no DC quick charge option on my used 2014 i3 REX

[oostlanderhg]

Is it possible to have a DC quick charge option installed on my used 2014 REX?
Unfortunately, it came with only the AC J1772 receptor.

 

[alohart]

No, but is there actually a DC fast charger on Saint Martin?

 

[jadnashuanh]

I've had my i3 for about 18-months now, I bought it with the DC fast charge capability, but still have not had an opportunity to test to see if it works...there just aren't any convenient units anywhere near me. They say they are coming, but only time will tell. Some people are lucky to have them all around, in the USA, in most places, they are rare. California may be an exception, but still, based on the tens of millions of people living there, per capita, almost none.

 

[alohart]

Our i3 has DC fast charging which I did not want to pay for because we'll never need it, but there were no other i3 BEV's with the options that we wanted. There are now 3 public SAE Combo DC fast chargers on our island, one of them at a 7-11 store in a residential area ½ mile from our apartment. I wonder how much it has been used being very much off the beaten path. $6-$7 per session depending on the time of day. I suppose I might use it if both of our EVSE's fail (fat chance). Maybe those living in nearby apartments where installing their own EVSE's would be expensive would use it. I should probably try it just to make sure that the DC fast charging system in our i3 is functional, but then why do I really care?

 

[I33t]

I agree, Art.

Unless you really need fast charging because your daily range is in excess of the vehicle's capacity then there is not a lot of benefit. Even then, it would have to be at a convenient location.

I optioned it only for possible future use and resale because I knew it wasn't feasible to add it later. No DC chargers here yet...

 

[jadnashuanh]

It's probably prudent to check that it works at least once while the vehicle is still under warranty. Otherwise, later on, should you want to use it, or during a resale, it could get expensive and limit your potential buyers.

 

[user 2724]

We used to only have one CCS quick charge location in Vancouver Canada until last week, now a 2nd is available. I know of one BMW i3 owner thats quick charge port is not working (never worked), as he has been unable to charge at either location while others can, so a good idea to make sure your charge port is working properly before you actually might be counting on a quick charge somewhere.

Our power utility operates the (free) chargers and was looking for some BMW i3's to test their CCS charging station, while they had a service technician onsite fixing the CCS portion (that had not been working). They only have Nissan Leafs with CHAdeMO ports in their fleet. I was one of several i3's that answered the call and got to see that our CCS quick charge plugs indeed worked; my first quick charge! We did discover that you need to make sure the plug is pushed in straight and that there is no sag on the connector or this may cause the charging station to not communicate properly with the i3 and therefore not initiate the charge.

I was on my way to Seattle and did get to use 3 other quick chargers on the round trip and they all worked flawlessly. Two were at Kia dealers installed by the Kia dealers to support their electric car offerings. I think BMW should mandate that any "i" certified dealer should also have a BMW/Bosch CCS charge station available if they have 3 phase power at their location. After all they are selling cars equipped with quick charge ports and this way they could have a means to check and test customers quick charge ports if required and better yet have your car at least 80% charged for you after any service work performed.

 

[cmj912]

I can't even find a fast charge station on my map.
There must not be any between Boston and New York.

 

[user 2724]

Download the Plugshare app and you will see several CCS charge points between Boston and New York. From my experience it tends to have almost every charge point available, doesn't matter who's system and it tells you the system most of the time.

 

[oostlanderhg]

No, but is there actually a DC fast charger on Saint Martin?

No there is no charging option at all on the island, since there are only 2 EVs on the island. But I intend to move back to holland later this year and want to take the i3 with me. In Holland there are many quick charge stations. Could I have the DC option installed later in my car?

 

[Jeffj]

No (at least not via BMW, and probably not economically from others), you can't retrofit DCFC

 

[cmj912]

Download the Plugshare app and you will see several CCS charge points between Boston and New York. From my experience it tends to have almost every charge point available, doesn't matter who's system and it tells you the system most of the time.

It does look like there are a few. I didn't realize how Plugshare different from Chargepoint. I have a question...Tesla charging stations are proprietary, right?

There's a great location (middle of the state...like smack in the middle) that has 10 spaces of "high power" chargers. But I guess maybe I can't use them because Tesla has its own connector? The only other fast chargers in my state are at Nissan dealerships.

 

[user 2724]

Tesla is proprietary for Tesla only and no adapters available to their charging system. Tesla has taken the approach to sell the car and include a fast charging infrastructure for their vehicles all over North America along major corridors so that Tesla cars (Model S) can make it from supercharger to supercharger for 80% of their customer base.

Watch that Nissan is not just only CHAdeMO DC also not compatible with BMW, VW, MB, Kia and others unless of course they have a dual CHAdeMO/CCS ports on their DC chargers. Kia dealership are deploying dual CHAdeMO/CCS DC chargers on the westcoast much faster than other car dealerships and they have been welcoming to BMW's for now.

 

[TomMoloughney]

I can't even find a fast charge station on my map.
There must not be any between Boston and New York.

By April the East Coast Express charging corridor will be complete. There are currently only a few of them installed, but by April there will be a DC fast charger every 40 to 50 miles from Washington DC to Boston, so the NY to Boston drive will be no problem very soon.

I wrote a little about it in this BMW infrastructure post last month:

http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2015/12/bmw-ev-infrastructure-discussions-from.html

 

[cmj912]

I live in Rhode Island. It does not seem to be the case that there are any here. The point-to-point network is great...if driving from those locations.
My experience this weekend was interesting...now that I can see PlugShare I see a lot of comments about people parking in EV spaces without EVs. When I went to a shopping plaza this weekend, both stations were blocked by regular cars not using them. DC Fast Charge is a great idea for long trips, but when I can't even find a regular station out and about for a trip to and from my HOME then it can get annoying.

 

[oostlanderhg]

I was on my way to Seattle and did get to use 3 other quick chargers on the round trip and they all worked flawlessly.

how long did it take to charge with the quick charger?

 

[user 2724]

I was able to charge to 80% capacity in about 15-20 minutes from 10-20%, then charging rate slows down significantly. I did not leave on DC charger longer than about 25 - 30 minutes as you can see the charging rate (speed) fall off similar to a level 2 charger after reaching the 80% mark. The DC fast chargers I used all displayed % of charge on their LCD screens plus kilowatts used during charge.

 

[i3atl]

I was able to charge to 80% capacity in about 15-20 minutes from 10-20%, then charging rate slows down significantly. I did not leave on DC charger longer than about 25 - 30 minutes as you can see the charging rate (speed) fall off similar to a level 2 charger after reaching the 80% mark. The DC fast chargers I used all displayed % of charge on their LCD screens plus kilowatts used during charge.

I'm not suggesting that anyone make a habit of staying connected to a DCFC while above 80%, particularly if others are waiting, but the usual point where a DCFC drops to L2 (7kW) speeds on an i3 is around 92%.

 

[jadnashuanh]

A lot of where the switch occurs, I think, depends on how hot the battery pack is and the ambient temperature.

 

[i3atl]

A lot of where the switch occurs, I think, depends on how hot the battery pack is and the ambient temperature.

Yes, there's potential for some variation based on those factors, but it's less of a concern with a thermally managed pack. Over many tests we've performed locally, with several different i3s and DCFC units, it has happened consistently at around 92%.

The Spark EV stays above L2 rates even beyond 92%.