Jordan Fourcher’s Post

⚡️Navigating the EV Charging Maze: A 4th of July Adventure Over the 4th of July week, I had quite the adventure at an EA site in Indio. It was one of the last stops before leaving CA city limits and it was chaos there. I pulled up to a charger that appeared open (not noticing the gathering of other EVs aside), only to realize that the station was down. I tried a remote start to see if that would work, which didn’t and it hit me, that there was a long lineup for the next open charger. The problem? There was no organization to see who was next, leading to drivers yelling at each other in a Walmart parking lot. Adding to the chaos was another single charger at the opposite end of the lot, with its own line and sparking arguments about who's next. So a problem that needs solving: a queuing system. I had enough charge to potentially reach the next EA station 75 miles away, I decided not take the risk (it was full according to the app, and 110º outside). So, I decided to head to a 62kW CP station 30 miles on the road. When I arrived, I saw a message written in marker on the charger: "Screen not working, pour water" (water?) Fortunately, I was able to start the charge, but it wouldn't exceed 45 kW! IT DOESN’T END THERE! While I was waiting, I noticed my charge session stopped unexpectedly after a minute. After restarting it, I saw a bit of smoke in the corner of my eye (and the sound of a revving engine) and realized the site had lost power (was it caused by I charging?), and it had switched from utility to generator power. But the charger kept failing to restart. A Tesla pulled up next to me, trying to charge at level 2, and when I asked why, driver said because it was over 110 degrees and the car calculations were off to get to the next charge site (unable to DC Charge). AHEAD WE GO! We then headed to another 62kW CP charger. It worked!, but there was nothing around to do while we "slow fast charged." We were hesitant to go to the next EA site to avoid waiting in line again, so we charged enough to reach the outskirts of the next city limits, where we could get to another charger. Finally, we decided to check the Quartzite EA site. Thankfully, there was no line, and we were able to charge to 100% (no one waiting), making it home with 20 miles left (red zone) so we didn’t have to stop for our 7th time driving from LA to Phoenix from 10AM to 11PM. So, although these scenarios are becoming less common, they still happen (even to the most experienced drivers and even Tesla’s). We need to address these issues to make EV charging more efficient and less stressful for everyone. I’m here to help make everyone’s experience better by talking about it, educating, and by building the best technology possible (FYI, I have over 40k miles in two years for my wife’s EV with 175 mile range). 🔋PSA: Always plan ahead and be prepared for unexpected challenges on the road and know that we’re in the early days of EV Charging, so chin up, it only gets better.