Electrify America Issues

[Atipical]

Semi-update.

After pursuing a case number with EA, they got me in touch with PCNA customer support. PCNA had me factory reset the car, which did not fix the issue, so now PCNA is sending the findings from my car to their “engineering team in Germany” (sounds promising right? ). however the rep did say this issue could be a result of the latest OTA update they sent out last month, which doesn’t surprise me. Anyways, I’m going to my dealer tomorrow for a separate issue but will bring this up as well so maybe they can sprinkle some fairy dust on the PCM while I’m there.

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[Atipical]

No fairy dust from the dealer. They couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t do anything. The saga continues…

 

[daveo4EV]

the pre-existing guys are mostly clueless about EV support

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

No fairy dust from the dealer.

Were they out of stock just temporarily, or is there yet another supplier issue? I've lost count..

 

[daveo4EV]

https://www.yahoo.com/autos/makes-ev-charging-stations-fail-143800895.html

Based on network data monitored across the United States this year, the most common reasons for failed EV charging sessions are problems with:

• station connectivity: 55 percent
• internal station faults or errors: 38 percent
• charging connector or cable: 4 percent
• credit-card reader: 1 percent
• display screen: 1 percent

Meanwhile, EV networks decline to provide details on their reliability metrics, sometimes claiming network uptime of 97 percent or better. If uptime is defined as a station responding to a ping from a central computer, that may well be true. That response, however, has very little to do with whether that station can actually collect payment and then provide a charge at an acceptable rate to an EV that drives up to it.

Meanwhile, knowing various reasons a charging station may not be working doesn’t help anxious EV drivers. Only the networks can do that, by prioritizing maintenance, oversight, and response times. Y’know, just like Tesla does for its Supercharger network.

 

[Jonathan S.]

In the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, of the four DCFC stations (including one EA), all chargers are inoperable because thieves have cut all the cables for the copper.

 

[Atipical]

In the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, of the four DCFC stations (including one EA), all chargers are inoperable because thieves have cut all the cables for the copper.

Jeez that’s insane! I’ve never even heard that before.

 

[Tooney]

Jeez that’s insane! I’ve never even heard that before.

Many news articles about EV charging cables being cut and stolen online.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Interesting development that I don't think was posted here at the time:
https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/b...lion-available-improve-ev-charger-reliability
So pointless now to fix a broken charger as the owner can instead apply (deadline is Nov 13) for a piece of the $100m federal funding to fix broken chargers.
This seems destined to dole out money to the least viable charging locations, as the most viable locations have more financial incentives to have already been fixed.
I wonder if EA, as the nation's leader in broken chargers, will dominate the sweepstakes?

 

[daveo4EV]

Interesting development that I don't think was posted here at the time:
https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/b...lion-available-improve-ev-charger-reliability
So pointless now to fix a broken charger as the owner can instead apply (deadline is Nov 13) for a piece of the $100m federal funding to fix broken chargers.
This seems destined to dole out money to the least viable charging locations, as the most viable locations have more financial incentives to have already been fixed.
I wonder if EA, as the nation's leader in broken chargers, will dominate the sweepstakes?

build a crap network - win fabulous prizes and cash to then fix your crappy network

 

[Jonathan S.]

Reading the details now ... I'm even more confused:

1. Grant applications are limited to state DOTs and local gov'ts.
2. The grant money though can be used for privately owned chargers, both L2 and DCFC.
3. Only once the application period closes on Nov 13 will grant decisions be made. So add another month or so on that.
4. Then the state DOTs and local gov'ts need to dole out the $ to the charger owners and the contractors to perform the work.
5. The federal share of each project is limited to 80%, so the remaining 20% has to be paid for by the grant recipient (or perhaps indirectly by the owner of the charger).
6. Chargers must be operational within 12 months, although within 12 months of what date I'm not sure.

 

[Jonathan S.]

Meanwhile, I hereby take back my prior comments about the Magic Dock rollout appearing to have been more of a trial run that would be forever stalled out given the anticipated Spring 2024 access to partnering car manufacturers: the 12 Supercharger in Enfield CT are now Magic Docks.
Too close to home to be of much use to me personally. But this is a huge development for skiers and tourists from NYC and CT driving to VT via I-91. And definitely shows that Tesla is not limiting Magic Docks to oddball locations likely to see little use.

 

[Teufel Hund]

Meanwhile, I hereby take back my prior comments about the Magic Dock rollout appearing to have been more of a trial run that would be forever stalled out given the anticipated Spring 2024 access to partnering car manufacturers: the 12 Supercharger in Enfield CT are now Magic Docks.
Too close to home to be of much use to me personally. But this is a huge development for skiers and tourists from NYC and CT driving to VT via I-91. And definitely shows that Tesla is not limiting Magic Docks to oddball locations likely to see little use.

Good to hear! Now we just need a Tesla/Porsche agreement

 

[Jonathan S.]

^ Or for Tesla to decide that VIN/marque verification isn't worth the bother, and instead just open up all ~12k V3 Superchargers to any CCS1 EV models whose drivers are willing to buy an adapter and pay perhaps a higher rate. Given that the Korean EVs are now on board with Tesla, perhaps that will encourage such a scenario, since VAG, BMW, and Lucid are the only holdouts.

 

[bxwatso]

No, apart from calls to EA, which take about 20 minutes each and end with a free charging session initiated by the agent.
Based on this forum, I will try deactivating plug and charge, using the app once, and then retrying plug and charge.

Update:
After a call with Porsche and a few emails, I got a voicemail last week stating that they had reset my account with EA and that plug-and-charge should be working again. I tried it, and it did work, so problem solved for now.
Both on the phone and in the voicemail, I got the clear sense that Porsche is not pleased with EA in this area. Odd, since VW owns both companies, as I understand it.
Lesson: if plug-and-charge is not working, call or email Porsche NA, not EA for an account fix (call EA to get a charge session started).

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