Suggestions for a Toronto-Montreal-Quebec City-PEI (and back) road trip?

[sule]

Hi guys! I wasn't very active at all on TMC (I spent my time on Tesla's own forum a while ago) but I am a long time Tesla owner.

I am planning a long road trip (~4500 km with side-trips) with my family this upcoming August (rough plan is to start Aug 4th afternoon). Roughly I'd like something like:

https://goo.gl/maps/1p1oRQn8pJv

Plan is to stay a few days in each of Montreal, Quebec City and PEI... and see some whales as well. In between we plan to visit smaller places of interest as well and need suggestions. This is a bit harder east of Quebec due to a lack of DC chargers. I also got a CHAdeMO adapter recently for this purpose and verified that it works with one nearby charger ... but not with another (FLO), which worries me a bit planning-wise (some Tesla owners indicated success even with the FLO charger on Plugshare, which means that I cannot really rely on that info).

If you have suggestions where is it good to stop by for a visit and/or charge please respond. I especially need some local PEI knowledge as Charlottetown has some charging stations but they seem to be spotty and usually not within hotels.

Thanks!

 

[RiverBrick]

I have used the adapter with FLO or Electric Circuit (they use the same hardware) over 100 times without any compatibility issues.

The CHAdeMO coming to New Brunswick is also the same as FLO, so make sure you didn't have just a one-time problem before your trip.

 

[RiverBrick]

How old are your kids and does your family have any particular interests?

 

[sule]

The CHAdeMO coming to New Brunswick is also the same as FLO, so make sure you didn't have just a one-time problem before your trip.

Unfortunately, I am sure. I visited the Markham Civic Centre charger (Markham Civic Centre | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare) three times and each time I made four or more attempts. Every one failed. FLO noticed and contacted me, there is even an ongoing ticket. Basically the "pre-charging tests" begin. I can see voltage shoot up to over 400V, then drop to 0, then shoot up to few hundred volts and drop down (a few times), then rise slowly to about 40-ish volts for a few seconds ... and then fails. I tried holding and pressing the adapter connection in different ways thinking it may be one of those latching issues I read about somewhere long time ago. Didn't help. My CHAdeMO adapter is brand new, has newest firmware (Tesla Toronto at Lawrence made sure of that) and works at the myEVRoute's "BSN111" near Main St, Markham, behind Scotiabank - used to be right here: Google Maps ... but seems to be removed now.

How old are your kids and does your family have any particular interests?

My wife and I like nature, trails, history, culture. My kids are 14 (son), 11 (daughter) and 6 (son). The two younger ones also like nature and trails ... the oldest one not so much

 

[sule]

Found that other charger that worked again on Plugshare ... but it disappeared from myEVRoute too:

Scotiabank | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

 

[rypalmer]

Looks like an awesome trip!! I just arrived on PEI after 2,000km on the road via the US.

My parents have an AirBnb with a Tesla charger in Charlottetown... Beautiful & central 4 bedroom house - Houses for Rent in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada Feel free to drop by for a charge regardless. Charging in Charlottetown otherwise isn't the greatest.

Destination charging is pretty good in NB and you won't have trouble finding a hotel to charge at overnight. And as you've seen, there are at least 4 new fast charger sites under construction in NB at the moment, which changes the roadtrip math significantly.

I've used Flo fast chargers extensively in Quebec and Ontario and they've been very reliable for me, way more so than most. There's one slower CHAdeMO station in Truro NS that you'll hit but it's not networked.

 

[RiverBrick]

Perhaps another owner nearby with an adapter could help you isolate the issue. It would be interesting to see if he can charge OK with his adapter, but not yours. And if you can get it to work with his adapter. Depending on the results, you may wish to ask Tesla to exchange your adapter.

If there's some firmware mix that makes this a wide-scale issue it's a disaster for Tesla Canada. The FLO CHAdeMO station is the most widely deployed one in Canada. In Quebec and New Brunswick it is currently compensating somewhat for the lack of Supercharging.

