Yet another delayed charge question

[umicar]

I have had my E-Golf for a couple of weeks, and have already found it to be a frustrating experience, mainly due to CarNet and delayed charging issues (shocking, huh?). So I took it into Sunnyvale VW today for a scheduled appointment, as the folks at CarNet told me I need to bring it in for them to fix, as CarNet can't help. At first I was immediately turned away by the service technician, as I was told that the feature just doesn't work and there is nothing they could do to help me. I told them that I read online that they installed a TSB update for other, blah blah blah... They told me, "Oh, it doesn't work for delayed charging."

Long story short, I asked if they could, at a minimum, charge up my car since it really was running low given I wake up each morning with no charge. As it was charging, I called VW America to add one more unhappy E-Golf customer to their list in hopes they will take this seriously. Anyhow, they called Sunnyvale VW as I was waiting and, after they spoke to them, the service deparment offered to apply TSB 93-15-01 but stated that I need to turn the night rate timer off in my battery charging setting since that is what is messing everything up. Instead I need to simply set up my profile for a departure time. They don't know when the night rate timer setting will actually work, but admitted it didn't work. One of them also admitted that they really don't understand these cars and CarNet because VW gives them little info. That definitely instilled a lot of confidence. :roll:

Is this all this true? Should this update work for delayed charging if I turn off the night rate timer setting, yet simply set it up for a departure time and let the estimated start time work backwards from there based on how much time it will take to charge up to the amount I indicated? I am seriously so bummed out about now being stuck with this car.

 

[sweetwagon]

One thing is true - the whole carnet scheduled charging could be easier to use and more reliable!

However, do not despair - it can be made to work.

After owning the car for almost a month, it doesn't seem to be such a big deal though. Having an L2 charger at home does help with recharging pretty quickly if carnet does have a mischarge.

 

[umicar]

I do want to invest in an L2, at some point, and was thinking the ChargePoint one looks pretty good on paper (although it is not on the market yet), as it has a delay charge feature. But from what I read here, even if the unit has a delayed charge feature, the issue originates with CarNet and the car, so there is a solid chance that buying a unit with a timer built in won't even matter.

This has been such a learning curve. My first e-car. I hope you are right and that it gets better over time. I also hope I wake up tomorrow morning with a charged car!

 

[sweetwagon]

Once you get an L2 at home, keeping the car charged will not be an issue - your lease miles will be though! Well it is in my case anyway. I love this car and it's become my commute car as well as the family night errands/weekend errands car.

 

[miimura]

I got my car serviced by Sunnyvale VW at the beginning of May and the Departure timer is now working with the provided 120V charging cord. I have the "Off-Peak Power" set to "Inactive". With Timer 1 set for Mo,Tu,We,Th,Fri 6:00am departure and Timer 2 set for Sat, Sun 8:00am departure, it works very predictably and repeatably.

I set it for 6:00am Weekdays because it runs over the departure time when I use the 120V cord and my Off-Peak electric rate window ends at 7:00. We tend to drive the car more on weekends, so I set the departure time later on the weekends to allow more charging time.

I have a L2 charger for my other car and use it when I need to charge the car faster.

 

[umicar]

I had it set to a 7am charge and at 98% charge (Should I be setting that lower? VW really doesn't give a firm recommendation on that other than 100% is not good over time.). Woke up this morning at 6:30am to see that the battery was up to a 91 mile range and there was an estimated 1:30 left. So, yeah, the math on this thing is flawed, but I am pleased that it actually was charging! I just turned off the charging since I was more than happy with the battery level. Hoping this becomes the new norm moving ahead!

I am going to follow miimura's scheduling suggestion moving forward and truly consider the L2 charger. I am really liking the looks of the ChargePoint, but just wish it would officially release so I could know the price. Given my experience with Bosch kitchen appliances, I am not even remotely considering that unit! My electrician already did the major work in the garage setting up a subpanel, etc. so adding a 220V would only be a small expense since we already crossed all the big hurdles to get the electrical up to snuff to even charge the car using the 120V provided.

 

[sweetwagon]

yeah, 98% is high. Go with 90%. Then again if it's a lease, one could also argue "who cares!".

