Post by WDB on Aug 26, 2018 20:28:09 GMT
In the nine months we’ve had our electric car, it’s only ever been charged on our drive — mainly because, unlike much of the competition, it carries enough charge for most of the day trips we’re likely to do without all going along.
But this morning presented an opportunity: in London again for an exhibition, we found that the Barbican’s Chargemaster points, which last week were roped off and ‘coming soon’, were showing green and available. So we parked up, hooked up, waved our Chargemaster tag (in which the charger, perhaps significantly, didn’t seem interested) the lights went from green to blue, and up we went to admire the work of Dorothea Lange.
Returning after lunch, we had a spot of bother. The car was fully charged, but we couldn’t make the blue light turn green and release our charging cable. Some puzzled investigation and a call to Chargemaster’s customer service revealed that the charger had not yet been released for public use and was still in ‘factory’ mode. It would require an elf with an old-school metal key to deactivate it. Fortunately, such an elf was only ten steps away, and after a little experimentation, found the right key and the right way to turn it.
I’ve been wary of public charging up till now, mainly for fear of looking silly in a public place next to an expensive piece of hardware. This hasn’t helped, although it was resolved easily enough. I probably ought to find a tame charge point close to home so I can properly learn the procedure.
But this morning presented an opportunity: in London again for an exhibition, we found that the Barbican’s Chargemaster points, which last week were roped off and ‘coming soon’, were showing green and available. So we parked up, hooked up, waved our Chargemaster tag (in which the charger, perhaps significantly, didn’t seem interested) the lights went from green to blue, and up we went to admire the work of Dorothea Lange.
Returning after lunch, we had a spot of bother. The car was fully charged, but we couldn’t make the blue light turn green and release our charging cable. Some puzzled investigation and a call to Chargemaster’s customer service revealed that the charger had not yet been released for public use and was still in ‘factory’ mode. It would require an elf with an old-school metal key to deactivate it. Fortunately, such an elf was only ten steps away, and after a little experimentation, found the right key and the right way to turn it.
I’ve been wary of public charging up till now, mainly for fear of looking silly in a public place next to an expensive piece of hardware. This hasn’t helped, although it was resolved easily enough. I probably ought to find a tame charge point close to home so I can properly learn the procedure.
