23rd Dec: Stranded - 'battery charging impossible'... again

Oh dear, where to begin. Today is the worst day of Zoe driving.

The plan

The rest of my family live in North Devon and we wanted to spend Christmas day with them.  So, the children and I set off in our Zoe to travel down to North Devon, a 114 mile trip.  In an ICE car and decent traffic, the journey usually takes about 2 1/2 hours.  I had a car full of Christmas presents and with three of us in the car, so I thought that the journey would take about 4 hours, if I factored in two charging stops.

I planned out my journey with the help of Zap-Map.  I could possibly make it down to the services at Tiverton on the M5 Jct 27 on a full battery, but it would be close on battery range especially considering the it's winter and I have a heavy load.  An added complication is that, apart from the County Renault in Barnstaple (11 miles away from my family), there are no public charging points near my parent's house or once you leave the M5.  This means that I'd have to charge fully at Tiverton M5 to ensure that I'd have plenty of battery to reach my parent's house.

My plan was to:

• Charge at Sedgemoor services on the M5 (41 miles)
• Charge at Tiverton services (35 miles)
• Trickle charge once at parent's house. (45 miles)

The attempt

At about 9.45 off we set on our journey to sunny North Devon.  We joked about how normal car owners don't have the same level of excitement when they're making long journeys.  

Usually, I drive the Zoe in eco mode to maximise the battery range.  But considering I had plenty of charging points to try, I decided to make the most of the cruise control (which can't be activated in eco mode).  This meant using more battery power, but it was worth it.  The car drove beautifully and we were all excited and chatting away. Although, we were all a little cold, because the climate control still isn't working, and the children had to have blankets over their knees because we couldn't get the car to heat up.  

Battery charging impossible

We reached Sedgemoor services at 10.30 and found the charging points straight away. It's an Ecotricity point, the same unit used at Ikea, so I knew the process.  I plugged the car in, swiped my car and waited for the charging unit to say that charging had started.  We chatted, jumping up and down in the cold, talking about the breakfast we were going to order.  Then we realised that the charge still hadn't been accepted.  At that moment, my heart sank to my stomach.  I walked round to look at the car dashboard.  This is the image that greeted me:

Battery charging impossible. Again.  I could not believe what I was seeing.  

I could see my Christmas plans slipping away (I'm due to fly out of Bristol airport on 26th to see my friend in Spain).   The children could feel it too.  I tried to reassure them that it'd be OK and that somehow they'd be with their grandparents for Christmas day.  I phoned Ecotricity, they told me that the unit was functioning properly and that other people had already charged from it that day.  The screen certainly wasn't displaying any faults.

The display of the Ecotricity unit.  Online and functioning properly.

We decided to give it some time to see if the car reset itself, so we went for a drink.  I think we all knew that it was futile, but, ever the optimist, I tried.  The fault was still showing on the car when we returned.  I worked out that we had enough battery to get to Taunton Deane services, so we decided to  drive there in the hope that the system would reset itself and try to charge it at a different charging point. To add insult to injury, a Nissan Leaf turned up and charged from the unit as we waited.

I drove in eco mode all the way to Taunton Deane.  The car was silent, we were all deflated. As I drove, all I could see was 'battery charging impossible' staring back at me. We got to Taunton Deane services the warning message was still illuminated.  It was futile, but we tried to charge the Zoe anyway.  We had to wait for a Nissan Leaf to drive away first, but at least we knew the point was working.  I tried to initiate a charge, to no avail. We had to relent.  We were going to have to phone Renault assistance.  

Christmas just went from an exciting family time to a huge, stressful mess.  

The rescue

I telephoned Renault Assistance (14p per minute!) and spoke to a lady who reiterated the advice I was given when the car broke down just a few weeks before (Electric Alice: November 11th: breakdown - 'Battery charging impos...) Renault don't authorise anyone to attempt to mend Zoes  by the side of the road, so it needs to be taken to the nearest Renault Dealer.  In this case they telephoned me back to say that I was going to have to be towed back up to Bristol. 

Now, given the fact that I was stranded on the motorway, less than 48 hours before Christmas day, with two children and a car full of presents, I'd hoped that Renault assistance would go out of their way to help me, reassure me and quite frankly, make everything okay.   As I'm sure you can imagine, being told that we were going to have to be taken back to Bristol didn't fill us with much joy.  I was told that Bristol were the only dealer who could service the car.  However, I knew that there was a Renault garage in Barnstaple that was authorised to service Zoes and was only 11 miles away from my parents.  After lots of phone calls it manifested that if I was taken home, Renault Assistance had no obligation for my onward travel.  Neither City Motors Renault or County Renault Barnstaple had any courtesy cars available for the Christmas period and neither had a mechanic available until the 24th.  This means that if I was taken to Barnstaple, Renault Assistance were obligated to provide me with a hire car for my onward travel.   It was only after about half an hour and many phone calls that I managed to secure a hire car to be there for me at  County Renault on our arrival.  Although this could only be authorised of a maximum of 5 days.  This could be a problem considering that I'm supposed to be flying out to Spain from Bristol for 5 days on the 26th. Still, not worth thinking about that today, we'll see what tomorrow brings. 

