Led light in the charging trap

When you want to plug the charging gun at night, it could be easier if you put a LED in the trap. Very easy to do and the cost is very low.

Also, a sunglasses rack in the center of the ceiling, a small box to put money at the left and a big arrow on the air conditionning control (you have to LOOK for a long time to see in what position is the button control) a big white arrow could be easier to see.

And the most important: A 30 KW NANO TITANATE LI-ION BATTERY PACK in option.
(Sorry for my english, we live in a french place)

If you find one that will fit, please post an example. I've added LED lamps to the cargo area, but have yet to find one slim enough for the charging port that also is easy to turn on and off. I've got a little LED panel that could stay lit anytime the door is open, but that might be an 'attractive nuisance' when charging at night. I prefer the GM approach of putting a little LED flashlight in the J1772 connector that lights up when you push the release button...

yeah, I fumbled with mine the other night...but this is a car that does not have a light in the glove box.

With the overhead lights almost directly above it, is one really needed?

I would like to see one in the J1772 connector on the chargers as standard equipment thought - That is something that really is needed

Don

Don said:

With the overhead lights almost directly above it, is one really needed?

I would like to see one in the J1772 connector on the chargers as standard equipment thought - That is something that really is needed

Don

Click to expand...

Sounds like a better idea. The light should be in the gun, shining at the receptacle, not the other way around.

Phil at EVSEupgrade.com has already done this . . . . though he didn't tell us how

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3078&start=0

Don

I always park in exactly the same place very close to the right wall in my garage. My EVSEs are mounted on the garage-door wall to the right of the garage door (looking in from the outside). I screwed a $2 LED closet light onto the right wall so it points exactly at my input port. Simply tap the lens to turn on/off. Works great for minimal effort and cost. All the public stations I've gone to are well-lit.

It's great that you've found something simple and cheap that works for you Joe. Our i is parked on the left side of a 2 car garage and the charger is mounted on the front wall, between the garage doors, so I have no ideal place to mount an external light . . . . unless I stuck it on the left side of the other car! :lol:

The J-1772 connectors were designed for a life of 10,000 cycles and it would seem the're nearly indestructible, but I would suspect that fumbling around in the dark can't be too good for them. It's a shame they didn't design a light in them like the one Phil came up with since it would probably have added less than a dollar to the cost of the plug and having the light in your hand, in front of you when you go to make the connection seems like a real plus to me - You're not in the shadow of a wall mounted light. If Phil ever discloses how he did this mod, I think that's something I'd do to mine

Don

If you do have a garage sidewall available for mounting a LED light, this one works great:


LED by JJLINK, on Flickr

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LJNS8U/ref=oh_details_o06_s01_i00

I bought a J1772 connector for my OpenEVSE build and I put an LED inside the charging handle. It's very bright, centered between the pins and lights up the socket nicely when you point the handle toward it and push the button. There is a SPDT micro switch in the handle which sends a signal to the EVSE when you push the button to release the handle and the unused contact of that switch provides a ground for my LED, only when you push the button. I'm pretty sure Phil rectified the pilot signal to power his LED, but since I had an extra, unused wire in my cable, I powered mine off the power supply in the EVSE

Anyway, it looks pretty cool, works great and will solve the problem I was having with my dark garage

Don

Sounds good, Don,

Do you have a picture?

Thanks,

Jenn

Several, but I don't have anywhere to upload them

Picture a really bright light coming from the charge handle when you press the button

Don

Like a Light Saber! LOL!

Jenn

Here's a few pictures, Jenn - Compliments of Wee John


The unlit LED in the center, before the connector was reassembled. There was already a recess in the center of the back portion of the phenolic that holds the pins and I drilled a hole in that to fit the LED, and then another in the front half which you see in the picture - It looks like whoever designed the connector was thinking ahead about the possibility that one day, somebody might try to put a light in there


Same thing, but with the LED lit. You can see the micro switch in the background with the piece of silver tape holding the switch closed - This is the switch in the charging handle that cuts off the charger when you press the button to release the handle from the car


Lastly, the assembled charging handle with the LED pointed at a wall, showing the pattern of the light . . . . you can see the dimples made where the three large pins block some of the light. The light is actually lots brighter than it looks in the picture - I used a 40,000 mcd 5mm white LED


I haven't finished building the EVSE yet, so it's still not in use. Chris is working on version 7 of the Open EVSE board and it will be switchable between 8, 12 and 16 amps at 240 volts

Don

Nice work Don, I think I'll give that a go with mine.
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