Question

Where can a Pebble reliably charge on the road?

4 months ago

For charging on the road, where have you had luck? I just tried at a Flying J with GM Energy charging stations powered by EVgo and it started to charge, but stopped after a very short time. The second try, I got 3% before it stopped. The third try, it only charged for 18 seconds.

Update: I was able to charge at an Electrify America charging station. It was pulling 45 kW, so no need to use a 350 kW station. There were some 150 kW stations available.

charging road-trip dc-fast-charging

6 answers

4mo ago

Thanks for that public-service message at the end! I always hate when a Bolt driver is at the only 350 kW charger and I need to fill up my giant, electron-hungry Silverado EV. It’s a nice courtesy not to use a charger above your need when possible.

4mo ago

I don't think there is a way to turn the Pebble computer off. It is always transmitting its Wi-Fi signal looking for the iPad connection. So, if the Pebble sits, will it eventually drain the battery? And if it gets completely dead, do you have to call Pebble to reset/restart it? Is that correct?

4mo ago

I can't say from first-hand experience, but I've seen posted that if you put the Pebble into its sleep hibernation state, the drain is pretty small and the battery will reportedly last weeks, if not months.

However, regarding the dead-battery issue, I have had the 12 V battery die due to a since-patched software issue that was causing it not to be charged from the high-voltage battery even when plugged into shore power. Since that 12 V battery powers the onboard computer, when it dies none of your controls work.

I called Pebble support and they talked me through jump-starting it. Once you know where things are, it's not difficult. The only challenging part is that you will almost inevitably break the plastic clips holding the cover panel in place. Apparently there's a special tool that can unfasten them without breaking them, but I didn't have that. Pebble support told me to go ahead and break the clips, and they sent replacements. Once you get the cover off to access the battery terminals, it's pretty much like jump-starting any other vehicle. I was even able to do it with one of those little portable glove-box battery units.

4mo ago

I have had my Pebble sleep for a week at a time at 100% SoC and seen a 0–1% drop in SoC, so it seems pretty efficient when asleep. But thinking it is still running basic “life support” such as Bluetooth from the 12 V battery, I tend to wake it up at least once a week for an hour or so when the sun is out to let the solar panels soak up a little. Another reason that wake-up/charge scheduling would be a nice addition.

Regarding jump-starting the 12 V battery: did you have to disconnect Pebble wiring from the battery before jump-starting, or just leave everything connected?

4mo ago

My 12 V battery died on my Pebble and Pebble support had me hook up a battery charger to the terminals under the trailer to charge it.

4mo ago

Pebble support had me remove the cover plate—it’s under the trailer, driver side at the front—and connect the jump-start battery to the terminals. I didn't disconnect anything.

Where can a Pebble reliably charge on the road?

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