Finding a working charging station, a nightmare!

[hydbob]

I'm plotting out various options to visit the Total Eclipse. The line of Totality goes mostly thru the backwards-leaning parts of the US, so finding a charger, let alone one that works, may be fraught, and likely every EV on the East Coast will be in line for the one working "Chad's-MOM" 35 kW charger, with a short cable.
But the wife knows I'm going hell or high water, so she insists I get the Tesla adapter. Going to spend the day sorting thru the posts here to get up to speed on what adapter we've agreed is least likely to result in a fire. If you could be so kind as to lead me to which one that is, I'd be grateful.

TeslaTap 80 amp

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

 

[Sandvinsd]

Not that it would make you fell any better, but EA is pretty good in California. Of course there is always room for improvement and there are individual incidences but on whole they have been improving...

I live in CA and dispute the statement that it is pretty good in CA. I am constantly dealing with broken EA units during tntrastate trips. It is one thing to have one charger down when you have 20 of them at the station.. it is another when one or two are down in a 4 charger site as most of the EA sites are configured. Why they put only 4 units on a major interstate route is mind boggling.

 

[hmp10]

I live in CA and dispute the statement that it is pretty good in CA. I am constantly dealing with broken EA units during tntrastate trips. It is one thing to have one charger down when you have 20 of them at the station.. it is another when one or two are down in a 4 charger site as most of the EA sites are configured. Why they put only 4 units on a major interstate route is mind boggling.

I was surprised how steady the traffic was at both the charging stations in Miami on Saturday night. Of course, almost no one could charge, but there was continual drive-by traffic that moved on once they were apprised of the situation.

The amount of anger and bad will that is building among the EA customer base must be staggering.

 

[HC_79]

That seems to be a consensus that has arisen from other posts here about Electrify America: it's not bad on the West Coast but is far less reliable on the Eastern Seaboard. The problem for Lucid is that Florida is its second-largest market.

Trust me, the West Coast isn't any better when it comes to EA. The network in its entirety is just plagued with issues. I'm not sure why others are posting it's good in CA. I for one also don't consider a 350Kw charger delivering 35Kw speed at 20% SoC as "working". After 4 years of using EA and having repeated issues, I avoid them like the plague.

EVGo is by no means perfect but it seems a lot more reliable than EA, at least from my experience. The 1000v Superchargers can't come soon enough!

 

[HC_79]

I live in CA and dispute the statement that it is pretty good in CA. I am constantly dealing with broken EA units during tntrastate trips. It is one thing to have one charger down when you have 20 of them at the station.. it is another when one or two are down in a 4 charger site as most of the EA sites are configured. Why they put only 4 units on a major interstate route is mind boggling.

I agree. Then the ones that are working are often speed limited causing a line to form. Then there's always that "one guy" who has to charge to 100% knowing full well half the chargers are broken and others are speed limited.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Then there's always that "one guy" who has to charge to 100% knowing full well half the chargers are broken and others are speed limited.

Oh, God. That drives me crazy. It is not even when the speed is limited, but when there is a line of cars waiting. Yes, for those with a short range, you ‘might’ need to charge to 100% once in a while, but really, you will save more time charging twice to 80% than once to 100. And you free up chargers so you are not charging at L2 speeds for the last hour. They don’t get it.

 

[DTA]

Hi,
I'm a new Lucid Air owner, just received it 3 days ago and when tried to find charger yesterday, it was a nightmare. Most of the chargers were out of service and i could totally see dozens of Tesla's charger and pretty much all were working. This got me very frustrating when i had to drive from place to place and most of the chargers were out and the remaining 2-3 were taken. This was my first charging experience and i was not happy.

Hi Drcheema! And welcome to the LUCID family! Like many of your [new] LUCID Air owners and enthusiast you'll receive a number of responses related to the availability of commercial network charging. And much of it will need to be filtered on the geographic territory you referencing. There are enough of 'us' now where the awareness of charger distances, working condition, and other unforeseen circumstances have placed US in a similar mindset you're posting. That's the "glass is half empty" view from a fellow owner, but not the only view. The "half full' version is that there are more & more chargers being installed across the US. Additionally, with the intent of reducing the number of miles between commercial network chargers, and with what appears to be a race by many of the major brands (I.e., Charge Point, Shell, EVGo, to name a few) to compete with the unknown brands [driven by investors] to install chargers in locations historically where there have been none. Now if we can increase the reliability and operational aspects of what's already installed as new chargers come online, there's hope that this would contribute to less waiting and an improved user experience. But that's the optimist in me still evangelizing on the benefits for having moved over to the EV side of transportation.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I guess someone has an app for what I'm doing:

I have 4 maps on tabs and a tablet to write down data: calculating time/distance/option for a trip to view the Total Eclipse in NE USA

I have variables: traffic along the eclipse highways to and especially from ... is expected to be ... "slow". and chargers forgedabodit.
First thing I ran into was time/ miles. This is where peak charging becomes a problem, as the chargers along L.Erie and L.Ontario are few, and become even more sparse as you head into Watertown and VT,NH ... none in ME. So if a charger is "down" ... might be some doubling-back; alternate route stuff.

