L1 EVSE: Interchangeable ?

No workee ! The orange "Charge" LED light blinks on the EVSE (and on the dash of the Volt) and a continuous clicking sound is heard from the EVSE in approximate sync with the LED.

Works. (Monitoring for a while; will report back soon.).
Update: I monitored for 3.5hrs and the SmartMeter indicated 5kWh added (+/- since it only tracks whole kWhs). This agrees with a 12A*120V charging rate.

Update: I monitored for 3.0hrs and the SmartMeter indicated 3kWh added (+/- since it only tracks whole kWhs). This agrees with a 8A*120V charging rate.

( I don't have a TED or clamp-on ammeter; recording the dedicated 2nd SmartMeter was my best alternative. I should have used the Kill-A-Watt (!duh!), but thought of that too late. )

Huh. That's interesting. Ingineer mentioned something about it didn't pass the "diode check" (not sure what that means). I wonder if that has something to do with it? I also wonder if an Ingineer upgraded unit would make any difference...

GeekEV said:

Huh. That's interesting. Ingineer mentioned something about it didn't pass the "diode check" (not sure what that means). I wonder if that has something to do with it? I also wonder if an Ingineer upgraded unit would make any difference...

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It was the other way around, it didn't TEST for a diode on the car. That wouldn't keep it from working with any cars, it would MAYBE could cause it to pass A/C when it shouldn't, but wouldn't cause it to fail like this.

This is just weird. It really should work. So much so, that I question whether that particular EVSE might have some problem.

The point to having a standard is so that manufacturers design to the standard. Disappointing to see things not working as one would expect.

The Volt might measure the Control Pilot at/near/below Ground level, since it should go to -12v and to a positive voltage as well.

The Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE (and the mod-L1) Control Pilot does not go to -12, but just down to/near ground. Thus, it is not fully J1772 complient.

So, not surprising that it will not work for the Volt.

I updated the OP post-test with results for 2. and 3.

Gary might be on to something with the -12V being out-of-spec on the Nissan L1 EVSE.

garygid said:

The Volt might measure the Control Pilot at/near/below Ground level, since it should go to -12v and to a positive voltage as well.

The Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE (and the mod-L1) Control Pilot does not go to -12, but just down to/near ground. Thus, it is not fully J1772 complient.

So, not surprising that it will not work for the Volt.

Click to expand...

I hate it when that happens!

Shades of RS232, which also has the positive/negative thing going on, which also is often violated by certain products...

I really wish the leaf had an 8 amp mode. Sometimes you might have an outlet and have no clue what the amp draw is from other stuff on the circuit, but might have plenty of time to charge. Think: airport. There's an airport parking facility by me that agreed to let mr plug in, but there is a coke machine on that circuit.

nater said:

I really wish the leaf had an 8 amp mode. Sometimes you might have an outlet and have no clue what the amp draw is from other stuff on the circuit, but might have plenty of time to charge. Think: airport. There's an airport parking facility by me that agreed to let mr plug in, but there is a coke machine on that circuit.

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You might have been OK. Most commercial plugs are 20a. You can tell by looking at the receptacle, one of the slots has a horizontal leg sticking out. Now, I don't know how much a coke machine draws, but I bet that info is on the net somewhere. It would be nice to be able to slow the charge, however. Personally, I think it would be better to have the feature in the vehicle than the EVSE.

LEAFer said:

Code:

1. Using the Nissan supplied unmodified Panasonic L1 EVSE to charge a Volt.

No workee ! The orange "Charge" LED light blinks on the EVSE (and on the dash of the Volt) and a continuous clicking sound is heard from the EVSE in approximate sync with the LED.

Click to expand...

A local EVSE manufacturer (Shorepower Technologies) has been working with a Volt owner as their EVSEs haven't been charging the Volt either. The official response is that the Volt is "monitoring additional undefined criteria not required by the standard" and they've been working with GM to implement the fix.

Good point, Dave, I suppose 12 out of 20 leaves 8 more for a soda machine. 8 Amps would chill a lot of soda.

