New EA Chargers Are Failing in the Cold

[rcechinel]

Wow, so the entire time you were at the EA station, the EV6 guy never came back? I would have put one of my "Charger Hog" flyers on his windshield for sure.

We should create a campaign here, sell stickers, and carry them around with us. ?

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[mkhuffman]

We should create a campaign here, sell stickers, and carry them around with us. ?

I printed out a bunch of these and have used quite a few over the last couple months, especially at work where three or more of the six EVSEs are usually occupied by cars that are fully charged. Makes me soooo angry.

I had to start writing the license plate number on the sheet because the a-holes would throw the paper on the ground, or put them on other cars. I mean seriously, people who hog chargers are definitely the kind of people who litter, right?

 

[ChasingCoral]

This ^^^

Thinking that they don't test in extreme weather is simply ridiculous.

Agreed. However, the alternatives are either the units failed in cold weather but were deployed anyway or their testing didn't use real-world conditions. Either way, EA needs to step up and fix this issue. They're putting a lot into these new units.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Blink and Chargepoint don't much installation along the major corridors.

Not quite true. Many states have chosen ChargePoint as their vendor for units deployed along major corridors. Kyle discusses the state of Colorado use of the Chargepoint 250s. Maryland has done the same.

 

[Shaka]

Not quite true. Many states have chosen ChargePoint as their vendor for units deployed along major corridors. Kyle discusses the state of Colorado use of the Chargepoint 250s. Maryland has done the same.

EVgo seems to also be growing thanks to the Fed money. I suspect we’ll see ChargePoint, EVgo, and ElectrifyAmerica as some standout names. At least in the eastern half of the USA. There are other big players in Cali obviously, that have no presence on the east end of the states.

 

[ChasingCoral]

I also dislike him putting out a video without getting a response from EA, he said he was concerned about reporting it accurately, but it’s clear he’s only out to get views from a video.
If he cared about reporting it fairly, he would have called customer service to see if they could do something, probably not, but at least he tried
He has contacts at EA he could have reached out to for a response, give them a deadline to respond by and then publish the video.

I'm sure he'll be happy to put out rebuttal videos with the company representatives.

EVgo seems to also be growing thanks to the Fed money. I suspect we’ll see ChargePoint, EVgo, and ElectrifyAmerica as some standout names. At least in the eastern half of the USA. There are other big players in Cali obviously, that have no presence on the east end of the states.

Which Fed money? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) money doesn't start flowing until next year. I'm really looking forward to that buildout. One nice thing about that money is it comes with reliability requirements. Of course, I have no idea who will enforce that or even if the reliability statistics will be useful. Currently, some DCFC companies have very poor reliability standards. If you drive up and there is no connection it is not an unsuccessful session as the session never began. Of course, if you drive up to a charger and it says unavailable, that is not an unsuccessful session either. It would be interesting to know if EA even recorded the failures Kyle experienced as unsuccessful charging sessions.

 

[Shaka]

Which Fed money? The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) money doesn't start flowing until next year. I'm really looking forward to that buildout. One nice thing about that money is it comes with reliability requirements.

Looking back via Google you’re right I cannot find where I saw that; could have sworn in a YT video or somewhere that I had seen some mention about EVgo as it pertains to the BIL $ but — I can’t find it now.

Either way, EVgo seems to have announced plans that involve Pilot (gas stations) and General Motors. Here in NE Ohio there are a bunch of new EVgo stations, many that can handle the 800V eGMP cars too; so that is a new and exciting roll out. There are a few EA chargers in this region, a few “coming soon” — but the latest activity near me is EVgo, and with decent units.

That said, the reliability for EA stations in my part of the world has been great (have taken plenty of trips, all with 99.9% success); but i have watched the EV news all around and am aware of the pitfalls. DC charging needs to improve for sure— hopefully competition drives that up the ladder better!

 

[RickMachE]

I'm sure he'll be happy to put out rebuttal videos with the company representatives.

Yeah, same reason he makes a 30 minute video when it could be said in 30 seconds. REVENUE.

I make an effort to not watch 99% of these types of videos. When someone posts a link to any video, without providing a summary, I don't watch it and often just block the person.

 

[mkhuffman]

Yeah, same reason he makes a 30 minute video when it could be said in 30 seconds. REVENUE.

I make an effort to not watch 99% of these types of videos. When someone posts a link to any video, without providing a summary, I don't watch it and often just block the person.

You don't seem like the blocking kind of guy! You haven't blocked me yet! Of course I haven't posted any YouTube videos either. You may find it strange that I also avoid YouTube as much as possible. ?

 

[RickMachE]

You don't seem like the blocking kind of guy! You haven't blocked me yet! Of course I haven't posted any YouTube videos either. You may find it strange that I also avoid YouTube as much as possible. ?

I have 7 pages of Ignored threads here. I don't know how many people I have blocked, but it's around 40 I think. Anyone who always posts their VLog, blocked.

I didn't block you because it's always entertaining to see what you'll post that I disagree with less than 100%... ?

I have made a note that if we ever travel to Virginia, I need to track you down so I can park in one of your work chargers all day long...

 

[hybrid2bev]

Yeah, same reason he makes a 30 minute video when it could be said in 30 seconds. REVENUE.

I make an effort to not watch 99% of these types of videos. When someone posts a link to any video, without providing a summary, I don't watch it and often just block the person.

 

[PAmach-eDriver]

I was at the Wawa location in Wilmington DE early Dec. one 350 station had crashed, and not one of the “working” 350 stations would successfully connect to my MachE. Fortunately there was a single old 150 station that did work for me. I was really sweating as this is the sole fast charge location in DE.

Same experience for me at 2 different Sheetz locations this week. 350kw chargers would not successfully connect but 150kw did. I was initially concerned that it was the car since I’ve used the 350kw chargers w my 2021 and just got my 2022 GT. EA customer service wasn’t able to help either.

 

[mkhuffman]

Same experience for me at 2 different Sheetz locations this week. 350kw chargers would not successfully connect but 150kw did. I was initially concerned that it was the car since I’ve used the 350kw chargers w my 2021 and just got my 2022 GT. EA customer service wasn’t able to help either.

Easy fix: activate the charger with FP prior to plugging in. I am 99% sure those 350s would have worked if you did that.

 

[mkhuffman]

I have 7 pages of Ignored threads here. I don't know how many people I have blocked, but it's around 40 I think. Anyone who always posts their VLog, blocked.

I didn't block you because it's always entertaining to see what you'll post that I disagree with less than 100%... ?

I have made a note that if we ever travel to Virginia, I need to track you down so I can park in one of your work chargers all day long...

If you ever come to VA, I will buy you a beer and we can disagree in person.

 

[RickMachE]

If you ever come to VA, I will buy you a beer and we can disagree in person.

Perhaps.

Depends on what your definition of "a beer is". I have a long list of "Swill I Won't Drink". #Homebrewer

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