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Doh! at Dulles...

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CatB

Active Member
Supporting Member
Well, rookie mistake - let this be a warning to all who take flawless charging for granted...:eek:
Just plugged in at IAD (after checking carefully to make sure the Leaf I unplugged was done charging - that's a page that got Favorited today), and after getting through security, I checked to see how charging was going and was dismayed to see "Ready to Charge, check charger power"
I'm not in danger of bricking (made sure of that because no guarantee I'd have a space anyway), but would sure save me a trip to the Mont Mall supercharger if anyone is passing by and can reseat the charge cable in KCKGA5 (MD plates all the way on the end).

Oh well, here's hoping that's the biggest problem I encounter on this trip.
 
You wouldn't be in danger of bricking regardless of your charge state, because the Model S doesn't "brick". Bricking means permanent death of the battery-- the car would be as useful as a brick-- which was a danger in Roadsters. Anyway if something went wrong with the battery management system and the battery couldn't take a charge again, the warranty covers it.

Maybe you know all this, but lurkers who have heard of a Roadster being bricked need to know that's not a concern with the Model S.
 
You wouldn't be in danger of bricking regardless of your charge state, because the Model S doesn't "brick". Bricking means permanent death of the battery-- the car would be as useful as a brick-- which was a danger in Roadsters. Anyway if something went wrong with the battery management system and the battery couldn't take a charge again, the warranty covers it.

Maybe you know all this, but lurkers who have heard of a Roadster being bricked need to know that's not a concern with the Model S.

I might be able to check for you tomorrow. Where are the chargers there?
 
You wouldn't be in danger of bricking regardless of your charge state, because the Model S doesn't "brick". Bricking means permanent death of the battery-- the car would be as useful as a brick-- which was a danger in Roadsters. Anyway if something went wrong with the battery management system and the battery couldn't take a charge again, the warranty covers it.
Maybe you know all this, but lurkers who have heard of a Roadster being bricked need to know that's not a concern with the Model S.
.

I think a Model S pack can get "bricked" too, but apparently it takes a lot longer than it would with a Roadster pack. Measured in months rather than weeks basically.
Model S owners should make sure that they stay plugged in when possible, and not leave their car unplugged for many months in a row. Probably not an issue for most owners, but someone with a huge car collection keeping many cars in long term storage should be careful. Same for a museum.

Tesla: You can't 'brick' Model S batteries - CNET
"Model S batteries also have the ability to protect themselves as they approach very low charge levels by going into a 'deep sleep' mode that lowers the loss even further. A Model S will not allow its battery to fall below about 5 percent charge. At that point the car can still sit for many months. Of course you can drive a Model S to 0 percent charge, but even in that circumstance, if you plug it in within 30 days, the battery will recover normally," Tesla said on its Web site...
 
I might be able to check for you tomorrow. Where are the chargers there?

I work at Dulles and currently am on a plane to Boston. I'm back tomorrow night and at my office Wednesday. If you need me to check up or do anything PM me.

This is awesome. With a phone call or text the OP could unlock the charger (or at least the car) allowing the good samaritans above to unplug and replug if it's not something as simple as just restarting the charger. Very cool.
 
I was able to get by there this morning. The charger was online, and appeared to be waiting for a payment card. There was no visible way to reset it that I could see.

I went ahead and re-seated the connection on your car, in case that was the problem, but there was no existing charging session to re-start. So, if there's a way for you to initiate online, you might be able to restart it.

Not sure that ultimately helped much, but the connection is seated firmly in the charge port...

IMG_20141027_091402_294.jpg


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(Incidentally, boo to Dulles for no grace period in the parking garages. I took a chance and parked at the service bldg across the street... $4 to spend 5 minutes checking on something seemed a bit steep. Of course that would have been nothing compared to a tow & impound...)
 
Guys, you are so cool for checking this for me. Total fail for me on reading directions. And no excuse since I did this correctly at My Organic Market 2 days ago - just had to swipe the Chargepoint card in that front seat pocket. Double- doh!

- - - Updated - - -

(Incidentally, boo to Dulles for no grace period in the parking garages. I took a chance and parked at the service bldg across the street... $4 to spend 5 minutes checking on something seemed a bit steep. Of course that would have been nothing compared to a tow & impound...)

Really?! That is pretty inhospitable - but I definitely owe you a drink or two when I get back :)
 
Guys, you are so cool for checking this for me. Total fail for me on reading directions. And no excuse since I did this correctly at My Organic Market 2 days ago - just had to swipe the Chargepoint card in that front seat pocket. Double- doh!

- - - Updated - - -



Really?! That is pretty inhospitable - but I definitely owe you a drink or two when I get back :)

No problem, hope all is OK with things when you return.
 
I dunno about if you're not physically there but last night I forgot my ChargePoint card, was about to hook up the car to the charger, said something morally equivalent to "Doh!" when I realized I had forgotten the stupid card, slapped my forehead, then dialed the ChargePoint service number printed on the charger. Nice lady on the phone took my name, email address, type of car; I told her the charger number, which is displayed on an LED on the charger, and then she initiated the session. The only glitch was that the car had already disabled the charge port so I couldn't plug in the charger even when the session had begun. I had to close the charge port and open it again, and once the charge port was active, I could insert the charging cable.

In @CatB's case, since the charger is already inserted, maybe she can just call ChargePort and get the session going.

Can you start the session remotely, or call ChargePoint and tell them what happened? If you've got the app on your phone, there might be a "Start Charging" button for you.