How EV charging station maintenance reduces costs and increases reliability
The number of electric vehicles on U.S. roads is expected to EV supply equipment (EVSE) infrastructure climb sharply over the next decade, with industry forecasts pointing to tens of millions of EVs in service and a corresponding need for hundreds of thousands of additional public charging ports — including a significant expansion of DC Fast Charging along highway corridors. As that infrastructure grows, the pressure to keep it working reliably grows with it.
The biggest problem with EV charging infrastructure right now
Charging station reliability has been a persistent issue since the early days of EVs, largely due to a lack of preventive maintenance and slow response times for fixing outages. EV charging stations have become common around malls, big -box retailers, and grocery stores, but along interstate highways and outside urban areas, stations can be few and far between. And the stations that do exist are not always fully functional when a driver arrives, which fuels the "range anxiety" that EV drivers feel on long-distance trips.
Reliability is improving, but slowly. Recent industry research shows that roughly one in seven public charging attempts in the U.S. still fails on the first try, and uptime can be misleading on its own — a charger may report as "available" while still failing to deliver a successful charge due to communication faults, payment issues, or worn-out components. Reliability also tends to degrade as stations age: studies have shown first-time charge success rates dropping from around 85% at new stations to below 70% within a few years, underscoring the importance of ongoing maintenance.
The federal NEVI (National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) program reinforces this with a clear bar: each charging port at a NEVI-funded station must maintain greater than 97% average annual uptime, calculated monthly across the prior 12 months. That requirement makes proactive maintenance a contractual obligation, not just a best practice — and it raises the cost of getting it wrong.
Successful infrastructure to meet growing EV demand depends on availability and reliability. Reducing servicing costs for EVSE station owners and operators is critical to increasing both.
Regular EVSE maintenance reduces costs and increases reliability
One way to reduce EV charging station service costs — and increase reliability — is to streamline inspections so that EVSE manufacturers and station owners can commit to an ongoing, proactive program of preventive maintenance. Proper maintenance helps minimize downtime and reduce lost revenue from non-functional chargers. Regular maintenance can also help reduce replacement costs by maximizing the useful life of charging equipment.
Some EV charging station manufacturers already offer total care plans that guarantee a certain level of uptime for their equipment, and this is becoming an increasingly common standard — particularly for sites that need to meet NEVI uptime requirements. A challenge to implementing those plans is the shortage of experts trained to troubleshoot and maintain EVSE installations, especially DC Fast Charging stations, which involve higher voltages, more complex communication protocols, and tighter safety requirements. That challenge creates new opportunities and revenue streams for local electrical professionals to install, certify, and maintain the equipment.
Tools to simplify EVSE maintenance
Fluke FEV500
The Fluke FEV500 Fast DC EV Charging Station Analyzer is an all-in-one tool for testing DC Fast Charging stations equipped with CCS connectors. It combines safety, performance, and interoperability checks into one portable, field-ready device — eliminating the need for separate load banks, oscilloscopes, low-ohm meters, and protocol analyzers when testing a DCFC station.
The FEV500 simulates an EV charging session up to 2 kW without requiring an actual vehicle on-site, which is critical for commissioning, scheduled maintenance, and troubleshooting at remote highway-corridor stations. It performs full digital protocol testing per ISO 15118 and DIN SPEC 70121 — the international standards governing communication between EVs and charging stations — and runs the electrical safety tests required by IEC 61557 (insulation resistance, low-impedance continuity, IMD verification, and residual voltage).
Autotest sequences with pass/fail results help less-experienced technicians work through standardized inspection workflows, while detailed diagnostics give experienced electricians the depth they need for complex troubleshooting. Test data is captured automatically and transferred to TruTest™ software via USB-C, simplifying compliance reporting for NEVI and other uptime-focused programs.
Fluke FEV150
The Fluke FEV150 EV Charging Station Analyzer is an all-in-one tool designed to make maintenance and troubleshooting more efficient and reliable for AC EV charging stations with Type 1 or Tesla-type connectors. It provides advanced diagnostics and detailed control pilot signal waveform analysis, making it valuable for installation and maintenance tasks — especially in commercial and industrial applications where complexity is greater and demands are higher.
The FEV150 can simulate multiple charging states and perform detailed error testing, which is crucial for diagnosing and resolving complex issues quickly. It integrates seamlessly with the TruTest™ EV Charging software module via Bluetooth, letting technicians manage test results easily and generate reports quickly.
Fluke FEV100
The Fluke FEV100 EVSE Test Adapter is essential for preventive maintenance on AC charging stations. It’s designed to work in conjunction with other test and measurement tools, such as digital multimeters or ScopeMeters, to facilitate advanced diagnostics.
The FEV100 simulates the control pilot charging state of an electric vehicle and automates several safety and functionality tests — without an EV required. With an FEV100, a single technician can test an AC charger in 10 to 15 minutes.
With the FEV100, station operators can delegate monthly preventive maintenance inspections to a technician who has completed 5 to 10 hours of EVSE training. If everything checks out, the charger is good for another month. If the technician finds a problem that needs more extensive evaluation, they can call in a licensed electrician to diagnose and fix the issue. This reduces average servicing costs and makes it more practical for EV charging station owners and operators to commit to a regular preventive maintenance program. It also frees up more experienced electricians to address problems that require more expertise and produce more revenue.
Faster, easier EVSE troubleshooting
You get a head start on troubleshooting with each of these tools because they quickly identify the most common EVSE problems.
For DC Fast Charging stations, the FEV500 consolidates the inspection workflow into a single device. Technicians can verify CCS communication and SLAC negotiation, run load tests under simulated charging conditions, check insulation resistance and continuity, validate the IMD response, and measure residual voltage — all through the EVSE connector, without opening the charger. Built-in error simulation verifies that the station's safety systems respond correctly to fault conditions, and the integrated touchscreen guides technicians through each test step by step.
For AC stations, the FEV150 integrates multiple testing capabilities into a single handheld device. It performs comprehensive safety and performance tests, including advanced control pilot signal analysis, GFCI trip tests for both 6 mA and 20 mA circuits, and error detection — without requiring additional equipment. Automated test procedures and detailed diagnostics help technicians quickly pinpoint and address problems, ensuring minimal downtime and optimal charger performance.
The FEV100 pairs with other test and measurement tools to extend a technician's reach. By simulating multiple charging states and connecting a digital multimeter or a ScopeMeter, technicians can verify voltage transfer in each state and analyze control pilot signal waveforms to confirm proper communication between the EV and the charger.
Reduced EVSE service costs are key to EV growth
By delegating routine preventive maintenance to skilled technicians and giving licensed electricians the tools to troubleshoot complex problems faster, station operators can significantly reduce inspection costs across both AC and DC Fast Charging assets. That makes a commitment to preventive maintenance programs more financially attractive — and more achievable for operators working under uptime requirements like NEVI's 97% threshold.
The result: more opportunities for electrical professionals to expand into EVSE support, and ultimately, a more reliable EVSE infrastructure for everyone. EV drivers can be confident that they'll be able to charge their vehicles wherever they drive.