Charging PIP using Chevy Volt 110V charge cord

Maybe the cord needs to be metric....jk....be interesting to understand why it did not work....

 

Phil ( pEEf) can probably provide the most complete answer.


I think this is just an example of the space for interpretation in the SAE standard.

 

Does the OEM cord have voltage/current protection circuitry specific to the PIP safe charging limits?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if there are manufacturer specific I.D. circuits built into each cord that the cars query when plugged in. If its not a Toyota OEM cord it will be refused by the PiP, and the same for Volt. Prevents cheap knockoffs being used and causing expensive and dangerous problems!

 

Nobody has reported any actual evidence of that.

All J1772 units are supposed to be compatible with each car. I'm not aware of any other car which is unable to charge using the Volt charge cord. For example, the LEAF can be charged with the Volt charge cord. It was true that early LEAF charge cords could not charge a Volt but I'm not aware of any other J1772 EVSE cord that is unable to charge the Volt.

I'm surprised that Toyota didn't test that interoperability before selling the car since Volt has been on sale for over a year.

 

Could have been one of the Chevy recalled cables? They just recalled all charging cables except for Feb builds....

 

No cables were recalled, it was a customer satisfaction exchange (i.e you can do it if you want). That was all about the plug that goes into the wall having a potential to overheat. No change in the electronics.

 

Does it work the other way around? Prius PHV cord with the Volt.

 

Devprius and I plan to do a 120V charge cord interop test today.

 

JeffN and I and some other Leaf & Volt owners will be trying this at work later today.

 

Okay, our testing was completed during the lunch break.

There is good news and bad news.

The bad news is that we confirmed that the first 2 versions of the Volt 120V charge cords do not work with the 2012 PiP. I hope to upgrade to the newest 3rd version of the Volt charge cord soon and will check that with the PiP as soon as I get it. The PiP 120V charge cord worked fine charging the Volt.

The good news is that GM and Nissan fixed their interoperability problems in the 2012 model year. The 2011 LEAF cord works now with the 2012 Volt where it doesn't with the 2011. Likewise, the new 2012 LEAF charge cord now works with the 2011 Volt where the 2011 LEAF charge cord used to fail.

I'll create a table of all the combinations and will post it here later tonight.

 

Excellent work. Two questions: you don't mention the Leaf-cord-on-a-PiP combination? And second, in case the third version of the Volt cord works, is there a way to tell what "generation" of Volt cord you're getting by looking at it? If Toyota wants $1200 for a cable, and a Volt cable works for $350, I can see myself getting a Volt cable.

 

Um hate to break it to you but your results are not as conclusive as you may think. My Leaf portable EVSE was deliverd March 2011. It charges the PiP just fine.

 

2nd generation has an orange cord from the 120V plug to the EVSE. 3rd generation has a heavier, black cord from the 120V plug to the EVSE.

My Volt is eligible for HOV, delivered 2 weeks ago, still had the 2nd gen unit. 3rd gen are apparently still in very short supply.

 

On the note of interop, from My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Fast Low Cost Charging - All EVSE Questions Answered! (from long ago) when pEEf was still in his earlier stages of EVSE upgrades:

However, I believe that's been rectified.
From http://evseupgrade.com/:

 

I ran out of time to post the full matrix of testing results tonight so I'll do that in the morning. But, I never said there was a problem with the LEAF cord charging the PiP. That worked fine. There was, however, a problem with the Volt cord charging the PiP. The first two versions of the Volt cord failed to work with PiP. The latest version is still an unknown for now but that should be resolved as soon as I get mine old one swapped for the new.

 

Jeff N didn't say anything about the Leaf not being able to charge the PiP. What he said was that the 2011 Leaf EVSE couldn't charge the 2011 Volt. The 2011 Leaf EVSE charged my PiP just fine. Unfortunately, neither version of the Volt EVSE could charge my PiP.

 

Leaf EVSE charged my PiP without a problem. I'm hoping the third generation Volt EVSE will work with my PiP. As you say, $350 is a much better option than $1200 for second EVSE. I really liked the built in cord managment of the Volt unit, and the ability to switch between 12A and 8A operation.