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Public Charging Etiquette - Unplugging Teslas from J1772s
- Thread starter LeafDriver
- Start date
You still haven't explained why they can't wait to charge when the spots are full just like anyone else. Pretty much the majority of people on this thread have expressed that "no, they don't want anyone messing with their charge while they are charging". So why can't people simply wait their turn? We were up the peninsula and back today and stopped off at a Supercharger. 3 Teslas waiting to charge. If you need a charge you wait. Please answer the question as I'd really like to know your thinking on this. And please don't try to confuse the issue bringing up free charging and arguing about people charging without needing to.
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OK. I agree that it is your interpretation of that first post. Apparently uninformed by the numerous other posts I wasted my time quoting.
But I ask:
Can a Leaf owner unplug a Tesla to check the screen to "tell that they are no longer charging"?
And if they are not, and if the Leaf owner really needs the charge, can they take it?
I've never tried it with a J1772. I do know that pressing the button on my HPWC during a charge session stops charging, but does NOT wake up the display.
But the points I've previously made in this thread on the matter is:
1) Disrupting a charge can prevent the car from re-starting the charge.
2) Some have advocated seeing if there is "sufficient" charge... you have no way of knowing that.
Based on that, I'd recommend against that as course of action unless there's signage from the owner inviting you to do so.
(What is the behavior of yanking a J1772? Does it necessarily terminate the charge session and open contactors before the plug is unmated?)
But the points I've previously made in this thread on the matter is:
1) Disrupting a charge can prevent the car from re-starting the charge.
2) Some have advocated seeing if there is "sufficient" charge... you have no way of knowing that.
Based on that, I'd recommend against that as course of action unless there's signage from the owner inviting you to do so.
(What is the behavior of yanking a J1772? Does it necessarily terminate the charge session and open contactors before the plug is unmated?)
It's like unplugging a J1772 from any other car. Tesla just has an adapter so it will fit. And with a Tesla it awakens the battery screen showing the charge state vs the slider level. Easy to tell if still needs charge or not. Now I will qualify this and say since I never charge at J1772s I'm relying on an earlier poster who said this was the screen behavior -- it's what Tesla does instead of blinking lights.
roblab
Active Member
So, here again, it's a matter of communication. Why isn't there some way a person could CALL the other driver's cell phone? No. Just unplug, regardless. I leave my cell number on the dash when I'm charging where I may be in the way. I have never received crank calls.
I’d hazard a guess that seeing the slider will actually give unpluggers-to-be more of an excuse/justification to (once again) be the ‘Need Police’. I say that because once the screen shows a charge percentage of, say, 50% or more (or 125+ miles of range), the assumption will once again be made that that’s “plenty” so the need of the lower-range owner suddenly becomes greater, so “Unplug em, they’re being inconsiderate!”
Remember... we agree in principle regarding courtesy, so yes, if a Tesla has been parked and plugged in for eight hours and doesn’t have out of state plates, they prob are being inconsiderate.
I think I’ll mosey on over to the lower-range EV forums and see if they have similar debates, albeit on a different level. For instance, would one Leaf owner unplug another because one currently had two bars of charge showing on the dash and the other only had one bar and desperately needed some juice to get home so their need was greater? Things that make you go... hmmmmm.
EVSteve
110% Solar Powered
Something to consider with the J1772 adapter. On the newer cars with motorized port doors the door with repeatedly attempt to close if the j plug is removed even though the adapter is still there. Any thought as to added wear and tear on the motors from repeated strain trying to close over and over? Is the person stealing my cable going to pay for a new charge port?
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
This suggestion to unplug to check the screen has been made several times. The problem is that it doesn't work -- the screen won't come on unless the door is open. If the car is locked the screen stays off. This behavior is the same whether using Tesla charge stations or J1772 ones.
Interrupting the charge session may notify the driver if the car has a cell phone connection and the Tesla phone app is set up for notifications.
I suspected this may be the case, based on my HPWC testing.
The (original) HPWC's basically used the J1772 logical protocol within the differing physical package... so I questioned weather there really would be any difference in behavior, especially given the J1772-Tesla adapter is basically a dumb pass-through unit.