 

[sule]

Perhaps another owner nearby with an adapter could help you isolate the issue. It would be interesting to see if he can charge OK with his adapter, but not yours. And if you can get it to work with his adapter. Depending on the results, you may wish to ask Tesla to exchange your adapter.

If there's some firmware mix that makes this a wide-scale issue it's a disaster for Tesla Canada. The FLO CHAdeMO station is the most widely deployed one in Canada. In Quebec and New Brunswick it is currently compensating somewhat for the lack of Supercharging.

Well... I am willing to try it out if there is anyone else. Both FLO and Tesla are aware. I did not pay attention to the brand/model of the charger. It *MAY* be a Nissan one, which is said to be no good for Tesla as far as I can read... If someone can recognize it from the pictures that could save me a trip.

@All: I am also looking for simple visitation suggestions, not related to charging... The reason we didn't just fly to "a destination" is because we wanted to make the journey itself interesting. Yes, there are places we know we want to visit and stay longer, but we need a few things in between too

 

[RiverBrick]

I know places where you can combine nature, trails, and whale-watching, but without CHAdeMO they're not easily accessible.

All FLO, Electric Circuit and NB Power use the same unit. Anything Nissan brand would be on another network.

 

[rypalmer]

Well... I am willing to try it out if there is anyone else. Both FLO and Tesla are aware. I did not pay attention to the brand/model of the charger. It *MAY* be a Nissan one, which is said to be no good for Tesla as far as I can read... If someone can recognize it from the pictures that could save me a trip.

There's a reliable FLO charger at St Joseph's Hospital that I'd recommend testing with your car the next time you're downtown.

I've used at least a few Nissan CHAdeMO stations without issue (Bangor ME comes to mind, no idea what vintage of station that would have been).

 

[sule]

I know places where you can combine nature, trails, and whale-watching, but without CHAdeMO they're not easily accessible.

Well, I have the CHAdeMO adapter... I just had problems at 50% of the two stations I tried I was thinking of getting feedback here as to which stations are good / no good for Teslas... but I guess that isn't going to happen the way I hoped.

All FLO, Electric Circuit and NB Power use the same unit. Anything Nissan brand would be on another network.

Are you positive? This station appeared to be "VERnetwork" before and is now "FLO". It has been either donated or something by PowerStream and Nissan as it has their logos painted on it. That much I remember can can be seen from the photos - have a look:

Markham Civic Centre | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

There's a reliable FLO charger at St Joseph's Hospital that I'd recommend testing with your car the next time you're downtown.

I don't come to Toronto downtown much. Usually I am at or around 407ETR:

1. Scotia Bank Albion | Toronto, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
2. Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
3. Nissan Canada | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
4. Toronto Pearson International Airport - Administration Complex | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
5. Toronto Pearson International Airport - Cell Phone Lot | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
6. Toronto Region Conservation Authority - Head Office | Vaughan, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
7. IKEA Vaughan | Vaughan, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
8. PowerStream Headquarters | Vaughan, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
9. 5775 Yonge | Toronto, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
10. IKEA North York | Toronto, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare
11. Markham Civic Centre | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare (problem one)
12. Scotiabank | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare (this one worked for me)
13. Region of Peel - 7120 Hurontario Road | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare (less often)
    
14. PLASP | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare (less often)
    
15. Scotia Bank | Waterloo, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare (less often, Waterloo)
    
16. there are some in between Waterloo and GTA that I didn't list that I could visit on the way

 

[RiverBrick]

Are you positive? This station appeared to be "VERnetwork" before and is now "FLO". It has been either donated or something by PowerStream and Nissan as it has their logos painted on it. That much I remember can can be seen from the photos - have a look:

Markham Civic Centre | Markham, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

I see where it is confusing now. Nissan partially sponsored the unit, so they got their name on the front of a FLO (formerly called VERnetwork) station. All the FLO, Electric Circuit, New Brunswick and Accelerate Kootenays (BC) stations are the same. Though there could be subtil version differences between them, if Markham doesn't work for you, probably it will be the same for over 80 CHAdeMO locations in QC and NB.

