Harris Ranch is not working 11/18/14

[GabrielB]

I was at the Harris Ranch SC Tuesday 18th and charged no problem - we were lucky - and then was there Saturday night 22nd and charged via the big Cat diesel - no problems worked great.

Sorry for folks that there was a major utility power or major equipment glitch - but that's life - this is a new fantastic frontier - and everyone learns with every event. Tesla's response was rather fantastic considering how isolated Harris Ranch is.
Think about it, what happened? Tesla monitors worldwide Supercharger use and power levels 24/7. They surely saw Harris Ranch go down instantly. Such a huge fault is typically Utility Down, or an accident (remember the Oxnard car crash?).
They contact the Utility Hot Line and find out that neighboring High Power lines are fine, so it must be either the Utility Transformer or the Tesla equipment. Either way it is a very serious problem, and Tesla orders a bunch of Flatbed tow trucks to stand by. As they investigate further they decide to order back-up diesel generators, and ship out replacement superchargers. The emergency response to Hurricane Sandy was not as fast as was "Operation Harris Ranch".
Again I am sorry some folks were inconvenienced, but kudos to Tesla Supercharger Management for their excellent disaster recovery, and ongoing repairs.

As to the single old Model S Supercharger and the single old 70A Clipper Creek Roadster Charger that was at the Shell Station. They are both GONE. Not only are they gone but all the electrical conduit and peripheral stuff is gone as well. Holes filled, walls repainted, and fresh pavers have filled in the sidewalk were the equipment used to be. All EV signage is gone. The only remnant is that the one pull in parking spot still has a green curb.

On another note, there is significant fenced off construction activity going on at were the Car Wash used to be. So the rumor about a Harris Ranch battery swap station looks less like just a rumor...
Sure would have been nice if that was running this last week...

 

[liuping]

The emergency response to Hurricane Sandy was not as fast as was "Operation Harris Ranch".
Again I am sorry some folks were inconvenienced, but kudos to Tesla Supercharger Management for their excellent disaster recovery, and ongoing repairs.

I'll second those Kudos. While it would have sucked to get stuck, Tesla's response has been very impressive.

 

[pgiralt]

I know how hard it is to get generators set up and working in such a short period of time and Tesla's response is nothing short of phenomenal. I know some folks were inconvenienced and we really do need live supercharger status in the car, but kudos to Tesla for their response.

 

[aname4me]

I was at the Harris Ranch SC Tuesday 18th and charged no problem - we were lucky - and then was there Saturday night 22nd and charged via the big Cat diesel - no problems worked great.

Sorry for folks that there was a major utility power or major equipment glitch - but that's life - this is a new fantastic frontier - and everyone learns with every event. Tesla's response was rather fantastic considering how isolated Harris Ranch is.
Think about it, what happened? Tesla monitors worldwide Supercharger use and power levels 24/7. They surely saw Harris Ranch go down instantly. Such a huge fault is typically Utility Down, or an accident (remember the Oxnard car crash?).
They contact the Utility Hot Line and find out that neighboring High Power lines are fine, so it must be either the Utility Transformer or the Tesla equipment. Either way it is a very serious problem, and Tesla orders a bunch of Flatbed tow trucks to stand by. As they investigate further they decide to order back-up diesel generators, and ship out replacement superchargers. The emergency response to Hurricane Sandy was not as fast as was "Operation Harris Ranch".
Again I am sorry some folks were inconvenienced, but kudos to Tesla Supercharger Management for their excellent disaster recovery, and ongoing repairs.

As to the single old Model S Supercharger and the single old 70A Clipper Creek Roadster Charger that was at the Shell Station. They are both GONE. Not only are they gone but all the electrical conduit and peripheral stuff is gone as well. Holes filled, walls repainted, and fresh pavers have filled in the sidewalk were the equipment used to be. All EV signage is gone. The only remnant is that the one pull in parking spot still has a green curb.

On another note, there is significant fenced off construction activity going on at were the Car Wash used to be. So the rumor about a Harris Ranch battery swap station looks less like just a rumor...
Sure would have been nice if that was running this last week...

I was among the 1st 3 MS's stranded there. TM was amazing. I felt well taken care of. And although I didn't reach as far as I planned to that day of my road trip from Seattle to Tucson, I realized that nothing is perfect and one of my life mottoes is: If everything went according to plan, we'd have no good stories to tell. TM went so far beyond any car company that I have ever dealt with. The flatbed driver was super sweet and I gave him a nice tip for being so cool to me. It was all fine.

 

[napabill]

I'm sitting at the Harris Ranch SC charging at over 200 amps. Or at least I was. Now down to 160 amps. And who should pull in next me but the Woz himself. Obviously Harris Ranch is up. There is still a generator on site but offline.

 

[liuping]

All the Chargers a working great today.

All the stalls were full when we arrived and two cars pulled up behind us. We got a charger after about 5 minutes, but the other two cars are waiting still 15 minutes later. Harris Ranch could definitely use a few more chargers.

 

[gaswalla]

Or a swapping station

 

[efusco]

All the Chargers a working great today.

