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Video that shows how to modify Voltec L1 EVSE to do L1 and L2

109K views 257 replies 81 participants last post by  hiperco 
#1 ·
I'm really pleased as to how this turned out. A big thanks to those in the other EVSE conversion thread for the ideas.

 
#72 ·
After reading through the threads it became unclear on whether this works or not. So my questions:

1. Does the mod as described in the video work and proven to continue work over many months without issue?
2. There was some discussion about whether the mod was even necessary. Simply create a conversion plug from 120v to 240v. Has that proven to work?
4. The mod uses 4 wires. Couldn't it be done with 3? The Seimens Versicharge has three prong plug, and so does my garage heater.

Thanks. This is awesome if it works and no one has had a problem.
 
#11 ·
So does this modification support 16A, 240V or is it the same as the LCS-20, 15A, 240V Clipper Creek unit then?
The EVSE will still advertise only 12 amps, so this would be equivalent to an LCS-15
 
#8 ·
Very nice. Super simple.
Surprised all the current goes through the PCB directly like that. Though I'm no electronics expert.;)

Already bought a 240, or might have considered this mod.
 
#9 ·
Job well done. Speaks well of the Clipper Creek engineering. This is just the kind of project I would tackle. I have done numerous small electronic restorations (guitar amps, etc.) and would easily be able to follow this video to complete the conversion.

Thanks for sharing.
 
#10 ·
Brilliant! Thanks so much for this!

Exactly what I was looking for before I purchased my Turbocord. You can easily carry several ends for different plug types you may encounter.

I wonder why EVSE Upgrade never offered an 240V upgrade with the Volt EVSE like they do with the Leaf.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I suspect the EVSE supplied with all volts is limited to 12 amps.

The J1772 pilot signal in the EVSE is set to 20% duty cycle which tells the car to expect 12 amps. The car can accept a little more, but the EVSE tells the car it is only going to get 12 amps maximum so that is what it charges at. The J1772 standard allows for 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and up amps.

With a modified EVSE, the car charges at twice the rate of the stock L1 EVSE.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
 
#15 ·
Well, here's what it looks like when I plug it into my Tesla. At 247VAC with 12A that brings it to 2964W. It's a little shy of the Volt's maximum 3.3kW. I'm cool with that (only on the Volt ;) )

Land vehicle Vehicle Car Automotive design City car
 
#16 ·
When I first saw this video, I thought it was really cool that you could do that. I even bought the parts to do it. Today I realized that this modification probably negates one of the safety features of the J1772 plug of no high voltage present at the plug when it is not plugged into the car. I suspect that all level 2 chargers have a double pole relay for L1 and L2. As far as I can tell (haven't had a chance to study the printed circuit board) L2 is connected directly to a wire to the plug, so voltage is present at one of the plug pins at all times when the modified EVSE is connected to a 240v electrical supply. In other words it is no longer suitable for a wet environment. Drop it in a puddle of water that you are standing in and nasty things could happen. I doubt if there is any arcing when the plug is connected to the car as the circuit would not be complete. If I'm wrong about this, I'm sure someone will let me know.

By the way, there is no need to buy a 4 prong 50 amp plug. All you need is a L14-20R wall outlet. One could also use 14-4 cable although it is hard to find; not available at HD or Lowes that I went to.

I hope Chris will comment about this.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Today I realized that this modification probably negates one of the safety features of the J1772 plug of no high voltage present at the plug when it is not plugged into the car.
ALL pins of the car plug are switched, including the neutral. I also was concerned, until I got the charger apart and verified the neutral is switched by the relay. so with this mod there is NO SAFETY ISSUE as you describe.

My total cost was 29 dollars, 7 of which was for a tork-x safety bit set. I hard wired it its as it would be 40+ more dollars for the socket/plug that I will never use. Simple and now I'm in the L2 camp. One thing I did with the 2012 charger was mounted it on stand-offs for heat dissipation ( almost 3 years ago ), did the same with the 2013 unit.

