Charging Nozzle Rain Shield

Never thought about this before since we don't know what rain is around here, but a friend of mine with a new i-MiEV in New Orleans is charging outside, unprotected. It occurred to me that, even though the J1772 inlet is sealed, that if it was my car then I would want some sort of rain shield or cover over the entire inlet. Anyone do that?

Not for rain, but I do have some bubble wrap that came with my EVSEUpgrade that I use for freezing rain/snow. Nothing like running late for work and finding the release button is frozen and won't unplug. I wrap it around the entire connector and shove it into the port opening to hold it in place. Works like a charm.

I too have thought about this. I park outside at home and will be getting a portable garage for the 'i' like I have for my truck...and now that I will park and charge at work I won't care....lol

That said and only having the car since May.... so far I have either not plugged in... plugged in only when it was going to be light rain... OR, I have a left over cover for a tent that I put over the whole car :? over kill? yeah, but it was hanging on the fence anyway and it worked. I closed it in the door on the other side of the car.

I like the bubble wrap idea.

But maybe you could make something that will velcro to the inside-upper part of the charger door... have it come out and over, velcro together at the end and under so that it covers the whole handle ?

OK, not sure if you would be able to follow that or not.

i was charging during a hard rain this past week--not a problem, both ends were dry when i disconnected. The pins and sockets have individual plastic shields and are not directly exposed, and the J1772 end bell provides another overlapping shield layer.

Now freezing rain or ice on the other hand--that might spoil your day. The bubble wrap or velcro jacket sounds like a good plan. i've not driven in snow but look forward to it for some parking lot drifting sessions...

JoeS said:

Never thought about this before since we don't know what rain is around here, but a friend of mine with a new i-MiEV in New Orleans is charging outside, unprotected. It occurred to me that, even though the J1772 inlet is sealed, that if it was my car then I would want some sort of rain shield or cover over the entire inlet. Anyone do that?

Click to expand...

There is a rubber ring incorporated into the SAE J1772 plug to seal out water to the pins when plugged into an electric vehicle. One of my electric Mitsubishi i's charges outside all of the time and I have never had a problem with rain. I have also had to remove frozen snow to unplug before. I heat up some water in the microwave and pour it on the plug.

My car charges outside in all weather conditions, no problems. I have no worries over the J plug end. The only thing is the box hangs inside the garage and stays out of the weather.

Thank you all for the responses. RobertC thanks for the closeup photo - I've had a couple of instances at public charging stations where the (green) gasket inside the ChargePoint connector was damaged and prevented the connector from properly seating - easily remedied with a Swiss army knife.