J1772 extender/splitter

[Yanquetino]

VERY nice, Phil! You know, you should offer these for sale along with your L1-to-L2 upgrade. I bet a lot of those same customers would want one. I suppose it would depend upon the price, however, as J1772 receptacles probably don't come cheap, do they?

Nice!

Here's how I accomplished the same thing:

-Phil

 

[ImageG]

We built an extension j1772 to j1772 with parts from two vendors (all wires pin to pin)
Unfortunately it doesn't yet work .
When I connect it to my 2013 LEAF SL, the charger shows "connect" but it doesn't switch on the power. When I disconnect, the car shows the small little yellow car "EV System Warning Light" (this shuts off after the car is re-started.)

Any idea of what we are doing wrong with our "straight through" construction?

 

[Ingineer]

If you truly wired all pins "pin to pin" it would not cause the errors you are seeing. The "pin to pin" wiring would require a 5 conductor cable, which is the only way it could even be remotely safe. In any event, I don't recommend building a simple J1772 extension cord because there's no way to ensure it won't be overloaded. It would at minimum need fusing to make it safe.

-Phil

 

[ImageG]

Phil,

Here is the detail:
Five wires, each checked for continuity on the "pin to pin"
This is for "emergency" charging when ICE'd.
Does the Chargepoint station protect for overload?

 

[Ingineer]

Possible Scenario: You have plugged your extension into a 70A Clipper Creek station. You connect your Leaf and it finishes charging. Someone pulls up in a Tesla S P85 and sees that your Leaf is done, and pulls the handle out of your car and plugs it in to his. Now you've got 70A flowing through a cable and connectors that are only rated for 30A. Fire!

-Phil

 

[ImageG]

I could make a cute remark about the P85... but I get your point.
Fusing could be included "in line" per your suggestion for safety.

But in the meantime, its vexing the thing "as is" isn't working!
Any ideas why the LEAF complains with its warning light?

BTW the EVSEUPGRADE and the company's service has been very great.

--TMB

 

[Ingineer]

Ideally an extension will have the proximity handle switch in series with the existing proximity circuit. The problem is you have them in Parallel, which generates an error state.

-Phil

 

[JeremyW]

Disconnect the proximity wire from the inlet and it should work. When you are using it, just make sure you disconnect from the car end first...

 

[Ingineer]

DIY on this is dangerous and not recommended, that being said I do not recommend Jeremy's solution for the reason he eluded to: If someone disconnects the middle connection while the car is charging, you could destroy one or both connectors, and even damage your on-board charger.

I suggest you open the handle on your extension and cut the handle's proximity circuit ground where it goes into the J1772 connector, then also cut the orange wire and reconnect it to the formerly grounded proximity circuit. Then just bypass the 150 ohm resistor.

So it will now be:
J1772 receptacle's proximity pin >--[orange wire]-->>--[J1772 Handle switch in parallel with 330 ohm resistor]--> J1772 handle proximity pin

You also need to shorten the wiring on the receptacle so the individual wires aren't showing and install 2 inline 30A fuses (one on each power leg).

-Phil

 

[ImageG]

Phil -

Good suggestions, that I'll try out (with the help of my tech.)
As it is an "emergency only" cord, I expect to stay and monitor the charging (likely in an inconvenient parking space)
But safety is a priority in any event.

With so many PHEV's coming out, the public EV charging situation is going to get more difficult to count on for us BEVs.

Cheers,
--TMB

 

[TonyWilliams]

There are now several threads on this issue. I propose two possible solutions. The first is entirely proximity signal protected but not over-current protected. The easy answer, of course, is to build all the components to 80 amp capability, hence no over-current protection should be needed.

The second uses a logic circuit to spoof the pilot signal to never allow more than 30 amps, thus using all 30 amp hardware. I still advise using appropriate fuses on all power conductors.

No warranty for merchantability. May cause a fire, bodily injury and/or death if used improperly. May cause cancer in California. Offered "as-is" and "with all faults".

 

[Ingineer]

Nice Tony!

-Phil