Previous trips have been along major highways where we can skip a charge here and there. Not sure I want to use that strategy among the savages. So planning a trip using Charger locations, distances...making back-up plans if interstates are jammed and chargers full...
I have no idea how long it will take to cover the ~400 miles. I can't account for charging times, let along waits. How much time does it take a Lucid to travel 400 miles in charger wilderness, under astronomical circumstances ? Yes I can make it in one trip, but dare I count on an available, working charger when at single digit SoC?

all new game owning an EV

 

[hmp10]

Trust me, the West Coast isn't any better when it comes to EA. The network in its entirety is just plagued with issues. I'm not sure why others are posting it's good in CA. I for one also don't consider a 350Kw charger delivering 35Kw speed at 20% SoC as "working". After 4 years of using EA and having repeated issues, I avoid them like the plague.

EVGo is by no means perfect but it seems a lot more reliable than EA, at least from my experience. The 1000v Superchargers can't come soon enough!

It's been almost a year since EA's new CEO, Robert Barrosa, took his highly-publicized road trip around the circuit to see what the EA customer experience was like. He had come from the technology ranks of the company and was supposedly put in place to tackle their many technology issues.

As near as I can tell, it's been a fruitless effort and a wasted year. You still can't plan a road trip on the assumption that EA stations will be functioning.

I say it again -- Lucid needs to disassociate itself from Electrify America. People who buy Lucids assume the price they paid includes the "free" charging that is touted and thus tend to seek out EA stations first. When they find they can't rely on that network, some of the anger gets directed at Lucid.

​

 

[segbrk]

I say it again -- Lucid needs to disassociate itself from Electrify America. People who buy Lucids assume the price they paid includes the "free" charging that is touted and thus tend to seek out EA stations first. When they find they can't rely on that network, some of the anger gets directed at Lucid.

It already has. There is no more free EA charging, or promotion of EA at all. Instead you get a credit towards buying the Lucid home EVSE.

 

[kerplunk]

I'm plotting out various options to visit the Total Eclipse. The line of Totality goes mostly thru the backwards-leaning parts of the US, so finding a charger, let alone one that works, may be fraught, and likely every EV on the East Coast will be in line for the one working "Chad's-MOM" 35 kW charger, with a short cable.
But the wife knows I'm going hell or high water, so she insists I get the Tesla adapter. Going to spend the day sorting thru the posts here to get up to speed on what adapter we've agreed is least likely to result in a fire. If you could be so kind as to lead me to which one that is, I'd be grateful.

You have that Indiana Jones spirit. I wanted to go upstate NY to view the eclipse in the Lucid, but imagined the long line of EVs waiting for the one working charger, that's also working at reduced capacity in the one charging station. I'm burning dino juice all the way lol.

I don't believe that any adapter would work with Tesla super chargers. If you use their lvl2s then Tesla tap would work. But those lvl2s are really only an option if you are spending the day parked or overnight. It is slow! Hotels that have lvl chargers usually don't have a lot so get there early.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

The wife retired so I'm showing her the adventurer life I lived before we met. I'm taking her "over-the-back". We'll have to think on our feet and use our wits to survive. Nice thing about retirement is we don't have to be anywhere by some time = so while waiting for a charge, if we have to stay a few days along the lake shore or at The Falls, darn, I guess I will miss my colonoscopy. (again).

EV ownership is a sea-change. I'm driving more sensibly. Looking at the power meter ... trying to max my efficiency numbers.
I'm practicing driving in the right lane, where people doing 35mph in the acceleration lane are trying to merge into 80 mph traffic.

I'm on Adaptive Cruse people. I will not yield.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

The wife retired so I'm showing her the adventurer life I lived before we met. I'm taking her "over-the-back". We'll have to think on our feet and use our wits to survive. Nice thing about retirement is we don't have to be anywhere by some time = so while waiting for a charge, if we have to stay a few days along the lake shore or at The Falls, darn, I guess I will miss my colonoscopy. (again).

EV ownership is a sea-change. I'm driving more sensibly. Looking at the power meter ... trying to max my efficiency numbers.
I'm practicing driving in the right lane, where people doing 35mph in the acceleration lane are trying to merge into 80 mph traffic.

I'm on Adaptive Cruse people. I will not yield.

