Hi,
Maybe this has already been asked/answered (I doubt I’m the first one) but couldn’t find anything relevant, so I’m sorry if this is a redundant post.
At my workplace they’re going to install charge stations, which is great news. Also, at several malls around my neighbourhood I’ve found free charge stations.
However, I don’t have a charge tank and all those stations use the
European Type 2 plug aka Mennekes plug aka VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2 .
Zero does offer
this or
this solution but an SAE J1772 is the wrong type of connector for my region and for those prices I can get A LOT of kilometres just from payed charging at home (not to mention I’d still have to buy a cable too).
Only ready made after market solution I’ve found is
this adapter cable … but again, for a little under €230 I can buy a LOT of electricity (and thus kilometers) at my place. So, to get a cheaper electric fix, I’m thinking to put my DIY skills to the test and want to make the same cable myself.
I’ve found a ‘relatively’ cheap
Type 2 connector here.
Electrical connections from PE, N and L1 (don’t need L2 or L3) to C13 is straightforward.
Signalling used on the Mennekes plug is exactly the same as for the J1772 plug (
see this Wiki and its references).
Proximity Pilot is easy enough to understand and rather irrelevant if I’m only using the onboard charger.
Now ...
The Control Pilot on the other hand is not yet completely clear to me.
It would seem I can build the whole thing out of only a few passive components.
Since I'm not using the latch for PP I can re-purpose it to tell the EVSE to switch from connected (State B) to charging (State C) and vice versa.
And I can ignore the whole duty cycle thing because I'm using the lowest rating anyway.
This all seems a bit too easy and I feel I'm missing something which could throw a spanner in the works … anyone else has any experience with this?
For the end result I’d like to integrate the entire circuit in the handle (with a few additional indicators and safety mechanisms).