Location of charging port

[tom]

Hi Everyone,

I am new here. I am on my second Nissan LEAF and I have been reading here for the past week. I look forward to getting the e-Golf someday soon.

I have a question about the location of the charging port. How does everyone feel about it being on the side-rear vs. the LEAF which is center-front. I thought about this and it puzzles me why both e-Golf and Tesla chose to put theirs side-rear.

Can we have a vote here? I vote for center-front because that's best for most public charging stations (as well as my garage because I can share a charger this way in a two-car garage).

 

[miimura]

It's very simple. That is where the gas filler is on the ICE version. No choice to be made. That's just how it is with these cars that share substantial portions with ICE versions. My RAV4 EV is the same way, but on the other side. This is actually convenient for me because my EVSEs are mounted on the side walls of my garage. The RAV goes in the left hand space and the e-Golf on the right.

Generally, I don't charge in public. I've never HAD TO charge the RAV in public except when I drove it home from a distant dealer, and the e-Golf has only been charged in public because I wanted to try the Fast Charge.

 

[tdkman2]

@miimura - Where was the Fast Charge location that you used in the Bay Area?

I'm kind of curious in trying one out, but I don't see any ChargePoint locations, and only the eVgo network subscription ones show up in the app and online when I do a search.

I know that ChargePoint along with BMW and VW are supposed to do a West Coast Corridor of fast chargers, but they're starting down south from San Diego first and working their way up north.

http://www.chargepoint.com/press-releases/2015/0122

 

[svento]

Given an option, I'd much prefer a front, driver side charge port. I think it depends on the location of your charger, but for most public chargers, a front port is much easier. I have had at least a few experiences where the charger cable did not reach my charge port until I backed in.

 

[miimura]

@miimura - Where was the Fast Charge location that you used in the Bay Area?

I'm kind of curious in trying one out, but I don't see any ChargePoint locations, and only the eVgo network subscription ones show up in the app and online when I do a search.

I know that ChargePoint along with BMW and VW are supposed to do a West Coast Corridor of fast chargers, but they're starting down south from San Diego first and working their way up north.

http://www.chargepoint.com/press-releases/2015/0122

VW ERL in Belmont has a 50kW Efacec unit out front. BMW has one of their own 25kW units out front of their facility in Mountain View. That is the one I used. You can find them on Plugshare.com by using the SAE Combo filter. The BMW one is free, but requires a ChargePoint card to activate. The VW one can be activated with the GreenLots app and I believe it is also free.

I don't think they have started deploying chargers on the West Coast Corridor yet. I regularly check PlugShare to look for new quick chargers. Most of the new ones lately have been installed by NRG for their evGo network.

Today's view of e-Golf compatible fast chargers in the South and East Bay. Notice the three evGo sites in the South Bay with the wrench icon. Actually, the Cupertino SAE Combo is allegedly working - the Nissan one is the one under repair. Also, the one in Sunnyvale near 237 is "Coming Soon". The Milpitas one is the only SAE Combo that is actually under repair.

 

[tdkman2]

Cool. Thanks for the reference locations and map, and letting me know about PlugShare and GreenLots. I'm still learning about all the various resources available as a new BEV owner.

 

[tdkman2]

Given an option, I'd much prefer a front, driver side charge port. I think it depends on the location of your charger, but for most public chargers, a front port is much easier. I have had at least a few experiences where the charger cable did not reach my charge port until I backed in.

We don't get it here in the US, but the PHEV VW Golf GTE over in Europe has its charging port out in front where the emblem is.

http://www.carscoops.com/2015/04/vw-golf-gte-driven-is-it-really-gtis.html

There's a picture of it connected to a charger in the gallery in the article above.

What we do get here in the US, is the upcoming Audi A3-etron, which is basically the GTE under an Audi badge and skin.

But it is a plug-in hybrid, so not entirely all electric.

 

[jack8trades]

Given an option, I'd much prefer a front, driver side charge port. I think it depends on the location of your charger, but for most public chargers, a front port is much easier. I have had at least a few experiences where the charger cable did not reach my charge port until I backed in.

We don't get it here in the US, but the PHEV VW Golf GTE over in Europe has its charging port out in front where the emblem is. ...

According to my tape measure, the e-Golf's CCS port should just fit under it's front emblem, but I'm not sure the plug could fit, and also the extra (and thick) cabling the port requires might be problematic. Would be nice, though. How much might people pay for an accessory retrofit, if it were possible? I might go $400.

 

[miimura]

Golf GTE only has a Mennekes Type-2 port behind the emblem. It is significantly smaller than a CCS port. CCS also has to have the thick high voltage cables while the Type-2 only has to carry low amperage AC because the GTE only has a 3.3kW charger. It would be much more practical to put a second J1772 behind the front emblem.

