Stranded! *temporarily (DC Fast Charging Issue?)

[GDN]

When I look in PlugShare at the metro area nearest to me, I see several DCFCs at car dealers….Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai, Nissan, even a Harley dealer. But no Ford!

Check your filter - no one has a DCFC at a dealership yet. DCFC are "Level 3" - high speed. Most any of them have and guaranteed for Harley, they are Level 2 at best.

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[Zansurf]

Sorry to everyone yes level 1 was a typo I meant level 2.

 

[Heliian]

Check your filter - no one has a DCFC at a dealership yet. DCFC are "Level 3" - high speed. Most any of them have and guaranteed for Harley, they are Level 2 at best.

There are 3rd party level 3 chargers at some dealerships that I've seen, I would imagine there's lots I haven't seen too.

 

[Maquis]

Check your filter - no one has a DCFC at a dealership yet. DCFC are "Level 3" - high speed. Most any of them have and guaranteed for Harley, they are Level 2 at best.

They are all 24KW DC with CCS connector.
In my book, L2 describes an AC J1772 connection.

I guess the “FC” part is questionable. But in the context of this thread, these would suffice for a dealer to check his DC charging problem.

 

[GDN]

They are all 24KW DC with CCS connector.
In my book, L2 describes an AC J1772 connection.

I guess the “FC” part is questionable. But in the context of this thread, these would suffice for a dealer to check his DC charging problem.

Thats fair for the context - but DCFC is defined as 50kW and above.

https://www.transportation.gov/rura...t speed,,percent in just 20 minutes to 1 hour.

 

[TaxmanHog]

I'm getting reports from various angles about how folks are perceiving this exchange, at times it's a bit over the top, remember to be respectful while sharing your opposing POV's.

 

[Maquis]

I'm getting reports from various angles about how folks are perceiving this exchange, at times it's a bit over the top, remember to be respectful while sharing your opposing POV's.

I hope it wasn’t about the back and forth between @GDN and me. I was cool with everything he said to me, and I hope he feels the same.

 

[MickeyAO]

There are no Level 3 chargers available right now according to SAE. There are Level 1 and 2 AC chargers (what you normally find at your home) and Level 1 and 2 DC Fast Chargers. The requirements for Level 3 on each are still undefined.

 

[GDN]

I hope it wasn’t about the back and forth between @GDN and me. I was cool with everything he said to me, and I hope he feels the same.

Indeed the same.

 

[MickeyAO]

There are no Level 3 chargers available right now according to SAE. There are Level 1 and 2 AC chargers (what you normally find at your home) and Level 1 and 2 DC Fast Chargers. The requirements for Level 3 on each are still undefined.

I stand corrected! Just checked and AC Level 3 HAS been defined.

You can't buy one, but it has been defined.

 

[Zansurf]

So we have a resolution and it’s not nearly as exciting as one would think. Apparently there is an actuating pin in the charge port that only gets deployed for L3 DCFC. The pin is easily broken if you don’t unlock the charging handle properly at DCFC and all future DCFC is disabled. They are replacing the actuator. There is some TSB for this so apparently it’s not an uncommon issue.

 

[Heliian]

So we have a resolution and it’s not nearly as exciting as one would think. Apparently there is an actuating pin in the charge port that only gets deployed for L3 DCFC. The pin is easily broken if you don’t unlock the charging handle properly at DCFC and all future DCFC is disabled. They are replacing the actuator. There is some TSB for this so apparently it’s not an uncommon issue.

Fantastic! Glad it was something simple. Do you know if it just broke or was it a plug mishap?

 

[USA EV]

The pin is easily broken if you don’t unlock the charging handle properly at DCFC

Good to know, thanks! I've had some issues getting DCFCs to "let go" and have yanked pretty hard a couple of times. I'll be more deliberate making sure charging is fully stopped, etc.

P.S. You were definitely left stranded.

 

[Txxthie]

As mentioned in this thread DCFC is 50kWh or higher. If a dealership is serious about selling and maintaining EVs, they need level 3 charging capability. The OP problem could have been quickly diagnosed by a dealership with a DCFC.

A large DCFC facility opened up this week at a Chevrolet dealership in Dallas. Seems like a lot of DCFC activity lately (EA’s, 7 elevens, circle Ks etc.) since the IRA bill was passed.

3 new EA installations (2 this month) are “coming soon” near me in CT. Retailers, merchants, and property owners can greatly benefit from the traffic DCFC installations can drive to their locations.

 

[Tenetke]

Your title is deceitful, that's all I'm inferring (you want people to click in, I get it). It's not really semantics. You were able to drive to a dealer...

There have been people actually stranded at DC charging stations because EA fried their truck.

This also seems like an EA issue, not a Ford issue.

Sorry for your troubles, that sounds really inconvenient.

Something similar happened to me a few weeks ago during spring break, but at a lower level Blink charging station at a Ford Dealer in Plainview, Texas. On my way home from a trip to San Antonio and with Lubbock having no fast charging available in their city, I decided to charge further north at a Ford Dealership and be 40 miles closer to home. After about 30 minutes of calling Blink’s support and them resetting the charger my Lightning would only give the red ring and a charger fault. Ford roadside will give a tow to a charger within 35 miles or to home within 50 miles.

I decided to drive slow on the service road. Made it another 60 miles with 3.4 mi/kWh.
Plugged into a Tesla destination charger in another city and it started charging right away. Slow drove 16 more miles to an EA charger and that too worked just fine. Charged for a few minutes and then drove home and plugged in at home and that worked too. Definitely not just EA chargers. Unfortunately for me it was on a Sunday and the dealership I was at was closed. Not a fun feeling to have your gom say you have 42 miles and you’re 90 miles from home and you’re at a charger where your truck only gives you a charger fault error. Still love my Lightning and almost have 25k miles on it.

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