[jonescg]

Hi All,
I have almost finished the 1988 Honda Prelude conversion:

http://forums.aeva.asn.au/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=5502&start=350

However the Type 2 inlet in conjunction with the AVC2 from EV West is not working right. A friend loaned me his Open EVSE which has a 32 A plug on the input side, so I can use the TC charger at 5 kW or so. The AVC2 gives the OpenEVSE the right signal to start delivering AC power to the charger.

However when I used a public charge point, I get nowhere. With an exception - there was a Scheider Type 2 charge point which started to charge the car for a minute, then fails. Reseting it allows it to charge for another minute, then it fails again.

Tesla Destination chargers in Australia are all Type-2, and often work for Leaf 2.0s and Hyundai Konas, but in this case would not charge the Prelude. Likewise an EO charge point showed no signs of acknowledgement.

So I was hoping folks here might have some experiences with getting the AVC2 to play nice with Type-2 charge points.

 

[jonescg]

I just realised there may be a need for a 2.7k resistor between proximity and ground. Will set this up and try it again.

 

[jonescg]

We tried the resistor and it didn't seem to make any difference with the Type-2 EVSE we had. However, resistor or not, the Mitsubishi Type-1 EVSE with a muzzle style adaptor worked just fine. It seems the AVC2 really likes Type-1...

 

[jonescg]

OK an update on the state of public charging with an AVC2.

The AVC2 was designed and built in America where Type-1, or J1772 single phase charging is common.

I have installed a Type-2, or Mennekes charge inlet on the Prelude because Australia is an overwhelmingly three-phase nation. However every single Type-2 charge port refuses to comply with the AVC2. Schnieder chargers work for about 1 minute before dropping out, and Tesla Destination chargers (which are effectively Type-2 charge points, nothing proprietary) don't work at all. Likewise the EO charge points don't do anything.

But Chargepoint chargers (Type-1) with a muzzle adaptor work just fine. And the Circontrol chargers which use the Type-1 plug also work fine.

So I basically have a Type-1 car in Type-2 clothing. The only real difference between Type-1 and Type-2 is the switch, or lack of it, in the case of Type-2.

Might need to devise a switch somehow...

 

[jonescg]

As I suspected, the Type-1 and Type-2 charger protocols are indeed different. I got this reply from David Kerzel:

"Chris,

Several possibilities.

Is the charging system true J1772? That is what the AVC2 is for. In J1772, the cable is always part of the EVSE, never removable.

In Europe, they use IEC-62196, which uses the removable cable. They are not compatible systems.

They use the same pilot signal but the proximity signal is different. J1772 uses proximity for plugged in, 450 ohms, and latched with a latched resistance of 150 ohms. The AVC2 needs under 220 ohms to request power.

On the other hand, the IEC-62196 uses the pilot resistance to indicate the current rating of the cable since it is removable and not part of the system.

For a cable or charger rated at 13 Amps or less the resistance is 1500 ohms. For a cable or charger rated at 20 Amps the resistance is 680 ohms. Both of these are too high for the AVC2 to recognize as connected.

For a cable or charger rated at 32 Amps the resistance is 220 ohms. For a cable or charger rated at 63 Amps the resistance is 100 ohms. Both of these are low enough for the AVC2 to recognize as connected.

We have an AVC2-IEC-62196 for Europe that is CE that we started making a few months ago. They have not made it to e-bay yet. They are made for an OEM and have a plug in connector that would need to come with an e-bay version.

The AVC2-IEC-62196 works with the J1772 system but it requests power as soon as the connector is mated and does not wait for the latch.

I am traveling for the fall holidays but will be back December 9 and can put an AVC2-IEC-62196 with connector together for you. I will send it to you, no charge, if you will let me know if it is the proper device for public charging where you are.

David Kerzel"

So hopefully once I get this one I can start to use Type-2 chargers as well, without any need for an adaptor.

 

[[email protected]]

Do you plan on trying to get one of these newer devices for testing?

 

[jonescg]

I haven't received it yet, but yes I look forward to testing it soon.