[208]

Many on this forum are early adopters, and by the simple act of being here demonstrate higher than average involvement in the EV community. For those that have the time to do so, there is an important way you can contribute to this community.

Existing public charging providers have demonstrated an abysmal ability to maintain their chargers. Part of this I believe is our fault, the end user. I believe we could get more involved.

Talking to EV drivers, one of the things I often ask is what they do when they find a broken charger. Some call to report it, but unfortunately the majority tell me they simply go and find a charger that works.

It is important for us as end users to be calling these companies and reporting broken chargers. Taking a step further, I regularly check on the dcfc chargers closest to me, to see if they are working; even though these are not the chargers that I use. I regularly find chargers broken, call the companies and ask them to contact me when they are fixed. I have mixed results for sure, but I am noticing they are getting more responsive, and even recognizing me from prior calls lol. it does not cost me much time or electricity to swing by these places, and it makes my area a better area to travel through when more of these chargers are working.

Just food for thought.
😎

 

[Leaf to Lightning : )]

for several years we own TWO Nissan Leafs(2014/2015 models)... the worst places to find a working charger was actually at the Nissan DEALERS! Crazy, but they didn't seem to care. Some had DC Fast Chargers of different varieties, but didn't seem to have anybody that knew anything about how to 'fix' them. Even all the dealers with Level 2 J1772 pedestals had no clue.

Downtown Huntsville AL has/had a DC Fast Charger, with CHAdeMO and CCS, in front of the downtown City Hall building. It worked sometimes, and many times not. I would call and they were helpful, but it would take some time for anyone to show up. I don't think most cities, even if they have their own utility departments, understand the 'need' to keep these working at all times. It was Free, so no complaints, but if it's not working, there is NO DC FAST CHARGING in all of the Huntsville Alabama area - and Huntsville is 'Rocket City'! Crazy.

 

[ChasingCoral]

Many on this forum are early adopters, and by the simple act of being here demonstrate higher than average involvement in the EV community. For those that have the time to do so, there is an important way you can contribute to this community.

Existing public charging providers have demonstrated an abysmal ability to maintain their chargers. Part of this I believe is our fault, the end user. I believe we could get more involved.

Talking to EV drivers, one of the things I often ask is what they do when they find a broken charger. Some call to report it, but unfortunately the majority tell me they simply go and find a charger that works.

It is important for us as end users to be calling these companies and reporting broken chargers. Taking a step further, I regularly check on the dcfc chargers closest to me, to see if they are working; even though these are not the chargers that I use. I regularly find chargers broken, call the companies and ask them to contact me when they are fixed. I have mixed results for sure, but I am noticing they are getting more responsive, and even recognizing me from prior calls lol. it does not cost me much time or electricity to swing by these places, and it makes my area a better area to travel through when more of these chargers are working.

Just food for thought.
😎

Nice idea keeping track of chargers in the area. I have not done that but I do report any broken charger when I encounter them, calling the company to get them to try to get the charger back online.

Ford has actually become proactive and has a team that specifically goes out and tests chargers and works with the companies to get them back to good working order. Here's a story on Ford's "Charge Angels":

https://fordauthority.com/2021/12/ford-mustang-mach-e-charge-angels-program-details-revealed/

 

[208]

Nice idea keeping track of chargers in the area. I have not done that but I do report any broken charger when I encounter them, calling the company to get them to try to get the charger back online.

Ford has actually become proactive and has a team that specifically goes out and tests chargers and works with the companies to get them back to good working order. Here's a story on Ford's "Charge Angels":

https://fordauthority.com/2021/12/ford-mustang-mach-e-charge-angels-program-details-revealed/

When the story came out regarding the charge angels, it actually interested me enough that I went down the path of seeing what it would take to become one of them. After months of digging, it appears that the idea is still not off the ground, and nobody is actually doing it yet. Hopefully this is something they continue to pursue.

It was the charge Angel story that prompted me to start a weekly patrol of the chargers in my area. After all, I just wanted to do it because it seemed like a worthwhile mission, not really for the small paycheck they would probably offer for such a gig.
😎

 

[Peter_F]

… I believe we could get more involved. … Some call to report it, but unfortunately the majority tell me they simply go and find a charger that works.

I agree. I always call it in. It’s super annoying when some chargers at a location are out of service. I’ve gone to chargers where I had to wait, because the ones “not in use” we’re actually broken.

I use PlugShare to check stations, and I also report faults there. It’s a good and active community.

 

[Voltz]

I use PlugShare to check stations, and I also report faults there. It’s a good and active community.

I appreciate people that report bad chargers on Plugshare. Also, I always appreciate seeing the good charges with vehicle type and charge rates, too.