People Pulling Charger Out At Apartment Complex - How To Handle?

[pipp]

One other aspect of this issue that you probably well know (but over time perhaps your appreciation of what you are missing slips), is that even if you aren’t having to engage with some trog who has been trained since infancy to fight to the death to get more than his share of free stuff, you still will be getting screwed. You will be getting screwed until you are able to acquire your very own un-shared charging apparatus that you can plug into whenever you feel like it. That capability tremendously enhances the value of your car and the pleasure of your experience with the car.

 

[Wattsisname]

Hello,

I live in an apartment complex with 2 shared charging stations (in front of two EV-only parking spots). A few months ago, I woke up to an alert that my car randomly stopped charging at 60%. I figured it was a power outage or something, but I went to check my car, another Tesla owner had pulled up near the EV spots, ripped the charger out of my car (leaving only the locked adapter in my charge port which was stuck half open), and started charging their car. They left a note confirming that they did this - which honestly made me even more mad because wouldn't the mature thing been leaving a note saying "Here's my number - can you text me when you're done charging so I can use the charger?"

They also did this at 4AM on a weekend night, which of course makes me wonder about their sobriety or at least alertness - and thus whether I really want them fidgeting with my expensive car.

My apartment complex said this particular person had done it a few times, but they needed me to file a police report to take further action. An officer came out and kind of laughed it off, noting that simply having the license and the note doesn't constitute proof that that person was responsible ... and even having a video wouldn't have meant anything if I couldn't prove significant financial damage. He nonetheless did file a report.

Flash forward to today, and it happened again with a different Tesla (and no note). Worse, I was doing the periodic battery calibration as recommended by my Service Center so absolutely needed to hit 100%. I got the unplugged alert after business hours, so I had to go directly to the police. This time, they basically told me to F off and refused to engage further, saying that there's no universe in which this would be criminal, even if I captured the person on video and could prove financial damages.

Curious if anyone has any recommendations on how to handle this. I feel like the leasing office is pushing it off to the cops to avoid dealing with it, but since the cops aren't helping, it kills the weight I have to force the leasing office to do something. But I shouldn't have to worry about my battery getting messed up or charging port malfunctioning over this.

I know there are those 3D-printed locks, but if people are willing to do what I've encountered without apology, what's to stop them from ripping it out with the lock in place - and thus causing even more damage.p

 

[father_of_6]

acquire your very own un-shared charging apparatus that you can plug into whenever you feel like it

Very true. Although I find it interesting to read about this scenario and the behaviors people are displaying, if I step back and think about it... this is like a fight over the bathroom in a college dorm or something.

Home charging that belongs to you is *very nice*.

 

[jjrandorin]

Selfish people, who believe that the general rules or the need to be decent dont apply to them, exist everywhere here in the US. Its not state specific. I said this earlier but this doesnt surprise me much, especially since the charging is both free, and limited resource, in this OPs case.

 

[pipp]

Selfish people, who believe that the general rules or the need to be decent dont apply to them, exist everywhere here in the US. Its not state specific. I said this earlier but this doesnt surprise me much, especially since the charging is both free, and limited resource, in this OPs case.

Yes you are right, the state certainly did not need to be specified…

 

[skierrob]

You're at a SHARED charging station, and it's "critical" that you run battery tests at this charger that is supposed to be SHARED by everyone? How SELFISH of YOU! It's supposed to be a shared resource, treat it as such. RANT OFF.

 

[father_of_6]

You're at a SHARED charging station, and it's "critical" that you run battery tests at this charger that is supposed to be SHARED by everyone? How SELFISH of YOU! It's supposed to be a shared resource, treat it as such. RANT OFF.

Whoa. Something tells me this is the perpetrator.

 

[fholbert]

Its Drs and RN(so highly educated people) unplugging peoples cars. This has been a known issue for years.

Bet the same people take toilet paper from the bathroom so they don't have to buy it for home.

 

[zoomer0056]

Bet the same people take toilet paper from the bathroom so they don't have to buy it for home.

Ha, reminds me of college days. Then they replaced it with Gorilla TP that takes no s*it.

 

[hey8you]

Bet the same people take toilet paper from the bathroom so they don't have to buy it for home.

They probably don't wipe, lol. Some of them have been caught not washing their hands after using the bathroom.

 

[ucmndd]

You're at a SHARED charging station, and it's "critical" that you run battery tests at this charger that is supposed to be SHARED by everyone? How SELFISH of YOU! It's supposed to be a shared resource, treat it as such. RANT OFF.

There is nothing at all wrong with charging to 100% on a public charger.

 

[zoomer0056]

There is nothing at all wrong with charging to 100% on a public charger.

