Bringing Sonic Home (my 500 mile odyssey - with MEMES!)

[Mirak]

ZOMG I may have actually made some progress!! It finally clicked with me, like at least one of you mentioned above, that Evergy (the local utility) owns all of these KC-area ChargePoint 50kW stations. So instead of just calling ChargePoint, I called Evergy…..

….and I actually spoke to someone who is actually in charge of these EV stations! I explained that there are at least 9 different stations in the KC area and PlugShare indicates that while they work for most cars, they don’t work with the MME.

She knew almost immediately what I was talking about. She said those are the old “efacec” stations Evergy installed about ten years ago. They are branded with ChargePoint because they run a ChargePoint interface on them, but they’re not manufactured by ChargePoint. Sure enough, the sticker on one of the old units says “efacec.”

The newer stations near Lawrence (also owned by Evergy) are actual ChargePoint chargers and work great with the MME.

She said she is going to call efacec to start working on the problem. She also may look into replacing one or more of those units with a new, faster ChargePoint!

I know an actual solution is probably a long ways off, but I can’t tell you how good it feels to actually have connected with someone who at least understands the problem and is in a position to start working on a fix.

Now if I could just make a similar connection at Ford re my other issues. I’ve got another appointment with the service center on Friday, but all they can really do is document issues and wait on solutions from Ford.

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[Mirak]

Very happy to report that Plug & Charge worked for me today for first time! I only tested for a couple minutes. Took about 60 seconds from plug in to starting the charge.

One small bug at the end: when I stopped the session on the charger, my charge port started flashing red and I got charge station fault message on driver screen. Still - PROGRESS!

 

[Mirak]

Update: Efacec tells Evergy that the KC-area 50kW stations are too old and will not be updated to work with the MME. Not sure if Evergy is going to push back or not.

But for now, there is not a single DCFC solution in the Kansas City area unless you drive to the EA station in Independence, MO, or the CP 125kW (actually 62.5kW) station on the turnpike near Lawrence. Both are about a 30 minute drive from the Johnson County suburbs. Plenty of solutions for Tesla - nothing for the rest of us.

Still trouble-shooting the problem with the Kansas CP 125kW being cut in half to 62.5kW.

On that note, if anyone has plans to use the Towanda CP station (outside Wichita) anytime soon, please let me know. I will try to enlist you in the trouble-shooting efforts.

 

[dbsb3233]

Update: Efacec tells Evergy that the KC-area 50kW stations are too old and will not be updated to work with the MME. Not sure if Evergy is going to push back or not.

That's unfortunate. Those Efacec machines are in other places around the country too. I'm planning another trip to Vegas but looping through Reno this time. The ChargePoint DCFC's at necessary points along US-95 between Reno and Vegas are those same Efacec machines (thank you Plugshare for having pictures). I don't dare trust those for the Mach-E in the middle of the barren NV desert, so I'm gonna have to take an alternate route.

 

[Mirak]

I’m headed back up to KC this evening. I will take the long way through Topeka / Lawrence so that I can charge up at the Lawrence turnpike DCFC on my way into KC.

On Sunday, I’d like to take the direct route home along I-35, but this will require me to top off somewhere in the JoCo area. As you know, there are no working DCFC in that area, or anywhere along I-35 until close to Wichita.

So, I’m going to try a new plan. There are a multitude of free ChargePoint J1772 6.6kW public chargers in the area - basically just slightly slower than my Ford Mobile Charger on my garage 240v circuit. There’s a whole row of these only about 1.5 miles from where I am staying.

So if I get into KC at about 60% SOC (I’m starting with 80% max from Lawrence), I’m thinking of getting up early the next morning, driving to plug in, running back to where I’m staying, the running back a few hours later. I’m a runner so a 3mi run is what I typically do in the morning anyway. Yes, I know this sounds slightly insane, but since I go for a run anyway I might as well kill two birds with one stone and finally be able to avoid driving back home the long way.

Can anyone confirm that this type of charger works with the Mach E? Not finding any Mach E check-ins on PlugShare. And do think there will be any problem parking it at one of these chargers for several hours in the early morning 6-9am to try to get back to close to 100%?

 

[dbsb3233]

I’m headed back up to KC this evening. I will take the long way through Topeka / Lawrence so that I can charge up at the Lawrence turnpike DCFC on my way into KC.

On Sunday, I’d like to take the direct route home along I-35, but this will require me to top off somewhere in the JoCo area. As you know, there are no working DCFC in that area, or anywhere along I-35 until close to Wichita.

So, I’m going to try a new plan. There are a multitude of free ChargePoint J1772 6.6kW public chargers in the area - basically just slightly slower than my Ford Mobile Charger on my garage 240v circuit. There’s a whole row of these only about 1.5 miles from where I am staying.

