First Charge of the LEAF at an Autolib Station in Paris

Yesterday, after getting this new RFid Badge from Autolib to charge the LEAF, we went for Japanese lunch, and instead of parking in the regular underground parking, parked an Autolib station right next to it, since one spot was opened ...



I swipped the RFid badge, the lid blinked green, and I opened it

Guess what, the J1772 Yazaki charge cable is too short to go all the way to the front of the LEAF to access the charge port .... bummer ! - I actually knew this already - but here is a picture with my son showing the maximum length ...

As you probably know, the charge port on a BlueCar is located at the rear of the car to the right, next to the charge station lid


The solution would be to buy a Type 3 to Type 1 cable, unplug the one in the charge station, and plug mine; Problem: this kind of cable is not at all cheap ...

Also, the LEAF is a tight fit in an Autolib spot, it is just the right length, but a Model S would never fit there ....   ;-)









Finally I could never figure out if my badge started a Charge and since I did not use any power I guess it never started counting anything

My Autolib iPhone App shows no charges at all, just like nothing ever happened ...


Later on after lunch we went in Marais and plugged right behind the City hall as usual

Surprise: A white Vectrix was there, parked on the sidewalk, charging ... this is rare enough to take a picture



Charging full blast at 10.5A x 143V = 1,500W


Funny thing: he left his helmet there, passing the charging cable through it


Vectrix and LEAF charging together


LEAF with Autolib charging

The First LEAF Owner in the World was ... French, from SF Bay Area, Olivier Chalouhi

Already 3 years ... I remember watching this Event set up by Nissan at the San Francisco city hall and this French family man, Olivier Chalouhi, getting the keys to the First LEAF in the World

Now, after 3 years and 30,000 miles driving it almost everyday, to commute, but also to go on family trips, many of his friends and colleagues have been converted to Electric Drive ...

Versailles Cityhall Charging Stations test with my Vectrix

This morning I had to go to Versailles and close to the castle, " Château de Versailles ", the cityhall has 2 EV spots with charging station (regular outlets) 

The problem is that they are locked, so I guess you have to go inside the building and asked for the key ...

Le Chateau de Versailles is in the back