Standardized EV plug could be adopted within months, says GM

Here's a more reassuring timeline for that proposed standardized plug for electric vehicles. The SAE J1772 Task Force-developed charging system, based on an initial design by supplier Yazaki, is now at Underwriters Labs for certification. That's scheduled to be done by the end of May and, if all things go according to plan, it can be adopted for use in the next few months. Speaking to Autoblog Green, General Motors' Gery Kissel listed his company, Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Tesla among those participating or supporting the standard. He also said the we-swear-it's-coming-this-year Chevy Volt should be equipped with the new plug, and Tesla's reportedly pledged to adopt it for current plans and retrofit its older models. Things are starting to look up for the EV industry.

[dkavanagh Posted Apr 22nd 2009 11:04AM]

mmm, what about "mag-safe"? how many people will drive away with this plug still connected? Not too many before we get fires from tweaked cords/sockets. use "mag-safe" on these and forget about the pull away issues.

David

[ScottishDan Posted Apr 23rd 2009 12:06AM]

I'd imagine EVs are intelligent enough to not move off if it is still plugged in

[Wwhat Posted Apr 23rd 2009 7:00AM]

Or strengthen the cable so that when an idiot drives away it'll pull his car in two, I bet that would work out nicely.
Having vented here's the real fix; you can simply disable the 'gas' pedal while the cable is connected, problem solved.

[anderlan Posted Apr 22nd 2009 12:30PM]

Something wrong with the 220V clothes dryer connector? Is it too inexpensive for consumers? Too materials-efficient for society?

[thedrizzle Posted Apr 22nd 2009 1:17PM]

220V is not common in most garages in the north you would have to pay for installation of a 220 V socket. Also if you ran the cord outside a child may get at it.. Although they would deserve to die

[Eletruk Posted Apr 22nd 2009 9:48PM]

The typical dryer outlet (3 prong) is only 30 Amps. The range plugs (4 prong) can be either 30 amp or 50 amp. Which dryer plug where you thinking of? I face this issue all the time because I have a Ranger EV that needs 220VAC, and I have to carry around adapter cables to cover the many different possible "Standard" dryer outlets installed in peoples houses. See:http://nooutage.com/nema_configurations.htm
With the SAE J1772 standard, all that is eliminated. Plus, the spec defines that the charger tells the vehicle how much power it can draw, so if you only have a 30 amp circuit, you don't pop the breaker trying to draw 70 amps.
The SAE J1772 has been in the works for almost 10 years, started in 1998 and originally specified the Avcon connector (which also included a high power DC set of contacts no longer in the 2009 spec). The J1772 spec is also required to comply with NEC 625 (National Electricians Code) which says no power can be present on the plug until connected with the vehicle. Dryer and range outlets and plugs do not comply wiht NEC 625, and there is potential shock hazard as there is a time when the plug is partially inserted and the contacts contain power. This is NOT something you want on a rainy day!