Newbie Supercharger experience tonight

[SMAlset]

We're still kind of new to Tesla and Supercharging but was told by someone at a previous visit to one that there is an unwritten protocol to using them. If there's a lot of unused spaces, you shouldn't take one right next to someone else. Something about the pattern of numbered and lettered stalls. Could someone please explain that?

Also had a situation tonight that we found puzzling. Had pulled into one of 4 stalls (actually 3rd from the left), no one around, and was close to finishing charging. A Tesla pulled in next to us and parked in the last stall to the right of us. We saw him pull in, plug in and we guessed headed out to one of the local nearby restaurants. Our charging finished a few minutes later and we got out of our car and disconnected our charging handle. As I was about to get back into our car on the passenger side, I looked over to his car and his charging port light was out. It was plugged in but no lights of any color. Struck me as very odd and mentioned to my husband who said that sounded strange to him too. The driver hadn't come back to his car so we couldn't ask him about that. Could our finishing our charge have affected his charging?

 

[sdorn]

Stalls are paired, and if you plug into a stall that is paired with someone already charging, you won't get the full speed until their car charges to the point that the power tapers off enough to allow full speed charging for your car. Thus you don't want to use a stall that is paired with one someone is already using if you can help it. The stalls are numbered 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, etc. so you know which are paired with which. The paired stalls aren't necessarily side by side, which is why you have to look at the numbering.

All the lights go out on a Tesla when it is charging once you lock the car and walk away. It might take a minute or two, but they will all go out. You can see this in your own garage if you go out and look at the car without taking the key with you. All the lights will be out even if it is charging.

 

[Haxster]

All the lights go out on a Tesla when it is charging once you lock the car and walk away. It might take a minute or two, but they will all go out. You can see this in your own garage if you go out and look at the car without taking the key with you. All the lights will be out even if it is charging.

Right.

But it does seem (to me at least) like there SHOULD be "some" visual indication that a car (yours or someone else's) is charging WHENEVER it is.

 

[sdorn]

Right.

But it does seem (to me at least) like there SHOULD be "some" visual indication that a car (yours or someone else's) is charging WHENEVER it is.

I agree, and there have been other discussions about that in other threads. Pretty much all other EVs have some visual indication as to whether the car is actually charging or not.

 

[Naonak]

Right.

But it does seem (to me at least) like there SHOULD be "some" visual indication that a car (yours or someone else's) is charging WHENEVER it is.

No, you don't want a bright flashing light drawing attention to your unattended vehicle. You aren't near your vehicle, so who cares if you have a light indicating it's charging? The app can tell you if there's a problem (knock on aluminum).

You could make the argument that other people would see that it's charging, but why? Ultimately, they should look a the charger information on the kiosk, not at the vehicle. If the vehicle is in balancing mode, for example, at 99% charge, the light on the vehicle would still be on, but it would be safe to unplug that person if you desperately needed a charge. So the light would be contra-indicating what's appropriate, whereas looking at the kiosk and seeing 1kw charge rate would give you the data you needed.

I know it seems like a good idea, but if you stop and think about virtually any scenario, a light on the car with the owner not around doesn't really do anything for anyone, except draw unwanted attention.

 

[TexasEV]

Right.

But it does seem (to me at least) like there SHOULD be "some" visual indication that a car (yours or someone else's) is charging WHENEVER it is.

Why?

 

[st50maint]

You could make the argument that other people would see that it's charging, but why? Ultimately, they should look a the charger information on the kiosk, not at the vehicle. If the vehicle is in balancing mode, for example, at 99% charge, the light on the vehicle would still be on, but it would be safe to unplug that person if you desperately needed a charge. So the light would be contra-indicating what's appropriate, whereas looking at the kiosk and seeing 1kw charge rate would give you the data you needed.

What kiosk are you referring to?
My understanding is that you can not unplug another person's Tesla. The connector is locked in place when they are not around.

 

[SMAlset]

Thanks for the info and glad to know the charging light goes off in that fashion. I actually was wondering if we should look for the driver in the restaurant thinking he wasn't charging and was going to come back to a car with the same battery level LOL. If the info was in the manual we either missed it or forgot about it. We did actually read the manual before the car arrived . I don't recall ever seeing anything from Tesla specifically about using the SuperCharger stations beyond how to plug in though so this is pretty useful info.

Another newbie question. So if you drive up and see the 2a and 2b stalls free, does it matter which one you pull into? or as long as you are first it doesn't matter?

 

[jelloslug]

Thanks for the info and glad to know the charging light goes off in that fashion. I actually was wondering if we should look for the driver in the restaurant thinking he wasn't charging and was going to come back to a car with the same battery level LOL. If the info was in the manual we either missed it or forgot about it. We did actually read the manual before the car arrived . I don't recall ever seeing anything from Tesla specifically about using the SuperCharger stations beyond how to plug in though so this is pretty useful info.

Another newbie question. So if you drive up and see the 2a and 2b stalls free, does it matter which one you pull into? or as long as you are first it doesn't matter?

It does not matter.

 

[Rocky_H]

We're still kind of new to Tesla and Supercharging but was told by someone at a previous visit to one that there is an unwritten protocol to using them. If there's a lot of unused spaces, you shouldn't take one right next to someone else. Something about the pattern of numbered and lettered stalls. Could someone please explain that?

That was unwritten for a very very long time, and was a frequent gripe from owners that Tesla never really got that explanation out there. Last year, they did FINALLY get it published on their page of Learn More About Supercharging.
Supercharging

"How can I maximize power and reduce charge time at a Supercharger?
Each charge post is labeled with a number and letter, either A or B (e.g. 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B). When possible, select a charge post with a unique number that is not currently connected to a vehicle. When a unique number isn’t available, the Supercharger cabinet has technology to share available power between charge posts A and B. To maximize power, park at a Supercharger shared with a car that is nearly done charging."

 

[FlyF4]

I agree, and there have been other discussions about that in other threads. Pretty much all other EVs have some visual indication as to whether the car is actually charging or not.

Personally speaking, I don't want any light to attract attention, especially at night. I depend on my iPhone app to tell me the state of the charge and if anything is wrong.

 

[Naonak]

What kiosk are you referring to?
My understanding is that you can not unplug another person's Tesla. The connector is locked in place when they are not around.

Well, I guess I was referring to anywhere but an SC, since I rarely ever charge at an SC. Most public chargers have an info display on the kiosk that you put your EV card through.

 

[David99]

I really really wish Tesla would come up with a simple visual indicator showing which stall has the most power available. Every time I pull into a Supercharger that is more than half full it's pretty much playing the lottery. You never know how much or little you are going to get at a stall.
The pairing thing is getting in the way of getting a good charge speed. The old 60 and 85 dropped it's charge rate significantly, so there was at least a decent amount available for the other stall. Now the new batteries (90/100) keep a higher rate for much longer leaving very little for the other paired stall.

Either have one charger for each stall, or connect all stalls to all available chargers so the power can be managed much better. Hopefully Supercharger V3 will fix this issue altogether.