Got unplugged at a public station by a PHEV driver

[Valdemar]

Got a text that my car got unplugged from ChargePoint. I happened to be close by and caught a Ford Fusion PHEV driver almost in the act. Needless to say I had to ask him why he did it in a somewhat less than friendly manner. He was surprised by it as he thought I was done charging because the station said "available, scan card to begin charging" or something like that. What actually happened that the station said #1 port was available which is a L1 outlet hidden behind a cover, and I was on #2 which is the L2, and he just had no idea that there is a hidden outlet when I told him about it. Sigh. So, I guess the moral of the story, is that not cases when you get unplugged are due to a malicious intent, and likely most are just due to a human error. I'll try to remember it next time this happens again

 

[DNAinaGoodWay]

This is only the beginning. Wait until more of the general public have plug in cars.

That must be an older CP station. They don't deploy that model anymore, do they?

 

[GRA]

This is only the beginning. Wait until more of the general public have plug in cars.

That must be an older CP station. They don't deploy that model anymore, do they?

Their website is only showing the CT4000 series now, but there are a lot of those L1/L2 models (CT 2000 series IIRC) out there.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I had a PIP pull mine by hooking the cable under his bumper and tearing the cable out of the EVSE. Then he tried to blame me, good thing I got the text and was there to explain to security. No further comment. :roll:

 

[AndyGT02]

At the charger I use in work we get a plug-in Prius that plugs in at 7 am and doesn't leave until sometime after 5. He/she still does this despite repeated friendly notes to please move when done charging (it's 45 minutes from empty to full).

 

[MrIanB]

That happened to me at work and now we all have each other's cell phone numbers and text one another when we need to charge that way somebody can move out.

Ian B

 

[AndyGT02]

Not a bad idea. I've never been stuck by other users taking up the spots yet, but if it becomes an issue see about getting the numbers.

 

[Valdemar]

We have no contention at work thanks to the $2 hourly rate. There was one persistent owner who used to charge his Volt daily, but no more, I suspect cheap gas is why.

 

[mwalsh]

We have no contention at work thanks to the $2 hourly rate. There was one persistent owner who used to charge his Volt daily, but no more, I suspect cheap gas is why.

What a lightweight. I still hate burning gas in our Volt, and always will irrespective of cost.

 

[smkettner]

What actually happened that the station said #1 port was available which is a L1 outlet hidden behind a cover, and I was on #2 which is the L2, and he just had no idea that there is a hidden outlet when I told him about it.

This was a very poor design from the get go. Hopefully these L1 in the compartment are on their way out.

 

[Valdemar]

I suspect they will linger around as replacement cost is likely significant and would be the responsibility of the station owner and not the network.

 

[Valdemar]

This is only the beginning. Wait until more of the general public have plug in cars.

Indeed. It's quite entertaining to browse through PlugShare comments for popular locations, every now and then people start flaming each other, the comments are usually get cleaned up later by moderators. Here in CA it definitely feels like current EV population already outgrew the public infrastructure, with no sign of it catching up.

 

[davewill]

What actually happened that the station said #1 port was available which is a L1 outlet hidden behind a cover, and I was on #2 which is the L2, and he just had no idea that there is a hidden outlet when I told him about it.

This was a very poor design from the get go. Hopefully these L1 in the compartment are on their way out.

Those date from a long ways back when it was thought there would be a significant number of neighborhood electric vehicles that would want/need the 120v plugs.

 

[RonDawg]

I had a PIP pull mine by hooking the cable under his bumper and tearing the cable out of the EVSE. Then he tried to blame me, good thing I got the text and was there to explain to security. No further comment. :roll:

Did the PiP driver do this intentionally (e.g. frustrated he couldn't plug in)?

If not, this is a good reason to keep the cords tidy. I often find EVSE cords fully unrolled and just laying on the ground. When I plug in and find one like this, I take the time to properly stow the excess.

 

[leafedbehind]

What actually happened that the station said #1 port was available which is a L1 outlet hidden behind a cover, and I was on #2 which is the L2, and he just had no idea that there is a hidden outlet when I told him about it.

This was a very poor design from the get go. Hopefully these L1 in the compartment are on their way out.

Those date from a long ways back when it was thought there would be a significant number of neighborhood electric vehicles that would want/need the 120v plugs.

Electric Motorcycles often need them. Not that I see many.

 

[LeftieBiker]

More electric bikes are being offered with a J-1772 port option, at least.