That's not the way it works with my car. If it's charging and I walk up without the key and hit the button, the port light turns on but it doesn't stop charging. It wouldn't make sense for Tesla to design it that way otherwise anyone could just walk up and stop your car from charging.
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That's not the way it works with my car. If it's charging and I walk up without the key and hit the button, the port light turns on but it doesn't stop charging. It wouldn't make sense for Tesla to design it that way otherwise anyone could just walk up and stop your car from charging.
It works the same way for me whether I press the button on a Tesla charger vs a J1772.
I'm always interested in learning new things. Last time I read through the J1772 standard, I didn't see that there was any electrical switch involved in the latch on the connector. Are there brands that have incorporated something other than a physical latch?
All connectors that comply with J1772 have a switch attached to the latch, and J1772 requires that the car immediately stop charging when the latch button is pressed.
This is necessary for safety and for plug durability - it ensures that you don't get a spark when you pull the plug out.
Cool! Well, except for stopping the charging on someone else's car to check if they are through charging. You kind of know if they are charging if you press the button? Nope, not charging!
ChargePoint chargers version 2000 show current, 4000 (newer) just show flow (or solid if none). Not sure about other brands.
I have just squeezed the trigger on a car that was complete. It stopped and then 'started' the charge again. ChargePoint sends an email when that happens so I hoped the owner would get that and move, even if they don't have charge complete alerts on.
I have just squeezed the trigger on a car that was complete. It stopped and then 'started' the charge again. ChargePoint sends an email when that happens so I hoped the owner would get that and move, even if they don't have charge complete alerts on.
mknox
Well-Known Member
If you are at a J1772 station and using your adapter, pressing the release button on the J1772 handle will simply stop charging and allow the handle to be removed from the adapter, which remains captive if the car is locked. At a Supercharger or Tesla HPWC, pressing the button on the wand will activate the charge port light, but the wand will remain locked to the car if the car is locked.
That's not the way it works on my car. I tested it out today.
If I approach my car without the key fob, pressing the button on the J1772 handle activates the port light which turns blue, charging is briefly interrupted, and then the port light begins flashing green again as the car resumes charging. It would be possible for me to remove the handle but the adapter would remain in place.
In order for me to cancel the charge and remove the adapter I need to have my key fob AND the car needs to be unlocked. I can't imagine that Tesla would design it so that anyone can walk up and cancel your charge, but maybe the charger I use works differently than others.
@Black/Black MS -- I think you and @mknox are saying the exact same thing. With a J1772 station and adaptor, the adaptor is always locked to the car unless you come up with the keyfob. If another person presses the release button on the charging handle, charging will stop and the charging handle can be removed, but the adapter stays locked to the car. If they don't remove the charging handle, after a few seconds, charging will re-commence.
mknox
Well-Known Member
I agree with that part of it, but my point (and relevant to the question of the thread) is that pressing the button will light up the port and show you the charging status of the car. I'm not sure why everyone keeps saying that you can't know the charging status of a car if you don't have the key.
Stopping (and hopefully restarting) someone's charging isn't an acceptable way to check on the status of other people's cars. In addition to the annoyance of getting a "charging interrupted" notification from the phone app, there's a chance the charging won't start again successfully. Some charging stations and networks aren't that reliable, or may need phone calls or special access cards to get back going again.
mknox
Well-Known Member
Agree. I use J1772 stations a fair bit, and pressing the release button will often allow just the weight of the cable or the person's hand to disengage it from the adapter (which remains locked to the car). I don't want people fiddling around with my car.
Perhaps not 100% universal, but every J1772 station I've ever used has some sort of indicator (from LCD screen to red/green lights) telling you if the car is currently charging or not.
I'm not convinced pressing the button really tells you anything in many cases. If the charging had stopped, it may re-start when you press the button. All you know is that it is charging now, even though it may have finished. Please don't press the button to try to learn if the car is through charging!
In the lower left-hand corner of the charge port there is a small button. Press it and the ring will light up and show you the status, whether or not you have the key. It does not interrupt the charging.
I believe this button is present on all cars that have the motorized charge port door. I don't know about the european port.
I believe this button is present on all cars that have the motorized charge port door. I don't know about the european port.
Very interesting. I think that's the switch the car uses to decide if the charge port door is closed.
It kinda worked for me. I went out to my X, which has been sitting on a charger but done charging for hours, without the key and hit the button. Sure enough, I hear a storm of clicking and the port lights up green.
So to confirm no interruption, I set the limit higher, it starts charging and flashing, and I wait until the port goes out. This is the interesting part, though - hitting the button again shortly after it went out while the car was still charging did nothing at all. I tried hitting it several times and nothing happened.
So clearly it's a little more complicated, but it sometimes works...
JohnnyG
Weee!
There's already a great app that a large majority are using. It's called PlugShare, it's free, and is available for both iOS & Android. It has a ton of useful features, including a way to message a car owner at a charging station.I get your hesitation, but if it's a good solution, why not give it a go? If a few Tesla people start using it, the app just might catch on. If there were ten apps like this all competing, it would get messy really fast, but since it's just the one app, I don't have an issue with downloading it to check it out.
I am totally not cool with putting my contact details out for Joe Public to see, which is why I think the app is such a great concept. If you print your QR code from the app, it includes simple instructions for the person waiting to charge. It says to download the app and then scan the code to notify the owner of the charging vehicle. If it's too hard for somebody to do that ... they don't need to charge that badly.
As @Saghost mentions, I think it's just used to see if the charge port door is open or not. Just now, I plugged my car in and started charging. I then waited for the ring to turn off. I tried pushing the button, pushing it and holding it, pushing it multiple times, etc. but it never lit the ring back up for my 11/2016 build Model S.
