The manual, Lear itself and the charger cord that comes with the car seems to disagree with the voltage tolerance the charger has. Does anyone know if the charger will accept 220V and use it? The Lear manual states it allows 90-240V but the charger itself claims only 110V?
110V convenience charger cord in higher voltage socket
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Are you talking about a car delivered in the US or Europe? The US convenience charger accepts and expects 110-120V , using a US-standard three prong plug.
The European convenience charger will accept the 220V-230V standard in Europe.
The European convenience charger will accept the 220V-230V standard in Europe.
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Does Lear actually make two different EVSE adapters for 110V and 220V countries? Seems pretty inefficient. All of the other power adapters I use are multi-voltage and automatically adapt to the input voltage. I am surprised that Fisker would choose to make a country-specific EVSE adapter. Assuming that is the case, is it possible to buy a European spec. portable EVSE adapter for use in the US?Harleyguy said:
Actually there are Leaf owners that have modified their mobile charge connectors to plug into 220 outlets. The PWM signal from the EVSE only specifies the current the car can draw. Remember the actual charger is in the car. The thing you plug into the car is essentially a fancy extension cord. Also IIRC the Karma charger is relatively low current (like the Nissan Leaf). Probably no more than 16 Amps.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3625
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3625
Yeah, that's ridiculously slow (but I guess it doesn't matter so much with a relatively small battery capacity and a back-up generator). Kind of silly to get a wall "charger" for such low current. I'd guess part of that is for homologation since some places in Europe won't allow you to pull more than that much from a single phase.Fabulist said:
Does Fisker offer a mobile EVSE with NEMA 14-50 or a dryer plug?
That's exactly what I was wondering... and the Lear leaflet that comes with the car states (on page 9)Fabulist said:
AC Voltage High is showm om the cord box as AC led flashing red, ccid led solid green and charge level LEDs blinking 1, 3, 2...
To me that sounds the cable in europe is EXACTLY the same one, simply with a different plug.
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(US specific problem) What's to stop someone making a converter cord that would plug into a 220V dryer socket, with a 110V socket for the Karma convenience charger (you certainly wouldn't want to plug in anything else into this socket, though!!!)? One trip to Home Depot and a US convenience charger becomes a 220V charger...
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The thing about dryer plugs and sockets is, they're not made for daily plug-un-unplug cycles.
The J122-whatever connectors that go into the charging ports on the cars, are.
The J122-whatever connectors that go into the charging ports on the cars, are.
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The dryer end doesn't need to plug and unplug every day, only the connector going to the car does...
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Yes, but that means you need at least two charging cords, the one you modified and another for regular 120V sockets. Kind of annoying....
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Ct- no, I'm just talking about making an adapter cable (like a very short extension cord) to go from a 220v dryer plug to a 110v receptacle. (note this cable is *way* outside code, but if it works would be a very cheap 220V charger for those of us in the US). It wouldn't have to be more than a foot long, if you have a convenient druer socket somewhere.
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Oh! Ah. Right. That would be ... rather dangerous. :s But would work, I suppose.
Again look at this thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3625
They talk about upgrading some internal components, so it might not work to just plug it into 220 Volts. But for only 16 Amps, you don't need much more than this. The Karma on board charger is relatively low power, like the Volt's or the first gen Leaf's. A 30 Amp capable wall mounted connector is overkill by about a factor of two since the Karma isn't capable of using that much current.
They talk about upgrading some internal components, so it might not work to just plug it into 220 Volts. But for only 16 Amps, you don't need much more than this. The Karma on board charger is relatively low power, like the Volt's or the first gen Leaf's. A 30 Amp capable wall mounted connector is overkill by about a factor of two since the Karma isn't capable of using that much current.
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I had a look at my convenience charger, and it does have 110V only printed on it. It's hard to believe that it really isnt 220V capable, but with my ChargePointAmerica charger being installed in a week I guess it's academic for me. It still does seem like importing a convenience chargers from Europe would be a cheap 220V charger for an adventurous US customer...
Anything can be arranged.dennis said:
But I wouldn't know where to get 220V convenience chargers. One was delivered with the car (and I wouldn't mind having a second one, so I don't have to put it in the trunk twice a day). I don't know if they are being sold in stores, as the EV-market is still very much underdevelopped over here. But the biggest question mark is: can a European convenience charger be used in the US? For one, the plug probably won't fit in an American socket. Even between European countries they are not always exchangable.
Here's a picture of what the plug on my convenience charger looks like (this is from a different device, but just to give you an idea):
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@Dutch: The plug is not a big problem. If the charger can handle the voltage and the current, it is a very simple matter to cut off the European plug and wire in a US plug, or to make the rouge plug adaptor that @SiliconKiwi proposed. But it does not even have to be a Fisker-branded charger. Since they all use the same standard, you can get any EV's portable EVSE and it should work fine with the Karma.Dutch said:But the biggest question mark is: can a European convenience charger be used in the US? For one, the plug probably won't fit in an American socket. Even between European countries they are not always exchangable.
Here's a picture of what the plug on my convenience charger looks like (this is from a different device, but just to give you an idea):
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