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I'm going to be out in Northbrook today and would love to charge my Leaf if I can. If I want to use the L3 charger at the Citgo on Dundee, do I need a special charging card or can I just pay cash?
 
r1234567 said:
I'm going to be out in Northbrook today and would love to charge my Leaf if I can. If I want to use the L3 charger at the Citgo on Dundee, do I need a special charging card or can I just pay cash?
Click to expand...

Yes. Unfortunately you'll need a Charjit card.
 
Thanks!

I have the S so I don't have Carwings. How do I find active chargers? Do I have to wait for whole charging station lawsuit to settle out before I can get cards? I've been reading the Tribune articles and it looks the legal fight is still going on despite a ruling.
 
r1234567 said:
Thanks!

I have the S so I don't have Carwings. How do I find active chargers? Do I have to wait for whole charging station lawsuit to settle out before I can get cards? I've been reading the Tribune articles and it looks the legal fight is still going on despite a ruling.
Click to expand...

The plug share and charge point apps (and web sites) are pretty good. Charge point is good if the charger is on their network otherwise it has no idea of the status.

Charge point chargers can use a debit or credit card IF it has a chip in it. You should sign up for a charge point account because they say they can start a charger if you call them.

That's for the L2s. The L3 situation is pretty bad. I got my Charjit card about a year ago, but apparently you can't get them now. Hopefully JNS will take action quickly now that the judge ruled in their favor.
 
Do I want the all access ($25 deposit) or the free one? I plan on charging at home 95% of the time. I wasn't sure if there is any benefit regards to support with getting the all access account?
 
r1234567 said:
Do I want the all access ($25 deposit) or the free one? I plan on charging at home 95% of the time. I wasn't sure if there is any benefit regards to support with getting the all access account?
Click to expand...

Here in Chicago, lots of problems to work out on these chargers still to go as you can see from this thread ... I myself have a little over 15K miles on my '12 and have not had the need for one and had signed up for the free card until the dust settles ... not sure if your $25 'expires' at some point if you don't use it would probably be the only caveat otherwise I'd only do it if the charger I wanted to use was functional, on the route I wanted drive, etc., etc. before signing up and putting some money on it.
 
redLEAF said:
r1234567 said:
Do I want the all access ($25 deposit) or the free one? I plan on charging at home 95% of the time. I wasn't sure if there is any benefit regards to support with getting the all access account?
Click to expand...

Here in Chicago, lots of problems to work out on these chargers still to go as you can see from this thread ... I myself have a little over 15K miles on my '12 and have not had the need for one and had signed up for the free card until the dust settles ... not sure if your $25 'expires' at some point if you don't use it would probably be the only caveat otherwise I'd only do it if the charger I wanted to use was functional, on the route I wanted drive, etc., etc. before signing up and putting some money on it.
Click to expand...

I would get the All Access because I don't think we have any Chargepoint chargers that are free. I believe you will need some $ on the card in order to use it anywhere around here. Apparently they have free chargers somewhere (according to their video), but not here.
 
brianchi73quote="redLEAF said:
r1234567 said:
Do I want the all access ($25 deposit) or the free one? I plan on charging at home 95% of the time. I wasn't sure if there is any benefit regards to support with getting the all access account?
Click to expand...

Here in Chicago, lots of problems to work out on these chargers still to go as you can see from this thread ... I myself have a little over 15K miles on my '12 and have not had the need for one and had signed up for the free card until the dust settles ... not sure if your $25 'expires' at some point if you don't use it would probably be the only caveat otherwise I'd only do it if the charger I wanted to use was functional, on the route I wanted drive, etc., etc. before signing up and putting some money on it.
Click to expand...

I would get the All Access because I don't think we have any Chargepoint chargers that are free. I believe you will need some $ on the card in order to use it anywhere around here. Apparently they have free chargers somewhere (according to their video), but not here.[/quote]

In my opinion, I would put the $25 deposit and get the all access card. Not sure if the $25 expires but it's only $25 and you WILL use it sometime I'm pretty sure.

ChargePoint CAN indeed start chargers remotely IF they are on network and you can get them the station ID which flashes on the screen of the unit. I have done it before, however, a swipe of my ChargePoint card is easier.

Additionally, you can start or stop an on network ChargePoint station remotely using the app. I have done this at the Aurora Outlet Mall. This was beneficial because I only needed about 1 hour of charge to get back home but was shopping for about 3 hours. Rather than pay for all 3 hours, and instead of having to run back to my car, I kept shopping and stopped the charger remotely via the app. The same goes for calling ChargePoint customer support but the only time I tried to do that was at the paid station inside the 900 N. Michigan Ave. parking garage and it ended up being shut down due to a one day construction project happening the very day I needed it.

Lastly, there are several free ChargePoint stations in Chicagoland. Matter of fact, I am fortunate because I use them ALL THE TIME. It's part of the reason I got a LEAF in the first place. :) Glen Ellyn has 1 location with 2 chargers, Oak Park has 2 locations with 4 chargers, at least one downtown parking garage I've been to had free chargers within their hourly paid lot. I think it was the "Interpark/Government Center Garage" by The WIT hotel. And finally, the ComEd parking garages in Oakbrook Terrace next to Redstone restaurant have free ChargePoint stations... Way better than trying to find an open parking spot or paying for valet while dining there!

In conclusion, while I charge for free mostly at work using the Oak Park stations and dont even bother to charge much at home, I have paid for a charge using my $25 loaded card on numerous occasions. I am very diligent in using the PlugShare app to update photos, descriptions, locations, and fee information for others to benefit from even adding stations or useful wall outlet locations when I can. I encourage you to do the same! Mentioned FORCE QUIT issues with the app are a pain but I have found them to be resolved on my Android OS Samsung Galaxy Note 2 by quitting the MAPS app and PlugShare if they are running concurrently. I do this by holding the home key down which pops up all running apps and then "swiping them off" to quit.

