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The wallbox isn't charging

The checklist in order of the most common causes, from plug to charge limit.

First: what does Franzl itself say?

Open the wallbox card in the Action tab. Franzl explains its current state in one sentence, and that's usually already the answer: "No car plugged in", "Paused — by you", "Car at 80% — charge limit reached", "Waiting for solar surplus". The checklist below is for cases where that line isn't enough.

1. Is the car actually plugged in?

Sounds obvious, but it's the #1 cause. Franzl never starts a charge without a connected car. If the card says "No car plugged in" even though the plug is in, the plug is often not fully seated, or the wallbox isn't reporting the plug status (unplugging and plugging back in usually helps).

2. Which mode is active?

• "Stop" is absolute: Franzl won't charge under any circumstances until you release it again.
• "Solar" only charges on real surplus. In the evening, when it's cloudy, or when battery/hot water are ranked ahead of it in your priority order, no charging is the correct behavior; the card tells you what it's waiting for.
• "Charge" should actually start charging. If it doesn't → step 3.

3. Has the car reached its charge limit?

If the car has reached its own charge limit (e.g. 80%), it won't draw any power, no matter what the wallbox offers. Franzl reads this limit wherever it's available and displays it. Check the limit in the car's manufacturer app and raise it if needed.

4. Has the car fallen asleep?

Some cars sleep right through the power offer. Franzl detects this (power offered, but 0 W for several minutes) and automatically wakes a linked car. Without a linked car: open the car's manufacturer app once and tap "Start charging". A more permanent fix: link your car with Franzl, then Franzl takes over the wake-up.

5. After a solar pause: a little patience

After stopping a charge, Franzl deliberately waits a few minutes before starting again: this protects your wallbox's contactor from constant switching on changeable days. The card shows the restart.

OCPP wallboxes (e.g. ABB, via the Home Assistant OCPP integration): After we stop a charge, restarting needs a real start command; Franzl sends that automatically. If another controller is writing charging profiles to the wallbox at the same time, conflicts can occur: keep only one controller active per wallbox.