Charging with Honda Generator

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Not directly, but yes. We lost power at our house for two days and I was running low on charge. We hooked up a generator to our house panel and I was able to charge that way.

This was discussed on the LEAF forum in the past, and some generators may require a custom plug to create a ground. This involves using two resistors between hot / ground and neutral / ground.

If you have a generator that can supply 1,500 watts or more, try to charge the car.
 
Details here http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=358

Works fine with the EU2000i

Don
 
Don that is the generator I have. I just tried charging and the ready light blinks green on the charger. The manual says it has something to do with grounding as PVI stated above.
The EU2000i has a ground tab on the front panel. Would running a ground cable from the generator to the car fix the problem or cause damage ?
 
In the USA electrical system, the Neutral wire is referenced and tied back to the Ground wire in a residential Mains circuit panel for the wiring in your house. The 120vac wall outlet has a wide slot, or sideways-T slot, on the left for Neutral (white wire), a narrow slot on the right for Line or Hot (black wire), and a roundish hole at the bottom for Ground (green wire).

The charging EVSE unit and/or the on-board charger of the car are looking at the input lines to determine that this is true for the connection.

The generator is making an AC voltage that is floating with respect to Ground--the Neutral is not connected to the Ground. Checked the generator manual on page 73 in the technical information section and the diagram shows no connection.

So a male plug can be used to make a jumper to insert into one outlet such that the charger will be happy on the other outlet. This requires a trip to home depot.

In the backshell terminals of a male connector plug put a 12" piece of copper wire (green if you have it, any size guage 14 to 18 AWG) connecting the screw terminal for the Wide blade to the screw terminal for the Round pin. Let the loop of wire extend out the backshell to serve as an indicator flag, and to hang on the wall when not using it.

On the Mains in your house the terminal labelled Ground is actually tied to a wire that sticks into the dirt of the Earth. The dirt or ground of the Earth can conduct electricity and acts as a free wire for the utility company--so the dirt is used as a safety wire path back from your house to the center tap of the transformer on the pole, or pad if you have underground utilities.
 
We made up a plug as per the link and it worked. Saturday it's New West to Whistler with hopefully one fast charge in Squamish. And if I run short, it's Honda to the rescue.
 
Simple range-extending tips:

1. Minimize/eliminate heater/AC usage.
2. Drive a couple of MPH slower than you normally would if RR gets close to remaining distance to next destination. Slowing down makes quite the difference.
3. Use B mode when slowing down to maximize regen.
4. Use neutral to coast instead of trying to balance the needle between power and regen. Even though it has been tested and nothing happens, be careful to not shift into Reverse, but definitely avoid slipping into Park when moving by all means. That will damage the gearbox.

These may save you from an unplanned charging stop, but you do have the generator should it be unavoidable. PlugShare is your friend to find faster level 2 charging if necessary.
 
Antaris said:
We made up a plug as per the link and it worked. Saturday it's New West to Whistler with hopefully one fast charge in Squamish. And if I run short, it's Honda to the rescue.

Hello friend
Creating a custom plug that works is a clever solution for your New West to Whistler trip with electric vehicle charging plans. Having the Honda backup is a smart precaution. Safe travels!Free Fire name
 
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