[Upstate]

I opened my LCS-20 so the mod folks can see what the 20A 240 VAC model looks like.

First, the Relay has a 240 VAC coil (compared with 120 VAC for the stock L1 EVSE that comes with the 2014 Volt). It is from the same Potter & Brumfield series as the relay in the stock L1 EVSE and has the same contact ratings.

Also, as expected, the low voltage power supply jumpers are configured with the labels LCS showing with one jumper in the middle (see my previous posts about the L1 stock EVSE for an extensive discussion of this jumper setting; posts #32 to #34. These jumper configure the two primary windings of the Triad low voltage linear power supply. The low voltage linear power supply is not a switching power supply and does not do any auto-configuration. The input voltage range is limited and applying 240 VAC to a 120 VAC configured transformer primary (parallel connection) will damage or destroy both the small transformer and likely the regulators (double the power supply designed voltage out of the secondary).

Although the "builds" are very different, note that the PCB number is the same. Also, the labels at the end of the board are very different from the sock L1 EVSE (see prior posts). The L1 stock EVSE board says PCBA "C", the LCS-20 L2 says PCBA "A".

The original mod (not the adapters that power an un-modded L1 EVSE at 240 VAC), is closer to "okay" than I initially realized. See the updated comments in the thread above.

This confirms expectations from the views of the jumpers and relay in the L1 EVSE. The ClipperCreek L1 EVSE and L2 EVSE are NOT the same and applying 240 VAC to an un-modded L1 EVSE will cause premature failure ranging from an open relay coil (plays dead) to smoke and fire. It is a credit to ClipperCreek's relatively conservative design that those who claim the un-modded L1 EVSE is the same and can be powered as a L2 EVSE at 240 VAC, so far have not reported smoke and snapping sounds (or fire).

 

[Upstate]

ClipperCreek LCS-20 PCB part II

Another question was how do the jumper settings at the power entrance side compare between the L1 and L2 EVSE. There is good news and bad news. The jumper settings (three jumpers) are different (LCS-20, JMP2, JMP3; Stock L1 EVSE JMP 1, JMP3). Wild guess is that possibly changing the jumper settings for 240 VAC by the mod, might(?) change the pilot signal to go from 12 A to full 3.3 kW charging (no idea).

However, note also that the firmware is different (V25B is the LCS-20; LVMGM27A is the stock L1 EVSE), so not only do we not know what the jumpers set, they may or may not have the same functions between different units. Of course if it did end up changing the pilot signal (no idea), one would probably need to mod in another small switch because clearly you do not want to draw more than 12 A when used as a L1 charger. Compare firmware labels LCS-20 to the PCS L1 that comes with the Volt. Note the LCS-20 rough soldered jumper is a jumper short, looks a little rough, but a good contact anyway.

Last pic is a shot of the pilot circuitry in the LCS-20.

If you open a LCS-20, it's a pain. After removing the four screws, you need to unscrew the power wire plastic "connector" assembly and pull partly off the protective corrugated plastic cover. That lets you pull the cover part way over the power wires. The top cover is one solid part, so it's two parts, not the three pieces of the L1 stock EVSE.

 

[Henry_FL]

Thanks, but with a simple mod the stock charger works great for L2 charging, my cost was ~29 bucks

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-how-to-modify-Voltec-L1-EVSE-to-do-L1-and-L2

Oh and there is NO DANGER doing the mod, the power supply is still running off 120V as the mod is a 4 wire solution

 

[Upstate]

Thanks, but with a simple mod the stock charger works great for L2 charging, my cost was ~29 bucks

http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread...-how-to-modify-Voltec-L1-EVSE-to-do-L1-and-L2

Oh and there is NO DANGER doing the mod, the power supply is still running off 120V as the mod is a 4 wire solution

yes, I updated my comments on that one, see posts #32 to #34 here http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?146665-Voltec-European-EVSE-in-US&p=2106457#post2106457 . I think it would be safer if the removed line fuse was modded back in.

A number of later posts suggested that the L1 stock EVSE and the L2 EVSE are identical. Although they have the same PCB part number they are different. A number of folks were getting ready to power the un-modded L1 EVSE at 240 VAC which will not work (Well not for very long anyway) (because of the the LV supply and the relay 120 V coil voltage).

 

[Raymondjram]

If the relay coil is rated only at 120 VAC, it can still be used as a L2 EVSE. Just have the relay coil kept at 120 VAC using only one of the two live wires and neutral. The contacts are rated for current, not voltage, so it will work. I wonder why Clipper Creek didn't use a DC voltage for the coil from the PCB as others do.

 

[Madcat455]

If the relay coil is rated only at 120 VAC, it can still be used as a L2 EVSE. Just have the relay coil kept at 120 VAC using only one of the two live wires and neutral. The contacts are rated for current, not voltage, so it will work. I wonder why Clipper Creek didn't use a DC voltage for the coil from the PCB as others do.

