Chargepoint at LAX... the only way to fly.. almost

[thankyouOB]

This is all that is needed for long term. 120v 7 amps. No bells, no whistles, no timers, no wifi, no RFI, no activation card. Just a bit of power to get you back full in a few days. Well and a box that can be properly attached.

i am wary of leaving the unit there for the grabbing for 5 days while I fly out of town.

 

[lettcco]

For us Leaf owners, can we create a custom sunshade with arrows pointing to those 3 charging indicators and a message that says "if those 3 lights are solid, please feel free to un-plug me and close the lid for me, thanks"

Or will the chargepoint unit indicate charge is complete? if so, just say if charging is done, feel free to unplug me.

 

[LEAFer]

The scrolling display on the ChargePoint unit will tell you how many kw's are being drawn in near real-time (subject to the slow scrolling). If you are on a TIMED charge (timer in the car) the CP unit generates false notifications about the car having charged to full a relatively short time after you plug in (varies quite a bit, 10 - 60 minutes). ( I guess the CP unit at first knows it is "waiting" for the car to initiate the charge, but after a while it gives up and concludes "the car must be full". ) Not sure what the display says after the car successfully charges to full (without timer) and the car continues to be plugged in for a very extended period of time.

 

[lettcco]

Just charged about 4 hours in LAX lot 1 (use the arrival entrance and then hang a left so that you leave the structure area, that's where the chargers are). Upon exiting, Gave the lady in ticket booth the ticket and told her I am drivng an electric vehicle. She just gave me a blank stare and said "EV still gotta pay". I told her no, and I know EV gets to park for free, and then she gave the dirty look and say "What, you can't afford the parking fee?" I told her that's not the point, and asked her to get someone who knows...and she yelled her manager to figure it out. The manager check the back of the car for something (tailpipe? sticker?) and asked for my driver license, phone number. She also asked about the "paperwork" so I told her DMV is still processing it. The lady in the booth still not willing to admit she is wrong and keep telling me "WHO told you you can park for free?" I just keep referring to the website (although I am not sure if LAX actually says so in their website). After 5 mins the manager finally got it squared away and open the gate. The price was like $15 if I were to pay.

if you asked me I say $15 is not worth the harassment and I won't be repeating this any time soon.

 

[Randy]

Here's the web link...Maybe future users can print out this page and give it to the mean lady....

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=58

 

[stanley]

Now all we need is a fast charger along I-5 in Orange County and we can drive from San Diego to LAX

 

[smkettner]

Here's the web link...Maybe future users can print out this page and give it to the mean lady....

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=58

Thanks for the link. I will keep that bookmark for later reference

 

[PolarExpress]

I will be traveling out of the country for 11 days and do not want to hog a charging station for that long. LAX and back home is within my range. Without charging what kind of battery loss can I expect for a Leaf that is not being used for 11 days? Also, I agree there should be more L1 chargers with spaces that indicate you are parking for an extended period. This would leave open chargers for people who really need them. We need to work together so we do not lose this perk.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Here's the web link...Maybe future users can print out this page and give it to the mean lady....

http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=58

Awesome. Here's what I printed out for the glove box:

 

[TomT]

The simple answer is ... none. I was gone for three weeks and had the exact same charge level when I returned as when I left.

I will be traveling out of the country for 11 days and do not want to hog a charging station for that long. LAX and back home is within my range. Without charging what kind of battery loss can I expect for a Leaf that is not being used for 11 days?

 

[garygid]

You could have lost up to about 8% of your SOC, but still see the same number of bars, and THINK that there was ZERO loss.

Certainly since the car has many parts that "stay alive" when the car is OFF, some loss will have occured. Of course, parking an SL in the sun would help.

10 days = 240 hours, so even a 10-watt drain would be 2.4 kWh (10% of the Traction Battery), and just 4 watts would be 4%, or half of one "bar".

 

[TomT]

Actually, the amount of power generated by that silly PV on the spoiler (about 6 watts in full sun) is virtually undetectable in the overall scheme of things when compared against a 24,000 watt battery pack...

By the way, my distance to empty was two miles less when I turned the car on after three weeks as compared to when I turned it off.

You could have lost up to about 8% of your SOC, but still see the same number of bars, and THINK that there was ZERO loss.

Certainly since the car has many parts that "stay alive" when the car is OFF, some loss will have occured. Of course, parking an SL in the sun would help.

