Nissan L1 EVSE third-party upgrade to both 120V and 240V

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QueenBee said:
Back in July I was asking about the L1 charging brick. My question stemmed from the Nissan FAQ saying it was 20 amp instead of 15 amp. The customer service rep didn't seem that knowledgeable as he had trouble with my 15/20 and 5-15P vs 5-20P questions I asked. Then I asked why the "trickle charger" was only suggested for emergencies and I got this response which I wonder if it's even true and then if it is true what effect this upgrade has.
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
Unfortunately this is total bunk. J1772-2010 Level 1 (120 volt) charging (a.k.a. Nissan trickle charging) is exactly the same as J1772-2010 Level 2 (240 volt) charging, except for the voltage difference.

J1772-2010 connector (a.k.a. the nozzle) as 5 pins. Two pins are for the mains voltage (120/240 volts), one pin is for earth ground, one pin is the proximity pin and tells the vehicle there is a cable there, and the last pin is the control pilot pin. The control pilot pin "pulses" a signal to the car that says "hey, I've got 12 amps available," the car goes "I would love some," and then via the control pilot the relays are activated in the EVSE and charging begins!

The only reason why Nissan wants to convince us that 120 volt charging should be for emergencies only? To sell $1,000 EVSEs, of course! :D

Seriously though, if you want to do Level 1 charging, please do. There's nothing wrong with it and it won't damage things any faster than Level 2 charging... Enjoy the ride!
 
QueenBee said:
Back in July I was asking about the L1 charging brick. My question stemmed from the Nissan FAQ saying it was 20 amp instead of 15 amp. The customer service rep didn't seem that knowledgeable as he had trouble with my 15/20 and 5-15P vs 5-20P questions I asked. Then I asked why the "trickle charger" was only suggested for emergencies and I got this response which I wonder if it's even true and then if it is true what effect this upgrade has.
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
Total and complete BS. My understanding is that the only signal of capacity goes the other way...the EVSE tells the car the max amperage it can supply. There is no practical way for the EVSE to "limit" the rate of charge, anyway. Besides, the EVSE has ZERO information about the charge state of the vehicle and couldn't know when to do anything like this anyway.
 
Enginer, have you looked at a Volt's 120V EVSE?.. perhaps it can be modified also so you could have an added source of units to modify. I believe they sell it for $495
 
QueenBee said:
Back in July I was asking about the L1 charging brick. My question stemmed from the Nissan FAQ saying it was 20 amp instead of 15 amp. The customer service rep didn't seem that knowledgeable as he had trouble with my 15/20 and 5-15P vs 5-20P questions I asked. Then I asked why the "trickle charger" was only suggested for emergencies and I got this response which I wonder if it's even true and then if it is true what effect this upgrade has.
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
This is absolutely false! All J1772 does is deliver the power to the car as-is, but letting the car (where the actual charger is on-board) know the upper limit of AC power it can safely drain. As I've mentioned many times before, the EVSE is basically just a charge cord, the real smarts are in the car's on-board charger.

-Phil
 
Herm said:
Enginer, have you looked at a Volt's 120V EVSE?.. perhaps it can be modified also so you could have an added source of units to modify. I believe they sell it for $495

Yes, we are currently investigating this.

I'll be sure to let everyone know when we come up with something.

And don't call me "Enginer", that's a Plug-in kit for the Prius! =)

-Phil
 
Ingineer said:
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
This is absolutely false! All J1772 does is deliver the power to the car as-is, but letting the car (where the actual charger is on-board) know the upper limit of AC power it can safely drain. As I've mentioned many times before, the EVSE is basically just a charge cord, the real smarts are in the car's on-board charger.

-Phil

Good, after reading about this upgrade and how the EVSE's work I started wondering how it could be any different. I tried getting the customer service people on the Nissan Leaf chat to confirm that I was given the wrong information but instead I just kept getting a head bobble. I couldn't even get him to answer a simple question like "Does the level 1 charger plug into a 15 amp outlet?" I asked over and over and each time got different answers but never got the correct answer of Yes, 15 amp outlet is OK as long as nothing else major is connected to the circuit.

"20 amp dedicated outlet"
"Nissan recommends a 20 Amp dedicated service"
"Nissan recommend's a 20Amp dedicated service if you choose to plug into a 15Amp service the results are your responsibility"
"the recommendation for charging your battery is to use a 20Amp dedicated service on the level 1 charger"

Then I asked if it was NEMA 5-15P or 5-20P and after about 10 minutes I received "im checking my reference materials to give you an accurate answer\"
 
QueenBee said:
Ingineer said:
Ryan said:
Trickle charging is unlike the SAE J1772 protocol used for the 220/240 volt 'Level 2' charging. The J1772 standard utilizes communication thru powerline technology to signal that the battery is approaching full capacity, instructing the charging dock to slow the rate of charge to prevent overheating. This will, over the life of the battery, prolong useful capacity. The trickle charger doesn't use this technology, but should not have a substantial effect on the battery capacity if used only occasionally.
This is absolutely false! All J1772 does is deliver the power to the car as-is, but letting the car (where the actual charger is on-board) know the upper limit of AC power it can safely drain. As I've mentioned many times before, the EVSE is basically just a charge cord, the real smarts are in the car's on-board charger.

