ChargeNow DCFC Program Details for California Owners

[Zzzoom3]

See the link for the specifics. Main point is you have to use it at least once by Dec 31,2014 to get 2015 for free.

http://chargenow.chargepoint.com/fast-charging

*ChargeNow DC Fast is only available in California and excludes Level 1 and Level 2 charging on NRG eVGo Stations. **To be eligible, BMW i3 must be equipped with Option 4U7, DC Fast Charging (SAE). Eligibility is subject to VIN verification.

 

[Greatwhite]

So the only issue I have with this is that there are a whopping 8 fast charge locations in the entire state, 4 in Northern California and 4 in Southern California. The fact that you have to use one by end of Dec, so hopefully more will go in before then!

Enroll in ChargeNow DC Fast. If you have a ChargeNow account, simply log in to enroll in the ChargeNow DC Fast program. Or, enroll when you sign up for a new ChargeNow account, using the 2 complimentary ChargeNow cards found in the BMW i3 portfolio. To enroll, provide your BMW i3 VIN and accept program Terms and Conditions when prompted.
Activate with one use by December 31, 2014. Once you are enrolled, you must activate your enrollment with at least one no cost DC Fast charge for the BMW i3, using your ChargeNow card, at an eVGo Freedom Station site equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging, by December 31, 2014.

 

[Chrisn]

There's no card swiper thingy at the Mountainview charger. Unless it reads the vin through the charging port, not sure how it will know that I have used it before 12/31/14 to activate the free plan through 12/31/15....

 

[MAS]

Far as I know there's not four, but only one Freedom Station in NoCal with the combo connection: Raley's in Mtn View. Anyone know details of other ones?

 

[ccjw33]

So the only issue I have with this is that there are a whopping 8 fast charge locations in the entire state, 4 in Northern California and 4 in Southern California. The fact that you have to use one by end of Dec, so hopefully more will go in before then!

Enroll in ChargeNow DC Fast. If you have a ChargeNow account, simply log in to enroll in the ChargeNow DC Fast program. Or, enroll when you sign up for a new ChargeNow account, using the 2 complimentary ChargeNow cards found in the BMW i3 portfolio. To enroll, provide your BMW i3 VIN and accept program Terms and Conditions when prompted.
Activate with one use by December 31, 2014. Once you are enrolled, you must activate your enrollment with at least one no cost DC Fast charge for the BMW i3, using your ChargeNow card, at an eVGo Freedom Station site equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging, by December 31, 2014.

Where is the 4 stations in Northern California? And how did you locate them on the website? Thank you.

 

[dps1998]

Use app called PLUGSHARE to find charging stations. Filter out the "other" connector types to find the J1772 or the SAE combo.

The one by mountain view is Nob Hills, their station RFID reader was not working for a while but it is now. Note, that it ask for the same RF ID used to allow you to "disconnect" the connector, so if you have two, just know which one you used to start the charging process. In all cases, follow the prompt on the screen.

 

[Chrisn]

I charged at Nob Hill last week and can confirm that it now requires an RFID card that has been activated to use. I also noticed that the handle doesn't seem to unlock unless you swipe again (although I didn't try too hard). This behavior is really bad for sharing. There are three places to park that are reachable by the SAE cord. I think the rule/courtesy should be that if you are >80%, another guy within reach should be able to unplug you.

Another weird thing is that they always have Level 2 chargers co-located with SAE, but they aren't "free" under the ChargeNow promotion. Optimally, if a SAE-capabale car pulls up to find a car on the DC and over 80%, he should unplug the other car from DC, but plug him into the L2 (which, >80%, charges at about the same rate anyway). Likewise, if you return to your car after a DC charge and find a DC-capable car on L2, you should switch him to the DC charger.

With the current charge port locking defaults (and ChargeNow pricing policy), this isn't possible (AFAIK).

 

[jadnashuanh]

And, what would you do if you needed all 100% of a charge to get home? I'd be really pissed if someone removed the charging plug!

One thing that I was told would be in the next software update for the i3 is that it would unlock the plug once it reached 100%. I'm not sure I like that either - it would depend on how the EVSE detected the vehicle attached. If it were a pay for use device and you removed it from one and put it into another, who's going to be charged for the electricity? Does it automatically stop the billing once removed, or is there a delay, expecting to swipe the card? Anyone know? I'd really be annoyed if I paid to charge up maybe multiple vehicles, especially if someone removed the plug before mine was full!

 

[Chrisn]

It takes 20-30 mins to go from empty to 80%, then another hour or more to top off. Dumb use of expensive resource to top-off when another user is waiting. In any event, as I mentioned, they always have L2 chargers at same location, so optional situation would be to swap out DC with L2 for the guy who's >80%.

Its all free for now (except, dumbly, L2), so it doesn't matter in terms of price.

It seems to me that the J1772 port should communicate the VIN and billing should be handled that way. The RFID swiping could be used to override billing or to charge a car whose VIN wasn't previously linked to a billing account recognized by the charger (or to allow for case where data link is down (assuming the charger caches authorized RFID cards...).

 

[BMW4Me]

...
It seems to me that the J1772 port should communicate the VIN and billing should be handled that way. The RFID swiping could be used to override billing or to charge a car whose VIN wasn't previously linked to a billing account recognized by the charger (or to allow for case where data link is down (assuming the charger caches authorized RFID cards...).

So currently is the charging tied to the vehicle or the the ChargeNow account?

 

[Chrisn]

So currently is the charging tied to the vehicle or the the ChargeNow account?

AFAIK, the charger doesn't "know" what kind of car is connected. It authorizes via RFID card only. In theory, I don't see why you couldn't swipe your card and charge a non-i3 SAE Combo car.

It seems dumb to NOT have designed a data/control protocol for the charger cable that can pass VIN and/or other account info. Perhaps it is part of standard but not implemented. Others here have stated that no such info is passed to the charger.

 

[jadnashuanh]

There is really only one signal sent from the EVSE to the vehicle (there are a couple of control voltages, but they're essentially on or off and not configured to carry a digital signal), and that one is a square wave whose duty cycle announces to the car how much current it is designed to provide. When the car is ready to start charging, and the interlocks are closed, this causes the EVSE to activate its power contactor (a high-power relay) that acts like an on/off switch to apply the 120 or 240vac (level 1 or 2) to the vehicle's on-board charging circuits.

Some other systems out there do have a digital data bus to talk to between the car and the EVSE (I think you'll find that Tesla and chademo do that). The SAE J1772 implementation does not include any digital data exchange between the EVSE and the vehicle. This makes it simpler, less expensive, and probably a bit more robust than trying to talk to various brands over a serial data bus implemented by multiple manufacturers.

Now, your ChargeNow RFID card may make it think it's charging an i3 if that's how you registered it, but it doesn't know that for a fact.