Portland Oregon Group

[camasleaf]

Might be quicker if you charged to 100% more often.. if the Leaf chose to balance when you did your 100% QC, and it sounds like it did. Note that to see a 3% drop due to balancing is a very extreme form of balancing, perhaps what you saw was a capacity recalculation due to temperature rise in the battery?

It was down to 40s outside. The battery temperature did not change much, stayed at 5 bars all the time. I will do one week of 100% charge daily and after a few days I will try the 100% QC again.

 

[AndrewRuess]

I had a chance to use DC Quick Charger at the Hollywood West Fred Meyer midday yesterday. Worked great, very quick; possibly quicker than the NEC unit down at the World Trade Center parking lot.

Of course I decided to push my luck yesterday with an additional 70-odd miles or so in the afternoon (client visit in Banks, part pickup off 217) and got back to that Fred Meyer around 5:30pm for a quick charge before heading back downtown for an event and eventually to home in Happy Valley. But now the DC Quick Charger was offline.

Went in and one of the cashiers found somebody that told me the DC Quick Charger is offline again for the foreseeable future. Apparently someone from corporate and a technician came out and turned it off mid-afternoon, and he was convinced something political was going on (at Kroger corporate, Ecotality, etc). No idea how accurate his information is... Will be curious to see if it is back online before Friday night.

Had to limp downtown for the event, then limp over to the World Trade Center at 10pm for a quick charge. =P

 

[camasleaf]

Does anybody know if the QC at Fred Meyer is working again? I might needed this evening. Can we just call Blink and ask?

 

[DarkStar]

Does anybody know if the QC at Fred Meyer is working again? I might needed this evening. Can we just call Blink and ask?

Okay, so before the "Revenge" event last week, I asked the Blink guy why it isn't on all the time and we found out that some hardware needs to be replaced before it is in regular use (specifically the CHAdeMO plugs) due to some design problems causing breakage (like the Eaton unit at Electric Avenue).

There is no ETA for getting them replaced, so I wouldn't expect this to be in regular service and would use the World Trade Center as a backup.

 

[DarkStar]

From the OEVA mailing list: https://groups.google.com/group/oeva/msg/902774f60ac809a9

Electric Avenue and Fred Meyer DC Quick charge stations back on line

Portland is back to having three DC quick charge stations operating.

The cords were replaced on the Blink and Eaton stations. Re-designed connectors from Yazaki are not through with their certification, so these connectoers are the same as the others.

Caution:
1- Do not squeeze the black handle with any force at all. If it doesn't move easily, it isn't inserted correctly.
2- When inserting the connector, do not squeeze thee black handle until the connector is fully inserted in the receptacle.
3- Once inserted, gently squeeze the black handle. It should move effortlessly. The back part of the blue handle moves forward towards the receptacle.

 

[Twistyaction]

It seems that the right side of the DC quick charger is already out of commission at the Hollywood Fred Meyer. When I went to use it on Friday the 18th, the CHAdeMO connector looked OK, but the lever was in the closed position when I withdrew the plug from the Blink DC unit. This leads me to believe that it was not used properly by the previous user. The touchscreen was unresponsive and had no display. I think there should be really explicit, simple directions on the front of the Blink unit about each step required to connect and dis-connect the plug properly.

In my experience, when finished charging and removing the connector from your Leaf, the thumb button gets pressed once to release the lever that draws the plug into the receptacle and then the thumb button gets pressed again to unplug from the car. If anything feels like it needs force, you're doing it wrong.

They should absolutely be teaching this very thoroughly for each type of available connector at the Nissan dealer upon delivery.

 

[DarkStar]

When I went to use it on Friday the 18th, the CHAdeMO connector looked OK, but the lever was in the closed position when I withdrew the plug from the Blink DC unit. This leads me to believe that it was not used properly by the previous user. The touchscreen was unresponsive and had no display.

It's pretty easy to bump the latch on the bottom, causing the handle to pop into the closed position. I always press the black button on the top and set it to the fully open position since the next guy might not have any idea why it wouldn't go in his car.