So if I get into KC at about 60% SOC (I’m starting with 80% max from Lawrence), I’m thinking of getting up early the next morning, driving to plug in, running back to where I’m staying, the running back a few hours later. I’m a runner so a 3mi run is what I typically do in the morning anyway. Yes, I know this sounds slightly insane, but since I go for a run anyway I might as well kill two birds with one stone and finally be able to avoid driving back home the long way.

Can anyone confirm that this type of charger works with the Mach E? Not finding any Mach E check-ins on PlugShare. And do think there will be any problem parking it at one of these chargers for several hours in the early morning 6-9am to try to get back to close to 100%?

Not insane. I did something very similar on my Vegas trip. The casino we stayed at for half the trip only puts their chargers behind valet, and I don't like to use valet. But the shopping complex next door had free ChargePoint J-1772's in the parking garage (about a mile walk). I do a 2-3 mile walk every morning anyway, so I'd move the car from the hotel garage to the shopping center and plug in. Then around lunchtime I'd go get it (they had a 4-hour limit). Two birds, one stone.

Even better, of course, is if you can just leave the car parked there overnight. We do that on the drive back home. In the town we stay overnight on the way home, there's a little office building a few blocks from the hotel with 6 free ChargePoint J-1772's. So I parked the car there overnight. Reached 100% about 20 minutes before were were ready to leave 8am the next morning. Perfect!

J-1772's are pretty universal, so they should work fine on the MME. It's not nearly as picky as DCFC. Just make sure you have the ChargePoint app set up to activate the charge (I know you already do though).

 

[Mockingbird]

ZOMG I may have actually made some progress!! It finally clicked with me, like at least one of you mentioned above, that Evergy (the local utility) owns all of these KC-area ChargePoint 50kW stations. So instead of just calling ChargePoint, I called Evergy…..

….and I actually spoke to someone who is actually in charge of these EV stations! I explained that there are at least 9 different stations in the KC area and PlugShare indicates that while they work for most cars, they don’t work with the MME.

She knew almost immediately what I was talking about. She said those are the old “efacec” stations Evergy installed about ten years ago. They are branded with ChargePoint because they run a ChargePoint interface on them, but they’re not manufactured by ChargePoint. Sure enough, the sticker on one of the old units says “efacec.”

The newer stations near Lawrence (also owned by Evergy) are actual ChargePoint chargers and work great with the MME.

She said she is going to call efacec to start working on the problem. She also may look into replacing one or more of those units with a new, faster ChargePoint!

I know an actual solution is probably a long ways off, but I can’t tell you how good it feels to actually have connected with someone who at least understands the problem and is in a position to start working on a fix.

Now if I could just make a similar connection at Ford re my other issues. I’ve got another appointment with the service center on Friday, but all they can really do is document issues and wait on solutions from Ford.

Update: Efacec tells Evergy that the KC-area 50kW stations are too old and will not be updated to work with the MME. Not sure if Evergy is going to push back or not.

But for now, there is not a single DCFC solution in the Kansas City area unless you drive to the EA station in Independence, MO, or the CP 125kW (actually 62.5kW) station on the turnpike near Lawrence. Both are about a 30 minute drive from the Johnson County suburbs. Plenty of solutions for Tesla - nothing for the rest of us.

Still trouble-shooting the problem with the Kansas CP 125kW being cut in half to 62.5kW.

On that note, if anyone has plans to use the Towanda CP station (outside Wichita) anytime soon, please let me know. I will try to enlist you in the trouble-shooting efforts.

That's unfortunate. Those Efacec machines are in other places around the country too. I'm planning another trip to Vegas but looping through Reno this time. The ChargePoint DCFC's at necessary points along US-95 between Reno and Vegas are those same Efacec machines (thank you Plugshare for having pictures). I don't dare trust those for the Mach-E in the middle of the barren NV desert, so I'm gonna have to take an alternate route.

Ford has released an update to resolve this issue

TSB 21-2190 Illuminated Powertrain Malfunction (Wrench) Indicator With DTCs - HV Battery Not Charging At Level 3 DC Fast Charging Station/EVSE | Ford Mustang Mach-E Forum - MachEforum.com

 

[Mirak]

Ford has released an update to resolve this issue

TSB 21-2190 Illuminated Powertrain Malfunction (Wrench) Indicator With DTCs - HV Battery Not Charging At Level 3 DC Fast Charging Station/EVSE | Ford Mustang Mach-E Forum - MachEforum.com

I see no reference in that TSB to fixing the Efacec compatibility issue. Have you tested this? What is your basis?

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