-Phil

Good, after reading about this upgrade and how the EVSE's work I started wondering how it could be any different. I tried getting the customer service people on the Nissan Leaf chat to confirm that I was given the wrong information but instead I just kept getting a head bobble. I couldn't even get him to answer a simple question like "Does the level 1 charger plug into a 15 amp outlet?" I asked over and over and each time got different answers but never got the correct answer of Yes, 15 amp outlet is OK as long as nothing else major is connected to the circuit.

"20 amp dedicated outlet"
"Nissan recommends a 20 Amp dedicated service"
"Nissan recommend's a 20Amp dedicated service if you choose to plug into a 15Amp service the results are your responsibility"
"the recommendation for charging your battery is to use a 20Amp dedicated service on the level 1 charger"

Then I asked if it was NEMA 5-15P or 5-20P and after about 10 minutes I received "im checking my reference materials to give you an accurate answer\"


Don't contact Nissan CS about tech issues, that's like calling customer service on an ICE car and asking about the timing settings or valve adjustments. Stick to answers form those on the forum with proper knowledge.
 
QueenBee said:
Then I asked if it was NEMA 5-15P or 5-20P and after about 10 minutes I received "im checking my reference materials to give you an accurate answer\"
It sure looks like a NEMA 5-15P to me... :)
 
tps said:
QueenBee said:
Then I asked if it was NEMA 5-15P or 5-20P and after about 10 minutes I received "im checking my reference materials to give you an accurate answer\"
It sure looks like a NEMA 5-15P to me... :)

EVDRIVER said:
Don't contact Nissan CS about tech issues, that's like calling customer service on an ICE car and asking about the timing settings or valve adjustments. Stick to answers form those on the forum with proper knowledge.

Yeah, I was just trying to get a simple answer to a simple question I already knew the answer to. I think about all they can do is paste stuff that is on the website already. It's lame the FAQ on the website still says 20 amp. What's their fascination with 20 amp circuits?
 
DarkStar said:
I'll be testing it on a GFCI protected circuit in a couple of weeks (for sure, but might end up find one earlier than that) and will post if I experience any issues.
I plugged in last Friday here at work on our GFCI protected outlets and verified no issues at all. Got topped off in about 6 hours and was ready for a lot more all-electric miles!
 
DarkStar said:
DarkStar said:
I'll be testing it on a GFCI protected circuit in a couple of weeks (for sure, but might end up find one earlier than that) and will post if I experience any issues.
I plugged in last Friday here at work on our GFCI protected outlets and verified no issues at all. Got topped off in about 6 hours and was ready for a lot more all-electric miles!
I am not knowledgeable on matters electric so I need to ask: are these GFCI outlets 120V, like ones in my 23-year old house? Thanks.
 
Not to get off topic but I was reviewing the AFV Tax Credit documentation yesterday with a tax attorney trying to determine if Ingineers upgraded EVSE and accompanying accessories will still qualify for the the 30% tax credit in 2011. I couldn't find anything that says it has to be permanently installed. The closest thing I could come up with is that it has to be used at the owners primary residence which is the case for me. I would think you include all necessary adapters to use the EVSE as part of your total expenditure. Just keep all your receipts and documentation in case you get audited.
 
I FINALLY received my upgraded EVSE from Phil on Monday. Finally because, I sent it next day from SoCal last Wednesday, hoping Phil would turn it around in a day and UPS ground would get it to me by Friday. Wishful thinking. It wasn't Phil's fault, but UPS Ground from NorCal to SoCal is TWO days, and since Sat delivery wasn't specified I went without the weekend, and the car was essentially grounded.

The upgrade is amazing, and works perfectly as described. I purchased the 120V adapter along with an open-ended adapter and they are all very high quality and look professional. Nothing looks amateur or hacked. WELL worth the cost IMHO. I'm thinking about buying a second one as a backup.

Thanks again Phil for providing such a worthwhile and cost-effective solution that is mobile to boot!
 
Due increasing logistics and parts costs, we are going to have to slightly increase pricing for the EVSE upgrade. We are giving forum members a courtesy message in advance. The prices will be increased on Friday to $239 for the upgrade.

In addition, we have figured out how to make the Nissan EVSE compatible with the Chevy Volt. This requires an additional upgrade be added, which we can do for a $50 additional charge. This addition will not affect compatibility with the Leaf.

We have successfully upgraded a Voltec unit, but it was difficult due to the ultrasonic welding used for the unit's housing assembly. (no screws) Because of this we are not offering a Voltec upgrade at this time. (This may change)

-Phil
 
If orders are placed before Friday the EVSE can be sent later after payment.
 
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