The other issue that was highlighted earlier is that interrupting a charge session after a certain amount of time will cause the Tesla to not restart. So it's not a completely innocuous action.
The other question I've asked in this thread (and not seen any significant replies) is why is this laid strictly at the feet of Teslas? How about the Bolt, which has more range than several Tesla models?
Or does an 80 mile i3 get precedence over a 150 mile Leaf?
Sawyer8888
Member
I experienced this behavior this past weekend while attempting to use a public J1772 charger in Wellington, FL. Although the free station indicated that it was ready to charge, nothing happened.
So I unplugged the charger from my car and left the adapter in place while I called SemaConnect's support phone number. While on the phone, my charge port door attempted to close with the adapter in place. I thought, that can't be good for the door mechanism.
Anyway, that station didn't work. Fortunately I had just enough charge to make it home that day (poor planning on my part). Had I been able to charge and someone came along thinking they needed it more and disconnected me, I would have been upset, partly at myself, but mostly with them.
I was realistic in that I had driven to that charger with the expectation that it would be in use or not functioning. This expectation should be shared among all EV owners IMO. Someone already there? Then get in line unless you have permission to do otherwise. Permission that you grant to yourself as a less-fortunate/more-needy EV owner does not count.
While the station may be public, my car is private = don't touch -- not even the public charger that is attached to it.
I wanted to leave my cell number for others advising when I would be back - and to unplug if absolutely necessary, but I forgot pen and paper (again, poor planning).
Up until Saturday, I had no idea that my charge port door would attempt to close on its own with the adapter still attached - perhaps continuously. Knowing this now makes me wary of even giving others permission to unplug me.
So as you can see, taking upon yourself to determine that it is OK to unplug another EV owner could potentially be doing damage to that person's vehicle. Don't do it.
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Each time I see this thread it disappoints me. We should all exhibit good etiquette around chargers and charging. Like others, I leave my phone number on the dash on a card that says approximately what time I will be back. If I’m plugged in, leave my car and the charger alone. If you are desperate, call me. If you unplug me because you think you are in a greater need to me, then @#%* #$&.
dgpcolorado
high altitude member
I wouldn't expect this to happen since it reflects a scheduled charge using the timer and I can't see that being done at a public charge station. The car knows it is not at home, where the timer is used, so it charges automatically up to the preset limit whenever plugged-in to a functioning charge station.
The only time the timer would be used at a particular location is if it was set for that location and turned on. When charging at a location where the timer is set, the car will start charging at once if it is within six hours of the set start time. If it starts charging within that six hour window it will continue until it reaches the preset charge level, regardless of how long it takes. It would be somewhat unusual to have a timer set for a location other than home, although it can be done, if desired.
The charge speed is also location dependent. If a location has an amperage limit set, the car will remember that setting for that location each time it is there. I had charging set to 24 amps when charging on 10-30 — using a homemade adapter — at my parents' house. The car remembered that 24 A setting each time I visited. It also remembers to charge at 30 A at home — I have it at that setting to reduce heat and stress on my UMC.
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What about the EVSE itself? Most of the J1722 public chargers I have used are Chargepoint chargers (even free ones), requiring a login or card or some action (I have a card and phone set up to use them, so not sure of the process for non-Chargepoint account). Do those restart if someone stops the charge to check if the car is charging? I doubt it, the owner would likely have to log in again. So do the "stop charge to see if they are charging" and it is pretty much a self-fulfilling prophesy -- nope, they aren't charging because you just killed their session.
For the Chargepoint chargers you can just look at the actual unit to see if the car is done charging or is actively charging.
True, usually (some are difficult to read because of sun shining on the screen). I have been unplugged while charging at a Chargepoint charger, so obviously that is not universally known. Or probably not cared about, since Teslas don't need to charge at L2 chargers, as has already been established.
Non issue. It just stays open. It doesn't close on the port because the light blue "aka white" light still stays on because the adapter is plugged into the port (yellow door for opened door appears on avatar in IC).
So the motor won't keep trying to close because there is still something jammed in the port. But there is a risk of someone breaking the chargeport door but that's always a risk while charging.
That certainly isn’t true with my December build, the door absolutely tries to close.
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