There is an actual Nissan brand unit that is rare in Canada and now irrelevant to the discussion. Example: Nissan Canada | Mississauga, ON | Electric Car Charging Station | PlugShare

The easiest way to locate other examples of FLO CHAdeMO is to use this map and under options change station type from all to Fast DC.

Map | FLO

 

[sule]

OK... I picked up the phone and called FLO - used the phone and ticket numbers I got from them in the email. Here's what I learned / facts:

1. They are (now) aware of four distinct cases (cars, owners, adapters) having this problem - I am one of them.
2. Most do NOT have the problem. Four of us are unlucky.
3. The problems only appear with "generation 1" stations and not with "generation 2" stations.
4. Station generation can be determined by looking at its serial number. It begins with something like CEC-000... if the first two digits after 000 are 38 or above (CEC-00038+) that is a "generation 2" station, otherwise it is a "generation 1" station. The serial number can be seen on Electric Circuit map, not on FLO or Plugshare maps.
5. They are trying to communicate with Tesla and have already shared my details with them (including VIN and adapter S/N) but didn't get any response yet.
   
6. Their fourth case appeared this morning in Quebec City. Since their R&D is there they are going to try to contact that person to get hold of the adapter and try what is going on. I suggested that other Tesla drivers may be able to help but they are going to try to contact this person first.

 

[RiverBrick]

Thanks for the information. The 1st gen 2, CEC-00038, is at AddEnergie's offices in Quebec City where it replaced an earlier unit in April 2016 . For earlier, Gen I installations, this leaves 30 Electric Circuit Stations in Quebec + two FLO (Markham, ON and Halifax, NS.) For your trip, this shouldn't have much of an impact. The earliest Quebec CHAdeMO are mostly in areas where there is Supercharger coverage or where there is redundancy with Gen 2 models. Example: CAA-QC is the only Gen I out of four units in Quebec City.


In the description field of plugshare the serial # is often listed too. Is your adapter a recent purchase and did they speculate the issue might be limited to a newer version of the adapter firmware?

 

[sule]

Is your adapter a recent purchase and did they speculate the issue might be limited to a newer version of the adapter firmware?

Purchased May 17, 2017. Tesla says they normally update firmware at the time of purchase. After finding that it didn't work with the Markham Civic Centre station, the firmware was updated again June 9 (I was told that they cannot check which version is in the adapter, they just blindly upload the version of interest). Didn't help.

They (FLO) speculate that, since this started happening recently and since they only have four out of many cases that this is probably related to something new on Tesla's side, most probably the adapter.

Adapter's identification numbers are as follows:

TPN: 1036392-10-D
TSN: A17A0000277

I was hoping they could but the adapter does not have logs they can pull out at the service centre. It does not communicate this with the car either (I a guess the negotiation channel isn't sufficient for such a purpose) so the only thing Tesla has is the car's "story" and our reports (owners' and charger operators').

Car is among the older ones these days, VIN 32xxx.

 

[sule]

Problem is that I have no nearby gen 2 station to test with... I'd be making a giant leap of faith...

 

[RiverBrick]

One of Brampton, Peterborough, or St Joe's hospital ought to be close enough for a test. Otherwise, you have to plan on an overnight stop in Fredericton and maybe some other day L2 stops.

 

[sule]

One of Brampton, Peterborough, or St Joe's hospital ought to be close enough for a test. Otherwise, you have to plan on an overnight stop in Fredericton and maybe some other day L2 stops.

Good catch. Somehow I was able to miss that.

 

[sule]

I just confirmed that all works fine with AAC-00057 - the Brampton station.

 

[jbcarioca]

When in Quebec City if you and the family want to have the classic touristic experience you'll probably stay at Chateau Frontenac. I stay there when I'm in QC anyway. They have a Destination Charger although they plug in via valet. Works perfectly. When you're there if you need a taxi try Christian Roy, to ensure that you need not have a non-Tesla ride:
Quebec City taxi driver first to switch to electric