Issue charging at the Magic Kingdom ChargePoint charger

[jrreno]

I’ll preface this by stating this is a long story just to include all the facts. We are Disney Passholders living in Sarasota and frequently make the trip to Disney parks. I always try to make use of the charging stations because the 6 hours or more at the park give me enough charge to drive straight home as opposed to stopping to Supercharge.
So yesterday we arrive at the parking for the Magic Kingdom and I am resolved to parking without charging because the Charpoint app shows all the stations occupied. But unlike every other visit the parking staff recognize the car and encourage me to go to the chargers ( that was definitely different ). Of course when we pull up to the chargers they are all occupied but there is an open spot right across from them and one of the cars is a Model 3 from New Hampshire!
As we exit the car two folks walk up to the Model 3 and indicate they are leaving. What luck! After a nice exchange we move to the vacated spot and I proceed to use my ChargePoint rfid to authorize. I plug in and there is NO audible click of the port locking. And of course the car does not start to charge. I try a different spare adapter, rebooting the MCU and restarting the ChargePoint. No luck. Called Tesla and they could not see any issue even after remotely resetting the charger in the car. We resolved to go to Orlando service the next day since we had enough charge to get around and went to spend our day in the Kingdom.
On our exit we tried the ChargePoint one more time with the same negative result. Then we drove to the new Supercharger at the WaWa and plugged in. Charged up with no problem! Got a cup of coffee and drove home. Back home I plugged in my UMC and started charging no issue.
This morning I drove to a local ChargePoint and plugged in. Again charged with no issue. I called and told Orlando service all the results and thanked them for their help the previous day. Also sent a note to ChargePoint to let them know what happened.
I sure would like to know if that Model 3 ahead of us had gotten a successful charge.

 

[GatorGuy]

Thanks for the info. I plan on using those chargers when we goto Disney in a few weeks. We're pass holders as well.

 

[Speedr117]

We just got back from a weekend at Disney. We plugged in at Animal Kingdom and was pleasantly surprised by how well the ChargePoint chargers worked. It will be interesting if one of their chargers was dead. Was the other charger working on the other car? What about the other pair? Also, I assume when you left they were all still plugged in? Otherwise you could have tried a different one.

 

[SMAlset]

I can't imagine any Tesla owner who would not apprise you of a charger you were about to use that they knew didn't work. Just can't. I think something else was going on with your vehicle, charging cable or maybe something at ChargePoint (maybe your RFID card that wasn't being recognized?) even though you were able to charge everywhere else.

I've never used a ChargePoint card but my husband has at work. I would assume the units are individually numbered so you can report them. Can you call and talk to someone at ChargePoint like you can for Tesla when there's a problem with charging? Wondering if they showed an issue when you went to use your RIFD card and can track it down that way to the unit and see if others charged before and after you. Weird.

 

[davidc18]

Thanks for the heads up. We use our passes and those chargers quite often.

 

[battleroyale]

I’ll preface this by stating this is a long story just to include all the facts. We are Disney Passholders living in Sarasota and frequently make the trip to Disney parks. I always try to make use of the charging stations because the 6 hours or more at the park give me enough charge to drive straight home as opposed to stopping to Supercharge.
So yesterday we arrive at the parking for the Magic Kingdom and I am resolved to parking without charging because the Charpoint app shows all the stations occupied. But unlike every other visit the parking staff recognize the car and encourage me to go to the chargers ( that was definitely different ). Of course when we pull up to the chargers they are all occupied but there is an open spot right across from them and one of the cars is a Model 3 from New Hampshire!
As we exit the car two folks walk up to the Model 3 and indicate they are leaving. What luck! After a nice exchange we move to the vacated spot and I proceed to use my ChargePoint rfid to authorize. I plug in and there is NO audible click of the port locking. And of course the car does not start to charge. I try a different spare adapter, rebooting the MCU and restarting the ChargePoint. No luck. Called Tesla and they could not see any issue even after remotely resetting the charger in the car. We resolved to go to Orlando service the next day since we had enough charge to get around and went to spend our day in the Kingdom.
On our exit we tried the ChargePoint one more time with the same negative result. Then we drove to the new Supercharger at the WaWa and plugged in. Charged up with no problem! Got a cup of coffee and drove home. Back home I plugged in my UMC and started charging no issue.
This morning I drove to a local ChargePoint and plugged in. Again charged with no issue. I called and told Orlando service all the results and thanked them for their help the previous day. Also sent a note to ChargePoint to let them know what happened.
I sure would like to know if that Model 3 ahead of us had gotten a successful charge.

