Securing Nissan brick for airport or other public charging

My Nissan Leaf Forum

Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Franko30 said:
... Or do people in the US actually cut off the "brick" (what's the correct term - we in Germany use in-cable-control-box)?

Brick theft is not much of a problem yet in Germany - but people begin thinking about it. But then, our "bricks" dont cost a thousand dollars, "just" around 300-400 EUR (between 390 and 520 US-$). ...
The "brick" isn't really the issue, at least for now. The issue is people stealing the cable for the copper.
 
And sorry to add to people's worries, but my sister-in-law reported that her office's fleet vehicle LEAF was damaged by somebody coming along and shoving the charge panel door open beyond it's limit. Broke the panel door and I think she said the hood was damaged. This is in Portland, Oregon. The vehicle is left to charge in a publicly accessible location everyday at a permanent L2 station.

Of course every parked vehicle is open to random acts of damage: keying, etc.
 
Ingineer has a "hook thingy" (official term) that will help these issues. It is basically a latch that hooks the charge port door to the factory latch while locking in the j1772 connector to the car. Amazingly simple device. It will probably show up in his revamped store the same time as leafscan.
 
palmermd said:
Ingineer has a "hook thingy" (official term) that will help these issues. It is basically a latch that hooks the charge port door to the factory latch while locking in the j1772 connector to the car. Amazingly simple device. It will probably show up in his revamped store the same time as leafscan.
The hook thingy will definitely prevent premature unplugging by another EV owner or malicious passer-by. But you still need to hang the brick somewhere. I like the idea of putting it in the engine compartment as a retrofit. But, this is a great idea for future models to be built in.
 
I wish there was a simple lockable NEMA 5-15 inlet for 120v charging. Keep the J plug for 240 only.
If my 100' extension cord is cut and taken I would get over it and just purchase another.
Oh well. It is what it is.
 
It turns out that there is a huge open space above the bumper once you remove the plastic guard piece. It wouldn't be blocking air flow to the radiator, either (and don't forget, there's a fan on the latter anyway). Just have to come up with some creative way to mount the brick, run the cable, etc. However, there's plenty of space if Nissan wanted to have something permanently installed and then just have a male connector accessible to an extension cord.
 
Well, I'm happy with my little padlock on the J1772 connector. It won't stop a determined thief, but then, neither will any of the other schemes you guys are cooking up. All they have to do is break a window or pick (or jiggle) the lock or clone the remote's communication and they'll have the hood up in a jiffy. I'm interested in dissuading opportunistic thieves while maintaining the electrical safety features that J1772 was designed to provide. And that includes using a very short cable between the EVSE and the wall, because of safety features that work only between the EVSE and the car.

Ray
 
gascant said:
Seems like people here in the US will steal almost anything these days. We keep having instances of UPS/FedEx packages disappearing from porches within a few minutes of being delivered.

Well, here they simply aren't allowed to drop off stuff on a porch or such. Only with a signature of you (or someone living in your household) they are allowed to "let go" of the parcel.

Cheers

Frank
 
Franko30 said:
gascant said:
Seems like people here in the US will steal almost anything these days. We keep having instances of UPS/FedEx packages disappearing from porches within a few minutes of being delivered.

Well, here they simply aren't allowed to drop off stuff on a porch or such. Only with a signature of you (or someone living in your household) they are allowed to "let go" of the parcel.

Cheers

Frank

that is dependent upon the shipper. Verizon REQUIRES a signature for all fedex simply because fedex insures delivery TO the person and pays for all missing items.
 
smkettner said:
Loop around your wrist and elbow is free ;)
DON'T!

Definitely not!

We get EVSE's in all the time that have been wrapped this way and their cables are trashed! You should ALWAYS do the over/under!

You will benefit from way less tangles, and the cable will still look/act new after many uses.

Here's a video showing how: (Disclaimer: Not mine!)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MziOBf60Kn0[/youtube]

-Phil
 
Good thinking!

