What yr did DC fast come standard? Was it an option pre2014?

[orlandovanclub]

Hi everyone. So I'm looking at buying a 2012 Miev, and I have quickly realized I know 10x more about the car than the dealer does. It's really sad. I actually spent the entire test drive educating him on it. One thing I can't figure out though, is what year the DC fast became standard. Was it 2014? If so was there an option to add / upgrade pre-2014 models with DC fast? The guy on the test drive had no clue, and neither did anyone else inside. So here I am trying to figure this out. Also, I'd like to upgrade the level 1 to level 2. What's the best recommended route to go about that? Thanks, John.

 

[Don]

Standard from 2014 on - In 2012 it came as an option on ES model cars, standard on SE Premium models and was not available at all on the standard SE models. It would be nearly impossible to add it to a car that did not come factory equipped with it . . . . I don't recall of anyone here doing that so far and the group here is certainly more knowledgeable than whoever you're talking with at your dealer

EVSE Upgrade can upgrade your EVSE to 120/240 Level 1 and 2 at 12 amps - Click 'Mitsubishi' on their website and choose the $287 option

Don

 

[zzcoopej]

So I'm looking at buying a 2012 Miev

Not sure if you already know about it, however with my app EvBatMon you can determine the battery degradation of the used iMiEV you are interested in. This is especially useful if you have more than one to choose from, so you can pick the one with the best PMC (Percentage of Manufacturer's Capacity left in the battery).

what year the DC fast became standard. Was it 2014?

Here in Oz our 2010 (and the couple of 2012 I've seen) all have chademo if that's what you mean by DC fast, or did USA get something different with your widened iMiEVs?

 

[orlandovanclub]

Thanks everyone. I can't find 'EvBatMon' on the app store. Is that the full name of it?

 

[zzcoopej]

Thanks everyone. I can't find 'EvBatMon' on the app store. Is that the full name of it?

Here is the link - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.EvPositive.EvBatMon_iMiEV

 

[orlandovanclub]

Excellent! Thank you.

So I went back to look at the car today and there is a charge port on each side of the car but only the level one and level two flap (passenger side) opens. Could it be that the left side is just a faux? There was no release lever inside the car to open it. Perhaps I just didn't see it.

Basically at this point I'm just trying to figure out if all of these cars came with both port flaps on each side of the car.

Was this something Mitsubishi did to mimic the look of a car having both ports?

 

[mdbuilder]

Yes, if there is no lever by the drivers seat the port won't open and there is no connector for chademo

 

[PV1]

Just for clarity, all i-MiEVs have the body color circular doors on both sides. However, the ones that have CHAdeMO have a black release handle on the floor by the driver's seat. If this handle isn't there, it doesn't have CHAdeMO.

One member was able to add it to a non-CHAdeMO car, but it required transplanting the entire electrical system from one car to another.

For US i-MiEVs, 2012 ES models had an optional quick charge package that added the quick charge port, headed mirrors, and battery warning system. 2012 SE models could only get quick charge by adding the premium package.

2014, 2016, and 2017 models have quick charging standard.

 

[orlandovanclub]

Thank you PV1. I'd like to add solar to mine eventually has well. How did you do this and about how much did it run you?

 

[Don]

If the car doesn't have ChaDeMo, the release cable for the unused door on the driver's side can be found behind the removable panel inside the car on the passengers side behind the rear seats. It's just the naked end of the cable, but if you pull it, the little door will open and you'll see that there is no ChaDeMo connector behind the door

PV1's solar panels aren't on the car - He has a huge bank of them beside his house which not only power the car, but most of the house as well. Adding what he has will cost you more than you'll pay for the car . . . . even if you buy a NEW car!

Don

 

[orlandovanclub]

I live in FL so I would be very interested in utilizing some sort of partial solar power. Do you guys have any recommendations for websites or resources that can supply at least partial solar power to a i-Miev?

