DarkStar
Well-known member
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.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.
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!
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!