 

[jack8trades]

Golf GTE only has a Mennekes Type-2 port behind the emblem. It is significantly smaller than a CCS port. CCS also has to have the thick high voltage cables while the Type-2 only has to carry low amperage AC because the GTE only has a 3.3kW charger. It would be much more practical to put a second J1772 behind the front emblem.

I didn't mention how much easier it was to put the L2 port the GTE has there, because it wasn't material to my post, which was how much people might pay for moving the CCS port to the front. I did mention it might not be possible due to the heavy cabling and possibly even the plug size, but if it could, it would be considerable benefit to me, at least.

Case in point, I recently charged at a community college and as usual, backed into the spot. I was only there briefly, so I just sat in the car and had a snack. It wasn't long before a security guard came and told me to repark my car nose in -- those are the rules, for safety. Fortunately, the L2 cord was just long enough. At a certain CCS charger I occasionally use elsewhere, there's no way I could park nose-in, the cable is so short and oppositely-placed I can't even park squarely backed in. I'm not confident the guard would have been understanding if this were the case at the college lot, as he just shrugged when I said I wasn't sure the cord would reach.

 

[cove3]

I've read there's an extension cable you can buy

Ron

 

[jack8trades]

I've read there's an extension cable you can buy

Ron

I thought of that, as it would almost certainly be a less expensive option, and possibly even more useful, but I wasn't able to find one even for CHAdeMO, let alone CCS. If you have a link please post it. I have seen L2 extension cables like this.

 

[cove3]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=J1772+Extension+Cord
https://evconnectors.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=115

 

[miimura]

JLong is what you want for L2 extension. It's great if the spot in front of the station is ICE'd too. It is a well engineered product that is completely safe in all situations. I would personally be leery of some of the eBay ones.

As for length of SAE Combo cords - it really depends on the location. I had no problem with the one I tried.

This is the BMW Group Technology site in Mountain View, CA. I posted the picture to Plugshare.

 

[jack8trades]

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=J1772+Extension+Cord
https://evconnectors.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=115

All are L2/J1772 extension cables. Sorry, I should have been more explicit. If anyone finds a link for DCQC extension cables that use CHAdeMO (I have a Leaf-owning friend who'd be interested,) or CCS connectors, please post it.

I'm not surprised I haven't seen them for sale. Imagine the probable disaster that would occur, for example, using an extension cable rated for 25kW on a 50kW charger (a situation which I don't think the charger could reliably detect,) with a car like the e-Golf capable of drawing considerably over 25kW. A "safe" reasonably future-proof 125kW extension cable that would handle just about anything including a Tesla (and exceed the current 100kW limit of CCS,) would probably cost and weigh a ton.

 

[JammingJay]

Bottom line, it would've been more convenient to have the charging port in the front of the car IMO.

On occasion was a pain the ass when I had my Rav4 EV as some of the stations didn't quite reach the rear of the vehicle. Slightly less of a challenge with the E-Golf

 

[Frank3]

I've had no issues with the charging port where it is currently located. I also like the fact that there is little on the outside of the car that differentiates it from the ICE Golf and having the port door located exactly where the other Golf gas filler port is located is preferential.

 

[NeilBlanchard]

The BMW i3 which is the only other car (in the US anyway) that has the CCS port, and it is also located on the same place on the car, so one would hope that all CCS charging stations would have cords that work for both cars, no matter how they are parked.

 

[svento]

The BMW i3 which is the only other car (in the US anyway) that has the CCS port, and it is also located on the same place on the car, so one would hope that all CCS charging stations would have cords that work for both cars, no matter how they are parked.

Yes, it does seem to be a relatively common charge port location (probably based on where gas caps used to be)... but I will say that in my office, one set of standard chargers (installed in the past year or so) do not have a long enough cord to reach when I am parked in the stall on the right side of the charger. To make things even worse, that particular parking spot is on a one way angled drive so backing the car in is not technically allowed (nor easy to maneuver).

Since chargers are nearly always in the far end of a parking spot, it seems like it would just make sense to always put charge ports on the front of the car since the great majority of people do not regularly back into a parking spot.

 

[miimura]

The BMW i3 which is the only other car (in the US anyway) that has the CCS port, and it is also located on the same place on the car, so one would hope that all CCS charging stations would have cords that work for both cars, no matter how they are parked.

The Chevy Spark EV (sold in CA and OR) has a CCS port that is on the front driver's side fender. However, I agree that these nationally sold cars should dictate that a long enough cable be provided for the particular installation.