120V charging cord

[archie_b]

Based on everything I have read and/or seen, there is nothing to prevent someone from stealing the 120V charging cord when opportunity charging away from home. I spoke to a Leaf owner who has the same concern.

Many employers and businesses have no problem with letting you use a 120V outlet, but most will balk at installing a 240V level 2 charging station. In my case going to a major shopping and entertainment area is 33 miles each way. Without the ability to charge while shopping, dinning or taking in a movie, I can not use the i. Until 240V charging stations become more common in most areas, 120V charging away from home will be the norm.

Hopefully this is something that can be addressed either aftermarket or by Mitsubishi.

 

[marta]

Do you mean someone could steal the 120v charging cable while you're plugged in and charging your Mitsubishi i Miev?

What's the difference between this and someone stealing a 240V cable?

 

[JoeS]

Marta: the Level 1 (120vac) EVSE cord can be unplugged from the wall and also from the car, so someone could walk away with it. The Level 2 cord is usually permanently attached to the fixed-mount EVSE.

A possible solution is to stick the Level 1 box inside the vehicle through the open window and then close off the window so just the cords come out.

Since I don't have my iMiEV yet and I forgot to take note when I was at the dealer, does the "i" Level 1 J1772 plug have a provision for a small padlock?

 

[Wee John]

Since I don't have my iMiEV yet and I forgot to take note when I was at the dealer, does the "i" Level 1 J1772 plug have a provision for a small padlock?

JoeS, just checked for you, the J1772 connector does have a padlock hole in the release button approx. 1/4" diameter.

 

[archie_b]

While I do not know what Mitsubishi would charge for a replacement level 1 EVSE (the 120V cord that comes with the car), I found out that Nissan charges around $700 for a new level 1 EVSE. Assuming Mitsubishi would be similar, it behoves an owner to exercise caution and lock the J1772 plug as securely as possible.

If anyone can find out what Mitsubishi does charge for a replacement EVSE it would be interesting to know. I live in an area where the car is not on sale yet and asking my dealer anything about the car results in a "...duh, we don't have that information yet."

 

[JoeS]

JoeS, just checked for you, the J1772 connector does have a padlock hole in the release button approx. 1/4" diameter.

Thanks for that. Hope we never have to resort to using a padlock...

 

[iMiEV808]

There is a hole in the handle near the release button. Inserting a small rod through the hole will keep the release button from being depress. You can pass a lock through it to prevent theft of your charge cord set.

 

[Wee John]

I discovered I can get away with using the 120V charger for my driving needs. I travel 43-47 miles per day, 16 miles freeway the rest surface streets. I plug in at work for 2-2½ hours then at home for 12 hours and that keeps the battery level between 3 bars and 13 bars.

 

[MPT]

Here's my fix for the whole issue - leave it in the trunk:

 

[Don]

That looks like a workable solution - The only negative I can see is that it requires using an extension cord, which the Owners Manual warns you never to do (Pg 1/20)

If you're going against that warning and choose to use one anyway, I would 1.) Keep the cord as short as possible, 2.) Make sure it's a 12 gauge, 3 conductor cord and 3.) Ensure the plug and socket on the cord are in very good shape . . . . use a newish cord and not an older one which has been used a hundred times before - I would go buy a brand new one and not use it for anything else

The cord in your pictures looks pretty old and beat up

Don

 

[MPT]

Don,

Sound advice indeed - always check that your cable is rated at 12A or more even though the car only draws 8A - I selected a 15A rating - more is better!

It's a very stout brand new new cord with nice tight contacts - it's orange and grey striped so it's visible on most surfaces, choosing a 'heavy duty' cable means that the insulation is tough and durable and selecting a cable with a wide temperature rating, especially in the cold means that it won't crack in winter. My recommendation is http://www.homedepot.com/p/25-ft-12-3-Extension-Cord-AW62630/100661448?N=c4ne#.UXbu35Vlkw0 At $36 you can afford to throw it out if you see any cuts or nicks in the insulation.

The good (or bad... mostly bad) news is that the i-MiEV only draws 8A at 120v - this keeps the risk of the contacts heating quite low though the interface between the extension cord and EVSE does warm to the touch after a days use - us in an open, uncluttered trunk - there's probably a warning about that in the manual too!