View attachment 19470

Make sure you use @joec Siri GT Range command to predict how far you can actually go or if you need to stop sooner than expected, it came in super handy in a road trip to Indiana. I’m going to roll the dice and leave work early Monday AM post-call and drive from RI to Stowe VT stopping at Lebanon NH EA on the way as I successfully charged at that site 2 months ago without incident, as everyone was trying to hop on the less reliable 350kw while I ripped 173kw on the 150kw no problem for quite some time. If that fails, there are slower Flo, EVGo and Chargepoints not far from there.

 

[Snafu]

I have been mapping my route to Stewartstown, NH, area on the Canadian border, which is about 155 miles from home heading up Rte 16. All things being equal, it should work if I charge to 100% that morning, The issue is that I'll be heading into the mountains, so not sure how badly that will impact the range, but temps should be around 50, so that is a plus (and hopefully better range on the way home). As anyone in northern New England knows, finding an open and working charging is pretty bad. Looking at the Tesla Superchargers open to non-Tesla vehicles (aside from Ford, Rivian, etc), there is one station in coastal ME, 2 in eastern MA, 1 in northern CT and zero in NH, VT, and RI, so the Tesla tap is useless (except for a Destination charger?). I've found 3 possible stations (mostly EV Connect) en route, and I should hit one of them about 80 miles in and another at 145 miles. Basically, I'd like to stop at the second and give myself a boost of about 50 miles to give myself a buffer for the trip home. The cliffhanger will be if I have cell service so I can initiate the charge. The only other option would be to return via I-93, which may be more trafficked, but there are a few more chargers that way.

 

[jlongii]

I agree. Then the ones that are working are often speed limited causing a line to form. Then there's always that "one guy" who has to charge to 100% knowing full well half the chargers are broken and others are speed limited.

Just completed a road trip from Chicago to LA through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I’d have to give the Electrify America charging stations a C- grade. 80% of the time my Air GT would not connect to any 350 kWh chargers. Fortunately I always able to connect to the 150 kWh chargers. Not sure why my lucid would not connect as I, most of the time, preconditioned to some degree if that has anything to do with it. The 150 kWh chargers seemed to usually deliver the stated charging capacity. The 350 kWh chargers never got close 350 kWh. At best I’d get 150-195 kWh peak charging. I was never charging beyond 60-70% as it got too slow beyond that range. I know the cold plays into the peak charging capacity but I’m not sure why the 150kwh chargers seemed to deliver more consistently.
When they work and connect upon plugging in it’s a great experience. Too bad they’re not a little more reliable.

 

[Buffalo Bob]

Just completed a road trip from Chicago to LA through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I’d have to give the Electrify America charging stations a C- grade. 80% of the time my Air GT would not connect to any 350 kWh chargers. Fortunately I always able to connect to the 150 kWh chargers. Not sure why my lucid would not connect as I, most of the time, preconditioned to some degree if that has anything to do with it. The 150 kWh chargers seemed to usually deliver the stated charging capacity. The 350 kWh chargers never got close 350 kWh. At best I’d get 150-195 kWh peak charging. I was never charging beyond 60-70% as it got too slow beyond that range. I know the cold plays into the peak charging capacity but I’m not sure why the 150kwh chargers seemed to deliver more consistently.
When they work and connect upon plugging in it’s a great experience. Too bad they’re not a little more reliable.

The kW delivery rates you were getting do not surprise me, but the problem connecting to any of the 350 kW chargers does. (Preconditioning has no effect on connecting... Only the kW rate you get.) As for connecting, if you did not know this... I have sometimes had automatic 'handshake' problems between the car and the charger. To avoid that, I have the Lucid app readily at hand when I plug in, and I tap the charger icon. if the car does not automatically connect, the app will light up an Electrify American icon which will request that you enter the number of the charger you are trying to connect to. This has never failed to work for me.

 

[ButMahElectrons]

The roadtrip to Detroit I took last year was bizzare, and still sticks in my brain.
A few of the only easily accessible fast chargers were right in front of the GM RenCen. Four EVGo chargers.
THREE were broken! And the 4th had a dodgy handle that only got up to maybe 50kw.
Totally embarrassing.

 

[jlongii]

The kW delivery rates you were getting do not surprise me, but the problem connecting to any of the 350 kW chargers does. (Preconditioning has no effect on connecting... Only the kW rate you get.) As for connecting, if you did not know this... I have sometimes had automatic 'handshake' problems between the car and the charger. To avoid that, I have the Lucid app readily at hand when I plug in, and I tap the charger icon. if the car does not automatically connect, the app will light up an Electrify American icon which will request that you enter the number of the charger you are trying to connect to. This has never failed to work for me.

Yes I had to use the lucid app several times to connect.