Unable to charge at public stations (haven't tried chargepoint)

Near or just above room temperature. I just drove mine home a few weeks ago, so when it cools down, I can charge faster methinks.

 

Weird. It doesn’t sound like temperature is the issue then. I would try taking the plug out then plugging it back in. That old school troubleshooting advice does work for me sometimes.

 

Wait, I am confused. What issue do you think that I am having?

 

Someone might have already mentioned this, but most public charge stations require an account of some sort for use (and a key card to wave in front of the charger). The SemaConnect stations we have at work are like this - they're free, but you still need a SemaConnect account (including a $10 deposit) and a card to start charging. I plug in, wave the card in front of the charger, and it comes on. Same for ChargePoint.

 

ChargePoint just updated their smartphone app so that if you have a phone with NFC, you can unlock the station by waving the phone in front of the reader on the charging station instead of using the ChargePoint card. You can still start charging using the app as before, but now you can just tap like Apple Pay or Android Pay without having to open the app first.

 

You are not alone - I am also having this issue! I just bought my prime a few weeks ago. We have free ChargePoint at the office. On any given day I can get some stations to work and others not. I get a variety of messages after plugging in, including "waiting for vehicle", "authorized for charging" and "charge complete" (!) Some stations work for me one day and not the next. I normally charge via a schedule at home and select "Charge Now" when at work. I'm going to try removing all scheduling to see if that helps. Still trying to figure it out and will report back if I figure it out.....

 

Chargepoint notoriously has issues with many chargers. Some go unreported, but even the ones that get reported my understanding is that all Chargepoint does is let the station owner know about it. And the vast majority of those never do anything about it. One of the many reasons Tesla is so far ahead of the curve. Their charging infrastructure isn't in the same league as anyone else and it won't be for years and years...if not decades.

 

I’ve used Blink and Shorepower commercial networks and some seem to take awhile to actually start charging, possibly as long as 30-45 seconds. Guess it takes awhile to check your membership status?

 

How cold is it where you live? The battery has to be temperate before the system allows it to take a charge.

 

????? it has to be VERY extreme temp for that to be the case

 

I tried to use a charge station. Glad I had the wife a long. She had a charge card with a tap function. Worked great. My credit cards donot. Get a credit card with a tap function

 

I am wondering if Rebeccah ever solved this problem because I see many suggestions were posted but none acknowledged as working out. (PriusChat says that Rebeccah was last here 44 weeks ago, so I'm doubtful that we'll ever know.)

I am puzzled about the "green charging light" because the only green light I know of on my Prime Advanced is the light that indicates the J1772 plug is locked in place. It lights up when I push the button next to the charging port if I want to lock the cord in place.

The charging status of the car is indicated by the blue lights on the top of the dashboard which are visible from outside the car through the windshield. These are to let other drivers know whether or not the car has completed charging so that the cord (if not locked) can be courteously removed to use on another vehicle in an adjacent parking space. The three blue lights are all off when the car is not plugged in. When plugged in to a charging source and in the process of charging, they each flash on-and-off while charging with each turning solid on in sequence as the charging process completes. When fully charged and plugged in, all three blue lights will be on.

The other thing not mentioned is that there are different models of ChargePoint stations, some with LED displays and some with back-lighted LCD displays. I know that on the LCD versions, once charging starts, show text in the corner of the display showing the time and rate of charge, just like watching an electric meter. This remains visible for about a minute and then disappears to protect your privacy. When you return to the ChargePoint station and wave your card against the device, that portion of the display re-appears and indicates how many kWh have been dispensed, how long you've been plugged in, and the dollar amount if any.

I'd really like to know how long Rebeccah waits before "getting frustrated and giving up" -- is it "the green light I expected to come on did not come on, so I quit" or is it "I came back after two hours and my Prime had no more percent charge than when I plugged in"?

Possibly we will never know.

 

Puzzled. How or why would people with other types of vehicles know what the blinking blue LED lights indicate on a Prime?

 

My apologies. I decided to check out this behavior today at a ChargePoint station and the green light did indeed come on when charging started. And, I also noted that when I returned to the car, which had been been completely charged to 100%, none of the blue lights on the dashboard were on. Apparently, they are only on during the charging process and shut off at some point once the charging is complete.

I took some photos of the ChargePoint screen when I started the charging process and when I returned. I will post these when I get a few minutes.

 

Please excuse the quality of these photos which were taken with an older cellphone.

Here is the ChargePoint screen after the station is activated and the cable plugged into the car. Notice that it confirms that charging is in progress. The info at the top left showing the number of kWh and the elapsed time is a running total with the figures changing as you watch. As noted, the information will be hidden to protect your privacy. The "Charging 3.21 kW" indicates the rate at which the station is providing power to your car -- in this case, it will add 3.21 kWh if you leave your car connected for 1 hour (time x rate):



Later, when you let the ChargePoint station know that you've returned by using your ChargePoint card, the screen displays a "not charging" message if charging is complete and it instructs you to unplug your car (and return the connector to its holding place on the ChargePoint station). It also displays the total kWh provided and the total time that your car has been plugged in. On stations where there is a fee, it will also display the total cost:



Once you unplug your car and return the connector to its holder, the screen confirms the total and give you the opportunity to request a receipt for your records:





This is one particular model of ChargePoint stations. I've used others which are different and use a text-only LED display. The process is similar.

It would be nice if ChargePoint would provide this kind of step-by-step guide (more professionally done) to each of its types of stations.

 

That's normal behavior anytime the Prime is charged, by the supplied or 3rd party cable.

 

Kind of in the same boat with our prime. Stopped on the 100 mile drive home from dealership and plugged in at a chargepoint station I’ve used many times with my smart. It was plugged in for 1.5 hrs and added 0.0kwh to the charge. Worked fine 45 minutes later in the garage.

Not my first rodeo with public stations (10k miles driven in my EV smart) but first time I got an OK from the app and station and a Nope from the car. Haven’t tried one since with the prime.


iPad ?

 

I have had occasional problems with ChargePoint stations. Usually if you unplug and plug it back in that solves the problem. Sometimes I had to restart the charging session by returning the charging cable to the station and rescanning my card. Only once did I have one not work. In that case the second port was open and that one worked. A couple of days later I was able to use the same charging station and the port that was not working before was working.

I always wait a few seconds to make sure charging starts and check it on the app a few minutes later.

 

I'm sorry to hear you’ve had trouble in the past. The best way to get help in-the-moment is to call our 24/7 driver support line at 1-888-758-4389 and our team can try to help resolve the issue while you're at the location!