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What does a EV charging point actually do?

Harry Macdonald

I have bought a 2nd hand Nissan leaf and have been happily charging it slowly from a 13A socket (fed by solar panels) for 6 months using the "granny lead" that comes with the car.

Yesterday, when I turned it on, the READY and CHARGE light flashed about once per second, as did the lights on the dashboard, and there was a click each time from the unit. The manual does not list this combination as indicative of anything.

This lead me to wonder what the "charging unit" actually does, It lists its input and output as 250V ac so it clearly is not a transformer/ rectifier. If it is a protective relay measuring neutral earth voltage, then maybe the ON / OFF is caused by something happening to the voltage in the house?

I have not found any information on the internet as to what is inside these units.

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  • 0

    I always thought that they were an extension lead with a suitable plug at either end. The lights may simply indicate that the lead is receiving power from the mains and is connected to the car.

    AFAIK, there are no safety features as such.

    However, what isn't clear to me is what you mean by "charging unit".

  • 0 in reply to Chris Pearson

    It clearly does more than that as it claims: "

    • Recognition of Dangerous Voltage on the Protective Conductor"

    though how it manages that when there is only a standard 3 pin plug, I don't know.

    It looks similar to this:

    www.symphonyev.co.uk/.../

  • 0 in reply to Harry Macdonald

    I bet the car takes days till its fully charged on a 13amp granny lead?

  • 0 in reply to Sergio Fernandez

    I bet the car takes days till its fully charged on a 13amp granny lead?

    Depends on how "empty" it was to start with - not may people run the battery completely flat before re-charging. Even then at say 2.4kW (10A) a 48kWh battery can't take much longer than 20h.

      - Andy.

  • 0 in reply to AJJewsbury

    Anyway the OP says he has been charging it for 6 months (!) Joking aside, for folk who do not use a vehicle hard every day of the week, then a 13A lead may well be more than enough, as an overnight charge will be tens of kVA, and even a 100kVA battery (sporty Tesla) will only need 30 hours  or so from dead flat to full.

    Mike.

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  • 0 in reply to AJJewsbury

    Anyway the OP says he has been charging it for 6 months (!) Joking aside, for folk who do not use a vehicle hard every day of the week, then a 13A lead may well be more than enough, as an overnight charge will be tens of kVA, and even a 100kVA battery (sporty Tesla) will only need 30 hours  or so from dead flat to full.

    Mike.

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