 

[miimura]

The only warning I saw in the manual is not to repeatedly start charging above 98%. That is, don't drive around the block and plug it in again. Most days we are charging from 75% to 100%. I haven't even tried setting a lower target % to see if it works. Then again, I can't think of a reason to keep the car at the end of the 3 year lease. I'm certain there will be a car that we would rather have at that time.

 

[cove3]

I've tried to stop charging at 70% from the web site, but it goes right on through to 100%. Car Net has the worst user interface I've ever seen.
It's not at all clear what you need to do to get it to automatically stop charging. Right now, I'm having to estimate the time and remember to go down and disconnection. Last night I forgot and it was 100% in the morning, which is not what I wanted

It shouldn't be this frustrating for users.

Ron

 

[ckthorp]

To limit changing to some percentage, you need to set both a "minimum change level" of 70% and a delayed change location with a 70% max. Even if the delayed charging doesn't actually work for your particular car, it will still charge to 70% and stop. If you decide you want a full charge, just push the top button inside the charge port flap when you connect the cable and then it will go to 100%.

 

[oftheseven]

To limit changing to some percentage, you need to set both a "minimum change level" of 70% and a delayed change location with a 70% max. Even if the delayed charging doesn't actually work for your particular car, it will still charge to 70% and stop. If you decide you want a full charge, just push the top button inside the charge port flap when you connect the cable and then it will go to 100%.

That's interesting. My car was showing 25 mile range last night and I wanted to charge to 80% with a departure time of 6:30AM. I turned off "night time rates" and plugged in. It turned green with the delay light on. I woke up at 6AM and it didn't charge, even though my minimum charge level was set to 30%.

So you suggest changing the minimum charge level to the same as the max level?

Barely made it to work and called CarNet...they said, call the dealer

 

[sweetwagon]

I've seen this happen once where delay button is lit and green button is on without any sort of pulsing. I think it's stuck in some sort of "no man's land" and doesn't do anything. I just redid the whole unplug/replug/lock process. Green light should either be pulsating slowly or blinking fast(and then go out after a minute)

 

[umicar]

To limit changing to some percentage, you need to set both a "minimum change level" of 70% and a delayed change location with a 70% max. Even if the delayed charging doesn't actually work for your particular car, it will still charge to 70% and stop. If you decide you want a full charge, just push the top button inside the charge port flap when you connect the cable and then it will go to 100%.

I have mine set like that, but it seems to charge through to 100% anyway. But, as a prior poster said, it is a lease anyway, so I guess I shouldn't care too much at this point! I will definitely not be purchasing this thing when the lease is up. My biggest concern is that it charges for me during the off peak hours and that I wake in the morning to a charged car. Right now I am not needing to charge daily as I am not driving it a lot, but that is soon to change as I got it as a commuter car to use during the week once my commute becomes a longer one than presently.

 

[ChargePointErin]

Hi all - ChargePoint rep here. ChargePoint Home is now on sale and we've tested the scheduling feature a ton on the VW eGolf, mine included.

You can check out all the features here: www.chargepoint.com/home

and can configure and order Home here: www.chargepoint.com/home/order

We've gotten a lot of demand in just one day so if you find the station you want is out of stock, click the 'Email Me' button on the right hand side of the Amazon page to be notified as soon as the station bundle you want becomes available - it'll be back in stock by the end of the week at the latest.

 

[umicar]

Hi all - ChargePoint rep here. ChargePoint Home is now on sale and we've tested the scheduling feature a ton on the VW eGolf, mine included.

You can check out all the features here: http://www.chargepoint.com/home

and can configure and order Home here: http://www.chargepoint.com/home/order

We've gotten a lot of demand in just one day so if you find the station you want is out of stock, click the 'Email Me' button on the right hand side of the Amazon page to be notified as soon as the station bundle you want becomes available - it'll be back in stock by the end of the week at the latest.

Thanks for the update. Three really random questions here that I am hoping someone can answer:
1. Does indoor and outdoor installations only apply to the box and the wiring? I am currently using the standard 110 that is supplied with the car, yet I have it installed on the wall within my garage and run the charger through a small space at the foundation that shouldn't be there (the one time that an old house issue is working in my favor) to plug into my car which sits on the driveway. Assuming if I got an "indoor" unit to charge my car which is outdoors, that is fine in this scenario as the unit is housed indoors?

