San Francisco Bay Area Quick Chargers Getting them sooner

[GoingGreener]

Thanks TEG! Will definitely keep that in mind.

 

[TonyWilliams]

...First cord we used in the morning didn't seem to work when we plugged in. Maybe we were newbies and didn't use enough pressure. Didn't want to break anything for those following us!...

Those CHAdeMO plugs aren't totally intuitive.
You need to push the plug part way in (so that the rubber boot on the handle compresses a bit) before you start pulling the lever. If you pull the lever too soon it may or may not engage properly.

You're talking about the Yazaki brand nozzle. None of the crazy push / squeeze / press is a ChadeMo specification. Numerous other companies are now making these ChadeMo spec nozzles that are much, much easier to use.

 

[TEG]

Yes, I know. I was specifically talking about the unit they were using.

I look forward to trying other brands of CHAdeMO plugs someday as the Yazaki seems clumsy.

 

[imcgee]

The Blink QC at VW ERL seemed to be working again today.
But, there was already one LEAF camped out there, already full.

I think some commuters to neighboring businesses (such as Oracle) may have found that location to park their LEAFs all day while at work.
For the slow L2s there, this made some sense. For the "replacement" Blink QC this doesn't make so much sense as it will fill their LEAF in ~30 minutes, and then they are just tying up the parking space for the rest of the day, denying travelers / visitors access.
Hopefully people heed the suggestion on there to park there for no more than 1 hour max. This ought to be a shared / generally available resource, not private parking for certain people who work in the area.

FWIW, VW has at least one (Red) LEAF they use for testing. I talked with Jerry (?) who works there and said he was just topping it off. He disconnected so I could charge up, and took the opportunity to test the automatic switchover when I reached my 80%. Worked well, though as others noted the connectors are pretty clunky.

As noted, there are two connectors and while only one charges at a time, it switches automatically.

 

[ericsf]

Belmont's QC was down on Tuesday (5/22) evening. Has anybody been there since?

The right side port was disabled and the left side froze on the person just before me. I called their support. He tried to reboot but was unable to do it remotely and didn't want to tell me where the hidden reset button was...

 

[TEG]

Hi, ericsf... I think you got it backwards... The left was "administratively down" with red plastic covering the (apparently damaged) CHAdeMO plug, and the screen said it was off. The right side was the one that seemed to be "hung" where the UI wouldn't respond anymore.

I will try to check it again today to see if it is working again or not.

By the way, someone put this on the front of the charger too:

 

[TEG]

Right side plug worked for me last night. It seems to be "hit or miss" if it will work at any given time, but at least they keep working on it to get it back in order each time it has a problem. I wonder how long it will take to get the left plug repaired? I wonder if the plug problem there is the same as what happened in San Ramon?

 

[ericsf]

Right side plug worked for me last night. It seems to be "hit or miss" if it will work at any given time, but at least they keep working on it to get it back in order each time it has a problem. I wonder how long it will take to get the left plug repaired? I wonder if the plug problem there is the same as what happened in San Ramon?

Oh, you mean the other left

 

[Deleted member 3147]

I used the Belmont DCFC twice this weekend. The left-hand cord was still out of service but the right-hand one worked fine. I was amused to hear the "jet engine" fans spool up on the cabinet on the other side of the fence.

 

[EricBayArea]

I'm most likely going to use the Bishop Ranch QC this weekend for the first time (first time ever QC'ing). I have a silly question (and yes, I RTFM): Before connecting the QC nozzle, do I turn off the charging timer? I understand that there will be onscreen prompts asking me what % I want to charge to and I'm sure it will tell me to plug in the nozzle at some point (before or after setting the %), but do I need to turn off the timer? Thanks

 

[grommet]

The charging timer isn't used for DC quick charging. Also, pick 90% (or 100%) via 'other' on the Blink if you want close to 80% inside your LEAF.

 

[EricBayArea]

The charging timer isn't used for DC quick charging. Also, pick 90% (or 100%) via 'other' on the Blink if you want close to 80% inside your LEAF.

Thanks!