ECOtality might still be turning off the machine on a regular basis too, did you call them?

 

[Twistyaction]

It didn't seem like an intentional shut down since the large monitor above was still working and the left half of the DC EVSE was fully functional. Anyway, no, I didn't call them. Is there an easy number to call ECOtality at?

 

[DarkStar]

It didn't seem like an intentional shut down since the large monitor above was still working and the left half of the DC EVSE was fully functional. Anyway, no, I didn't call them. Is there an easy number to call ECOtality at?

1-888-998-BLINK (2546), it's also on the label on the EVSE.

However, since it was just the right side, they may not have replaced that plug yet. It was previously damaged (not in the same way as the Electric Avenue Eaton unit), but I haven't been by to see if it was swapped out yet.

 

[Lynza]

I am seeing even more significant loss of mileage and I'm wondering what might be causing it. Maybe someone here can shed some light?

I got my Leaf in May, and have almost 10k miles on it. During the summer I was making my commute of about 65 miles each day and getting home with around 4-5 bars left. On some days I could get from Hillsboro to the Sunset Hwy tunnel (about 18 miles) on 2 bars if I was careful.

In the last two months I've seen a steady decline in my available bars. Two weeks ago I moved to Banks, which is about 12 miles farther, putting my total daily commute at about 80 miles. Today it took me SEVEN BARS to get to work, where in the summer it took maybe 4. I don't use the CC. So is it the windshield wipers? The headlights? Cosmic imbalance due to some karmic retribution?

I've checked my tires, and while one is about 4 pounds shy of 36 psi, the rest are fine. Not sure what else to try. I'm thinking I'll go by the dealership this weekend and see if they can take a look. It just seems a little absurd that I've lost that much efficiency in so short a period of time.

 

[perpetualstudent]

It's the cold weather impacting battery chemistry. We got our car in March and we noticed that the range wasn't as great as we expected, but by the summer we were able to make 90 mile trips with no problems. Now we are noticing a decrease in range.

 

[DarkStar]

I am seeing even more significant loss of mileage and I'm wondering what might be causing it. Maybe someone here can shed some light?

I got my Leaf in May, and have almost 10k miles on it. During the summer I was making my commute of about 65 miles each day and getting home with around 4-5 bars left. On some days I could get from Hillsboro to the Sunset Hwy tunnel (about 18 miles) on 2 bars if I was careful.

In the last two months I've seen a steady decline in my available bars. Two weeks ago I moved to Banks, which is about 12 miles farther, putting my total daily commute at about 80 miles. Today it took me SEVEN BARS to get to work, where in the summer it took maybe 4. I don't use the CC. So is it the windshield wipers? The headlights? Cosmic imbalance due to some karmic retribution?

I've checked my tires, and while one is about 4 pounds shy of 36 psi, the rest are fine. Not sure what else to try. I'm thinking I'll go by the dealership this weekend and see if they can take a look. It just seems a little absurd that I've lost that much efficiency in so short a period of time.

No climate control? Does your "Status" display show "Climate Control Off"? Gotta check since lately I've found a few owners that thought since the "Auto" light wasn't on that it was off, when it was actually on.

Headlights, windshield wipers, average speed, tire pressure: All play a role on your range. You could squeeze an extra 2-3% efficiency by filling your tires to the maximum sidewall pressure of 44 PSI.

7 bars to drive 40 miles is about 5.7 miles per bar. Using the heat for defrost and basic comfort, I'm getting right about 6.5 miles per bar, however when I don't use the climate control at all and no windshield wipers, it's closer to 7-8 miles per bar.

I'm installing some seat warmers today to hopefully eliminate most of my climate control usage and get my mileage back up.

 

[GinkoLeaf]

I am seeing even more significant loss of mileage and I'm wondering what might be causing it. Maybe someone here can shed some light?

I've noticed a slight decline (about 1 to 1.5 bars worth) and attribute it to the colder weather. I park in a garage at night and have been using the climate control when driving. I've also noticed my mileage improves when I preheat (CC timer) in the morning before I leave.

