Dash charging indicator light counterintuitive

[Xlqbn]

Does anyone else find the logic of the dashboard charging light backward

I'm at a public charging station waiting on my fast charge.
The leafs and BMW's have progressive blinking lights showing charge level
Just the opposite of my spark

 

[cwerdna]

Does anyone else find the logic of the dashboard charging light backward

I'm at a public charging station waiting on my fast charge.
The leafs and BMW's have progressive blinking lights showing charge level
Just the opposite of my spark

GM did the solid green == charging, flashing green == done w/the Volt. The Spark EV inherited that.

Unfortunately, the Leaf and Volt came out around the same time and well, they went opposite directions.

The Fiat 500e also has progress indicator but like the Leaf but w/5 lights and yes, 1 blinks while charging. Kia Soul EV I believe is also similar to the Leaf. Fords have a glowing ring around the inlet that is in quarters that also I believe indicates progress. 1 of them pulsates while charging.

So yes, GM is the odd man out.

 

[nikwax]

I never think of looking at the light. At a public charging station, I can look at the display on the EVSE, or look at my phone app to monitor the charge.

 

[Zoomit]

Yes--it's definitely counterintuitive. This will be the single easiest thing for them to fix in the Bolt.

 

[cwerdna]

I never think of looking at the light. At a public charging station, I can look at the display on the EVSE, or look at my phone app to monitor the charge.

This assumes there is a display or means of monitoring via an app.

I frequently use 1 location w/8 free L2 EVSEs. There's no network, the stations have no connectivity nor do any of them have a display. They have some lights, and fortunately, a solid green light on those Clipper Creek EVSEs == charging. Sometimes, one of the stations has a broken charging light though.

I ALWAYS look at the indicator on the car first, because often, cars are not plugged into the nearest EVSE, esp. at that location. It could be from a few spaces over or in the other side is the aisle/island. We have no control over who plugs in where, who comes and goes and who parks where. Sometimes, there are no spaces available or only an open space far from the EVSE itself.

I also cannot via an app monitor other people's cars. And, some plug-in vehicles don't even have any sort of cellular connectivity (e.g. 2013+ Leaf S trim).

 

[NORTON]

... or look at my phone app to monitor the charge.

How does this work? I can see 'Occupied' on plugshare. Is there an app that shows level of charge? Does L2 have that data from the car?

I never found one occupied, until yesterday.
I wanted to top up at one of the DCFC stations on the way home. I found a Leaf using it. The Leaf had 3 blue lights on the dash, the last one blinking...
I don't talk Leaf, so I looked at the DCFC station and it showed the Leaf at 75%. Then I thought, "I hope this turkey isn't one of those guys that plugs into a DCFC and then goes to the movies".
I hung out at the nearby book store while she went potty. I stood around looking at books and then went back out to see if the Leaf was still there. I should have used the app....
He was unplugging and we talked EV for a while! I should have thought to use Plugshare to watch the 'Occupied' status change !

 

[nikwax]

OnStar app shows SOC. Yeah, I know OnStar can be flaky, but it works for me. My only public charging is at a DCFC that displays full metrics.

 

[Xlqbn]

It's an etiquette issue. At the busy whole foods charge location in Berkeley I've had to explain to leaf owners that I'm charging when the light is solid ( and walked away 4 coffee during thecharge)

I'm also finding free charging expensive what with all the coffee and pastries!

 

[Alcalira]

I use the Whole Foods Berkeley Gilman St. location for DCFC regularly. It certainly is a popular place! There, etiquette is exactly what I think most of us would like. You never unplug a car that is charging, but once it's done, you are free to do so. And you always plug in any car that is there with its charge door open. LEAF's predominate there, and their flashing blue lights, that go solid and then off when done, make sense to me. A solid green light to me means "go" and thus that the car is fully charged. I agree, it's counterintuitive.

 

[cwerdna]

Does anyone else find the logic of the dashboard charging light backward

I'm at a public charging station waiting on my fast charge.
The leafs and BMW's have progressive blinking lights showing charge level
Just the opposite of my spark

GM did the solid green == charging, flashing green == done w/the Volt. The Spark EV inherited that.

Unfortunately, the Leaf and Volt came out around the same time and well, they went opposite directions.

The Fiat 500e also has progress indicator but like the Leaf but w/5 lights and yes, 1 blinks while charging. Kia Soul EV I believe is also similar to the Leaf. Fords have a glowing ring around the inlet that is in quarters that also I believe indicates progress. 1 of them pulsates while charging.

So yes, GM is the odd man out.

The crazy part is that apparently GM decided to REVERSE the meaning of their charging indicator light on the 2016 Volt vs. (Gen 1) 2011-2015 Volt and Spark EV.

I had a brief conversation w/a '16 Volt driver recently who seemed to have a previous one before and said it was reversed. Seems confirmed by http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?17973-How-to-Tell-if-an-EV-is-Finished-Charging-.-.-.&p=2923138#post2923138 and https://www.chevrolet.com/content/dam/Chevrolet/northamerica/usa/nscwebsite/en/Home/Ownership/Manuals_and_Videos/02_pdf/getting-to-know-your-2016-volt.pdf on page 12. You gotta be kidding me, GM!

They should've stuck w/their earlier convention, used different colored lights or provided a real progress indicator (ala Leaf, Soul EV, Fiat 500e, all Fords, etc.)