Charging our new Mini.

The manual for the flexible fast charger is titled "Flexible Fast Charger (Mode 2 Charging Cable)"
What they label "ICCB" (in-cable control box) on page 8 is what makes the setup an IC-CPD (in-cable control and protection device).

And this manual for another Mode 2 charging cable is more explicit in describing "ICCB" and "IC-CPD":

 

I plug the connector into the car and it charges. I suggest you do the same Vs sitting there nerding out

 

My sincere apology if I offended you by … [checks notes] … clarifying something other commenters expressed confusion about.

 

I love it when industries create multiple acronyms for essentially the same thing, never mind how it confuses end users.

 

Mode 3 are hardwired AC EVSEs.

Mode 2 EVSEs plug in to an AC outlet.
The Mini supplied level 1 and level 2 EVSEs are both mode 2.

IC-CPD is the safety and current control electrickery in the EVSE box. There to prevent fire and electrocution. I recommend leaving it alone...

 

There is no such distinction in North America: Level 1 is 120 V EVSE; Level 2 is 240 V EVSE. Either can be hardwired or on a plug, although I've never seen hardwired Level 1.

 

Again, ‘Mode’ and ‘Level’ describe different things. And both are defined by international standards; IEC doesn’t stop at the US border.

 

Why are we still discussing this? The OP is driving a '23 and the owner’s manual is pretty clear. @MrSnrub posted a video with clear directions that follow what the manual says. Why are we still discussing this?

 

This is like having a motor oil conversation or asking what air to put in tires

 

There’s an ‘Unwatch Thread’ link there in the upper-right if you’re done here. No need to try and shut everyone else down.

 

Ignore as well

 

Americans won't give an inch on avoiding the metric system (pun intended), so international standards do stop at the US border. But this is more about marketing, I have never ever seen any description of EV-related operation refer to an "IC-CPD". It may be a discussion over semantics, but I did initially say it was confusing.

 

Yeah, see, a few of us have actually provided helpful information in this thread — that ought to have been read, understood, and applied by now — others are just choosing to be pedantic about non-relevant semantic nonsense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Ok, listen… if you don’t like the discussion in this thread, you’re free to leave and stop reading it.

I replied, trying to explain what the Mode terminology was all about.

I replied, trying to explain that ‘Mode’ and ‘Level’ describe different things, that IC-CPD is not like GFCI, and that the flexible fast charger is actually an IC-CPD.

All that I have done in here is try to provide helpful information to others in this thread. Not of my own accord or because I want to “nerd out”, but to clear up specific points of confusion expressed by others. All of it is on-topic about charging a MINI, and all of it was written to the best of my ability in a polite and respectful manner.
- - - - - - - -
On the other hand…

These are whiny, self-indulgent comments that don’t add anything to the discussion; they only serve to shut down others. That last one in particular is the height of the pot calling the kettle ‘black’, completely lacking in self-awareness.

Now, this would be off-topic to the discussion in here about charging MINIs, but if you want to start another thread, I’d be more than happy to reply in there to try and explain where you can shove it.

 

Funny, guy. Except you’re the only one here confusing the issue by supplying erroneous information; the “Flexible Fast Charger” info you linked above isn’t the one shipped to North America. It’s the Euro cable that plugs straight into their 230V mains.



The question of “modes” is moot in North America, because we use 110-125 V household mains and there’s no “Mode 1” cable available. “Mode 2” is regular household mains from a regular household wall socket to the car’s inlet through a protection device; it’s limited to the same low current as available anywhere in the home. “Mode 3” is full household mains, whether one leg (Europe/UK/230V countries) or both legs (single-phase AC, in North America) into the car’s inlet. In other words, there is only Mode 2 and 3 available here, and the Flexible Fast Charger that ships with the 2023 SE and all BMW EVs to North American customers is both a Mode 2 and Mode 3 EVSE, depending on the supply side plug used. So again, modes mean nothing in the North American context, and you can flail away all you like thinking you’re “helping” by talking about it, but the fact remains that we aren’t concerned with modes. Could the manual be more clearly written? That was already pointed out early in this thread. But so was this:


“Level 2.” That’s all the info the OP wanted. And it’s right there, as @insightman so eloquently pointed out, “in TFM,” easy to “R.”

 

What erroneous information have I supplied? Be specific.

The manual was printed for another country, but all that's different are the short adapter options that plug into the wall. You say it plugs straight into Euro 230V mains... well, the Flexible Fast Charger (FFC) in my garage plugs straight into the 240V two-phase mains here in Ohio (or straight into the 120V single-phase mains, if I use the other adapter it came with). You're trying to imply some meaningful difference here, but there isn't one.

'Mode 1' charging is illegal in the US, UK, and Israel; that doesn't mean the charging modes standard itself is moot in those places. And 110-125 V is irrelevant.

That's just false. You appear to be confusing 'Level 1' & 'Level 2' with 'Mode 2' & 'Mode 3' (which suggests you may not have actually read what I've posted already in here).

Straight out of the IEC 61851-1 standard:

6.2.2 Mode 2
"Mode 2 is a method for the connection of an EV to a standard socket-outlet of an AC supply network utilizing an AC EV supply equipment with a cable and a plug, with a control pilot function and system for personal protection against electric shock placed between the standard plug and the EV."
(Note: NEMA 5-15 type b & NEMA 14-50 [the adapters that come with the FFC in the US] are both standard outlets)

6.2.3 Mode 3
"Mode 3 is a method for the connection of an EV to an AC EC supply equipment permanently connected to an AC supply network, with a control pilot function that extends from the AC EV supply equipment to the EV."
(key phrase: "permanently connected")​

If you had a hard-wired wall box, that would be 'Mode 3' charging; the FFC is never 'Mode 3' charging.

Also just false. IEC 61851-1 itself makes frequent reference to nuances of how local regulations affect the application of the standard in various countries, including the US.

The conversation extends beyond OP's first post. One of those extensions was patash saying they were confused by the Mode 2/Mode 3 terminology used "in TFM" when they "R" it. Such a question easily falls under the thread's subject of charging a MINI, and so does the answer.

So, in summary:

1) you yourself were confused about Mode 2 vs Mode 3 (among other things) but hopefully you're less confused now,
2) the charging modes talk is relevant to charging a MINI and not off-topic for the thread, and
3) your continued criticism of others commenting in good faith is unhelpful, unwarranted, boorish, and dragging the thread off the rails (I invite you to either knock it off, or, if you lack such self-control, to go click that 'unwatch thread' link I pointed out previously).​

 

Why did God create "expert" economists? To make "expert" weathermen look good, that's why.

 

Without wishing to continue the above discussion, I have a question: does anyone know of a remote switch that can turn a 120volt charger on and off without going outside? The reason I ask is that I’m not adverse to charging the car to 80% when I get home, letting it sit at that charge (with the charger remotely turned off), then charging again with pre-conditioning for when I use the car next. All without getting wet/cold.

 

If your garage (or your EVSE) is on its own circuit breaker, you could use a wi-fi remote circuit-breaker switch.

 

How feasible is setting a departure schedule (app or on the MINI)? Based on your location, you could get wet/cold 75%-85% of the time stepping outside each morning.