London UK charging issues

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AlexO

New member
Joined
Apr 4, 2018
Messages
2
Just got a new i3S (2018).
The issue is that I can not charge it at the Source points. (tried a number of them in Central London ).
Was able to charge it at a garage so may be this is Source related .
Has anyone else had a similar experience with Source and i3S ?
Thank you.
 
Honestly, do not know since it was my wife who was trying to charge the car at the Source point.
But it is a good point. Will investigate further.
Since the last post, BMW sales people had mentioned that someone else with i3s had a similar issue.
 
AN EVSE is used to charge a vehicle with ACV, and the plug only attaches to the top portion of the receptacle in the car. An EVSE is essentially just a fancy on/off switch with some safety interlock logic inside.

A CCS unit (DCV) is a huge DCV power supply that bypasses the car's AC-DC converter, and almost charges the batteries directly. The power applied is around 380vdc, and MUCH higher power capacity. That power gets applied via the two larger pins below the top group, but the top group is still used to provide interlock and communications information to the CCS unit. Some of that communication determines if the car is ready, how much power it can accept, and if the plug is properly inserted. It all must work properly for charging to occur, which means the plug must be fully inserted, and both ends must be working. Compare a CCS car unit to say your phone power supply, which may be all of around 5W verses 50,000w.

Because the CCS charging plug is larger and the cable is heavier, it can sometimes be a bit harder to insert the thing fully. ANd, because of the weight of both the connector and the cable, it can slightly bend the mounting plate, which can prevent the pins from always making proper contact unless you take a bit of care.

Then, because the CCS unit is a huge power supply, it can have its own issues...heat is a big one, but maybe not in your more temperate climate, especially this time of the year. The thing has internal cooling, but if they don't maintain the filters and fans properly, it may not work.

A CCS unit generally will top out at 50Kw/hr into an i3 (well, that's the most an i3 can accept - just like with an EVSE, larger won't hurt it, though). On an EVSE, depending on market, that's closer to around 7.4Kw/hr, depending on the supply voltage and the unit. NOt all units can supply the theoretical maximum values the car can accept (again, that won't hurt anything except the time you'd wait to fully recharge).
 
One other possibility that we all might see eventually is a 'Reservation' status . A look at the SourcePoint site suggests that clients are able to 'Reserve' a chargehead for their near future use (enroute?) . I imagine that there will be/are some rules regarding the process .
 
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