[mcstrangelove]

I have reason to believe that someone is somehow interrupting my charge, out of spite. I'm not sure how that is possible without triggering the loud alarm. But in several cases, I'll confirm that the green light is on (Mode: Charge Immediately) and when I come back at the end of the day the EV miles are the same as when I plugged it in (i.e. it didn't charge much at all).

Normally I would chalk this up to some sort of occasional charging glitch. But there is an interesting coincidence. Every time this has happened, it's when I've parked in a particular spot that has been "claimed" by an i3 BMW who leaves his charge cord plugged in whenever he leaves to "hold his spot." The policy is first-come first-served, but I have a feeling this individual is tampering with my charge cord because he is upset I'm taking his "personal" space. I'm planning on reporting this to our Operations Dept. But first I want to confirm that this is possible. And not some crazy coincidence.

 

[bro1999]

I have reason to believe that someone is somehow interrupting my charge, out of spite. I'm not sure how that is possible without triggering the loud alarm. But in several cases, I'll confirm that the green light is on (Mode: Charge Immediately) and when I come back at the end of the day the EV miles are the same as when I plugged it in (i.e. it didn't charge much at all).

Normally I would chalk this up to some sort of occasional charging glitch. But there is an interesting coincidence. Every time this has happened, it's when I've parked in a particular spot that has been "claimed" by an i3 BMW who leaves his charge cord plugged in whenever he leaves to "hold his spot." The policy is first-come first-served, but I have a feeling this individual is tampering with my charge cord because he is upset I'm taking his "personal" space. I'm planning on reporting this to our Operations Dept. But first I want to confirm that this is possible. And not some crazy coincidence.

Dashcam FTW.

 

[Steverino]

If you have the alarm activated for unplugging while the car is charging, the alatm will sound for a few minutes, then stop. You can verify this. Hanging around the parking spot or a dashcam could be used to see if someone is actually doing this. If there are only a few miles added, the unplug must occur pretty soon after you start charging. My car adds about 10 miles an hour at 240V.

 

[bjrosen]

I have reason to believe that someone is somehow interrupting my charge, out of spite. I'm not sure how that is possible without triggering the loud alarm. But in several cases, I'll confirm that the green light is on (Mode: Charge Immediately) and when I come back at the end of the day the EV miles are the same as when I plugged it in (i.e. it didn't charge much at all).

Normally I would chalk this up to some sort of occasional charging glitch. But there is an interesting coincidence. Every time this has happened, it's when I've parked in a particular spot that has been "claimed" by an i3 BMW who leaves his charge cord plugged in whenever he leaves to "hold his spot." The policy is first-come first-served, but I have a feeling this individual is tampering with my charge cord because he is upset I'm taking his "personal" space. I'm planning on reporting this to our Operations Dept. But first I want to confirm that this is possible. And not some crazy coincidence.

What kind of EVSE is at the spot? Is it's Chargepoint or similar that has to be enabled for each charge or is a free EVSE? Is the cable disconnected or is it still plugged in when you return? If it's a Chargepoint you can use the app to see if your car is charging or not, and if not you will see how long you were charging before it stopped. If it's a free EVSE it should charge as long as the cable is plugged in.

I'd come back 30 minutes after you've plugged in and check if it's still charging assuming it's a free EVSE, or check the app if it's a non-free EVSE. I also agree with bro1999 about getting a dash cam if you really suspect that you are being disconnected.

 

[llninja]

Dashcam FTW.

Trunk monkey!!!! FTRW (for the real win)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8avOiTUcD4Y&t=3s

 

[obermd]

Is this a 120V outlet? If so, set your car to charge at 8 amps. 12 amps may be triggering a circuit breaker somewhere. Also the Volt will tell you if charging has been interrupted.

 

[obermd]

Normally I would chalk this up to some sort of occasional charging glitch. But there is an interesting coincidence. Every time this has happened, it's when I've parked in a particular spot that has been "claimed" by an i3 BMW who leaves his charge cord plugged in whenever he leaves to "hold his spot." The policy is first-come first-served, but I have a feeling this individual is tampering with my charge cord because he is upset I'm taking his "personal" space. I'm planning on reporting this to our Operations Dept. But first I want to confirm that this is possible. And not some crazy coincidence.

