Public Charge points a Nightmare into 2015?

reboot

My experience of public charge points in S.Down would make you weep.
Firstly,the elephant in the street is a well documented fault condition relating to Renault EV,the Zoe and the impossibility of ever obtaining a charge from certain Cps.
Apart from the specific Renault/EBG, (the manufacturer) and NIE, fault above, there are a few faults that any EV will encounter as follows.
The charging cable which comes with the EV, (costing around 250 sterling) may lock in the CP,I have had this happen, the technician was still there 6 hours later, although the cable took 45 seconds to release. He was on his mobile to, Munich laptops and tech everywhere.
A repeating fault seems to appear when the card is not able to open the shutters/blinds to allow a charge, this fault awaiting parts, going into the second month, same last year at same CP.
Sometimes the shutter will stay open and remain that way for some months open to the elements. I was told this had been fixed "On line" as I stood watching the rain pour down on it.
We seem to have all our SC 22kva eggs in the one EBG basket and may be soon to order the same eggs again. Ecarni are asking for suggestions for new CP locations.
At this time of year with battery capacity reduced by as much as 20% due to the cold, its quite annoying to keep having to drive to the same CP week after week, only to find it has not been repaired, not flagged up on the map,unless I tell them, although Dublin knows eventually that they are awaiting parts.
How many people does it take to switch a light out? Could the 18 Led lights on the CP not be switched off until the fault is cleared, or the blue switched to red, as can happen
This would mean one could drive by at a distance and tell at a glance that the thing is faulty, avoiding joining traffic queues around one way systems, walking on iced car parks, getting the card and cable out, and ringing Dublin again on your mobile.
As things stand,two years into the project more than 50% of the CPs in my area will not provide a charge to my Ev, and over the last 18 months the failure rate has been close to 100% at some time or other, no CP that I have used has not been faulty at some point, 4 of them never affording a charge since they were installed almost two years ago.

axe2grind

It does seem that the public infrastructure is letting a lot of EVers down.
If there was real time info on charger status, this would help.

reboot

axe2grind wrote: »

It does seem that the public infrastructure is letting a lot of EVers down.
If there was real time info on charger status, this would help.

Thanks for that, it seems that another 600K is coming from the minister up North, for more charge points, interesting to see if they are the same as before, although good to see some 7 Kva points, vastly cheaper and adequate most of the year for my Zoe. A lady asked for advice on Ecarni facebook regarding a proposed Zoe photo shoot in Newry.
My reply didn't appear to stay up for very long when I pointed out that four points in S.
Down have never charged a Zoe, as mentioned above.
I know the Civil Servants in these depts have a difficult job,re funding and jobs, but its not a great time to start thinking about charging for the electricity when petrol has come down so much, and people may think twice about switching to EVs. There has been talk in England of folk switching back as paying for a charge has been introduced for some time. (myrenaultzoe.com)

reboot

In May 5,000 vehicles a Day are expected in the seaside village of Newcastle, (Mourne Observer) At present I may have access to one bay out of the four charge points,that work sometimes. What chance of a charge in May?

I have to say that here in the South my experience is far different , I'v had to queue twice in 6,300 Kms and the standard charge point in Athy Co. Kildare was down twice despite showing active on the map. It seems the Ac chargers are less reliable than the DC. + Two of the AC points have been down in Carlow Town for months.

Dexter1979

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It seems the Ac chargers are less reliable than the DC. + Two of the AC points have been down in Carlow Town for months.

It's not that they are unreliable but more that they were put in with Leafs in mind. The leaf AC charger is not very powerful or picky. Zoe is different. It is very picky about what charge station it likes. This has to do with things like local supply (lots of noise in the circuit is bad), software, manufacturer (has to be ZE certified) and how the charge point is installed.

The Leaf DC chargers have all sorts of electronics build in to clean the incoming power and provide a good stable flow into the car. This makes them expensive and hard to fix sometimes.

The AC side requires Zoe to do the work. There is only so much the car can do and it will not work if it doesn't adhear to certain presumptions. If they are not met, the car won't charge.