 

[EricH]

Just charged about 4 hours in LAX lot 1 (use the arrival entrance and then hang a left so that you leave the structure area, that's where the chargers are). Upon exiting, Gave the lady in ticket booth the ticket and told her I am drivng an electric vehicle. She just gave me a blank stare and said "EV still gotta pay". I told her no, and I know EV gets to park for free, and then she gave the dirty look and say "What, you can't afford the parking fee?" I told her that's not the point, and asked her to get someone who knows...and she yelled her manager to figure it out. The manager check the back of the car for something (tailpipe? sticker?) and asked for my driver license, phone number. She also asked about the "paperwork" so I told her DMV is still processing it. The lady in the booth still not willing to admit she is wrong and keep telling me "WHO told you you can park for free?" I just keep referring to the website (although I am not sure if LAX actually says so in their website). After 5 mins the manager finally got it squared away and open the gate. The price was like $15 if I were to pay.

if you asked me I say $15 is not worth the harassment and I won't be repeating this any time soon.

Strange - we used the free-parking privelege a half dozen times in 2001-04 with our Ford Think City, and we never got pushback from any of the attendants. This suggests that, at least at one time, the policy and procedures were well-communicated across the parking attendant population at LAX. The "hiatus" may be to blame -- chalk it up to getting early delivery, and to the Leaf looking so "normal" that it raised her suspicions. I'd expect this problem to be temporary (like maybe another few months) until more EV's use the Terminal 1 parking.

 

[KeiJidosha]

The manager check the back of the car for something (tailpipe? sticker?) and asked for my driver license, phone number. She also asked about the "paperwork" so I told her DMV is still processing it.

Attendant was looking for the DMV EV sticker.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/reg/reg1000.pdf

It should be placed on the left rear window (or bumper). Parking employees are not trained to know the difference between and EV and an RV, so the sticker (which comes with paperwork from the DMV), will make parking painless, and free.

 

[omkar]

Sparky, thanks for the pictures of the charging stations in Parking Structure 1. I hope there is a free one when I try parking at LAX as I'll definitely need the charge to make it back home.

 

[mwalsh]

Sparky, thanks for the pictures of the charging stations in Parking Structure 1. I hope there is a free one when I try parking at LAX as I'll definitely need the charge to make it back home.

Omkar, I've got an open offer to go unplug (and secure, if wanted) the L1 for anyone on here who needs the service, providing it coincides with a work day for me. Heck, get me your spare fob in advance and I'll even secure the L1 in the trunk of your own vehicle and/or move it off the EVSE stall, if that's what you want.

 

[occ]

Sparky, thanks for the pictures of the charging stations in Parking Structure 1. I hope there is a free one when I try parking at LAX as I'll definitely need the charge to make it back home.

Hey omkar, I'll be in the same boat (I'm in Tustin). I think we will need plan B - hoping that 1 of 2 spots available to charge is not very good odds to avoid being stranded.

My plan was to visit SouthCoast Plaza for an hour to top off the LEAF, which is 39 miles one way, but the roundtrip back to South Coast Plaza is 80 miles...cutting it close.

An alternate would be to downtown Anaheim, at city hall (according to Chargepoint), which is 34 miles one way.

Both places have restaurants and shopping to kill an hr or so for enough charge to get back to Irvine/Tustin.

What do you think?

 

[occ]

Sparky, thanks for the pictures of the charging stations in Parking Structure 1. I hope there is a free one when I try parking at LAX as I'll definitely need the charge to make it back home.

Omkar, I've got an open offer to go unplug (and secure, if wanted) the L1 for anyone on here who needs the service, providing it coincides with a work day for me. Heck, get me your spare fob in advance and I'll even secure the L1 in the trunk of your own vehicle and/or move it off the EVSE stall, if that's what you want.

mwalsh, that would be a terrific service! I'd even be willing to provide payment in form of a beer keg if you're into that sort of things

 

[mwalsh]

mwalsh, that would be a terrific service! I'd even be willing to provide payment in form of a beer keg if you're into that sort of things

Not really necessary. BUT....if I were to find, say, a six pack of Newcastle Brown in the trunk whilst securing your EVSE.....well let's just say I wouldn't be upset in the least!

 

[Lopton]

For us Leaf owners, can we create a custom sunshade with arrows pointing to those 3 charging indicators and a message that says "if those 3 lights are solid, please feel free to un-plug me and close the lid for me, thanks"

Or will the chargepoint unit indicate charge is complete? if so, just say if charging is done, feel free to unplug me.

Lettco,
I keep one of these: http://www.evchargernews.com/chargeprotocolcard.pdf I printed out, in my car. You place it in your dash and put a paperclip or some marking device to indicate when you need to charge to or 'unplug anytime'. I think this is a great way of communicating with other EV'ers and sharing charging stations.

-Matt