[Rbrian]

This is a helpful example of the continued degradation and dispersion of the UK's public charging network: Tethering one cable is a degradation, creating a need for converters is a degradation, and having a new gap in the market to fill is degradation.

It's an effect of standardisation, which causes some short term pain in exchange for long term gain. I found an ancient USB DVD player, which I hadn't used for years, to rip a DVD of my friend's grandchildrens' school play, so he could watch it on his smart TV. It took me ages to find a mini (not micro) USB cable to connect it to my PC (built in 2016 without an optical drive, because they're nearly obsolete). Now I only buy things with USB C, so I won't face this issue again for decades.

 

[Rbrian]

@Rbrian. Somehow I suspect Apple (catering to US customers) is trying to have something faster and more convenient than USB-C in place by 2024.

UK will not copy EU demand for common charging cable

The EU has provisionally agreed new mobile devices must, by autumn 2024, use the same type of charger.

www.bbc.co.uk

It might be as simple as this: iPhone 15 Pro Rumored to Feature Thunderbolt Port With Significant Advantage Over Lightning

They're looking at magsafe, and have already folded it in to Qi2. They may finally make a phone with no ports at all, but if there is one, it'll be C. The UK can do as it pleases, but there won't be a new port just for us. We'll get C like the rest of the world, and mini USB (which is awful but must be cheaper as cheap Chinese products still have them) prolonging the problem of mismatched cables.

What is Qi2 wireless charging? Everything you need to know

Qi2 doesn't just bring magnets to the universal smartphone wireless charging standard, it also aims to fix the technology's many problems.

www.androidauthority.com

 

[Rbrian]

Is this a Leaf? Is there a good reason Nissan kept producing the Leaf with a type 1 socket for as long as they did when most other EVs had type 2?

The OP has a Mitsubishi Outlander, which could be up to 12 years old. That was before type 2 CCS was standardised, and Japanese vehicles all use type 1, including the Leaf. Nissan have said they're going to discontinue the Leaf, to be replaced an electric Micra on the same platform as the new Renault 5 (but with awful styling, so it'll have to be cheap to sell over the Renault). I'm not sure what it takes to reengineer it to take a type 2 plug, but it probably isn't quite as simple as just changing the socket.

 

[Rbrian]

Maybe they use the granny cable that came with the car, or perhaps they have a tethered charger at home.
If you have a PHEV and mostly charge at home then paying £100 for occasional use of public chargers doesn't make much sense.


They've also blocked a load of parking spaces from use by the 80%? of Oxfordshire drivers that don't have a plugin car. I don't think there's any intention to benefit everyone.

The tradeoff is that by making it unusable for 6% of plug-in drivers you make it more convenient for everyone else and accessible to people who can't use untethered at all (including those with mobility issues where tethered is significantly easier to use).

That 6% is only going to drop in future, there will be no new plugins that can't use the tethered chargers. The Oxfordshire council chargers are looking to the future: they are intended to make it possible for people to buy an EV when they have no option to charge at home. They're looking to benefit people who currently don't have an EV but could get one in future.

Another good reason to have tethered chargers is that many cars - for example, my new Corsa, and my Vivaro - have no good place to store the cable. It sits on the cab floor in my van, and takes up quite a lot of space in my Corsa's petite boot.

 

[Rbrian]

Out of curiosity, is there space to mount a coiled cable under the bonnet?

I haven't looked under the Corsa bonnet yet, I was working all day and it's dark. I did look under the Vivaro bonnet, and there's loads of room for a froot box. It's a company vehicle though, so I'm not allowed to modify it. I wouldn't want to just put the bag there, in case it fell off, or overheated. I have no idea how hot the electronics get, presumably cooler than a combustion engine which literally has fire inside, but it may still be warm enough to melt nylon.

 

[Rbrian]

It occurred to me there is probably a significant gap between any cars power plant (shaped by utility) and any cars bonnet (shaped by aesthetics). Also, I think NCAP mandates a gap so that the bonnet buckles in the event of a pedestrian's head landing on it.

Might it be sensible for EV car makers to add a pair of clips to fasten EV cable/plug/socket under bonnets?

I did some wibbling with search results suggesting there is no overlap in critical temperatures: Nylon (perhaps used for bags) melts at 268°C. Silicone (perhaps used on the dust caps) melts at 1414°C. In contrast, the electrolyte in EV batteries has a maximum operating temperature below 60°C, and the fan behind the grill of PHEV starts when the coolant reaches about 100°C. (Source: various sites where writers claimed to know technical stuff about cars).

Thanks, I'll have a look under the Corsa bonnet tomorrow. The cable is surprisingly heavy - I haven't looked at it, just stuffed it in the bag, but it's probably a 32A 3 phase so I can get 7kw on single phase and 11kw on 3 phase. I'm not sure that could be clipped to the bonnet, but perhaps in the van? I'm off work next week, so I could investigate, but instead of resting, I've planned plenty of work - replacing 23x MR16 incandescent spotlights with GU10 LEDs in a friend's flat, which has a fair chance of needing a full rewire, and replacing external lights on another friend's house.

 

[Rbrian]

If it's the same engine bay layout as the e208, which seems likely, then there will be physical room under there but I wouldn't want to leave the cable there when driving. If you can get 11 kW then you definitely have the 3ph cable. I always thought it was a bit odd that Peugeot made the 3ph on board optional while it was standard on the Corsa. You think they'd have kept those the same.

The inverter and charger assembly is under the plastic cover mounted on top of the motor assembly near the DCC converter.

It wasn't always standard on the Corsa. I suspect it changed to simplify the range; there are hardly any options - glass or metal roof, black or body colour roof, and the paint colour. That's it. The e208 has far more options, and it's about £3000 more expensive across the board.