# Modify my L1 charger?



## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

SteveMann said:


> What about the charger tells the Volt when the portable, 110V charger is in use?
> 
> I would really like to not need to get back into the car to change the charge rate to 12A every time I plug it in.


With most EVs and plug-in hybrids, the cord to plug into a common 15 amp 120 volt outlet includes an inline box of electronics which communicate with the car just like a wall-mounted or public charging station (EVSE), telling the car what rate is available.


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## SteveMann (Aug 15, 2016)

Should I have mentioned that I have been an electronics engineer and designer since before Silicon was discovered in Cupertino?


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

SteveMann said:


> Should I have mentioned that I have been an electronics engineer and designer since before Silicon was discovered in Cupertino?


Why would you?

You asked a question:


SteveMann said:


> What about the charger tells the Volt when the portable, 110V charger is in use?


... and I directly answered it:


brian_ said:


> ... the cord to plug into a common 15 amp 120 volt outlet includes an inline box of electronics which communicate with the car just like a wall-mounted or public charging station (EVSE), telling the car what rate is available.


"What" tells the Volt when the charger is in use is the EVSE in the charger, by the same method (physical connection, protocol... all the layers of the OSI model with which you are presumably familiar) via the SAE J1772 connection as any other EVSE. Since the portable charger is only equipped with a 15 A plug, this EVSE should be programmed to always limit charging to the corresponding rate (80% of 15 A at 120 V, or 1.44 kW).



By the way, silicon was first isolated in 1823, the first silicon semiconductor was developed in 1906, the first silicon transistor was built in 1947, and the foundational work on practical semiconductors and integrated circuits was done in the 1950's, so you must be really old, Steve... and none of those things happened in Cupertino, although Palo Alto and San Jose are very nearby.


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## remy_martian (Feb 4, 2019)

brian_ said:


> SteveMann said:
> 
> 
> > What about the charger tells the Volt when the portable, 110V charger is in use?
> ...


So this begs the question of...has anyone figured out which components need to get changed out in order to boost that current availability to 16 amps, or Is that built into the Microcontroller’s firmware?

I’d like to run it off my Nema 6-20S in the garage that the air compressor is occasionally plugged into. of course, I’d change the plug to a 6-20P.

The way Tesla did it was the right way...follow the type of detachable plug. I’m hoping there’s a resistor divider inside the Chevy box that the f/w reads.


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## brian_ (Feb 7, 2017)

remy_martian said:


> So this begs the question of...has anyone figured out which components need to get changed out in order to boost that current availability to 16 amps, or Is that built into the Microcontroller’s firmware?


That's a reasonable question, as long as all of the hardware can handle 16 amps. Sorry, I have no idea what would need to be done.



remy_martian said:


> I’d like to run it off my Nema 6-20S in the garage that the air compressor is occasionally plugged into. of course, I’d change the plug to a 6-20P.


That makes sense. Is everything in the adapter rated for 250 volts and suitable for 16 amps?



remy_martian said:


> The way Tesla did it was the right way...follow the type of detachable plug.


I agree that's flexible, capable, and convenient, but every component in the system needs to be sized and rated for the highest current and voltage. The typical 15 A (12 A charging) 120 V adapter supplied with an EV is intended for charging where there is no EVSE and so likely only a NEMA 5-15 receptacle, and it is as light and inexpensive as possible for that task.


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