Free Electrify America Charging through 11/29

[DevSecOps]

Just want to report that before I saw this thread, I plugged and charged at an EA station in Arcadia, CA this morning and pnc worked perfectly abd Ford did not deduct kw from my account even though plug and charge was enabled in the app and on the car at the time. So I feel no need to disable pnc before plugging in.

When you get back home I expect a full debrief of the trip ?

Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving and trip down south.

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[chrisGT]

I charged today and it was free. EA did not initiate the P&C authorization.
I had also charged another EV at a previous free long weekend, same thing, no authorization happened.
However I noticed that both times the charging speed was very slow, no more than 30KWh which can be a problem if you are on a long roadtrip and you want to top up a nearly empty battery. I only have two data points but I suspect they throttle the free charging speed.

 

[RickMachE]

Because it doesn't authorize anything as it's free.

 

[RickMachE]

I charged today and it was free. EA did not initiate the P&C authorization.
I had also charged another EV at a previous free long weekend, same thing, no authorization happened.
However I noticed that both times the charging speed was very slow, no more than 30KWh which can be a problem if you are on a long roadtrip and you want to top up a nearly empty battery. I only have two data points but I suspect they throttle the free charging speed.

Not in my experience.

 

[PrimeFuture]

I charged today and it was free. EA did not initiate the P&C authorization.
I had also charged another EV at a previous free long weekend, same thing, no authorization happened.
However I noticed that both times the charging speed was very slow, no more than 30KWh which can be a problem if you are on a long roadtrip and you want to top up a nearly empty battery. I only have two data points but I suspect they throttle the free charging speed.

My free charging was at 126kw. If you're being limited to 30kw then something is wrong with that charger. Try moving to another charger and see if you get faster speed. Also recommend checking Plugshare as people often post which chargers are fast vs. slow.

 

[scoopman]

When you get back home I expect a full debrief of the trip ?

Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving and trip down south.

Even better, I'm hoping to have a video of our trip back, I've figured out my go pro imitations I got (unfortunately they didn't record my epic Angeles Crest Highway drive, bad ui or operator error....).

 

[FPLiptak]

I like the EA free charge holidays. Those have been the ONLY times where the car charges at fast speeds for me. EVERY other time I have tried DCFC it has been super duper slow. Painfully slow. I can't help but wonder if the reason it is so slow is because I am using the free kW that Ford provided when I bought the car. Once all that is used up then maybe EA will return to normal speed? ?

I really hope that (Ford free charging) is not the reason for the slow charging rate. Is there any way to get Ford to comment on the slow charging rate when using the free kWs.

 

[jsteach]

Thanks, just used my credit card .
Charged me 11.58. Then discounted it off. Not much free free anymore without lots of strings attached.

 

[abr]

I really hope that (Ford free charging) is not the reason for the slow charging rate. Is there any way to get Ford to comment on the slow charging rate when using the free kWs.

Charged today at EA in Paso Robles. Full regular speed topping at 126Kwh until throttled back at 80%. All worked normal and no cost for charging.
Ford has nothing to do if you get slow speed - change chargers to a different one as it is a charger issue.

 

[scoopman]

Just want to report that before I saw this thread, I plugged and charged at an EA station in Arcadia, CA this morning and pnc worked perfectly abd Ford did not deduct kw from my account even though plug and charge was enabled in the app and on the car at the time. So I feel no need to disable pnc before plugging in.

I've charged a second time to get to 80% before my drive home tomorrow, and again I just plugged in and wasn't charged on my Ford balance at all.

It was also funny to see 2 Model 3s backing in to the station, attracted perhaps by the free juice now that supercharger rates just increased I believe....

 

[scoopman]

I really hope that (Ford free charging) is not the reason for the slow charging rate. Is there any way to get Ford to comment on the slow charging rate when using the free kWs.

I had a completely normal charge curve, so I think your issue was with a particular charger plug.

I use the Car Scanner app on Android paired with an OBD2 adapter, so I can sit in the comfort of my car and monitor everything about the charge. I never will stay at a plug that's giving me less than what the normal curve should be on my car. Usually there's enough empty ones to just plug into another one...

 

[SnBGC]

I really hope that (Ford free charging) is not the reason for the slow charging rate. Is there any way to get Ford to comment on the slow charging rate when using the free kWs.

It sounds like it could just be my car. In my experience, the free holidays have always charged at triple digit or near triple digit speeds. Then very slow when using the Blue Oval Network credits. Others have reported the opposite so it is hit and miss.

I really could care less what the charging speed is after 80%. I would prefer Ford and EA work out the speed between 20%-80% because 13kW isn't working well enough for me

Here is a photo after I tried at least 3 different plugs at the Tucson Premium Outlets. The Taycan and ID.4 appeared to be charging at normal speeds but my car struggled. I eventually received enough charge to make it to the next EA station in Casa Grande and it was much faster (34kW). Still took nearly 25 minutes to get me enough to make it home safely.

Increased DCFC speeds after 80% does me absolutely no good if it takes me 3 hours to get there.

 

[Krimpy]

I like the EA free charge holidays. Those have been the ONLY times where the car charges at fast speeds for me. EVERY other time I have tried DCFC it has been super duper slow. Painfully slow. I can't help but wonder if the reason it is so slow is because I am using the free kW that Ford provided when I bought the car. Once all that is used up then maybe EA will return to normal speed? ?

I don’t think it has anything to do with your free charging. It just happens for some reason. There is one in Woodbury MN that constantly pulls 33 kWh and nothing I do makes a difference. I’ve call EA they blame the car. I’ve tried multiple pumps and that didn’t resolve the issue either. I personally just believe some of them are bad but I can get behind you on the painfully slow issue. If I get rid of the xar it will be for that reason. You need to be able to have reliable options and hoping that you can get a quick charge is not what I would consider reliable.

 

[ChuckA]

Just pulled up to charge at an EA station and saw it's free through 3 am on 11/29. I do love how EA keeps offering free charging during holidays. Makes it even more cost efficient to take our EV on long trips!

I pulled up to an EA unit on Wednesday and found it was complimentary. Pleasantly surprised. Wouldn’t it be great if EVGO followed suit. Most (maybe all) Chargepoint chargers are free but level 2.

 

[Maquis]

I don’t think it has anything to do with your free charging. It just happens for some reason. There is one in Woodbury MN that constantly pulls 33 kWh and nothing I do makes a difference. I’ve call EA they blame the car. I’ve tried multiple pumps and that didn’t resolve the issue either. I personally just believe some of them are bad but I can get behind you on the painfully slow issue. If I get rid of the xar it will be for that reason. You need to be able to have reliable options and hoping that you can get a quick charge is not what I would consider reliable.

Have you looked at that station on Plugshare to see what others are saying about it?

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