Recent content by pshotton

I'm curious about how this works. We've got a series 1 ZS EV so it won't work on Intelligent Go, but we've just bought a VW ID.Buzz which will. I've applied to switch but still waiting (there's a problem with the app that they're struggling to resolve). We have a Zappi charger. Do they control...

When our car was delivered by the previous owner I gave him a lift back to the station. Driving home I realised that the remaining miles were 0. By the time I reached home (a couple of miles) it was --. A bit panicked but in the end no drama at all.

Our mk1 ZS reliably charges to 208-209 in the summer (with heating off and economy set). It's more like 195 in the winter. Whatever it says take with a pinch of salt. In normal stop-start town driving we might get as many as 160 miles out of a charge before reaching the charge warning. 70mph...

There are a lot of myths about heatpumps - some repeated in this thread. Take a look at this for the truth: https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/sustainability/energy/2023/08/22-heat-pump-myths-explained We have a heatpump in a 6 bed Victorian detached house, got rid of gas completely. Our...

Car only gets android auto through rh plug (although phone thinks it's connected through either). Charge rate is abysmal too. On android auto my phone is draining even though plugged in

Went skiing this year in mk1 ZSEV. The French charging points are great, plentiful on all the main routes. Just be aware that your range WILL be lower and charge time WILL be longer in the cold.

EVs are still cheaper when you factor 8n servicing costs. And depreciation is no worse than ice. And the way the environment is going the taxes on oil burners can only go one way. Governments can bury their heads in the sand, and continue to accept bribes from oil companies, but sooner or later...

Ever heard of a mechanical switch? And given modern dc-dc converters draw practically no current when there's no load, why not power alarm, doors etc all the time. I'm still not hearing any good argument for why we need a 12v battery.

I think you'll find that the app I was using that reported "no car connected" was the Tesla app. Without it I could not have done anything.

But y You can run DC-DC off 400v (the car already does this), and it only has to be switched on when you want it. You don't need a 12v battery. You just need the converter off the battery bus BEFORE the main switch, not after it, separately switched. It's simple, saves the cost/weight/failure...

That's just not so. A battery is a battery. I'm not asking for the whole HV system to be on, I'm just saying why can't there be a connection from before the main breaker to a DC/DC convertor supplying 12v? Why waste money on a separate battery when the car already has a bloody great big one.

There's a big set in St Quentin in France, 20 chargers. Chargemap claims they are CCS compatible for none Teslas. Tried (several times) on two chargers, lots of clicking noises but no charge, app saying no car connected. Drove 2 mles down the road to Intermarche and charged no problem. This is...

I understand that's the way it is but it still doesn't make sense. I can get a 12v supply off my household mains. It seems trivial to have a connection that can feed a 12v power supply while keeping the main supply disconnected. Why have an unnecessary point of failure.

What I don't understand is how my car can be completely disabled by a flat 12v battery when the main battery is full. Surely there could be some sort of tapping off the main pack to supply 12v,then we wouldn't need the 12v battery.

Take a look at other forums and you'll find all cars (even ICE ones) suffer. Read Giles Coren's diatribe about his Jag, or the complaints about Tesla. And then look at the Which surveys which (see what I did there) show that EVs are far more reliable than the alternatives. If you want to see a...