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.

 

[geoffb]

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.

I have used instavolt, Osprey BP tesla gridserve and probably a few other DC charges without a problem. The only issue I have ever had was with MFG and I suspect that was an issue with mobile phone signal it seemed a blackspot. AC public charging is a completely different issue with I'd say a 50% chance of success at best. The worst network for this seems to be Monta Charge. Ive never gad a successful charge with them. Shell and BP seem to be more successful than most for me

 

[amdmad]

I have used instavolt, Osprey BP tesla gridserve and probably a few other DC charges without a problem. The only issue I have ever had was with MFG and I suspect that was an issue with mobile phone signal it seemed a blackspot. AC public charging is a completely different issue with I'd say a 50% chance of success at best. The worst network for this seems to be Monta Charge. Ive never gad a successful charge with them. Shell and BP seem to be more successful than most for me

My workplace use Monta for their chargers 22kW . Just a slow handshake upto 3 minutes some times .

 

[fifi16]

Thanks everyone. That’s all very encouraging- I must try harder.

 

[securespark]

Found two today that were the polar opposites of each other.

A Podpoint in a Tesco carpark that was only 7kW, not tethered and was a complete pain to set up the app for. Also, I had plugged in our lead ready, thinking it was just tap and go, so when we abandoned it in favour of another charger, the lead had locked itself in. Had to get Mrs S to lift her bum off the seat so I could lock and unlock the car in order to release the lead from the charging socket.

The next charger we found was an Osprey 75kW unit. No app, plug in and tap card. Not seen one of those before.

You didn't even have to tap the card again to stop charging: there was a STOP button on the unit.

Why can't they all be that easy?

Literally plug in, tap card, press stop, then unplug.

 

[GaryMG4]

Funny really but Podpoint was my first ever public charger use, they were free in Sainsbury's car park. You still needed the app to confirm the charge but always worked so long as you had a phone signal. Really old tech these days and apart from Tesco I've only found them as destination chargers as I think they were part of the first wave government subsidised installations. Agree that tap and go is the next best thing to Tesla plug and go

 

[Rolfe]

I had some trouble with the PodPoints in the Glyndebourne audience car park. At least one wasn't working, but the real issue seemed to be that if you plugged in before "claiming" the post, the damn app would tell you it was already taken, not available, and once that happened nothing would change its mind. Picture a bunch of people in fancy evening dress shunting cars from one post to another on a bit of a slope with rough pebbly surfaces, in the blazing hot afternoon sun.

 

[tsedge]

Found two today that were the polar opposites of each other.

A Podpoint in a Tesco carpark that was only 7kW, not tethered and was a complete pain to set up the app for. Also, I had plugged in our lead ready, thinking it was just tap and go, so when we abandoned it in favour of another charger, the lead had locked itself in. Had to get Mrs S to lift her bum off the seat so I could lock and unlock the car in order to release the lead from the charging socket.

The next charger we found was an Osprey 75kW unit. No app, plug in and tap card. Not seen one of those before.

You didn't even have to tap the card again to stop charging: there was a STOP button on the unit.

Why can't they all be that easy?

Literally plug in, tap card, press stop, then unplug.

I like Osprey chargers, particularly the newer Kempower-based units, they are an example of how chargers can be user friendly and just work.

I even prefer them to the Tesla V4 chargers because the screen is better placed and bigger and the high cable support makes them much lighter to use.

The only downside is the price, they are far from cheap!

 

[Rolfe]

A couple of my biggest nightmares were on Kempower chargers. Despite a Visa logo on the charger it repeatedly rejected my Visa debit card, just demanding "pay otherwise". The first time that happened I ended up on an AC charger for about an hour and a half just to get enough to get me to the next DC installation - which turned out to be more Kempowers! I think that one took my Mastercard credit card.

I've got them sussed now, but I wouldn't call them user-friendly.

 

[tsedge]

A couple of my biggest nightmares were on Kempower chargers. Despite a Visa logo on the charger it repeatedly rejected my Visa debit card, just demanding "pay otherwise". The first time that happened I ended up on an AC charger for about an hour and a half just to get enough to get me to the next DC installation - which turned out to be more Kempowers! I think that one took my Mastercard credit card.

I've got them sussed now, but I wouldn't call them user-friendly.

Sorry to hear that. I would suspect it might be your bank at fault. I've used them a lot, all over on my travels and never had a problem.