[hyperlexis]

Oh well live and learn -- so I am out traveling this weekend in Wisconsin. The hotel, thankfully has outdoor plugs at most of their parking lot light poles. And OMG Madison has dozens of free chargepoint stations downtown. Per capita I bet it rivals or beats LA in this respect. (I wonder if their gov. knows....) Alas, however, the hotel's L1 plugs are so far from the car that there is almost no slack to run through the charge cable the trunk/windows to secure it from theft. I figured through the drivers door would damage the cable. (True?) So the only way I could figure how to secure the cord was to park on top of it. Brilliant....

Oh my. Don't do this, parking on the cord. This am, the cord came out pretty beat up. Not ruined, but seriously scarred, darkened and mushed where the tire was on top of it. I was, to put it mildly, quite surprised.

It still works ok, but its worse for the wear. I need to either use an extension cord next time, which is also far from ideal, or just hope no one swipes it.

This is a crappily designed EVSE. Did no one at GM think, hey, lets put a hole through the pistol grip so someone could run a small padlock through it to stop theft? (Like Nissan did!!!!) Sheesh!

Any aftermarket clamp-on devices to secure the pistol grip on the charger? Perhaps a bike lock through the alloy wheel or door handle to route the cable through to secure? Ughh sounds awful even to think about.

 

[David B. Kelting]

Any aftermarket clamp-on devices to secure the pistol grip on the charger? Perhaps a bike lock through the alloy wheel or door handle to route the cable through to secure? Ughh sounds awful even to think about.

Like this?

 

[DonC]

Interesting. I think we've had people park on the cord and don't remember any reports of a big problem. We've also had some use an extension cord and run the EVSE into/outof the hatch. You might to search for these threads. Mostly from 2011 and early 2012.

Like this?

+1 LOL

 

[FishGee]

Here is a thread regarding the issue:
http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?15146-PREVENTING-CHARGER-THEFT

 

[ejk]

Some people use a short piece of cord protector like this: http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-6ft-Co...d=1407767138&sr=8-1&keywords=floor+cord+cover

 

[ViperRT10Matt]

I know people have successfully used bike locks, but the amount of money I'd save from charging in public on 120 over the lifetime of my car is probably less than what a decent bike lock costs.

 

[David B. Kelting]

View attachment Full page photo2.pdf

Here's one of the other ideas. The 120V outlet is inside the job-site trailer.

 

[MTN Ranger]

My method for the past 2.5 years:

 

[jsmay311]

Yeah, I tried parking on the cord once, and it did not look good afterwards.

After that, I just bought a padlock to do the cord-thru-wheel trick. It works fine, but still, it would be a lot nicer to have the EVSE plug/handle be lockable IMO.

 

[tomh]

I try not to even walk on mine... I treat it like I do copper Ethernet cable

 

[ckk]

also always carry around a heavy-duty extension cord in the trunk, just in case.

 

[Fulgerite]

Parking on the cord repeatedly will likely result in the insulation failing and the cord will short circuit. When the cord shorts out it will destroy your EVSE. The damage will not be covered under warranty. Parking on the cord is considered negligence.

 

[rdunniii]

And anyone believes that GM designed the EVSE that came with the car because? Do you believe they designed the (unique to the Volt) tires too?

 

[jsmay311]

And anyone believes that GM designed the EVSE that came with the car because? Do you believe they designed the (unique to the Volt) tires too?

They may not be the manufacturer, but you better believe they worked closely with the supplier in designing it. It's not like they got the thing off the shelf.

If GM had wanted a locking feature in the handle, they could've gotten it.

 

[Cord]

Parking on the Cord hum ?

I vote NO

We posted a Video some time back from the testing lab on what they did to the charging cord.

 

[2BeLivingGreen]

I have parked on my cable many times when out of town at a hotel etc. I use a thin foam shipping sheet (not bubble wrap but the thinner flexible sheet) of material to wrap the cord in before I park on it. It keeps the cord clean and even protects it from any flattening out under the weight of the tire.

 

[Fulgerite]

And anyone believes that GM designed the EVSE that came with the car because? Do you believe they designed the (unique to the Volt) tires too?

Both of the GM Voltec EVSE's are designed by Lear. http://www.lear.com/en/electrical/high-power.aspx