Stranded! *temporarily (DC Fast Charging Issue?)

[Ffxdude]

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.

Wow that’s an awesome idea. Only thing missing is an off leash park for my kids (aka playground). We’re currently on our first long full family road trip currently and letting the wife and kids roam around a Wally World for 30 min every 2 hrs is costing me . Better than letting them roam the parking lot I suppose.

 

[HOTAS]

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.

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.

Are you guys neglecting to push this button before you try and remove the CCS plug or CCS adaptor, and possibly damaging your charge port ?

 

[TaxmanHog]

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.

Harley Dealership I visit has DCFC for the Livewire

 

[TaxmanHog]

Are you guys neglecting to push this button before you try and remove the CCS plug or CCS adaptor, and possibly damaging your charge port ?

It's not clear that the OP abused or failed to follow disconnect procedures, since this episode, other trucks experienced this issue, requiring an update and/or repair of the DCFC safety interlock within the truck side CCS port.

 

[acbarba]

Had to travel a moderate distance (approx 3 hours or 139 miles) from home for work. Charged to 100% the night before and should have had ample range. Cue a 25-30 mph headwind and 70 mph highways and I rolled into my destination with probably 25-30 miles of range left. Wrapped up my appointment and headed to the nearest EA charger. With all the reports of issues with these, I thought for sure the lack of connectivity was a charger problem. Spoke with customer service for EA and they saw no problems and that’s when I realized the red ring and some sort of charging fault error and a warning to get service soon. I tried other chargers and even relocated to another station. No dice, still throwing the red ring. Didn’t get the service soon but one other time. Ford wanted to charge $1k to get a tow home (warranty tow covers only the closest dealer typically up to 35 miles). I was not stoked at this point. Luckily I noticed I had just enough range to get to a dealer. Got there and they let me plug into their level 1 chargers and low and behold, no issues. Called my dealer and Ford corporate. They helped me the best they could but ultimately the answer led to a hotel star waiting for the slow charge to get me enough range to get home. Fast forward, I get home and plug in to the charge station pro. No issues! Seems to be something specific to DC fast charging? Hoping someone here might have insights but I do have an appointment at the local dealer tomorrow. I am worried they won’t be able to recreate my issue and send me on my way with the uncertainty that I may just get stuck anytime I’m far enough from home to require a stop at a charger.

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MODERATOR
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I can sympathize with the feeling of being left stranded. I felt the same way when I took my truck to a dealership for the third time. Unfortunately it happened during my commute to work. Weather conditions caused a freeway closure and I was re-routed. That added an extra 100 miles to my commute. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have been able to make it to work on a single charge. My options were, Charge at a L2 station and arrive to work a day late or drop my truck off at the closest dealership and take a rental car to work and arrive 2 hours late.

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