Is there any J17772 plugs that is small (without the nozzle like handle) with the cables coming out sideways? I am hoping for something small and flat just like the female jack of the j17772 which is the car. Not a mountable type, but ann inline cable type to connect two cables together?
 
I vote for a male NEMA inside the charging compartment -- let the car deal with the step-up to 240v.

It seems like a "no brainer" solution, so I'm wondering if they didn't do it because 1) It would be too many standards to adhere to across the globe (i.e. a different plug for every place they wanted to sell to) to make it cost-effective? Or was trickle-charging more of an afterthought to begin with??
 
Transtead said:
I vote for a male NEMA inside the charging compartment -- let the car deal with the step-up to 240v.
They didn't do it because the contacts would be live all the time, and the user would have to be responsible for setting their car so that it wouldn't overload the source. J1772 handles both of those without user thought or action.

P.S. the "brick" doesn't step anything up. The car directly accepts 100-240v.
 
Transtead said:
I vote for a male NEMA inside the charging compartment -- let the car deal with the step-up to 240v.

It seems like a "no brainer" solution, so I'm wondering if they didn't do it because 1) It would be too many standards to adhere to across the globe (i.e. a different plug for every place they wanted to sell to) to make it cost-effective? Or was trickle-charging more of an afterthought to begin with??
The problem with a standard cord going into the car is that if you unplug the cord without stopping the charge first, you will get arcing on the contacts and eventually destroy the connector.

Yes, with the current brick, you can still get arcing at the wall outlet, but the (expensive) connector on the car is protected.
 
DoxyLover said:
Transtead said:
I vote for a male NEMA inside the charging compartment -- let the car deal with the step-up to 240v.

It seems like a "no brainer" solution, so I'm wondering if they didn't do it because 1) It would be too many standards to adhere to across the globe (i.e. a different plug for every place they wanted to sell to) to make it cost-effective? Or was trickle-charging more of an afterthought to begin with??
The problem with a standard cord going into the car is that if you unplug the cord without stopping the charge first, you will get arcing on the contacts and eventually destroy the connector.

Yes, with the current brick, you can still get arcing at the wall outlet, but the (expensive) connector on the car is protected.
Could be just as easy for Nissan to have a clip over the cord as it hits the inlet. Of course then have a switch on the clip to start-stop charging.
 
I got a hardened steel padlock (weather resistant) and a bike cable. Can attach charger cable to itself around an object or to bike cable around a bigger object (or my wheel or frame or whatever).
 
Had my leaf less than a week before I decided that I need some way to secure the trickle charger... Parked it at a bowling alley and kept having this nag to go out and check in the middle of the game to be sure no one walked off with it or unplugged it. I was uber paranoid and nothing happened, but it's always in the back of my mind when I charge in a public place. My thought at the time was I could drop the brick inside the car and crack a window to run the J1772 and extension cord out the window securing both the extension cord (it has a fat end) and the charger. Was looking to see if anybody else had come up with a solution when I found this thread. Regardless, I'm going to start working on a solution tonight and i'll post what i come up with when i'm done - It'll probably just be a rehash of what everyone else has already done.


Edit: Well, I decided that just using a lock on the J1772 plug is best. Or not taking the L1 with me at all - I going to build and install the openEVSE under the hood so all I have is an extension cord hanging out. The plan it to integrate it in behind the J1772 socket with a switched pilot line
 
I am thinking there is enough roof of you don't have the QC plug to have both the 110v plug and the J1772 coming OUT of that empty space. a simply hole for the 110v plug and a small "bucket" to "hold" the j1772 in reverse. you only need a few inches of slack on the 110 (enough for you to grab it and man handle it into an extension cord) and just enough on the J1772 to be able to extend turn 180' and plug into the car.

this way you don't need to open the hood at all or modify the car beyond the QC cover plate or the Power Supply at all.

open your charging cover. pull out the 110v a few inches plug in your extension cord pull out the J1772 and plug it in. Done.

I am going to see about doing this. Theft of that charger (especially for now that it is the ONLY way I have to charge the car) is a concern for me. even "spite theft"
 
Back
Top