 

[Don]

The roof of the car isn't big enough to add any solar which would gain you many extra miles. Somebody here built a 'solar trailer' with 6 or 8 large panels which would unfold and give a partial recharge (although very slowly) but the extra energy required to tow the trailer probably cost him about as much as he gained most days

The car has a 16,000 watt battery - A standard large solar panel (30 inches by 60 inches) is around 300 watts - Ten of those (3,000 watts) would recharge the car about as fast as the onboard charger does (~7 hours for a full charge) but in addition to the panels and their mounting you would need inverters to get from the DC output of the panels to 120 or 240 volts AC to run the charger. Directly charging from the DC panels straight to the car battery would be very difficult. You could easily spend $8K to $10K for this 'mini system'

The biggest 'bang for the buck' by far when it comes to solar is to add solar water heating to your house. We did this about 10 years ago and it easily saves us as much or more electricity as we use to power our EV's. Total cost was around $3K and we got about half of that back with tax credits

Don

 

[orlandovanclub]

Great, thanks I appreciate it. Sounds like the best way yo get a cheap, long range Miev is to buy an ED with DC option. I tell you what though they're hard to find. Most I'm seeing that have DC are SE's. Haven't even found an ES with DC yet down here in FL.

 

[Don]

Why look specifically for ES models with QC? Why not buy an SE Premium package and get it all? The SE comes with many other features you would like that aren't on the ES models - Nav, upgraded audio system, Bluetooth for your phone, Fog and DRL lights, alloy wheels and many other bits

We originally bought a standard SE (no QC) brand new and then we found an SE Premium which had come off lease with only 3900 miles on it and we bought it for $8700. We didn't really NEED another EV at the time, but we just couldn't pass up that deal. Glad we didn't!

I wouldn't limit myself to only local cars either - Our second one came from Indianapolis and we drove up 700 miles with a truck and trailer and brought it home

iMiEV's aren't really great 'long range' cars anyway - With two of them over the past 4 years and 50,000 miles, neither of our cars has ever been more than about 40 miles from the house

Don

 

[orlandovanclub]

Ok, fair enough. I just figured less to break on the SE.

Btw, does this car use the Level 2 NEMA or J1772?

 

[Don]

All iMiEV's use the J-1772 standard for Level 1 and 2

Don

 

[orlandovanclub]

Ah, thank you. That is how I will filter the stations on my app.

Sorry I meant less to break on the *ES in previous post.

 

[wmcbrine]

All iMiEV's use the J-1772 standard for Level 1 and 2

Let's not understate it -- AFAIK, all electric cars sold in the U.S. (2011+) use J1772, except Teslas, which come with an adapter.

 

[pmaupin]

... in addition to the panels and their mounting you would need inverters to get from the DC output of the panels to 120 or 240 volts AC to run the charger.

Would you really need the inverter? If:

a) The first thing that the onboard charger does is rectify the incoming current; and
b) The onboard charger quite happily accepts any voltage in the 120-240VAC range; and
c) The onboard charger dynamically adapts its current consumption based on the J1772 pilot signal...

Then you could, for example, put 5 or 6, 30 or 35V panels in series for somewhere between 150 and 210VDC and directly connect that (through safety relays, etc., like a normal AC-input EVSE) to your J1772 input, and monitor the voltage and current and modulate the J1772 signal to do MPPT.

If those conditions are true and you dispensed with the inverter, then:

1) No cost for the inverter
2) No losses through the inverter
3) (Possibly) less loss through the rectifier in the onboard charger (as compared to 120 VAC) due to higher average voltage (depending on how rectification is done in onboard charger)
4) No compromises on charging current -- dynamically adjust to extract as much power as possible for any given sky condition.

Edited to add:

Hmmm, DC GFCIs to protect humans don't seem to be a thing, or at least not a cheap thing. So (safety second; quality is job 3; etc..) it might be best to use an inverter just so you can have reliable shut-off with leakage current. Wouldn't necessarily need a sine wave output, though, and a square wave could be much more efficient.

 

[Don]

Then you could, for example, put 5 or 6, 30 or 35V panels in series for somewhere between 150 and 210VDC and directly connect that (through safety relays, etc., like a normal AC-input EVSE) to your J1772 input, and monitor the voltage and current and modulate the J1772 signal to do MPPT.

Yes, in a perfect world, that would be GREAT!!

But unfortunately none of the above will work with our iMiEV's . . . . nor with any other car using the J-1772 standard

You cannot input DC into the onboard charger and you cannot modulate the cars use of whatever amount of DC energy the sun is giving you. The pilot signal limits the amount of AC current the charger will draw based on what the EVSE can supply

Even finding some way to directly connect DC to the battery pack (which can be done in a couple ways) you would have to have more than 330 volts to get *any* charge and then since the BMS couldn't regulate the input current or voltage, you'd still risk damaging the battery or possibly even starting a fire

Don