This is true, and what the original mod thread kept by using a 4 wire setup. However, that "other" thread was going to keep it a 3 wire setup... Which should fry the coil, and transformer.

 

[kohnen]

Here's where I think the differences are between the LCS-20 (L2 EVSE) and the GM supplied EVSE made also by Clipper Creek:

1) The relay coil runs off of the input voltage. If it's an L1 EVSE, then they use a version of the relay that uses a 110 V coil. If it's an L2 EVSE, they use a version of the relay that runs off of 220V. This is what makes the "Chris TX" mod so clever - it uses 110V for ALL the circuitry and just switches 220V instead of 110V. Clever.

2) JMP4 is a set of jumpers used to select the primary voltage for the small (2.5 Watt) for the control power. If the two outer jumpers are installed, the transformer primaries are in parallel (110V). If the center jumper is installed, the transformer primaries are in series (220V).

3) JMP1-JMP3 are to tell the microprocessor what particular model (and current capabilities) the unit is. I don't have the magic decoder ring for this one.

4) I suspect, but can't say for sure, that the gauge of the charging cord is changed between a 3.3 kW unit and a 6.6 kW unit.

So, by jumper settings, different power relay input coils & different output cords, Clipper Creek can use the same board for many of (all of?) their products. Very slick!

 

[Chris TX]

Thanks for the pictures! I don't know why I'm just now seeing these! The jumper block changes the coil sequencing which allows the output to stay the same. So, this ALSO means you can take an LCS-20 and make it L1 capable! The only problem with that would be, you'd be forced to plug it into a NEMA 5-20 since you can't have a sustained 13.75A load on a 15A circuit without popping the breaker.

So in this sense, the 13-14 Voltec unit IS the best L1/L2 EVSE for the Volt, aside from something like the TurboCord.

 

[rmay635703]

Thanks for the pictures! I don't know why I'm just now seeing these! The jumper block changes the coil sequencing which allows the output to stay the same. So, this ALSO means you can take an LCS-20 and make it L1 capable! The only problem with that would be, you'd be forced to plug it into a NEMA 5-20 since you can't have a sustained 13.75A load on a 15A circuit without popping the breaker.

So in this sense, the 13-14 Voltec unit IS the best L1/L2 EVSE for the Volt, aside from something like the TurboCord.

Yes but the contactor/relay doesn't change as easily.

 

[Chris TX]

Yes but the contactor/relay doesn't change as easily.

The relay is the same on both.

 

[kohnen]

Are you sure the relay is the same on both? I believe that the relay uses a 120V main coil if it's an L1 EVSE, and it uses a 240V main coil if it's an L2 EVSE. The coil of the main relay requires 4 Watts of power, and the low voltage supply transformer for the electronics can only put out 2.5 Watts. This argues that the main relay coil power is switched off of the main supply (120V if it's L1, 240V if it's L2).

Your (most excellent!) mod doesn't require a relay change because you're still providing 120V to the electronics & only switching 240V to the car. Is that what you're talking about?

 

[rmay635703]

The relay is the same on both.

So I could rig a multithrow switch and wire it to the jumpers and flip from 110v to 220v on the stock evse?

 

[hicky]

Hello..
I'm rather new to this great forum.....
Need some help with my LCS20 ev charger, doesn't want to hijack topic, but do not know where else to ask...
Unfortunately my charger got som moisture inside it, and I believe that the TVS1 diode and the capacitor to the right of it C25 became defective by the moisture, and I soldered both of them off pcb.
I need help to figure out C25 capacitor values, TVS was easy to get...
I've searched for a LCS20 pcb schematics, but impossible find..
Can anone help me in this matter...

 

[edk-austin]

@hicky, I don't have schematics of the LCS-20, but judging from the board, I would think TVS1 and C25 shouldn't prevent the unit from operating. TVS is a transient suppressor, C25 is probably a emi/slew rate filter, just a guess.

I also decided to look into the JMP1,2,3 settings on the GM L1 build EVSE. (not LCS-20, but the L1 that shipped with 2013/14.) JMP1,2 do set different Pilot duty cycles. JMP3 had no effect on the Pilot signal duty cycle. Not sure what JMP3 does.

(Pilot high pulse width in ms)

JMP1/2: IN/IN = 134ms = 8A
JMP1/2: OUT/IN = 168ms = 10A
JMP1/2: IN/OUT = 202ms = 12A
JMP1/2: OUT/OUT = 218ms = 13A

So apparently the firmware of LCS-20 is different to support the different Pilot duty cycles.

Generally, 15A (250ms Pilot high time) is used for 3.3KW. Don't know if the 13A setting is useful for Volt, yet.