All the stalls were full when we arrived and two cars pulled up behind us. We got a charger after about 5 minutes, but the other two cars are waiting still 15 minutes later. Harris Ranch could definitely use a few more chargers.

Because of a 15 minute wait? Some of us have to drive our ICE this weekend because of ZERO superchargers. Sorry, I've lost my sympathy for those who have to wait a few minutes...I've been waiting 2 years for a supercharger spot.

 

[action7981]

Because of a 15 minute wait? Some of us have to drive our ICE this weekend because of ZERO superchargers. Sorry, I've lost my sympathy for those who have to wait a few minutes...I've been waiting 2 years for a supercharger spot.

Because of ZERO Superchargers? Some of us have to drive our ICE this weekend because we can't afford an EV with enough range to meet our daily needs. Sorry, I've lost all sympathy for those who get to drive the most progressive automobile on the planet but don't have Superchargers near by.

Safe travels and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[efusco]

Because of ZERO Superchargers? Some of us have to drive our ICE this weekend because we can't afford an EV with enough range to meet our daily needs. Sorry, I've lost all sympathy for those who get to drive the most progressive automobile on the planet but don't have Superchargers near by.

Safe travels and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Except the purchase of an ICE didn't include a promise of an EV. The purchase of my Model S did include a promise of supercharging. Which, while technically it can, in practice it is not realistic without at least one long charge on a HPWC as my best possible option. I'm just pissy...I've been patient, but it is wearing thin. Just don't understand why they can't get a few SCs in Missouri.

 

[apacheguy]

Just don't understand why they can't get a few SCs in Missouri.

Have you taken a look at Germany recently? They've got more SpC than California and only 1/10 of the population of MS compared to CA. Maybe you should start lobbying the SpC team to focus more on NA where most of their vehicles currently reside.

 

[efusco]

Have you taken a look at Germany recently? They've got more SpC than California and only 1/10 of the population of MS compared to CA. Maybe you should start lobbying the SpC team to focus more on NA where most of their vehicles currently reside.

Good point...there's something about that European market that they really like. Probably a bit more supportive and less anti-competitive than the US market.

 

[TEG]

Have you taken a look at Germany recently? They've got more SpC than California and only 1/10 of the population of MS compared to CA. Maybe you should start lobbying the SpC team to focus more on NA where most of their vehicles currently reside.

If you drive fast on the Autobahn your range is less, so you need more Superchargers per square km.

 

[bonnie]

Except the purchase of an ICE didn't include a promise of an EV. The purchase of my Model S did include a promise of supercharging. Which, while technically it can, in practice it is not realistic without at least one long charge on a HPWC as my best possible option. I'm just pissy...I've been patient, but it is wearing thin. Just don't understand why they can't get a few SCs in Missouri.

While I totally understand your frustration (probably similar to Roadster owners watching all the new-to-the-scene Model S owners happily charging at Superchargers while we charge at the HPCs we installed), history *might* be getting revised here just a touch.

You have an early Model S. I'm not sure when you took delivery, but deliveries started in June 2012. The Supercharger capability & network was announced in late September 2012. So most early VINs bought their Model S with NO promise of a Supercharger network in place. As AnOutsider pointed out, 45 min quickcharge was promised - but there was never any talk of an entire network rolled out, much less free of charge.

Again, I get the frustration. I'd be frustrated, too. But in fairness, early VINs didn't have any expectations of Supercharging. They couldn't. It wasn't on the table.

 

[gg_got_a_tesla]

A quote from the latest Plug In America newsletter may be appropriate:

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
-Epicurus

 

[abasile]

Yes, that is a great quote. This is indeed the time to give thanks for what we have. I am very thankful to own a Nissan LEAF. As much as I look forward to purchasing a Tesla vehicle in the future, learning to be content with my current possessions is worth millions. Not too many years ago, mass-produced EVs of any kind were but a dream.

 

[FroglegsX2015]

Could an SC in either Patterson (just past I-580 and I-5 come together) help offload Harris Ranch? From there it is just over 100 mi to Harris Ranch. They have property nearby as well. It "was" a potential site for the Gigafactory I believe. Another option would be 30 miles further south in Santa Nella (110 mi from Sacramento). From there 80 miles to Harris Ranch and another 120 mi to Tejon Ranch. Of course, 300+ mi range will solve some of these issues in the coming years.

 

[omarsultan]

There was supposed be an SC going into Manteca, which would have helped the I-5 corridor between Sacto and Harris Ranch as well as folks heading to Yosemite. After filing for a permit, Tesla pulled the request. Maybe they will put something to the Lathrop factory location.

 

[apacheguy]

There definitely needs to be another location north of Harris Ranch along the 5. Currently it's a little dicey for those of us heading up state from down here in So Cal. We basically have to cut over and go through the Bay so we can fill up.

 

[TexasEV]

There definitely needs to be another location north of Harris Ranch along the 5. Currently it's a little dicey for those of us heading up state from down here in So Cal. We basically have to cut over and go through the Bay so we can fill up.

Yeah, it must be rough having to take a different route so you can supercharge your way to your destination. There are many highways in other states to be covered before giving Californians alternate routes.