Finally another So. Cal QC - the AQMD

[hill]

At the 57 & 60 freeway, the Plugshare site shows a Chademo on line. Anybody had a chance to stop by there yet?

 

[JPVLeaf]

Yup.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=228459#p228459

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=228512#p228512

Hill, did you also hear of the QC coming to CSUF, hopefully by the end of the year?

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=229643#p229643

 

[hill]

Last I'd heard (from MWalsh I believe) was that the CSUF QC install was 'if-ie' . . . . but if the 'if-ie' issue have cleard up . . . . I'm ready to pardy down ! ! !

.

 

[jackncoke]

I tried this level three charger out yesterday. I wanted to write a post that consolidates the information I needed to have before going, as well as providing some additional tips. That way maybe other new leaf owners can use this information in the future.

Before You Go
Before going, I watched the videos on how to use the ChaDeMo connector, which definitely helped make it easier. For completeness, those videos are found in this post:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4795&hilit=AQMD&start=10#p228459" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Credit Card Needed Even Though Charge is Free
While preparing, I signed up for a standard Blink card, but I wasn't going to have my card by charging time, so I also prepared to charge as a guest. It turns out that you can just show up to this unit and either call to get a code, or go to blinkcode.com on your smartphone. You'll get an access code that you can type in to the charger. You have to provide a credit card number even though the charge is free. In retrospect, I wish I had used a different credit card from the one I signed up for the Blink card with, because it's hard to tell for sure if my credit card was charged for the use of this charger; but I'm pretty sure the Blink charges on my card today were already there.

Since Blink membership appears to require a credit card, there appears to be no way around the requirement that one have a credit card to use this station even though the charge is free. This hopefully is only an issue for a small fraction of Leaf users.

Getting There
Point your navigation to the intersection of Golden Springs Drive and Copley Drive in Diamond Bar. From there, turn onto Copley and turn into the first driveway. This is the SCAQMD fleet driveway, not the public parking lot. Perfect directions to find the unit are in this post, last bullet:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=228512#p231042" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

According to other posts, the unit is available after hours by pulling up to the gate and calling on the call box for the guard to let you in. I went during regular business hours so this wasn't an issue for me.

Parking
The cables are short so you'll want to back in to one of the two stalls adjacent to the unit. Here's a picture of how to do it:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4795&hilit=AQMD&start=20#p228512" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here's a picture of my car in the other parking space, showing how to position yourself best, while avoiding a bollard in the space; apologies for the poor lighting as it was mid/late afternoon and trees were casting shadows on the car:

Charging
I told the charger to charge to 100% because of the advice in this post:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=4795&start=10#p228471" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Since this post references other posts, for convenience, here are the two linked posts therein:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=8212" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=8769&start=20#p197028" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I ended up with nine bars out of 12. (So to re-iterate: You won't over-charge if you pick 100% on the fast charging unit; just pick 100% and don't worry.) It took about 25 minutes start to finish to go from one or two bars (about 10 miles range indicated on the GOM) to nine bars.

If the weather is nice, you'll want to roll down your windows. I meant to do this before starting the charge, and I forgot. I was able to put the car in "ACC" and roll down the windows during the charge without interrupting anything, but I would still have preferred to do this beforehand.

The cabinet behind the charger has some stuff that makes noise during the charge. It turns out this is a good way to know when your charge is complete; when it stops making noise, you can finish up and leave.

Impressions
The charger is easy to use and does what it's supposed to do which is give you a good charge in a modest amount of time. I could definitely see getting used to using these on a regular basis if they were more common. I'm really glad I visited and will do so again if I am in the neighborhood.

 

[JPVLeaf]

Great job consolidating info.

See also:

"Public EV Charging Stations at the SCAQMD in Diamond Bar, CA"

Thank you.