Thanks.

 

[Don]

The good (or bad... mostly bad) news is that the i-MiEV only draws 8A at 120v

Many of us have modified the OEM EVSE so that it draws 12.5 amps . . . . at either 120 or 240 VAC

http://www.evseupgrade.com

Don

 

[MPT]

Don,

Are you saying that the limit is imposed by the EVSE and not the charger? That would be awesome! I have a 15A 120v EVSE that came with my BMW, it'd be great if that'd encourage the car to draw more.

 

[Don]

Yes, it is - The onboard charger is rated at 3300 watts, which is 13.75 amps @ 240 VAC. So long as your BMW EVSE is compatible with the J1772 standard, it will probably work with your car

The EVSE reports to the charger what is available, so far as the AC outlet the EVSE is plugged into and then the charger adjusts so as not to overload the outlet. All that's in the EVSE box is some computer circuitry to 'talk' to the car and a pair of relays to make the AC connection

Using the modified OEM EVSE plugged into a 20 amp 240 volt outlet, the car will recharge in 6 or 7 hours, compared to the 21 or 22 hours you're used to

Don

 

[MPT]

That is great news! I have a 36 mile commute each way and only 120v access. At 960W it's not hitting 100% be the end of the day, at 1.65kW (its a 5-20R so i can set the EVSE to 15A) it'll easily hit a full charge with time to spare for a bit of preconditioning!

I'd foolishly assumed that the 120v EVSEs didn't bother with a pilot signal - that's Tesla's fault, their 120v cord is just a GFCI, no pilot; the car assumes a 12-15A circuit and watches for voltage sag.

...time for some testing...

 

[Don]

If the 8 amp stock one is working for you, that might be the better choice for using at work - With your battery only halfway depleted from the drive to work, doing a 100% recharge with cell balancing and all twice per day isn't really good for the battery. If you're getting enough recharge at 8 amps to easily make it home, that's the way I would go

I do partial recharges most of the time (usually using my 12.5 amp OEM EVSE) and only fully recharge once every 6 or 8 days on average - Mitsu recommends that you do a full recharge at least every two weeks. The battery prefers being kept between 40% and 80% or so . . . . you're not 'hurting' things with full recharges - It's just that current thinking is that it's better if you don't let it set with a full charge any more than necessary

Don

 

[MPT]

Well, I tried the BMW 12A (it turns out) EVSE today, the car was charged by lunch time!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[dumemama]

FYI, I charge every single day with an extension cord: 10 gauge, 100', rated for 15a, $150 at homedepot. I only have access to 120v. I've been doing this for over a year, sometimes twice a day - I have one at home and one at work. This is of course not ideal and probably costs me a few pennies and minutes a day in voltage loss. An EV would not be possible for me otherwise. I've noted no charging or capacity issues.

I expect that the admonition in the manual is for liability purposes. I like the idea of putting the brick in the boot, esp to keep it and the connection out of the rain.

 

[acensor]

If the 8 amp stock one is working for you, that might be the better choice ............Mitsu recommends that you do a full recharge at least every two weeks. The battery prefers being kept between 40% and 80% or so . . . . you're not 'hurting' things with full recharges - It's just that current thinking is that it's better if you don't let it set with a full charge any more than necessary.
Don

Hi Don,
As you know from later posts, Mitsubishi sent letter/revision to the manual reducing that almost fully discharge then fully charge recommendation to once (or maybe it was "twice" a year). And it seems that recommendation they say is about calibrating the power remaining (the bars) meter.
I missed that thing you mentioned about a full charge balancing the cells. What's the story on that? Is the idea that it's for that reason it's good to full charge once in a while as long as we don't leave it stored in that state a prolonged time.. Let alone at hi temp?

Alex

 

[Don]

Yes. If you charge using a wattmeter, you'll notice that the current really tapers off during the last 30 minutes or so. This is when the BMS does it's cell balancing dance. It's probably a good thing to fully charge once in a while just for this reason, but it's not something that needs to be done on every recharge, so stopping the charge at 70 or 80% does no harm . . . . in fact, doing so will likely lengthen the overall life of the pack

Don