Testing for broken PEN

[littlespark]

Can we as electricians pick up on a broken PEN conductor?

I’ve installed an EV charger for FIL, and everything tested fine, but there is a fault condition on the charge point itself.
Turns out the fault condition is their PEN detection.
At the moment, the charge point isn’t doing anything. (No car delivered yet)

Is there a test I can do to prove it, or just contact supplier?

 

[HHamer]

Can we as electricians pick up on a broken PEN conductor?

I’ve installed an EV charger for FIL, and everything tested fine, but there is a fault condition on the charge point itself.
Turns out the fault condition is their PEN detection.
At the moment, the charge point isn’t doing anything. (No car delivered yet)

Is there a test I can do to prove it, or just contact supplier?

Do Ze a the CU, see what reading you have. How did you found it's a PEN fault?

 

[littlespark]

Do Ze a the CU, see what reading you have. How did you found it's a PEN fault?

I’ll recheck Ze… don’t have the paperwork with me just now.

The manufacturer help desk told me what the fault was in respect to the colour of the LEDs on the charge point itself.

 

[pc1966]

Do you know how it detects a broken PEN? To me the sort of thing I would look for are:

• A significant voltage between CPC and true Earth, say above around 15V or so (needs a rod)
• Mains voltage out of range (how some open PEN boxes work I believe)
• High current in bonding conductors

The supply voltage could be down to other causes, but is bad news, while the former is a real indication of a problem. I took 15V as about 13% drop on the DNO side equally on L and PEN, just as a guess.

Edited to add check bonding conductor(s) for high currents with a clamp meter, you might have no other signs of a fault but something is very wrong and hidden by some pipework doing the job it was never intended to do. especially a gas meter!

 

[timhoward]

Do you know how it detects a broken PEN?

From memory, this video explains it very well.

 

[timhoward]

I’ll recheck Ze… don’t have the paperwork with me just now.

If you mean test it again - I actually wouldn't in this scenario.
In a suspected broken PEN scenario, disconnecting the main earth conductor is the last thing you want to be doing.

The video below goes into more detail.
As @pc1966 said the two factors most chargepoint's use are the voltage range being outside 207-253v. The video also points out that a lot of PV installs in the area and and being close to the transformer can result in false positives as the perceived supply voltage can be high enough to trigger it.

 

[littlespark]

I popped by today, but no one was in. Couldn't get into the house
Took a reading from a garage socket... just to double check and got a voltage of 248v. Zs on that socket of 0.48... which will be close to the Ze.

Reading some of the other comments on the facebook group, they suggested logging off the app, and going back in seems to solve a lot of issues... and guess what... it did!

 

[timhoward]

Reading some of the other comments on the facebook group, they suggested logging off the app, and going back in seems to solve a lot of issues... and guess what... it did!

I hope that solved it.
If anything like down here, it was nice and sunny yesterday and very overcast today, so potentially the perceived supply voltage could have been higher yesterday if there are a few PV installations locally. 248v is close to the 253v upper limit after all.

 

[littlespark]

I hope that solved it.
If anything like down here, it was nice and sunny yesterday and very overcast today, so potentially the perceived supply voltage could have been higher yesterday if there are a few PV installations locally. 248v is close to the 253v upper limit after all.

That’ll be 248 with his PV feeding back. It’ll be lower at night.