Why does EA let random strangers stop your charge?

[sub]

Today I plugged in at an EA charger and after authorizing the charge via the app and confirming that the charge was going smoothly I walked over to a restaurant a few blocks away to eat lunch.

45 minutes later I came back to discover that I had barely gotten any charge because some random person came over and pressed the stop button on the EA screen not long after I left. The offender was still there and voluntarily confessed before I even realized what had happened.

On top of having to start over, EA was charging me Idle fees the whole time since I was plugged in but not charging!

This just seems like a really dumb design. Is there any reason why it should be possible for a random person to walk up to a vehicle that is actively changing and stop their charge?

I will the part of the blaim. I could have stared at my phone the whole time so I would have known that I needed to abandon my meal and restart the charger. That really doesn't seem like something that should be needed - but I guess it is

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[SSteveEV]

That's unfortunate, but at least the Rivian app has a notification for that now.
Many updates ago I plugged in, walked 1/2 mile to a restaurant in 20* icy weather, only to return on a full stomach and a very empty battery 45 min later.

 

[SoCal Rob]

I always assumed this was required for safety as an emergency stop if something was going wrong. It would be nice if the app used location services and presented a prominent notification when a session is stopped at the charger and the phone, presumably with the driver, isn’t near the vehicle.
edit:typo

 

[W1SE]

Whenever I charge at EA it sends me a text that charging has stopped or is finished.

the only reason I stare at my phone is EA likes to throttle and drop to 50KW because of poor performance. So I will abandon a meal to go restart a session or switch stalls.

 

[VSG]

EA *does* send a notification to your phone if the charging is stopped. Also sends you a session summary. And another notification when your balance is reloaded. This doesn't keep people from stopping the session at the charger, but it does let you know something happened.

 

[Chewy734]

Did the dumbass tell you why he stopped it? You’d think people would have better things to do.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Today I plugged in at an EA charger and after authorizing the charge via the app and confirming that the charge was going smoothly I walked over to a restaurant a few blocks away to eat lunch.

45 minutes later I came back to discover that I had barely gotten any charge because some random person came over and pressed the stop button on the EA screen not long after I left. The offender was still there and voluntarily confessed before I even realized what had happened.

On top of having to start over, EA was charging me Idle fees the whole time since I was plugged in but not charging!

This just seems like a really dumb design. Is there any reason why it should be possible for a random person to walk up to a vehicle that is actively changing and stop their charge?

I will the part of the blaim. I could have stared at my phone the whole time so I would have known that I needed to abandon my meal and restart the charger. That really doesn't seem like something that should be needed - but I guess it is

I know there’s a pin on the Tesla charger handle that locks it into place during charging. I wonder if the same is true of non-Tesla vehicles with an adapter, or does it just lock the adapter to the Tesla handle? CCS 1.0 and the charging stations that use it are crap. No wonder everyone switched over.

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

This has happened to us. I avoid EA as much as possible now. In addition they are crowded or broken too.

 

[Wefty]

Did the dumbass tell you why he stopped it? You’d think people would have better things to do.

@sub please tell us more about what they said.

 

[sub]

Did the dumbass tell you why he stopped it? You’d think people would have better things to do.

@sub please tell us more about what they said.

They were hoping to charge their EQS and didn't understand that even though the pedistals have 2 cables only one person can use it.

The chargers were placed in the asphalt between two parking spaces. EA expected people to park on one side or the other. But not both.

I pulled up on the right side of the charger since Rivian's charge port is on the left. Their vehicle had a right side port so they pulled up on the other side and thought they could charge from the same pedestal as I was using. IMO this was pretty reasonable assumption for them to make.

There were no other vehicles charging and the other stations all appeared functional so they had plenty of other choices. They just chose wrong.

I don't think there was any ill intent on their part. Especially since they immediately confessed when they didn't have to.

After I got back they spent another 10 minutes trying out other stalls and then left, I assume without ever getting a charge.

The other 3 stalls all appeared functional to me, I think they just didn't know how to activate. They did not ask for help, and I didn't go out of my way to offer since wasn't in a great mood at that point so I just in my car watching.

 

[Riviaenz]

I always assumed this was required for safety as an emergency stop if something was going wrong. It would be nice if the app used location services and presented a prominent notification when a session is stopped at the charger and the phone, presumably with the driver, isn’t near the vehicle.
edit:typo

if you have notifications turned on (at least on iPhone) it fits do that. Also if you have live updates (also iPhone) the Rivian app will keep you updated on charging status in real time on your iPhone Lock Screen and Dynamic Island if it’s a 14 or newer.

 

[Autolycus]

The EA design with 2 cables is very confusing. It's completely reasonable for people to think it can charge 2 cars at the same time. They need to put in better signage as well as some sort of message on the screen's UI to be clear that the pedestal can only charge one car at a time.

 

[Riviaenz]

I know there’s a pin on the Tesla charger handle that locks it into place during charging. I wonder if the same is true of non-Tesla vehicles with an adapter, or does it just lock the adapter to the Tesla handle? CCS 1.0 and the charging stations that use it are crap. No wonder everyone switched over.

CCs also get locked to a vehicle - depending on how vehicle manufacturers decide to implement it. Volvo for example locks it based on the vehicle’s door lock status. I think that’s how most EU cars implement their CCS lock also since in EU it’s common for you to need to carry a cord with you to plug into many chargers (reduces likelihood of damaged cords at chargers at at least L2 chargers when it’s your cord on the hook).

Rivian does also lock the cord in while charging and the doors are locked. However if it’s stopped charging it allows the cord to be removed without having a key nearby.

As for the Tesla adapter to CCS that Tesla is making for manufacturers that joined their plug party, it seems there is a manual lock but I don’t know if it’s blocked from unlocking while charging. Predators a Ford user or a Rivianfluencer that has one could share how it locks/works.

 

[rodhx]

Pretty sure this isn‘t just an EA problem btw. You can stop a chargepoint session from the screen. Can‘t speak to EVGo as i have only used their overpriced chargers once.

That common EA station design is confusing. They need large signs that say “only one cable can be used at a time” and logic that keeps some one from affecting an existing session by plugging in the other cable. I had it happen to me but got the notification quickly enough to walk back and explain how the things work so the other person could move and i could restart it. I have also had to explain “only one car per cabinet” several other times.

 

[Riviaenz]

This has happened to us. I avoid EA as much as possible now. In addition they are crowded or broken too.

Most DCFC networks have session stops on the charger available. I don’t think I’ve seen any without one actually. Some even have emergency interrupt buttons prominently on the side or front. That one is annoying because then it requires a tech to visit the station to reset it.

The reason for the stop session button I suppose is for convenience since you need to stop DCFC sessions BEFORE unplugging and the. Hangers offer it on their unit as an alternative to stopping it from inside the car.

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