed towards a relay issue. Once we opened up the unit and inspected the board, the cause was clear: a failed relay had allowed a high current to pass through one of the PCB traces, leaving visible heat damage on the board.
The replacement part itself wasn't the hard part to identify — the part number was clearly marked — but with global demand for EV charger components still high, it took a fair amount of searching to track one down in stock at a reasonable price.
Once the replacement relay arrived, we got to work. The terminals connecting it to the PCB were substantial, so unsoldering the old relay took some care and time. With the damaged relay removed, the new one was slotted into place and the connections re-soldered.
We then took the repaired unit back to the customer's property and reassembled it on site.
The owner had been quoted over £700 for a full replacement PCB, and that didn't even include installation. Our repair saved hundreds of pounds and was completed in a fraction of the time a full replacement would have taken. Seeing the charger working again first-hand made it clear just how welcome the fix was.
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