Technology Electronic device Gadget
Vehicle door Auto part
 
#20 ·
Does this mod work with all MY Volt supplied EVSE's? I have a 2014 and would like to attempt it. My thought is to put a 14-50 plug on the EVSE and then make a 120V adapter to a 14-50 receptacle. Most 240V outlets in the wild are 14-50. As the current will be limited to 12A, I can use 14 guage wire rather than the much heavier wire shown in the video. Any comments? Its a pity that the EVSE seems to need the common (white) wire. Most likely it has a 120V relay that wont work well with 240V. For my Open EVSE, there is an internal 120/240V to 12V power supply that is used to power the relays, so the common is not used. This allows the plug to be used on both 14-50 and 14-30 receptacles.
 
#21 ·
The relay is DC powered, its the internal power supply that's wired for 120V. The LEER branded EVSE's can't be modded, starting with the 2013's Clipper Creek has be the OEM, so any 2013-2015 should be able to be updated. 14 gauge for a short length should be fine, the issue is finding 4 wire 14 gauge stranded cord.
 
#25 ·
Thanks for the info. My local electric supply house has the 14 gauge SOOW wire. Are there many 14-30 receptacles out there? The reason I ask is that the local ShorePower chargers at a nearby Flying J station has 14-30's rather than 14-50's. That is why I cut the common plug off my Open EVSE, so that it would work on the 14-30. Since the Volt EVSE needs the common plug, I would have to build a 14-50 to 14-30 converter cable if there was a chance that I would need it. Anyone see 14-30's other than at ShorePower installations?

(ShorePower provides power to 18-wheelers when they stop overnight at truck stops such as Flying J)
 
#33 · (Edited)
If its similar to the 4 wire mod, the black bodge wire is taking the neutral and tying it into ground to power the EVSE circuit, they are assuming it will be bonded to neutral at the panel to obtain 120V. Intentionally passing current through ground (even minimal) is stupid and dangerous. Stick with the 4 wire mod, much safer.
 
#28 ·
I've mentioned it elsewhere, but the "jumper" that was removed from the circuit board is in fact a fuse. In the photo above it would have been connected to where the white and black wires are now.

As built there are two fuses, one for each leg of the EVSE. Shouldn't be an issue when connected to circuits around 20A, but might be a problem when connected to circuits around 50A.
 
#29 ·
Chris:

This looked like a good idea, but after assembling all the parts, I immediately ran into a problem. The 6 screws holding the cover in place look like Torx screws, but they have a small nipple in the middle almost like a pop-rivet. I can, however, see six distinct "teeth" around the edge which makes me think they are a modified Torx. Unfortunately, all the Torx screwdrivers I can find have a solid end so that they wont fit over the "nipple". Has anyone run into this before? The EVSE is from a MY 2014 that I bought in October 2014. Do you know where I can get a screwdriver that would fit?

Mike
 
#39 ·
Is it possible to use this setup to adapt the plug to fit something like a 10-30 or 10-50 range plug that doesn't include ground?

http://cosmacelf.net/Home%20Made%20Adapters.pdf said:
NEMA 10-30
This is the one that gives electricians fits because the NEMA 10-30 receptacle has no ground, while the Tesla requires a ground. The NEMA 10-30 has two out of phase 120V hots (for 240V) and a neutral. It turns out that in household wiring, the neutral and ground wires are connected together at the main breaker panel. So the solution is to connect the NEMA 10-30 neutral to the Tesla ground. This will work FOR THIS APPLICATION ONLY. As usual, never use this adapter for anything else.
It seems that if neutral and ground are truly connected at the box, then using the single wire in the plug (connected to the house's bridged neutral/ground) to feed both the neutral and ground pins of the EVSE should work out the same in the end. However, I'm sure there are others here that know a lot more about this stuff than I do.

I have a 240V EVSE installed in my garage, so I don't need this right away. I might wait until my warranty expires just to be safe, but this mod could be a great way to get a decent charge rate from my dad's welder outlet in their garage, and make it easily adaptable to a variety of 240V outlets (with just another little "X to L14-20R" cable to match whatever socket you need).
 
#41 ·
I'm not sure what the warranty is, but this definitely voids it. From 2 seconds into the video:
100% of this modification WILL void the warranty for your EVSE
You're taking it apart, removing components, and soldering in a new cable to different points on the board. It's relatively easy to perform the modification, but you're definitely modifying the EVSE. If you did have some problem unrelated to the modification, you may be able to put the EVSE back to stock (detectability of the modifications dependent upon your skills) for a warranty claim.
 
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