Public charging glitches

[fifi16]

Hi all, I’m driving South from Scotland and experiencing multiple problems connecting to different charging networks. I’ve been driving an EV for 5 years so have some experience of public charging, but my ‘new’ MG4 XPower has taken 8 months in the workshop becoming drivable, so I’ve limited experience with this model.

Tesla chargers are working great, but many of them reverting to Tesla only, which is disappointing.

GRIDSERVE consistently returns a connection fault and their helpline say they have had previous problems connecting to MGs, tried different chargers, different power but all without success. Have others had problems with GRIDSERVE?

BP Pulse, I’ve tried multiple different chargers, spent ages on the phone but achieved no connection. I had decided to just never try another BP Pulse, but if the list of unusable networks gets long I shall have to conclude it is my MG that is unusable.

Westmorland, at Tebay I only had 13% battery left so I really persevered with their new 300Kw chargers despite numerous different problems with recognising/ authorising cards, connecting to the car and unlocking the cable to restart the process. After 58mins I achieved connection and the charge worked efficiently. I used to use their Teslas but they are no longer open to non-Tesla cars. On the return journey stopped at Cairn Lodge where the same problems started again and I gave up quickly (72% - no desperation ).

Do others have problems with specific networks? Or is it all just random? Are there any networks other than Tesla which are reliable so I can have the confidence to plan long journeys efficiently.

Many thanks.

 

[securespark]

The app-based one we find most reliable is Instavolt.

Any that are just tap and go with a debit card are great. No need to download anything, stand in the rain etc.....

 

[Martinonline]

Not had problems with Gridserve with my MY22 Trophy.

 

[PeteC]

I don't have problems with Gridserve (other than their prices!). I tend to use their app as they sometimes give a discount if you use the app rather than contactless payments.

 

[GaryMG4]

Recently returned from Ardgarten, stopped at Gretna and Wetherby, no issues at either. In 2 1/2 years BP Pulse is the only one I've had any problems with.

 

[Anon70]

Had the car coming up for 2 years and have used the following public chargers with no problem:
Gridserve at Washington South and Wetherby
Instavolt at Newton Services
BP Pulse (Chargeplace Scotland) at various locations
Lidl (PodPoint)
Tesla at Adderstone and Harrogate

Only time I had an issue was with the Jet Charge, chargers at Newton Services, took a deposit and did nothing and once with a slow Tesla charger (wouldn't go above 35kW charge rate)

 

[siteguru]

Recently returned from Ardgarten, stopped at Gretna and Wetherby, no issues at either. In 2 1/2 years BP Pulse is the only one I've had any problems with.

If you'd gone 5 miles further south you could have stopped at Todhills and used the Tesla open-to-all V4 superchargers there, and saved some money. (There are several GridServe chargers there too. Services are provided via a Costa shop).

 

[GaryMG4]

If you'd gone 5 miles further south you could have stopped at Todhills and used the Tesla open-to-all V4 superchargers there, and saved some money. (There are several GridServe chargers there too. Services are provided via a Costa shop).

true, I'd considered Todhills northbound although it looked a bit of a faff getting to the southbound side and plumped for Gretna, then I ended up just mirroring the northbound journey going south. Neither southbound journeys were for very long as I intended to arrive home with a low SoC.

 

[siteguru]

The northbound side of Todhills is closed ... maybe the BP garage is still there but there are no other services, and no EV chargers (to my knowledge). That may be because the (open-to-all V4) Tesla superchargers at the Gretna Gateway Outlet Village are easy to access, especially going northbound.

 

[nogbad]

I use Ionity and I've not had any problems; they got me to, around, and from Cornwall (from Kent) at the beginning of the month.

 

[Griffian]

Instavolt using Electroverse card usually works for me.