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Cable pulling out of Ampera 13A charge lead

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  RickMGoldie 
#1 ·
On my charge lead, the plug end cable sheath has pulled out of the clamp in the centre of the reel.
Being an electrician, I though "no problem, just pull it apart and re-fit it back into the clamp" but no.

The damn reel box seems to be welded and impregnable without breaking it. As the three internal cores are now exposed and pulling on the internals, I am not happy at all and expect it is now not waterproof either as water will happily track down the cable into the innards when using a waterproof external socket as I have at work.

It is a poor design as there is a lot of weight on any socket that is more than a metre off the ground. There could have been strain relief built into the external cable track.

So many other inline EVSE's are much smaller and lighter which reduces the strain but I am damned If I will pay over £300 for a replacement so will have a Google before the knife comes out in case there is a better way to access it.
 
#2 ·
I take it it's out of warranty then... if it's less than 2 years old it might be worth giving the My Ampera team a shout?
 
#3 ·
Hi Richard, as mine is second hand I will refer the problem to the showroom I purchased it from in the first instance.
Are the My Ampera Team likely to speak to a second owner?

The car is really great to drive considering I sold an M3 to fund it. Such a pity more were not sold as it was obviously under advertised. Never saw a TV ad but the Leaf has been on loads of times.
 
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#4 ·
I would agree with @Richard Gledhill here @Russ. If I am right you have only recently got your Ampera from Pentagon so they would be my first port of call. The EVSE has been a regularly replaced warranty item.

Best of luck.

Derek
 
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#5 ·
Hi Russ, yes if it's recent from a showroom then it's worth a try. As far as I'm aware the My Ampera thing should be transferrable but I bought mine new so I can't be sure. In any case they seem to have a reputation for trying to look after Ampera owners so worth a try.

I agree on the second points too - there are lots of threads on here complaining about Vauxhall's inability to market it properly, mainly centred around the price to be honest. They did initially advertise it quite a lot but have largely ignored it over the last year, which is a great pity (but led to excellent deals!).
 
#6 ·
I got mine from greenhous in Shrewsbury although it was a Vauxhall fleet car they were given to sell and an excellent price.
They also have a Positiv for the same price but with higher miles so I have no idea how or why they priced mine the same.

Will send pics to the sales guy now and see what happens.
 
#8 ·
@RickMGoldie
I think I will like you make my own when it is replaced.
Found a superb one from a Swedish company that is all in the plug and even adjustable current but a slight problem of £500!
Compact is better and the Ampera one is anything but.
The design simply is not fit for purpose and according to a forum I found, is chock full of components. An EVSE is not that complicated for goodness sake.
 
#10 ·
Russ : it only becomes uncomplicated in the DIY evse we demonstrated because all the cleverness is built in to din rail module in the Mainpine control unit. See the thread on the GM Wallcharger failure where I took photos of the innards - same cct board as in the portable brick give-or-take. I have more faith in the Mainpine design personally.
 
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