Speak EV - Electric Car Forums banner

Beware -Oxford M40 down -Waterstock AND Beaconsfield ,25-27/11/14

2K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  smartie 
#1 ·
On 25th got stuck on the way back with 5 miles left -all 3 chargers were without power at Waterstock . Got recovery to Westway Nissan and used their rapid -they are open till 6 pm .
Down the road -beaconsfield new rapids both don't recognise the charge card .

Still showing them in red today ,27/11/2014


Land vehicle Vehicle Car Motor vehicle Nissan leaf
 
See less See more
1
#17 ·
It was frustrating but what else to do? More frustrating was Ecotricity answer"No one will fix it today " and lack of answer after I called over 20 times from Beaconsfield . I never used those new Rapids before and I am glad some work if used before. And yes ,communication icons were crossed ...

I don't understand how these whole charging scheme works-
Ecotricity installs them but who paid for them in the first place and who pays for repairs and maintenance ? What is in there for Ecotricity?

I would rather pay something for charging and know that points are operational then have these hit and miss scenarios ,especially during cold ,winter months .
 
#4 ·
The Beaconsfield ones have been down for a long time - communication problems.

Annoyingly they don't say this, so you present your card and it then says no. If you look in the top right of the screen you will see the two connection icons have lines through them meaning there is no mobile network, and no internet connection.

Screen should say "I'm broken, don't bother" but it doesn't.

No idea when they will be fixed, Ecotricity couldn't say.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MALINI NITAI
#5 ·
I have been told in the past (and seen in practice) that if you have previously used a point when it was connected and then the connection drops you can use them again (it remembers you card, for how long or in what situations I do not know). Frustrating and not very clear, but in SOME situations you CAN use chargers down due to lack of connection.
 
#6 ·
That would make sense, as I have never successfully used it, whereas Robwiz probably did before the problems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MALINI NITAI
#7 ·
Yes I had used it previously, but not the second one, which explains why it didn't recognise my card.

It's good to know though that chargers can be used if down, when it's due to loss of phone signal. I wondered why the Beaconsfield chargers were available every time I've stopped there! Mystery solved. :)
 
#11 ·
I actually make a point, where possible, of using each charger once if I visit a site more than once, to make sure that both chargers know my card, for this exact eventuality. (Does that make sense? I know what I'm trying to say...)
In fact, if you visit a site with 2 chargers, it's probably worth presenting your card at both even if you're only connected to one, just to get it to recognise you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Paul and Robwiz
#12 ·
There is a very real chance that DBT could fold leaving Ecotricity high and dry so to speak, I would have much preferred if they had gone with oh lets say one of the biggest companies in the world like ABB?

I don’t know the exact deal that Nissan and Ecotricity have struck with DBT but they need to check the small print and try and find a way out of it, I know more chargers are coming on-line so the chance that there will be more faulty ones increases but it doesn’t say much that they haven’t improved reliability during this period.

As much as I love the Leaf and electric cars I really can’t recommend them to anyone who needs to rely on this service at the moment, only buy the car if you are happy to live without guaranteed fast charging because it isn’t and can’t be guaranteed.
 
#13 ·
As much as I love the Leaf and electric cars I really can’t recommend them to anyone who needs to rely on this service at the moment, only buy the car if you are happy to live without guaranteed fast charging because it isn’t and can’t be guaranteed.
That's true but in my view the LEAF/rapid combo is probably the most dependable option currently available.
 
#14 ·
Yes it is but it could be 100% better if they had listened to us all over a year ago, its still too flakey fro me to recommend it, we dont need them so its no issue for me however it still annoys me that they stuck with DBT they should have got out, its gone too far now and could possibly kill off adoption of these cars or certainly retard it a fair bit, we are not there yet but they need to get this sorted and sorted quickly.
 
#22 · (Edited)
Oh dear, My partner rang Ecotricity to tell them the new rapid there had failed 3 weeks ago.

On Friday 21st November last week my partner rang Ecotricity again to flag up that all 3 of the Wheatley (Waterstock) chargers were down and she was kept on hold for 50 minutes on her mobile!
Another stranded Leaf owner also there set off for Peartree not knowing it was also down as he couldn't get through either! He would have been too late for Oxford Nissan so flatbed too?

The phone was finally answered initially by someone not able to help as not from Ecotricity.
Call then cut off and my partner rang back and fianlly got an out of hours Ecotricity helper.
She explained it looked like a power issue affecting all three points there as 2 rapids and a 22Kw double type 2 post were all off, black screened.

Ecotricity couldn't advise as to when any of them would be fixed and didn't even know they were off line as he said he couldn't see them at all on his system so a total power failure made sense to him! By the time she got through to someone she was arriving at Cherwell services single rapid which has recently been down too but fortunately it worked or she too could have been flat bedded as there is no backup there.

So my question is has anyone here used Oxford Wheatley (Waterstock) since last Friday evening 21st November please? Ecotricity definintely had this brought to their attention despite great difficulty in doing so.

I would have hoped somebody might have thrown a switch back on in the last 6 days in that prime location on the M40 seperated as it is from both Peartree and Westway Nissan by Oxford city traffic grid lock!
 
#23 ·
Oh dear, My partner rang Ecotricity to tell them the new rapid there had failed 3 weeks ago.

On Friday 21st November last week my partner rang Ecotricity again to flag up that all 3 of the Wheatley (Waterstock) chargers were down and she was kept on hold for 50 minutes on her mobile!
Another stranded Leaf owner also there set off for Peartree not knowing it was also down as he couldn't get through either! He would have been too late for Oxford Nissan so flatbed too?

The phone was finally answered initially by someone not able to help as not from Ecotricity.
Call then cut off and my partner rang back and fianlly got an out of hours Ecotricity helper.
She explained it looked like a power issue affecting all three points there as 2 rapids and a 22Kw double type 2 post were all off, black screened.

Ecotricity couldn't advise as to when any of them would be fixed and didn't even know they were off line as he said he couldn't see them at all on his system so a total power failure made sense to him! By the time she got through to someone she was arriving at Cherwell services single rapid which has recently been down in the past but fortunately it worked or she too could have been flat bedded as there is no backup there.

So my question is has anyone here used Oxford Wheatley (Waterstock) since last Friday evening please when Ecotricity definintely had this brought to their attention despite great difficulty doing so?

I was taken on flatbed to west way Nissan as did not have enough to get there . That happened on 25th of November so Tuesday ,2 days ago . And yes I phoned them ,lady said " we are aware of the problem " When asked if anyone coming to fix it she said not at the moment . Good to know Cherwell works .

Looking at Ecotricity map today ,all is still in red and not working ): My next trip will be in Hyndai i10
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top