2. Does delayed charging work w/o reliance on the Carnet delayed charging feature?

3. We don't need to continue with CarNet beyond the trial period for delay charging and the app to work, right? I know we have 3 years for the web version. I will be up for renewal soon and if the $200/year is simply for concierge services and roadside assistance, I don't need that. I have only called them ONE time, and that was when my car flipped out at the carwash where it wouldn't move, but also wouldn't turn off. That was a nightmare...

 

[LeafToGold]

I am using a 240V point, installed within covered garage. So cannot answer first question.

I can answer second question. The delayed charging works without using car-net. I am using Chargepoints app to start charging at midnight. It works.

With my older blink-charger, the car will not charge if I used Blinks delayed charging.

 

[miimura]

Three really random questions here that I am hoping someone can answer:
1. Does indoor and outdoor installations only apply to the box and the wiring? I am currently using the standard 110 that is supplied with the car, yet I have it installed on the wall within my garage and run the charger through a small space at the foundation that shouldn't be there (the one time that an old house issue is working in my favor) to plug into my car which sits on the driveway. Assuming if I got an "indoor" unit to charge my car which is outdoors, that is fine in this scenario as the unit is housed indoors?

2. Does delayed charging work w/o reliance on the Carnet delayed charging feature?

3. We don't need to continue with CarNet beyond the trial period for delay charging and the app to work, right? I know we have 3 years for the web version. I will be up for renewal soon and if the $200/year is simply for concierge services and roadside assistance, I don't need that. I have only called them ONE time, and that was when my car flipped out at the carwash where it wouldn't move, but also wouldn't turn off. That was a nightmare...

For #1, the issue is the electrical connecting points being protected from the elements. If you plug in the unit "indoors" and only the cable with the J1772 plug goes outdoors, you will be fine. For the hardwired units, they can use waterproof conduits and a waterproof entry into the unit, so it can be used completely outdoors that way.

 

[SpdLmtNA]

Hi all - ChargePoint rep here. ChargePoint Home is now on sale and we've tested the scheduling feature a ton on the VW eGolf, mine included.

You can check out all the features here: http://www.chargepoint.com/home

and can configure and order Home here: http://www.chargepoint.com/home/order

We've gotten a lot of demand in just one day so if you find the station you want is out of stock, click the 'Email Me' button on the right hand side of the Amazon page to be notified as soon as the station bundle you want becomes available - it'll be back in stock by the end of the week at the latest.

Thanks for the update. Three really random questions here that I am hoping someone can answer:
1. Does indoor and outdoor installations only apply to the box and the wiring? I am currently using the standard 110 that is supplied with the car, yet I have it installed on the wall within my garage and run the charger through a small space at the foundation that shouldn't be there (the one time that an old house issue is working in my favor) to plug into my car which sits on the driveway. Assuming if I got an "indoor" unit to charge my car which is outdoors, that is fine in this scenario as the unit is housed indoors?

2. Does delayed charging work w/o reliance on the Carnet delayed charging feature?

3. We don't need to continue with CarNet beyond the trial period for delay charging and the app to work, right? I know we have 3 years for the web version. I will be up for renewal soon and if the $200/year is simply for concierge services and roadside assistance, I don't need that. I have only called them ONE time, and that was when my car flipped out at the carwash where it wouldn't move, but also wouldn't turn off. That was a nightmare...

Ha! Funny the Chargepoint rep didn't answer your q's. Anyway, I will say not to let him/her ruin your thoughts on Chargepoint because I am really happy with their service and reliability. In fact, I use their app to find their public chargers more than the plugshare app.
Anyway, back to your questions, since I purchased and installed one of Chargepoint's wall chargers, and since your 1st question was answered, I can answer 2 & 3.

ANS: 2) Yes, you can completely ignore your Carnet scheduling and simply use Chargepoint;s scheduled charging feature.

ANS: 3) You don't need Carnet's service if you don't plan on using its scheduling (which is mostly useful for climate control and public charging).