Charging via 13amp

Has it been confirmed that the L1 charging cord differs between US and UK versions? Any change the charger in the car is voltage sensing?

The UK does not have a "Level 1" (120v) charging cord.

They get what we would call a "Level 2" (near 240v) charging cord.
Voltage in the UK is usually 240v (or 230v +/- 10%), I believe.

leafme said:

The L2 EVSE in my garage is capable of passing 30a (listing maximum) and is fed by a 240v, 40a branch circuit (technically, the EVSE could be rated as high at 32a on a 40a branch circuit but it's not for some reason).

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I actually came across the reason for this today researching something else but I don't have the links at the moment. Supposedly the J1772 Yazaki connector and cable initially failed UL testing at 32 amps but passed when tested at 30 amps.

garygid said:

The UK does not have a "Level 1" (120v) charging cord.

They get what we would call a "Level 2" (near 240v) charging cord.
Voltage in the UK is usually 240v (or 230v +/- 10%), I believe.

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Yes I would like to have a UK cord. I would just install a 14-50P and start charging.
Where can I get one? ebay link anyone?

LTLFTcomposite said:

Has it been confirmed that the L1 charging cord differs between US and UK versions? Any change the charger in the car is voltage sensing?

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The UK and US vehicles both are J1772-2010 compliant, so the on-board charger will be auto-ranging. As soon as I get my car, I'll be checking out the included Level 1 EVSE to see if the PWM signal generator is auto-ranging as well. If so, I should be able to have instant 240 volt, 12 amp charging!

So the J1772 thingy signals voltage as well as current?

I think the on board charger is autoranging from 90 to 250v just like your laptop brick.
EVSE gives a signal that the connection is made and max amps to draw.

The UK unit (without internal modification) would only give you 13 amps, not the 16 amps that the LEAF is capable of using. So, approximately 10-hour charging instead of 8-hour. Still, good for many uses, but PERHAPS "illegal" to use here in the USA.

I expect (hope) that the SPX all-voltage, 12-to-32 amp (field-adjustable) L1/L2 EVSE will be ... better, and might even cost less.

No, the EVSE does not "signal" the voltage, but the LEAF's charger COULD measure the AC voltage, IF it wanted/was designed to do so.

garygid said:

No, the EVSE does not "signal" the voltage, but the LEAF's charger COULD measure the AC voltage, IF it wanted/was designed to do so.

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Surely it must be able to automatically adjust to multiple voltages. How else could you use the same port for L1 and L2 EVSEs?

The charger in the LEAF probably has a "universal" voltage input, accepting about 90v to 250v AC.

The LEAF's charger COULD measure the input voltage and draw 16 amps when the voltage is over about 200, and only 12 amps when under.

However, I think Andy indicated that (from a very quick look at the Service Manual) it looked like the charger would always try to draw 16 amps, if the EVSE's Control Pilot PWM signal would allow that much current to be used.

Presumably, a "more powerful" charger could use up to 32 amps.

LTLFTcomposite said:

So the J1772 thingy signals voltage as well as current?

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No, J1772 only provides the maximum current, but the car doesn't necessary draw the maximum. The on-board charger is required to be auto-ranging, just like Gary said.