 

[Guest]

I have the 2014 version, The L1 stock EVSE board says PCBA "C". I have bricked it by applying 240V with no wire and jumper changes. Is there hope to repair it. The control relay has smoked. I have ordered a new one. What else? Thanks in advance, new forum member and new to me volt owner, very happy with the car.

 

[dalek]

I also decided to look into the JMP1,2,3 settings on the GM L1 build EVSE. (not LCS-20, but the L1 that shipped with 2013/14.) JMP1,2 do set different Pilot duty cycles. JMP3 had no effect on the Pilot signal duty cycle. Not sure what JMP3 does.

(Pilot high pulse width in ms)

JMP1/2: IN/IN = 134ms = 8A
JMP1/2: OUT/IN = 168ms = 10A
JMP1/2: IN/OUT = 202ms = 12A
JMP1/2: OUT/OUT = 218ms = 13A

So apparently the firmware of LCS-20 is different to support the different Pilot duty cycles.

Generally, 15A (250ms Pilot high time) is used for 3.3KW. Don't know if the 13A setting is useful for Volt, yet.

I'm curious too. I have an LCS20 Clipper Creek (not the Volt supplied one), and was curious what the jumper settings would do. My LCS20 says LV25B and PCBA "C" on it. I was hoping to be able to have several selectable speeds by changing the jumpers, looking for a slower 240v speed to have more repeatable charging to near 80% using my [email protected]'s charging timer. No luck there, but, it'll go faster!

The original jumper settings were J1/J2/J3 = 0 1 1, which charges at 2.7 kW, 11a @ 240v
0 1 0 = 2.7 kW
0 0 1 = 4.4 kW 18a
0 0 0 = 4.4 kW, power fault light
1 1 1 = 2.7 kW
1 1 0 = 2.7 kW, power fault light
1 0 1 = 4.4 kW
1 0 0 = 4.4 kW, power fault light

So, J1 and J3, I'm not sure what they do. J2 selects either 11 or 18 amps. My LCS20 has a 14ga cord on it, and it's running it at 11a continuous. If I put a larger gauge cordset on it, I could run it at the higher current, if I want, with a switch. I might swap the 12ga cord from a [email protected] L1 EVSE, and that might be ok if I don't tie the cord in knots and leave it under a rug while charging at 4.4 kW.

 

[dalek]

I was wrong about the LCS-20 jumper setting results, confused by other loads looking at the entire house on my phone, leaping to conclusions, and not checking the meter I have in the basement on the EVSE circuit. Turns out I do get what I wanted: a slower speed and a faster speed. It would be really cool to have a 6 or 8 amp speed, but well, that's why OpenEVSE. Could charge at 120v, but that's less efficient.

The original jumper settings of J1/J2/J3 = 0 1 1 do charge at 14a, 240v = 3.3kW which is what it should be; it was charging at 14a before.

There are 4 power levels selectable by jumpers 1&2, similar to the Volt EVSE version, but different levels: 11a, 14a, 15a, and 18.6a
J3 = 0 turns on the power fault light (not populated on the Volt version I read), and seems to have no other effect. Maybe it is meant for some other wiring configuration? Anyone know that level of detail about the ClipperCreek EVSEs?

JMP1/2: IN/IN = 11A 2.6kW
JMP1/2: OUT/IN = 14A 3.3kW
JMP1/2: IN/OUT = 15A 3.6kW
JMP1/2: OUT/OUT = 18.6A 4.4kW

I finished modifying my LCS20 with a switch to select high and low charging speeds. It seems to work fine even switching it while charging.

All three jumpers are inputs to a microcontroller pulled to the same ground, so one double throw switch can connect ground always, yes or no for all three jumpers at the same time. I swapped the 12ga cord from the Leaf EVSE onto it which would be as good for 18.6amps, as it had before with 14ga for 14amps, it did get slightly warm. Also changed the input wire whip to 10 gauge and changed to a 25a breaker to handle 18.6a continuous. The relay in the LCS-20 is labeled as 20amps, I guess that's ok for 18.6a continuous? I wonder what the LCS-25 relay rating is, 20a or higher?

The higher power switch setting also turns on the extra led, so it's clear how it is set. Good clean fun.

 

[Havrla]

Thanks to the local forum for helping me increase the performance of my charger using jumpers 1 and 2.

While lifting the power, I reached a limit of about 13A. I found that the next limit is in the connector where there is resistance between PP and PE. 1500 ohm is 13A and that's my default, so I couldn't increase the power to 4.4kW.

1500 ohm is 13A for cable 1,5mm
680 ohm is 20A for cable 2,5 mm
220 ohm is 32A for cable 4-6 mm

So if someone does not succeed in using the switches to set sufficient current, pay attention to this resistance in the connector.


Havrla
Europe.

 

[Havrla]

Update,
in Europe for max power JP1/JP2 = 1/0 and 680ohm in connector.