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How to connect: Phoenix Contact

Requirements

  • CHARX SEC is a charging controller integrated into a third-party charging station; onboarding is done by the installer or station OEM, not an end user

  • Browser access to the controller's WBM (USB-C at 192.168.5.1 with RNDIS driver, or Ethernet/DHCP at http://ev3000.local)

  • WBM login with the Operator role (Operator rights cover network, backend, and load management settings)

  • A backend network path via Ethernet (ETH0) or the cellular modem (ppp0)

  • The charging point configured with Release Charging set to By OCPP and a valid, unique numeric ConnectorID starting from 1

  • A charge point identity from Plugchoice to append to the Backend URL

Connect your charger

Open the web-based management (WBM):

  1. Reach the controller's WBM in a browser. Via USB-C: install the RNDIS gadget driver (search catalog.update.microsoft.com for RNDIS Gadget), then browse to 192.168.5.1. Via an Ethernet network with router: ETH0 uses DHCP by default and the controller is reachable at http://ev3000.local or http://ev3000 (additional controllers appear as ev3000-2, ev3000-3, and so on).

  2. You start in the read-only Guest role. Click the figure icon in the upper right and log in with the Operator role (default login operator, default password operator). Change the default password during startup at the latest, via the Profile button.

Configure the charging point for OCPP:

  1. Under Charging Stations > Charging Point > Create Configuration, set Release Charging to By OCPP (the release is issued and withdrawn via the connected OCPP backend). In the OCPP ConnectorID field, assign a numeric ID: unique in the charging park, starting from 1; it represents the ID in the OCPP backend, so it must match the connector numbering in Plugchoice.

Configure the OCPP connection:

  1. Go to the WBM OCPP area. Set Protocol Version to OCPP 1.6J (the only selectable standard at present) and choose the Network Interface for the backend connection: cellular (ppp0) or Ethernet (LAN ETH0).

  2. In the Backend URL field, enter the Plugchoice server URL with your charge point identity appended, following the manual's pattern (its example is ws://testserver.net:8080/chargeboxid):

  • Backend URL: wss://proxy.plugchoice.com/v1/ followed by your Plugchoice charge point identity

  1. Click SAVE, then RESTART OCPP SERVICE: if the parameters are changed, the OCPP agent must be restarted, for example via the RESTART OCPP SERVICE button.

Verify:

  1. On the OCPP Status page, check the connection status indicator: green means a connection to the OCPP management system exists. The page also shows the status of the charging points controlled via the backend and the last 50 exchanged messages. Confirm the charge point shows as connected in Plugchoice.

On the WBM OCPP Status page the connection indicator turns green (green indicates that a connection exists), the charging points controlled via the backend are listed, and the page tracks the last 50 messages between the charging controller and the backend.

Registering your charger in Plugchoice

  1. Create a location

  2. Add the charger using the chargepoint ID. CHARX SEC has no standalone charge point identity field: the identity is appended to the Backend URL. The manual describes the field as URL/IP address to access the backend with unique charge box ID (provided by the operator), example ws://testserver.net:8080/chargeboxid. For Plugchoice, append your charge point identity as the final path segment. Separately, each charging point gets a numeric OCPP ConnectorID: unique in the charging park, starting from 1, representing the ID in the OCPP backend.

Done! The charger should come online.

Troubleshooting

Did you set everything up correctly, but the charger still remains "Pre-registered"?

  • OCPP status indicator red (no connection): check the settings for the modem or the Ethernet interface in the System Control.

  • The OCPP menu shows no (or not all) charging points: check the Release Charging area in the charging point configuration; every OCPP-controlled charging point must be configured for release via OCPP and have a valid connector ID assigned.

  • Changed OCPP parameters not taking effect: the OCPP agent must be restarted, for example via the RESTART OCPP SERVICE button.

  • WBM not reachable right after a restart: the WBM is one of the last processes started; press F5 to refresh the page.

  • Controller not found on a network with limited access rights (DHCP blocked): search the network for the IP address or use a different access method such as USB-C.

  • Need older OCPP traffic than the last 50 messages: download the log files via System Control, Log Files.

Contact support

You can also reach Plugchoice directly: chat with us in the app, or email [email protected].

For a complete guide, see our troubleshooting article if your charger can't connect to Plugchoice.

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