Hope all this helps!
 
brianchi73 said:
r1234567 said:
Thanks!

I have the S so I don't have Carwings. How do I find active chargers? Do I have to wait for whole charging station lawsuit to settle out before I can get cards? I've been reading the Tribune articles and it looks the legal fight is still going on despite a ruling.
Click to expand...

The plug share and charge point apps (and web sites) are pretty good. Charge point is good if the charger is on their network otherwise it has no idea of the status.

Charge point chargers can use a debit or credit card IF it has a chip in it. You should sign up for a charge point account because they say they can start a charger if you call them.

That's for the L2s. The L3 situation is pretty bad. I got my Charjit card about a year ago, but apparently you can't get them now. Hopefully JNS will take action quickly now that the judge ruled in their favor.
Click to expand...



Here is an update regarding the Level 3 chargers, JNS Holdings vs. 350 Green, etc...


Email sent to me from Brian Howe of JNS Holdings:

We are working with the Creditors right now. Once everyone is paid we will gain access to the data. Once we gain control of the Data network we will start the change over to JNS . We will be updating everyone through our web site and our face book page. Thanks again if you have any additional question please call our office at 847-577-3572
Brian Howe
JNS Power & Control Systems, Inc.


Guess we have to wait and see but at least it's moving along.
 
My driver seat is "creaking".. 2012 model. Less than 7k miles. 1st owner.

Anybody have similar experience?
 
djkjmuoh said:
brianchi73 said:
r1234567 said:
Thanks!

I have the S so I don't have Carwings. How do I find active chargers? Do I have to wait for whole charging station lawsuit to settle out before I can get cards? I've been reading the Tribune articles and it looks the legal fight is still going on despite a ruling.
Click to expand...

The plug share and charge point apps (and web sites) are pretty good. Charge point is good if the charger is on their network otherwise it has no idea of the status.

Charge point chargers can use a debit or credit card IF it has a chip in it. You should sign up for a charge point account because they say they can start a charger if you call them.

That's for the L2s. The L3 situation is pretty bad. I got my Charjit card about a year ago, but apparently you can't get them now. Hopefully JNS will take action quickly now that the judge ruled in their favor.
Click to expand...



Here is an update regarding the Level 3 chargers, JNS Holdings vs. 350 Green, etc...


Email sent to me from Brian Howe of JNS Holdings:

We are working with the Creditors right now. Once everyone is paid we will gain access to the data. Once we gain control of the Data network we will start the change over to JNS . We will be updating everyone through our web site and our face book page. Thanks again if you have any additional question please call our office at 847-577-3572
Brian Howe
JNS Power & Control Systems, Inc.


Guess we have to wait and see but at least it's moving along.
Click to expand...

That sounds like good news. I sent JNS an e-mail on 10/3, but not reply yet except for the e-mail that says they received mine. I'm a little concerned about "once everyone is paid". Hopefully that happens soon though. I think I'll "Like" their FB page, so I can see updates.
 
This JNS Holdings vs Car Charging Group is getting stranger by the day.

I sent JNS a question about their quick chargers (via e-mail), and I got a PHONE CALL from someone there. I'm pretty sure it was Brian Howe. All signs point to them winning the lawsuit and taking over control. In the meantime I decided to try and add 3 sessions to my Charjit card. I dialed the # on the back, and it appeared to go to Car Charging Group. It pointed me to the 350 Green website. I put an order through on that site for the 3 sessions, and my credit card was charged. I then received an e-mail confirmation from Car Charging Group! It told me that the new sessions are immediately available and told me how many I have left.

Who the hell is running this stuff? So weird. If JNS did win...I wonder what sort of outage we'll see on the L3 chargers during the turnover. I know many people can't even get a Charjit card, so the "outage" for you guys has been going on for about a year already.
 
brianchi73 said:
djkjmuoh said:
marcin said:
L3 would not work for me either on Sep. 6, at IIT. Had to use L2 instead and one of them was down too.
Click to expand...


Hey Marcin, I think you were the one on PlugShare that I messaged about how to make it operate properly. Perhaps it is down now, but the two consecutive dates I visited, July 27th and 28th, it worked perfect all by just touching the screen. No Credit Card or RFID swipe card of any kind needed, not sure why one user stated this was needed, perhaps it has since changed.

I watched this video I found before I went there and it helped... http://bcove.me/ibmh5nz5?iframe=true&height=271&width=480" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If that link doesn't work then try this and look for the small red PLAY triangle that says "How to use a DC Quick Charger"...
http://www.eaton.com/Eaton/ProductsServices/Electrical/ProductsandServices/ElectricalDistribution/ElectricVehicleChargingSolutions/DCQuickCharger/index.htm#tabs-1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Maybe I will make a special trip there after a gig just to see if it works and report back!
Click to expand...

I could take one for the team and make a special trip to http://pleasanthousebakery.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and check out the L3 charger.
Click to expand...

Good news... Eaton L3 charger works perfectly fine. Sitting here now. Check http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/7686" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for the latest pic showing a "welcome screen" Yay!
 
Before I forget … saw TWO EV's on the way home today both with IL electric vehicle plates. A nice charcoal gray LEAF with 696 and a black premium Tesla S showing 1121. Still are seeing many more Tesla's out in the 'burbs then new LEAF's … has anyone seen a 12xx series EL plate yet … nice to see registrations climbing past the 1,000 mark.
 
We don't have our plates yet so hopefully we can end up with 1234. The electrician is coming here next week to install our 240 line. Thank you again for the recommendation.
 

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