Charging cable theft protection

[EVkris]

I wonder about the risk for theft of the charging cable. It's a rather valuable piece of equipment that I sometimes use in public areas. Today I have no protection against someone stealing it. No matter if its the charging cable or the charging box delivered to the car the car has no locking device to protect the cables. Has anyone in this forum a good idea of how to improve this? Where I live some public stations has a function to lock the cable in the charging station by using some SMS interface - it works well but it's far from safe. Maybe it eliminates the situation theft!? I would like to see some feature in the car that you could lock the cable on too. The most convenient would of course be if the lock was controlled by the car key - but I assume I have to wait some years for this development...

 

[t3lmo]

If you seen in my pictures, I use a usual lock (rolling code this case) into the J1174 plugs...

Prevents the mechanic unplug.
Fits like this..

 

[jaapv]

I just park the car with a wheel on the cable.

 

[BeeJay]

Another trick I have seen, but not used myself yet, is to pass a loop of the cable round a spoke of an alloy wheel and then put a more sturdy padlock onto that loop to lock it back onto its cable.

 

[sokratesagogo]

@t3lmo is that a commando socket converter I see in your trunk? If so, may I be so bold as to enquire where you bought it?

Cheers,
Sok

 

[t3lmo]

@t3lmo is that a commando socket converter I see in your trunk? If so, may I be so bold as to enquire where you bought it?

Its a shucko adapter for 3 pin CEE 3X16: http://goo.gl/D2k72L
Used it alot for charging my scooter on 3 pin plugs, and now the PHEV with the EVSE.

 

[maby]

@t3lmo is that a commando socket converter I see in your trunk? If so, may I be so bold as to enquire where you bought it?

Its a shucko adapter for 3 pin CEE 3X16: http://goo.gl/D2k72L
Used it alot for charging my scooter on 3 pin plugs, and now the PHEV with the EVSE.

Why do you need the EVSE? I thought they were only necessary in the US with their silly low voltage mains.

 

[t3lmo]

Why do you need the EVSE? I thought they were only necessary in the US with their silly low voltage mains.

The EVSE is the main controller to manage the AC charging workflow.
It generates the logic protocol to communicate (on J1774 pin 4 plug) with the PHEV to start , charge (6A-16A) and balance the battery pack in the last 30min (at 2A only).
On schuko or 3-pin plugs we all must use EVSE, the (original) one with 10A or a better one with 16A.
At home most of us use a charge wallbox and on the public charge points the mode 2 mennekes cable. On all those there's an EVSE inside.

 

[sokratesagogo]

Many thanks @t3lmo

Forgive my ignorance - when you refer to the EVSE do you mean the box on charging cable that comes with the car?

Regards,
Sok

 

[maby]

Many thanks @t3lmo

Forgive my ignorance - when you refer to the EVSE do you mean the box on charging cable that comes with the car?

Regards,
Sok

Indeed - I didn't know it by that name either... I always thought that an EVSE was a step-up device to allow an EV to charge off 110V mains.

 

[t3lmo]

Exactly, EVSE = Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

Some history behind (found online)...

When discussing electric vehicles and charging standards, things can get a bit confusing. Progress has been made in terms of unification, with the J1172 connector becoming a standard in most of the world. However, nomenclature still brings about plenty of conversational disorientation. Modern electric vehicles (EVs) such as the Nissan Leaf have the charger built into the car? If this is so, what, you may ask, is the $2,200 Aerovironment "wall charger" that wants to sell me to charge the Leaf (or another EV)? Well, that wall charger or charging station is really just a device that safely allows electricity to flow. These "chargers" and the protocols established to create them are known as EVSE (electric vehicle supply equipment), and they enhance safety by enabling two-way communication between the charging station and the electric vehicle.

The term EVSE has been in use for a long time, and the 1996 NEC and California Article 625 defined EVSE as:
The conductors, including the ungrounded, grounded, and equipment grounding conductors, the electric vehicle connectors, attachment plugs, and all other fittings, devices, power outlets or apparatuses installed specifically for the purpose of delivering energy from the premises wiring to the electric vehicle.
This two-way communication ensures that the current passed to the vehicle is both below the limits of the wall charger itself and below the limits of what the car can receive. There are additional safety features such as a safety lock-out that does not allow current to flow from the wall charger until the plug is physically inserted into the car. While this new standard does result in additional cost to the consumer (versus just plugging into any 240 volt socket), their are benefits besides just safety. Adjusting the vehicle's on-board charger to make sure it doesn't exceed the power limits of the circuit it is plugged into is no longer required with EVSE. This is an important simplification to the charging process, and should help facilitate adoption of EVs in the future for people who could care less what current, voltage or wattage are.

 

[sokratesagogo]

Thanks @t3lmo !

 

[BeeJay]

Another trick I have seen, but not used myself yet, is to pass a loop of the cable round a spoke of an alloy wheel and then put a more sturdy padlock onto that loop to lock it back onto its cable.

Here is a picture from another site of what I was talking about.

https://speakev.com/threads/extra-cable-purchase.4378/#post-70103

 

[EVkris]

Thanks a lot for all the valuable input - I will use the padlock method from now on. The idea of parking with one wheel on the cable I think was brilliant but maybe not very convenient...

I also found some interesting information about how the EVSE works. Is there something written about how a standardized EVSE work? I thought it only used the signal wires to communicate with the built in charger in the car and that this signal was pure digital - on or off with the AC-current. Current limited to what the EVSE is set to (6, 10 or 16A) or what the car is limited to handle (usually 16A).

Curious!

 

[t3lmo]

The EVSE protocol is open source project, and many have already implemented their own systems.
The most known is OpenEVSE: https://code.google.com/p/open-evse/
Some have built DIY modules: http://store.openevse.com/

 

[jaapv]

Thanks a lot for all the valuable input - I will use the padlock method from now on. The idea of parking with one wheel on the cable I think was brilliant but maybe not very convenient...

Have you ever lost the key or the code to a suitcase lock? I can break such a small padlock in two seconds flat...

 

[Marksuk]

To be fair... if you are so inclined to pinch a cable you would just unplug it and cut the cable itself to remove the lock.
I think the padlock idea is about as secure as your going to be

 

[jaapv]

Those plugs are expensive as well - and it seems to be a bit dodgy to cut a cable that might have 300 V from the car on it...Better to take a couple of pliers and break the lock.

 

[Marksuk]

and it seems to be a bit dodgy to cut a cable that might have 300 V from the car on it...

You would unplug it first.

 

[jaapv]

Ah- but the car side may be live as well... Besides, most public chargers lock te cable down anyway.