Newbie question

[Marcus]

OK so I have decided to buy a used i and I have been doing a bit of research, but still I'm confused with the different charging times and what trim levels have them.

Some of my questions might be a bit basic for you owners, but I could not find a FAQ in this site and the used cars salesmen will tell me anything so they are not good sources of information, so here it goes...

What trim level includes the level 2 charging option (fast charger)?
Or does it depend on each car? if so how can I tell?
Can I buy an off the shelf charger so I can charge faster an i that does not have the option installed from the factory?
Can all i's be charged with the public level 3 chargers?

Last model I saw was a used ES, sales guy told me it did not have the quick charge option, but that I could buy an aftermarket charger/plug that would cut the charge times in half....is this true?

Thanks
Marcus

 

[PV1]

Welcome to the forum.

There are two separate charging connectors. Standard on every i-MiEV (and every production EV) is level 1 and level 2 charging. Both levels use the J1772 port on the passenger side of the car. The only difference between these is the voltage to the car. Level 1 is 120 volts and level 2 is 240 volts. Level 3, or DC Quick charge, uses the CHAdeMO port and is high voltage DC straight to the battery pack. The CHAdeMO port is an option on 2012 ES models, part of the premium package on 2012 SE models, and standard on 2014 and 2016 models. The easiest way to tell if you have the CHAdeMO port is to look for a black handle on the floor between the driver's seat and door.

What you call the charger is actually known to us as an EVSE, or Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment. These are simply a smart cable that sends wall power to a battery charger built into the car. EVSE are commonly called charging stations. The salesman was correct in that you can buy a level 2 charging station to charge faster, though these devices are not "chargers".

CHAdeMO works differently. For quick charging, a quick charger (found only at commercial locations) connects to the CHAdeMO port and feeds direct current to the battery, charging it to 80% within 20 minutes. If the car doesn't have this port, it cannot be added. All cars have level 1 and level 2, though.

 

[iwatson]

Everything PV1 told you is spot-on correct, so I'll not repeat anything he said. I would add though, that if you have access to another car and can do without using your i-miev for about a week, you can send the EVSE unit that came with your car off to a company called EVSE upgrade. For less than $300 they will convert your EVSE into a dual L1/L2 unit that can be used with either 120Volts or 240Volts. This is a less expensive route than buying a seperate L2 EVSE.

To get more info just Google "EVSEupgrade"

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Marcus]

Thank you both for all the information, I really appreciate it.