In the field, there is no sound more frustrating than the silence of a "Ghost Charger". You arrive at a site to find the LEDs are green, the power is on, and the hardware looks pristine – yet the session fails the moment a driver plugs in. To the customer, the charger is "broken." To your remote dashboard, it might even look "Available". But to the technician standing in the rain, this is a classic Digital Handshake Failure.

As infrastructure scales and Open Charge Point Protocol 2.0.1 (OCPP 2.0.1) becomes the global mandate, these "Ghost" outages are becoming more frequent. They live in the "Physical Reality Gap" – a space where a remote reset can’t reach because the communication path itself is broken. 

This guide is your Master Fault Index. We’ve compiled the most critical MREC (Minimum Required Error Codes) and digital handshake protocols to help you move past the "Ghost" and restore operational resilience.

What are the most common EV charger error codes?

The Direct Answer

Modern chargers utilize the MREC (Minimum Required Error Codes) standard to simplify diagnostics. The most frequent "Ghost" errors include CX009 (Authorization Timeout), CX013 (No Internet), and the critical CX015 (Power Loss/TLS Failure). 

Unlike physical damage, these digital faults often require local configuration because the charger can no longer "talk" to the central management system for a remote reset.

The "Ghost" Diagnostic Index (MREC Standard)

How do I fix an OCPP 2.0.1 "BootNotification" or handshake error?

The Direct Answer

An OCPP handshake failure typically occurs during the BootNotification phase when the charger attempts to register with the backend. To fix this, technicians must:

• verify that the system clock is synchronized (incorrect time breaks TLS certificates)
• ensure the WebSocket URL is formatted correctly (including wss://)
• check if Security Profile (0-3) matches the backend requirements.

The Time-Sync Trap & TLS Ciphers

Security is a must. OCPP 2.0.1 mandates TLS 1.3 encryption. If a charger’s internal clock resets to a default date (like January 1, 2000) after a power blip, it will reject every security certificate from your current server because they appear "not yet valid".

• The Fix: Connect locally via Bluetooth or Ethernet and manually force an NTP (Network Time Protocol) sync.
• The Cipher Check: Ensure the charger and the backend support the same encryption ciphers. A mismatch here is a "Silent Ghost" – the connection simply closes without an error message.

JSON Schema Strictness

Unlike the more "forgiving" OCPP 1.6J, the 2.0.1 standard is strictly typed. A single missing field in the BootNotificationRequest or an incorrect VendorName will cause the backend to reject the message with a FormatViolation. 

If you’ve updated firmware recently and the charger went "Ghost", your JSON schema may no longer be compatible with your CSMS.

Why do remote resets fail to fix "Ghost Chargers"?

The Direct Answer

A remote reset command is an OCPP message sent from the cloud to the charger. If the Digital Handshake is broken (due to a TLS mismatch, DNS failure, or URL error), the charger cannot receive the command. 

In these cases, the "Ghost" state is terminal until a technician performs a Local Hard Reset or reconfigures the communication module manually.

Turning Data into Uptime

Ghost chargers and handshake errors are the "hidden" enemies of operational resilience. By combining the Master Fault Index with a rigorous field protocol, you stop guessing why a charger is offline and start fixing it.

Don't let digital "ghosts" and handshake failures kill your uptime. Book a free demo today, or contact us to see how FieldEx automates your physical execution layer.