Problem with Level 1 charge cable

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VABeachKiwi

New Member
OK I am still battling problems with charging at home. I have been using a
"JuiceBox 40 Amp 20 Ft J1772 Extension Cord for EV Charging Station" for the last two years (from my previous thread a pin from my car charge port broke off inside this cord so I can't keep using it). I bought a new extension cord, the juice box is no longer on amazon, so I got a "Lectron 20ft/6m J1772 Extension Cable Compatible with All J1772 EV Chargers - Flexible Charging for Your Electric Vehicle". This had a much thicker cord - so maybe also thicker gauge wire than the JuiceBox? Anyway this cord would not activate my charger when i plugged in. I tested the Honda EVSE with a standard extension cord from the wall to the EVSE for a few minutes so i could get my car within range of the Honda level 1 charger and bingo it works. So either this new extension cord was faulty, or something about this higher gauge prevents the Honda EVSE from being activated... What is everyone's money on? Is anyone else using an extension cord for level 1 charging and what did you buy?
 
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I guess I don't entirely understand your scenario.

Why do you even want to use a J1772 extension cable when you are charging with Level 1?
If an extension is required, use a regular 120V extension cord on the input side of the EVSE (as you did above "for a few minutes"). There is nothing wrong with that as long as you have a sufficiently heavy gauge cord, and keep an eye out be sure the connections remain good (no excess warming at the plugs).

I can't think of a reason that the new J1772 cable shouldn't work, but It is a LOT more expensive than a nice heavy-duty 120V extension cord.

If your original J1772 extension has the broken pin from the vehicle still inside the female contact, it may be possible to pull it out with some long-nose pliers and hence repair that cable. I think the new cable should work however.

After you got the connector on the vehicle repaired, you tried to engage the original J1772 cable (before you realized that it had the broken pin inside it). How aggressive were you with that attempt? Could you have damaged the vehicle again by trying to force the bad cable back in?
 
See my thread Car Won't Charge - for full story on original issue. And no i didn't try to use the old cable on the new outlet. Once i found a pin missing on my car I stuck something in the cable to confirm there's a pin in there... its about 1/2 cm in so i don't think i can pull it out with pliers...

I have been reading about using a heavy duty extension cord upstream of the EVSE- how many folks have been doing that?
 
VABeachKiwi said:
I have been reading about using a heavy duty extension cord upstream of the EVSE- how many folks have been doing that?
Click to expand...

My impression is that many people have used 'upstream' extension cords for Level 1.
I don't recall hearing of anyone else using a J1772 extension like you did (probably because they are much bulkier and more expensive).

There is nothing wrong with your approach, and there is no reason for the new cable to not be working.
 
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