 

[LEAFer]

Interesting comment here: Bishop Ranch QC

Charged at the L2 Blink directly to left of (and same side as) the dual-headed L3 unit. Please note: the voltage at 30amps was running at 186volts; this low voltage could lead to issues for some Roadsters or future 6.6kW EVs. Did not try the second L2 Blink. The dual-headed L3 Blink: left head looked ok, right side said "This Port is Out of Service"

 

[EricBayArea]

My first DCQC yesterday (Sunday 6/3) @ the San Ramon facility!

There was a quite LEAF there finishing up on the left side and the right one was still broken (I called Blink and told them). I plugged in and the Blink unit said I had 41%, which seemed about right. I chose 80%, hit Go and listened to the fans spin up. 14 minutes later it finished but when I turned my car on it only had 8 bars That's what others said would happen but I wanted to see and plus, I didn't need much of a charge - I was merely after the experience.

After using the DCQC, I must say that I hope they put in A LOT more of these all over the place. It was so convenient and 14 minutes flew by so quickly. 25 wouldn't even be that long.

For the record, I didn't have any issues with the handle/nozzle design... not sure what that hoopla is all about

 

[Spies]

I chose 80%, hit Go and listened to the fans spin up. 14 minutes later it finished but when I turned my car on it only had 8 bars

I am just throwing this out there but I suspect that what the blink thinks is an 80% charge in the Leaf is 80% of the 80% quick charge the Leaf will normally allow in one session when starting below 50% and that would be about 8 bars or 64%. I suggest just picking 100% in the future.

 

[TimLee]

If LEAF charge is <50%, the LEAF will stop the DCFC with 9 out of 12 bars (high end of that) just short of 10 of 12 bars nominal 80% charge. Does this for any brand DCFC, Blink, Eaton, the new Nissan one at Nissan headquarters, etc.
The LEAF controls what happens during DCFC.
Blink is the only one that has preset % selection.
Disregard it, select 100%, and monitor the actual LEAF state of charge from the bars display or GID meter if you have one, or hopefully soon a LEAFSCAN.

 

[Ready2plugin]

Went to the San Ramon QC for my first QC ever charge today. There was a red LEAF parked in the middle of the two lanes in front of the Blink QC, no owner in sight, car was fully charged to 90%, lights were off on the dash, so I'm pretty sure it was done for awhile. Car had custom wheels, over sized tires and either was very dirty or they tired to darken the red paint somehow. Did not look factory. Because he parked right in the middle, I just got close enough to the QC to get the cord to reach. Someone else with a blue LEAF came about 5 minutes into my charge with an LB that needed the charge more that I did. So after I had enough charge to get home I let him take over. Please, if you are going to use the QC, please don't take both parking spots and leave your car there.

 

[EricBayArea]

Went to the San Ramon QC for my first QC ever charge today. There was a red LEAF parked in the middle of the two lanes in front of the Blink QC, no owner in sight, car was fully charged to 90%, lights were off on the dash, so I'm pretty sure it was done for awhile. Car had custom wheels, over sized tires and either was very dirty or they tired to darken the red paint somehow. Did not look factory. Because he parked right in the middle, I just got close enough to the QC to get the cord to reach. Someone else with a blue LEAF came about 5 minutes into my charge with an LB that needed the charge more that I did. So after I had enough charge to get home I let him take over. Please, if you are going to use the QC, please don't take both parking spots and leave your car there.

That's really inconsiderate. Just out of curiosity, what time of day were you there?

Did you leave him a notice?

 

[grommet]

With one of the charging sides still broken there, he might have done you a favor parking in the middle... I don't think hose 1 is long enough to reach across to parking spot 2 and a properly parked LEAF's charging port, or vice versa.

 

[EricBayArea]

With one of the charging sides still broken there, he might have done you a favor parking in the middle... I don't think hose 1 is long enough to reach across to parking spot 2 and a properly parked LEAF's charging port, or vice versa.

true, hose 1 is not long enough to reach across to parking spot 2. However, leaving the vehicle unattended or nor returning in 30min is not doing anyone any favors. The spot even says "30 minute maximum parking"