There's a solution to this guy leaving his charge cord there all the time. Pick it up and turn it in to parking control as a lost & found item. It's not stolen - you're safeguarding his property by ensuring it's properly secured.

 

[mcstrangelove]

I guess I've been holding off on the dash cam - probably a good idea for that investment. If anything, to have a record of psycho drivers in the event of (God forbid) an accident.

To answer other questions... These are free spots, courtesy of the company. It's just a regular 120 circuit at each spot. I have the OnStar app that tells me if it is charging or not. I've been more cognizant of checking it periodically. Yes, I've thought about turning in the dude's charge cord but I want to confirm that this guy is doing this first. I've casually mentioned it to our Ops Dept and they say he can't "hold" the spot - it's first come first served. Assuming I am correct and this guy is passive-aggressively unplugging my car, I think he'd flip out if I turned his cord in.

 

[bjrosen]

I guess I've been holding off on the dash cam - probably a good idea for that investment. If anything, to have a record of psycho drivers in the event of (God forbid) an accident.

To answer other questions... These are free spots, courtesy of the company. It's just a regular 120 circuit at each spot. I have the OnStar app that tells me if it is charging or not. I've been more cognizant of checking it periodically. Yes, I've thought about turning in the dude's charge cord but I want to confirm that this guy is doing this first. I've casually mentioned it to our Ops Dept and they say he can't "hold" the spot - it's first come first served. Assuming I am correct and this guy is passive-aggressively unplugging my car, I think he'd flip out if I turned his cord in.

Are you plugged in or not when you return? If your EVSE is plugged in it should be charging assuming that the outlet is working, simply unplugging and then replugging the EVSE shouldn't matter.

 

[N8XWB]

You mentioned using the OnStar app. Why haven't you set notifications ON and it will/can email and or text you when your charging is interrupted?

 

[Barry]

I think this is some technical glitch, maybe caused by your having the wrong charge mode selected- are you using delayed charging? Or it might be some kind of low voltage problem. Monitor your charge on the myVolt website.

Also, if you have both of the charge alarms set and armed by locking your car, they will go off if he unplugs it from the car or the wall, so no, there is no sneaky way he could be doing this.

Also, if he is unplugging you, the cord would be unplugged when you returned to your car, and you did not say that is the case. Don't go postal on anybody until you really know what is happening.

Also, don't worry about his cord. It is his business if he wants to leave it somewhere while he is not using it. It does not hold the parking spot, so no need to feel put out by it.

 

[rmay635703]

Does your car say a charge interruption has occurred your utility has cut power

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I would suspect that the circuit is not designed to maintain charge on two vehicles. I have had many outlets rejected by my charging cord due to insufficient power. Modern circuits should have adequate amps, but older outlets or outlets with draws from more than one appliance or vehicle may not enable charging. The ChargePoint discussion may be relevant for other Volt owners. I needed to contact ChargePoint several times over power drops that were subsequently corrected by technical support.

 

[Golfguy]

Also, in lieu of a dash cam just for this purpose, if you've got an old smartphone not in use, you could use it as a video recorder.

 

[ClarksonCote]

I'm guessing you either have time of use charging setup accidentally so it starts charging but then stops when it thinks it is peak time, or they're cutting the power at the outlet, or they're familiar with how to unplug the Volt and plug it in 10 seconds later to override immediate charging with delayed charging.

 

[Aseras]

Could even be as simple as "suspect" holding down the button to stop charging and not removing the handle all the way. It wont set off the alarm and it won't charge until it is reseated fully.

you could try one of the tiny luggage type locks on the EVSE handle so the button cannot be depressed unless unlocked. Depends on the evse you have it if has a hole or not for a lock.

it could also be as simple as a GFCI tripping.

Did you ever see the charging interrupted override screen on the display?

 

[JRRF]

You could take a really civil approach, and go talk to this guy, asking him whether he's had trouble getting his car charged in that spot. If you keep the conversation going long enough he may cough up some details that will let you know what's happening.