After about another hour (after finishing all the telephone debates with Renault Assist) a lovely young man from Weston Recovery arrived to collect us and the Zoe and take us down to Barnstaple.  By this time, the children were fed up.  My daughter "hates that car", my health was deteriorating and we were all ruing the day that we'd invested in EV technology.  The only thing we could be thankful for was that we'd made the decision to travel this morning.  Originally we were going to travel down last night after work.  This means, we'd have been stranded on the motorway in the dark and cold, with nothing open and Enterprise car hire not available to ensure our onward travel.  It just doesn't bear thinking about.   Again, to add insult to injury, three Nissan Leafs charged while I was waiting to be towed away.

We made it to Barnstaple, collected the hire car, transferred all the presents and cases and made it to my parent's house.  Tired and worse for wear.  We'll await the report on the car when the mechanic arrives at County Renault tomorrow morning.

Weston Recovery coming to tow us away

Zoe being loaded onto the truck

Zoe reduced to an undrivable car

November 11th: breakdown - 'Battery charging impossible'

Oh dear, is all that I can say.  Today, EV had a ride on a tow-truck.

This morning I went to work and tried charging my car at a POD Point charging unit.  I swiped my car, plugged in it and waited, staring at the charging unit screen for the confirmation message saying that the charge had started.  Nothing happened.  I went to the car to look and see if it was still completing its 'checks'.  This is what I found.

Battery charging impossible?? How can an electric car come up with the error message 'battery charging impossible'? I took out the Zoe Driver's Handbook  and checked the advice.  This is what it says:

I couldn't believe it.  I've had the Zoe a week and it's already having to be returned to the dealer. I  only had 11 miles left on the battery and I wasn't sure that I would make it to the nearest dealer (any I didn't know where my nearest dealer was - being on a campus in the middle of nowhere with limited phone signal and a 10 minute walk to the building), so I had no choice but to abandon work and phone Renault Assistance.  Unfortunately, although the phone number provided by the onboard computer is an 0800 number, to call the number from a mobile (as you're most likely to be doing given that it's a car breakdown) cost me 14p per minute. 

This is getting better and better.  First, my car breaks down meaning that I have to get it fixed rather than going to work.  Secondly, the number I need to call to fix it is 14p per minute. I am not impressed.

Given the fact that the telephone call is costing so much, you'd think that it would be answered by the most eloquent, gentile and understanding of people who are happy to help and understand your predicament.  The gentleman who answered my call had other ideas.  He asked what was wrong, then abruptly asked if I'd at least attempted to take the car to my nearest dealer.  I explained that I was on a campus that I didn't usually work at and I didn't know where my nearest dealer was.  The conversation went something like this (not verbatim, but the gist):

Me: My car has broken down

Renault Assist (RA): Have you tried taking it to the nearest dealer?

Me: No, I only have approximately 11 miles left and I don't know where my nearest dealer is.

RA: Well haven't you looked?

Me: Isn't it your job to help me? I haven't got many miles left on the battery and I don't know how to get to the nearest dealer.

RA: So you're telling me that you haven't even looked?

Me: I'm telling you that I can't look and I need you to help me.

RA: Well you need to get it to the dealer there's one in Bath. 

Me: Is there any point in phoning this number?...

Eventually, he agreed that is was probably best for me to stay where I was and for them to attend the car.  Although, because it's a Zoe, Renault don't authorise anyone to work on the cars by the side of the road, so the car HAS to be towed to the nearest Renault dealer.  

After about an hour, a lovely man from Hinton Rescue turned up to take EV away.  EV was loaded onto the back of his lorry, and I joined the fella in the front while we made the journey back to City Motors Bristol, where I bought the car from. 

Work? Completely out of the window now.

Probably about three hours after the 'battery charging impossible' message came up on the screen the City Motors Bristol mechanic looked at the EV.  He explained that there was a problem with the POD Point charging unit and as a result the car's computer had shut down.  I asked him if there was something wrong with the car.  He told me that the POD Point unit was to blame.  I asked him if the car would have reset itself if I'd tried to charge it at a different unit.  I was told that once the 'battery charging impossible' message is displayed the car will not accept charge from any source and it will need to be reset at a Renault garage (as per the handbook advice).  

This all seems a bit dodgy to me, I can see there the potential for me to be spending a lot of time in and out of towing trucks if the system has to be reset every time it suspects a problem with the charging points. But the mechanic has assured me that it doesn't happen very often and that most charging points are fine.  So, we'll have to see how this one goes.  

Once at home, I telephoned POD Point and told them that their charging point had broken the car.  They told me that the charging point was functional and had been serviced the week before. 

Is it really possible that Renault have made an electric car that isn't able to accept charge from public charging points?  Also, if it suspects a faulty charging point it actually shuts down to the point that you have to be towed back to a Renault dealer? The plot thickens. All in all, not happy with my decision to be an EV pioneer at this moment in time.  Wondering whether I've purchased a car or a very expensive golf buggy. 

Today's final thought:  Is it the car, or the unit?  That is the question.