I respectfully disagree. Just like high use SC limit charge to 80% ( you can overide) so more people can use them, there is also etiquette when using one of two chargers where there are many people. These are free chargers, and as we see the people will abuse for free. Calibrating a battery BMS is hardly as important as being able to get to work. Share the charge. Just my 3 cents.

 

[fholbert]

Ha, reminds me of college days. Then they replaced it with Gorilla TP that takes no s*it.

Airline pilots are the worse. Bragging about how they never buy TP, Shampoo, Conditioner or Hand Cream. They take everything from hotels where they overnight.

 

[skygraff]

Airline pilots are the worse. Bragging about how they never buy TP, Shampoo, Conditioner or Hand Cream. They take everything from hotels where they overnight.

No self-respecting pilot would take hand cream, shampoo, or conditioner: those bottles can be emptied and refilled by creepy pilots (and flight attendants) who were absolutely certain they could produce more than 3 oz of liquid or gel.

As for BMS resets, I say you should only do that on a shared charging resource when you’re willing to sit in the car the whole time. But, then, I have the benefit of my own level 2 in my condo garage. I think an e-res system would be the way to go so everybody can pick their times and declare their intentions (block out extra time for balancing - maybe the system could allow that once per 6-12 months per user).

 

[Mercimek]

Bet the same people take toilet paper from the bathroom so they don't have to buy it for home.

What?! Do people actually do this? How shitty of them.

 

[ucmndd]

I respectfully disagree. Just like high use SC limit charge to 80% ( you can overide) so more people can use them, there is also etiquette when using one of two chargers where there are many people. These are free chargers, and as we see the people will abuse for free. Calibrating a battery BMS is hardly as important as being able to get to work. Share the charge. Just my 3 cents.

We’re talking like 20 extra minutes max on a L2 charger.

Setting aside for a minute that nearly all of the battery balancing hocus pocus is BS - if the car is charging, it’s charging. Not getting in the way or blocking an idle spot.

 

[stopcrazypp]

We’re talking like 20 extra minutes max on a L2 charger.

Setting aside for a minute that nearly all of the battery balancing hocus pocus is BS - if the car is charging, it’s charging. Not getting in the way or blocking an idle spot.

I highly doubt this is taking just an extra 20 minutes. Just the process alone can take an hour (not including the part from 80% to near 100%), and the person is not sitting in the car to monitor if someone needs to use the station (if they were, this thread wouldn't be necessary), so add however long it takes for that person to get back to their car.

https://www.reddit.com/r/TeslaModel3/comments/xue2a0

Nor did they say they left a number on their car to call to ask if it's ok to unplug (instead it was the people unplugging that left a note). That would probably be the first thing to try to resolve in a more cooperative way (as others mentioned best to leave that note near the charge port itself so it's visible when someone goes to unplug).

Another way if you don't want someone to call you is to have a note near the charge port that indicates to the person the status light when it is done charging and ok to unplug (it would be solid green, as per manual):

• BLINKING GREEN: Charging is in progress. As Model 3 approaches a full charge, the frequency of the blinking slows.
• SOLID GREEN: Charging is complete.

https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-BEE08D47-0CE0-4BDD-83F2-9854FB3D578F.html

 

[father_of_6]

I think an e-res system would be the way to go so everybody can pick their times and declare their intentions (block out extra time for balancing - maybe the system could allow that once per 6-12 months per user).

This would be the true solution to this project. I actually investigated this a *tiny* but when this thread was first started. It was mentioned that the charger is a SemaConnect.

There's apparently a SemaCharge API, but all I was able to find is a single GitHub repo from a user with not much in it.

If someone is able to get actual documentation for the SemaCharge API, and it allows controlling this charger, a solution like this could likely be scripted. I'd be happy to take a stab at it.

 

[Watts_Up]

We’re talking like 20 extra minutes max on a L2 charger.

Typically, you get 10% charge per hour on a L2 charger (or 30 miles),
so 20 minutes would be 3% or 10 miles.

Here is a talk about using the waiting list mechanism implemented for ChargePoint and usage in an University campus parking:

High Demand Level 2 Charging Needs Organized Queuing! Here's How ChargePoint’s Waitlist System Works​

 

[ucmndd]

I highly doubt this is taking just an extra 20 minutes. Just the process alone can take an hour (not including the part from 80% to near 100%),

why on earth would you include the part where the car is charging at full speed from 80-100%? If the car is charging, it’s charging. My car doesn’t start tapering down the amperage on a typical ~6kw level 2 commercial charger until ~99%.

I’ve never seen the post-100% “calculating” phase where it’s “balancing the cells” and what not to take longer than 30 minutes. I’ve put 200,000 miles on Teslas at this point so it’s not due to a lack of data.

Shaming someone like a bad dog in all caps because they dared to charge their car to 100% on the only charging equipment available to them is just plain stupid.