Solved: Charging at a Volta charging station

[RMoore]

My town has a few free charging stations at some of the municipal lots. One was open a few minutes ago so I parked there and plugged in (it had a J1772 end) but couldn’t figure out how to charge. There was nothing showing on the charger—no instructions or any display of any sort. FordPass showed that something was plugged in but there was no button to hit to get it to charge. Did I need to download the Volta app or is there something else I was supposed to do to get it to work?

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[bshaw]

The Voltas that are by the grocery store and movie theatre by us are just plug in and it starts. No app or display screen on the charger at all. Sign says it’s complimentary charging. It’s like 6kW, but free is great for topping off a little bit.

 

[RMoore]

The Voltas that are by the grocery store and movie theatre by us are just plug in and it starts. No app or display screen on the charger at all. Sign says it’s complimentary charging. It’s like 6kW, but free is great for topping off a little bit.

How do you get it to start charging?

 

[mattbostonmache]

How do you get it to start charging?

It starts when you plug in.

 

[RMoore]

It starts when you plug in.

Should the car be on or off?

 

[shutterbug]

My town has a few free charging stations at some of the municipal lots. One was open a few minutes ago so I parked there and plugged in (it had a J1772 end) but couldn’t figure out how to charge. There was nothing showing on the charger—no instructions or any display of any sort. FordPass showed that something was plugged in but there was no button to hit to get it to charge. Did I need to download the Volta app or is there something else I was supposed to do to get it to work?

As others stated Voltas are supposed to start charging just as you plugin. If it doesn't, that's where the app comes in. You can use it to check if it's out of service, or report the issue.

 

[shutterbug]

Should the car be on or off?

your choice.

 

[RMoore]

your choice.

Thanks. I wonder why it didn’t work. I’ll try again at some point.

 

[mattbostonmache]

Should the car be on or off?

It doesn’t matter

if the car is on, you should see a message on the instrument panel saying it’ll finish charging to whatever percent at some time. And have the little battery with a plug icon that you see whenever you are charging.

if you can get FordPassto update, it should show there too.

 

[BalsaDust]

Our local shopping mall has volta chargers spaced around the mall and I finally got brave enough to use one. Like the OP I was confused that there was no "Start" button on the charger. I plugged in and was about to pull out my phone to check for an app but the charge indicater in the cars charge port started its white circling and then went to blue so I knew it was charging. The mall limts charge time to two hours (not really regulated) but I have seen cars charging there for quite a bit more.
After two hours I added 11kw to my MME, not too bad since it pretty much paid for the trip to the mall!

Tony

 

[RMoore]

I left when it wouldn’t charge but after dinner I walked by and noticed a Tesla charging there so I’m guessing it was functional. I guess there’s a J1772 to Tesla adapter, a reverse TeslaTap in a sense.

 

[Polar]

I left when it wouldn’t charge but after dinner I walked by and noticed a Tesla charging there so I’m guessing it was functional. I guess there’s a J1772 to Tesla adapter, a reverse TeslaTap in a sense.

Most teslas ship with those these days.
Depending on the Volta station, some need the Volta app some don’t.

 

[BalsaDust]

I left when it wouldn’t charge but after dinner I walked by and noticed a Tesla charging there so I’m guessing it was functional. I guess there’s a J1772 to Tesla adapter, a reverse TeslaTap in a sense.

While I do most of my charging at home, I rarely use the "freebie" chargers because of the abuse they receive. I have seen burnt and melted contactors as well as foreign material shoved into the contact so I always look to see if the contacts are clean before plugging in. Also the chargers at the mall do not have a clip to hold them in, only a friction fit.

 

[bshaw]

Should the car be on or off?

Definitely off and lock the doors. You’re like going shopping or walking around town while it gets a little charge added? Don’t leave the car on if you’re not there.

Find the Volta station you’re referring to on plugshare and post the link here. There may be more specific instructions that are helpful.

 

[AZBill]

They are just putting in 14 Volta chargers at an outlet mall near me. There are 10 L2 chargers and 4 CCS chargers. I was there when some techs were working on an L2, they are simply Clipper Creek chargers under the advertising signs. Only the CCS ones need the app to activate. It may be that the L2 chargers are not powered up yet at the site you are trying. At the mall near me, two CCS chargers are working, but none of the other ones.

Check to see if the advertising screens are on, if not, that can be an indication they are not powered up yet.

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