Did you try calling ChargePoints Support hotline to see if they could check and see what was wrong with the charger?

 

[jrreno]

We just got back from a weekend at Disney. We plugged in at Animal Kingdom and was pleasantly surprised by how well the ChargePoint chargers worked. It will be interesting if one of their chargers was dead. Was the other charger working on the other car? What about the other pair? Also, I assume when you left they were all still plugged in? Otherwise you could have tried a different one.

Yes we use them often and they always work well. That is why I initially suspected the car. When we left other chargers were available and a smart person would have tried one. I only tried the same one that had failed before. What can I say? It was a long day.

 

[jrreno]

I can't imagine any Tesla owner who would not apprise you of a charger you were about to use that they knew didn't work. Just can't. I think something else was going on with your vehicle, charging cable or maybe something at ChargePoint (maybe your RFID card that wasn't being recognized?) even though you were able to charge everywhere else.

I've never used a ChargePoint card but my husband has at work. I would assume the units are individually numbered so you can report them. Can you call and talk to someone at ChargePoint like you can for Tesla when there's a problem with charging? Wondering if they showed an issue when you went to use your RIFD card and can track it down that way to the unit and see if others charged before and after you. Weird.

I agree regarding the Tesla owner especially since they mentioned they got the Model 3 in October because they are a Tesla employee! Again this is why I initially suspected the car was at fault. The card authorized the same as it always has for the two or three time a month I use it.

 

[jrreno]

Did you try calling ChargePoints Support hotline to see if they could check and see what was wrong with the charger?

I did not because a Tesla owner had left the spot and chatted with me before they pulled out and the station authorized normally. Also these are paired chargers and the other half was charging a car. I just jumped to the incorrect conclusion that it was the car. One other contributing factor was the failure mode, I’ve never experienced the charge port failing to lock upon insertion of a live cable. I’m guessing it must be that the low level communication failed and therefore the port never locked.

 

[Doanster1]

How long did you wait to see if charging would start? Whenever I use a GE Wattstation, it takes 3-4 MINUTES before the handshake happens. First time I used it, I actually got pissed and drove away. Next time I did it, I was waiting to talk to someone at GE WattStation and voila, blue turned to green and the car started charging.
Maybe a one time thing causing a long handshake delay for you.

 

[jrreno]

How long did you wait to see if charging would start? Whenever I use a GE Wattstation, it takes 3-4 MINUTES before the handshake happens. First time I used it, I actually got pissed and drove away. Next time I did it, I was waiting to talk to someone at GE WattStation and voila, blue turned to green and the car started charging.
Maybe a one time thing causing a long handshake delay for you.

The charger was a ChargePoint and I’ve used these frequently. Never had any delay in start of charge. Up until the beginning of this year the main charger I used in the house was a GE Wattstation. Never any issue with it starting to charge immediately.

 

[Doanster1]

The charger was a ChargePoint and I’ve used these frequently. Never had any delay in start of charge. Up until the beginning of this year the main charger I used in the house was a GE Wattstation. Never any issue with it starting to charge immediately.

Hopefully just a one time thing then. Lots of moving parts/handshakes to get a station identified, payment authorized, and electrons to actually start flowing.
My biggest issue so far has been identifying the station’s exact ID/code. Some are inscribed, others scroll through on the screen, etc.