By the sound of it Co. Down either has a supply problem or a bad installer.

Cashel here in Ireland worked faultlessly for me on a few occasions. It then was down and repaired. the software was upgraded as well. The last time I was there it didn't want to work and gave me a BCI error. So the repair and upgrade broke it for my Zoe. Must try it again and see if the problem is environmental but unless ESB have a Zoe to check the station I suspect it won't work for me.

The network in Ireland is extensive but was put in with the Leaf in mind. Add to that that a FCP and even a 22kW SCP draws huge amounts of power that the grid in some areas is not built for and you have issues.

If you watch my videos you will see that I also have had lots of issues with Zoe on longer journeys. I have yet to drive to Dublin without at least one charge point failure. Had 2 the last time. 3 if you count one point not reading my card and had to be started remotely.

Thankfully my home charger and chargers along my frequently used routes all work fine.

Going abroad in about 2 months and looking forward to seeing if the rest of the EU has these difficulties as well.

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

It's not that they are unreliable but more that they were put in with Leafs in mind. The leaf AC charger is not very powerful or picky. Zoe is different. It is very picky about what charge station it likes. This has to do with things like local supply (lots of noise in the circuit is bad), software, manufacturer (has to be ZE certified) and how the charge point is installed.

The Leaf DC chargers have all sorts of electronics build in to clean the incoming power and provide a good stable flow into the car. This makes them expensive and hard to fix sometimes.

The AC side requires Zoe to do the work. There is only so much the car can do and it will not work if it doesn't adhear to certain presumptions. If they are not met, the car won't charge.

By the sound of it Co. Down either has a supply problem or a bad installer.

Cashel here in Ireland worked faultlessly for me on a few occasions. It then was down and repaired. the software was upgraded as well. The last time I was there it didn't want to work and gave me a BCI error. So the repair and upgrade broke it for my Zoe. Must try it again and see if the problem is environmental but unless ESB have a Zoe to check the station I suspect it won't work for me.

The network in Ireland is extensive but was put in with the Leaf in mind. Add to that that a FCP and even a 22kW SCP draws huge amounts of power that the grid in some areas is not built for and you have issues.

If you watch my videos you will see that I also have had lots of issues with Zoe on longer journeys. I have yet to drive to Dublin without at least one charge point failure. Had 2 the last time. 3 if you count one point not reading my card and had to be started remotely.

Thankfully my home charger and chargers along my frequently used routes all work fine.

Going abroad in about 2 months and looking forward to seeing if the rest of the EU has these difficulties as well.

Agree with all that,will talk in depth later,we may need to come up with our own Zoe texting (Known as Dexting?) ie SC 89 22Kva Newcastle, beside golf course will be out for weeks!

reboot

reboot wrote: »

Agree with all that,will talk in depth later,we may need to come up with our own Zoe texting (Known as Dexting?) ie SC 89 22Kva Newcastle, beside golf course will be out for weeks!

Dexting update SC89,lights are back on but is anyone home?

If it's a 22 kw charger than it should be capable of providing 22 Kw, no question even if the charge points were designed before Zoe this should make little difference if Renault are adhering to the specifications. The ESB wouldn't install them if they couldn't provide the supply power to the charge points.

The charge point in Athy is finally showing out of order on the charge point map despite the ESB telling me on their Ecar FB page it was working after a reboot that couldn't be done while I was at it twice. It's the card reader that's the problem on this one. I don't see why they can't be left open like the fast DC chargers. Seemingly they're waiting a long time for spares for these AC points.

Dexter1979

reboot wrote: »

we may need to come up with our own Zoe texting (Known as Dexting?)

Renault have their own standard for the ZE cars which means that not all charge points are compatible with Zoe. ESB have confirmed that there are a good few that have incorrect parts and will not work with Zoe (current overload error). Have also been told to stop the charge by unplugging the car first instead of presenting my card. Some charge points trip a fuse when you do it that way. That is why I believe ESB was not prepared for Zoe.