However, think about it, if you have unlimited time and an unknown circuit, lower amperage would be nice. Of course, I'm fussy; when I charged an Ebox in my garage we set the Amps to 52 amps on the 50 amp circuit. It didn't blow and charged REALLY fast. (Yes, I have 6 gauge in the wall; about 8 feet of wire).

Nate

We tried a test with my friend's Volt:

Leaf L1 EVSE: Charges Leaf, not Volt.
Volt L1 EVSE: Charges both cars.
Blink L2 EVSE: Charges both cars.

nater said:

Good point, Dave, I suppose 12 out of 20 leaves 8 more for a soda machine. 8 Amps would chill a lot of soda.

However, think about it, if you have unlimited time and an unknown circuit, lower amperage would be nice. Of course, I'm fussy; when I charged an Ebox in my garage we set the Amps to 52 amps on the 50 amp circuit. It didn't blow and charged REALLY fast. (Yes, I have 6 gauge in the wall; about 8 feet of wire).

Nate

Click to expand...

Yes, as I said, I definitely see the utility.

DarkStar said:

A local EVSE manufacturer (Shorepower Technologies) has been working with a Volt owner as their EVSEs haven't been charging the Volt either. The official response is that the Volt is "monitoring additional undefined criteria not required by the standard" and they've been working with GM to implement the fix.

Click to expand...

Interesting info ... thanks for that post.

mogur said:

We tried a test with my friend's Volt:

Leaf L1 EVSE: Charges Leaf, not Volt.

Click to expand...

Same symptoms (blinking/clicking) ?

Well, we KNOW the Nissan L1 EVSE is NOT fully to J1772 specifications.

But, the AV L2 EVSE does not have the "diode check" either, and the Volt works with the AV EVSE.

So, something else ... ?

The problem is not the -12v. The Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE delays putting out power once the Pilot is acknowledged until it performs an internal self test. This test takes approximately 3 seconds and you can normally hear the clicking of the relays while this test is underway. The problem is the Volt seems to "give up" right before the EVSE completes it's test and recycles the Pilot, which starts the test all over again. This continues in an endless loop and the Volt never starts charging.

The proper fix would be to correct this in the Volt's software, because the EVSE is technically allowed to delay. This is not limited to the Nissan/Panasonic unit, several EVSE's on the market also delay.

I might be able to implement a work-around inside the EVSE to make it compatible with the Volt. Testing is underway currently, I'll let everyone know the outcome.

-Phil

Thanks, Ingineer, for that informative update

Ingineer said:

The problem is not the -12v. The Nissan/Panasonic L1 EVSE delays putting out power once the Pilot is acknowledged until it performs an internal self test. This test takes approximately 3 seconds and you can normally hear the clicking of the relays while this test is underway. The problem is the Volt seems to "give up" right before the EVSE completes it's test and recycles the Pilot, which starts the test all over again. This continues in an endless loop and the Volt never starts charging.

The proper fix would be to correct this in the Volt's software, because the EVSE is technically allowed to delay. This is not limited to the Nissan/Panasonic unit, several EVSE's on the market also delay.

I might be able to implement a work-around inside the EVSE to make it compatible with the Volt. Testing is underway currently, I'll let everyone know the outcome.

Click to expand...

Just because I'm curious: What does the Volt Level 1 EVSE do differently? Does it not perform a self-test or does it just wait longer before "giving up?" Thanks!

It is the Volt (more car than EV) that apparently gets tired of waiting for the attached EVSE to "respond" (and turn ON the power to the car).

Apparently the Voltec EVSE responds quicker than the Nissan L1 EVSE, and the Volt is just a bit too impatient for the Nissan EVSE.

tps said:

I hate it when that happens!

Shades of RS232, which also has the positive/negative thing going on, which also is often violated by certain products...

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Oh Yes! Someone else remembers RS232! I'm not a total dinosaur (yet)!

And yes, that was a standard that violated as often as not. God bless the breakout box.