 

[Lynza]

Well, I put some air into the tires last night, up to 44 psi now.

And made it to work this morning on just 5 bars! So that's a significant improvement. I'll keep checking. The day it took 7 was the day where it was practically flooding last week. Today I didn't use windshield wipers or the CC at all.

 

[GinkoLeaf]

Well, I put some air into the tires last night, up to 44 psi now.

And made it to work this morning on just 5 bars! So that's a significant improvement. I'll keep checking. The day it took 7 was the day where it was practically flooding last week. Today I didn't use windshield wipers or the CC at all.

No CC? Don't your windows fog up in the cold weather? Maybe I just breathe too hard

 

[Lynza]

I've gotten it down to a science, now.

As long as it's just me in the car, it doesn't fog up. As soon as someone else is there, though, it fogs up like crazy.

I think the main factor must be the temperature. I'm going to see if setting my charging timer to finish right before I leave in the morning will make a difference. It took 7 bars to get to work again this morning, and it fluctuates quite a bit on a daily basis.

My one-way commute is about 36 miles, for reference. It looks like I'll need to hit the QC downtown on the way home.

 

[camasleaf]

Caution:
1- Do not squeeze the black handle with any force at all. If it doesn't move easily, it isn't inserted correctly.
2- When inserting the connector, do not squeeze thee black handle until the connector is fully inserted in the receptacle.
3- Once inserted, gently squeeze the black handle. It should move effortlessly. The back part of the blue handle moves forward towards the receptacle.

Last Sunday I stopped by Fred Meyer for a quick charge. I put the plug in and tried to squeeze the black handle but did not move. Tried a few times to reset the plug but it still did not work. I did not try to force it. I was disappointed that it does not work (I would have driven to downtown to use one of the other two QCs). I tried one more time and while slightly squeezing the handle I lightly pushed the release button. I heard a light click and handle released and I was able to squeeze it. I only charged for about 10 minutes and around noon I came back to charge to 80%. This time the handle worked just fine.

Could it be that people walking by squeeze the handle and cause it to lock? Did pushing the release button really help? If you have problems try the release button, but remember I did not have to use any force.

I spent about $50 at Fred Meyer and let them know that I would have not done if it it was not for the DC charger.

I believe more QC is all we need. Forget public/commercial L2. I started the day with 3 bars and 21 miles (I forgot to plug in Saturday night ) drove over 70 miles and got home with 4 bars.

 

[GinkoLeaf]

I noticed a new charger at the Walgreens near me at
9159 SE 82Nd Ave
Happy Valley, OR 97086

But it was not a brand that I recognized (not Blink or ChargePoint, and doesn't look like OpConnect). Its on a thin pole with a green matrix LED read-out, and wants an RFID card to activate. I can't remember the name printed on the side. Does anyone know what it could be?

 

[DarkStar]

I tried one more time and while slightly squeezing the handle I lightly pushed the release button. I heard a light click and handle released and I was able to squeeze it. I only charged for about 10 minutes and around noon I came back to charge to 80%. This time the handle worked just fine.

Could it be that people walking by squeeze the handle and cause it to lock? Did pushing the release button really help? If you have problems try the release button, but remember I did not have to use any force.

If I had the same issue, I'm sure I would have pressed the release button a few times to make sure it wasn't causing an issue. I'm not familiar with the internals of the connector, but I always thought that if the handle was already released that the button wouldn't do anything. I used the Eaton on Electric Avenue on Sunday and didn't have any issues with the connector either.

 

[DarkStar]

I noticed a new charger at the Walgreens near me at
9159 SE 82Nd Ave
Happy Valley, OR 97086

But it was not a brand that I recognized (not Blink or ChargePoint, and doesn't look like OpConnect). Its on a thin pole with a green matrix LED read-out, and wants an RFID card to activate. I can't remember the name printed on the side. Does anyone know what it could be?

This is the closest I could come up with:

This one doesn't require an RFID tag though to activate and isn't very "thin."