But it's not just ESB. It's happening elsewhere as well. Renault updated their standard (ZE ready) last year to increase reliability with their fellow French manufacturer DBT after Zoe's started killing charge points in France. Ecotricity are doing a major upgrade of their AC side which will last until the end of the month. They say it will make the AC more reliable.

Zoe is a great car with a great charger but it's a temperamental French maid when she wants to be

How many Kms have you on her now Dexter ?

I've passed 6600 on the Leaf since about the 24th of January.

Dexter1979

[Deleted User] wrote: »

How many Kms have you on her now Dexter ?

I've passed 6600 on the Leaf since about the 24th of January.

I am passed 11000km.

According to the Ecars charge point map there are about 17 AC standard charge points down !

Dexter1979

[Deleted User] wrote: »

According to the Ecars charge point map there are about 17 AC standard charge points down !

Not considered essential for Leaf owners? Supply problems of spare parts?

Dexter1979

Dexter1979 wrote: »

Not considered essential for Leaf owners? Supply problems of spare parts?

Spare parts ? maybe, but there's always an excuse.

Probably not considered essential to leaf owners but with the 6.6 kw charger they're pretty useful. Repalce 50% in 2 hrs could mean people won't need to rely on the fast chargers so much.

reboot

Mourne Observer article Wed 22nd April by Clare Mc Laughlin.
" The DRD said charge points are located on a mix of private and public locations to "meet the needs of many different customers - in car parks ,on street , at supermarkets, in filling stations ,at hotel and tourist destinations.
'Charge Points on private land is ? the responsibility of the landowner to mange parking restrictions as they see fit, said a spokeswoman.
Elsewhere it said the Off Street Parking Order (NI) was updated in 2012 to include the enforcement of illegal parking in electric vehicle bays in car parks owned by the Dept of Rural Development.
However responsibility for said car parks transferred to councils on 1 April.
It is currently illegal for ordinary cars to park on the electric bay in Shimna Rd car park previously owned by DRD.'
On this last point re Shimna car park Newcastle,soon to see 5000 cars a day for over a week,I use it when its not blocked,there is no signage re illegal parking,not a single fine has ever been issued, and when asked, traffic wardens and police tell me they never go there, not interested,'write a letter".
So that clears all that up then?

reboot

Dexter1979 wrote: »

It's not that they are unreliable but more that they were put in with Leafs in mind. The leaf AC charger is not very powerful or picky. Zoe is different. It is very picky about what charge station it likes. This has to do with things like local supply (lots of noise in the circuit is bad), software, manufacturer (has to be ZE certified) and how the charge point is installed.

The Leaf DC chargers have all sorts of electronics build in to clean the incoming power and provide a good stable flow into the car. This makes them expensive and hard to fix sometimes.

The AC side requires Zoe to do the work. There is only so much the car can do and it will not work if it doesn't adhear to certain presumptions. If they are not met, the car won't charge.

By the sound of it Co. Down either has a supply problem or a bad installer.

Cashel here in Ireland worked faultlessly for me on a few occasions. It then was down and repaired. the software was upgraded as well. The last time I was there it didn't want to work and gave me a BCI error. So the repair and upgrade broke it for my Zoe. Must try it again and see if the problem is environmental but unless ESB have a Zoe to check the station I suspect it won't work for me.

The network in Ireland is extensive but was put in with the Leaf in mind. Add to that that a FCP and even a 22kW SCP draws huge amounts of power that the grid in some areas is not built for and you have issues.

If you watch my videos you will see that I also have had lots of issues with Zoe on longer journeys. I have yet to drive to Dublin without at least one charge point failure. Had 2 the last time. 3 if you count one point not reading my card and had to be started remotely.

Thankfully my home charger and chargers along my frequently used routes all work fine.

Going abroad in about 2 months and looking forward to seeing if the rest of the EU has these difficulties as well.

Would not go so far as to say"Bad installer',but it may have been a mistake, when the tender was taken away from Siemens CPs and given to an installer who seems to have by far the lions share of the market, all the eggs in one 22Kva basket, instead of the mixed suppliers with more choice, you may find in the South? This may lead to our old friend the BCI fault which I have only ever seen occur repeatedly on one make of CP.