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Convert stock Niro L1 charger to L2? No

19K views 44 replies 13 participants last post by  jmurphEV 
#1 ·
Some L1 chargers reportedly can be converted to L2 simply by connecting the L1 neutral wire to the other hot2 wire of a 240V circuit.

L1 120. neutral, hot1, ground

L2 240, hot2, hot1, ground

Note: the Niro stock evse specifically warns against this.


Some evse circuit diagrams show the neutral wire connected to the output relay only, not connected to any circuitry inside the evse. The evse is powered by the hot1 and ground wires. If done this way, it is possible to see how simply connecting hot2 to the normally neutral wire would work.

However, the niro stock evse does in fact use the neutral wire to power the evse electronics. It is not a simple passthrough. I determined this by disconnected the neutral wire and seeing that the evse did not function.

FWIW
 
#2 ·
For at least the US version, it is specifically labeled 120v only. Yeah, I wouldn't try it. 16 amp L2 chargers just aren't that expensive. I think mine was under $200.
 
#39 ·
We offer a fool proof way to test your L1 charger for 240V operation. And if we haven't verified your particular charger we offer a FREE EVDOUBLER for both 120V and 240V outlets. We examine the internal circuits to look for the '240V European Design'. If so you are good to go. Browse the web for our 'List of EVDOUBLER 240V Compatible Vehicles' Charge in 1/2 the time.
 
#4 ·
On the other hand, I just saw an ad for a Hyundai L1 evse (part number 91887-G7520) L1 to L2 converter. The Hyundai evse looks just like the Kia but for the name Hyundai vs Kia.

part number

Hyundai 91887-G7520
Kia 91887 -G5520

I think I'm going to try it. Worse case if I smoke the L1 I have an excuse to buy a 16a L2 for $150. We are now driving 30 to 50 miles per day and there are times when the L2 faster charge rate would be very useful.

I'll let you know.
 
#5 ·
Success!

First I wired a light bulb in series to limit the current should there be a problem in the evse box. There was no problem. I then removed the light bulb and plugged into the car. Indicated charge times are cut in half as expected.

I'm charging at ~2.9kw according to my whole house monitoring system.

I will now build a short conversion cord.
 
#6 ·
CharlesH some people on the Prius form did exactly what you did with success to charge a Prius Prime, adapting the L1 cord to act as a 240v L2 cord.

As a curiosity I would be interested if your charging time drops down to 2.5 hours from fully discharged to fully charged. I researched doing this before ultimately buying my L2 charging station but in the end chickened out and did not try it.
 
#14 ·
A NEMA 6-50R outlet (the R stands for receptacle) is typically connected to a 220/50a circuit, although usually at that high of amperage they use a NEMA 14-50R outlet with 4 wires. That's what I wired for my daughter's Pacifica. Even though her car tops out at 32 amps, they bought a 40 amp EVSE (JuiceBox) for a possible future EV. With a 14-50R outlet, you would have three AWG 8 wires (hot1, hot2 and common) and an AWG 10 ground. With the NEMA 6-50R, you would not have the common wire. Do you need it? Only if the device you are connecting is wired for a NEMA 14-50R outlet. If you look at the higher powered EVSEs, most of them offer a cord with either plug, so the equipment itself must not care.
 
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#18 ·
There is often a difference in the voltage transient protection components between 120VAC and 240VAC devices and that is one reason why there can be a warning not to operate something rated at 120VAC on a higher voltage. That may not be the case for the Kia L1 EVSE but I haven't seen an evaluation of the circuits to know for sure. If the higher voltage causes the transient protection devices to fail, the input fuse to the EVSE may blow or it may just loose the voltage transient protection without any indication of a problem. Without some engineering evaluation of the L1 EVSE, it's not a good idea to be using it on a higher voltage even if it appears to be working OK. If an L2 EVSE is available for less than $200, spend the money and don't take a chance of damaging the battery charger in the car.
 
#21 · (Edited)
What makes you think there is any transient protection in the Niro evse? Do you have an circuit diagram of an evse with transient protection?

From all the evse circuit diagram examples I've seen the 120/240V connects to a 12V power supply IC and a relay. Nothing else. 120/240v compatible 5-12V IC power supplies are pretty standard in the world and sold by the millions.

But like I said. Use at your own risk. $200 is not a lot if you need it to sleep well.
 
#22 ·
I'm sure the EVSE units that come with Fords and Chevrolets have transient voltage suppression in them because I have seen the diagrams. Most of the build-it-yourself EVSE units do not have it. I don't know if the chargers in the cars depend on the external transient suppression or if it is only to protect the EVSE itself. Without more information, I am reluctant to run something designed for 120VAC operation on a higher voltage.
 
#25 ·
When we got our Chevy Volt in 2017, I read up a lot on their EVSE (specifically this thread: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?218442-2016-Volt-120v-EVSE-is-L1-L2-Conversion-Capable). It gave me enough confidence to make a pigtail adapter to fit our dryer outlet, and I've been charging our Volt on L2 ever since. (I used beefy components, like 10 gauge wires and lockable connectors, and labelled it in bright yellow and red to discourage anyone from plugging anything else into it.) I find it is more useful on the Volt than the Niro, due to the larger battery (we have a Niro PHEV). We have not felt the need to charge L2 on the Niro yet, but we can use the Volt's EVSE plugged into 240V if need be.

For those interested in building an adapter, there's lots of great info in that thread, including many disclaimers that you do it at your own risk. But considering the number of people doing it without incidence, and the electricians who've taken apart the Volt EVSE to determine that all the components are compatible with 240 volts, I would say it's definitely successful for the Volt EVSE. And, as jmurphEV said, Kia probably used the same basic EVSE for all regions, so it would probably work for the Niro EVSE as well.

Good luck, and happy EV driving!
 
#26 ·
When we got our Chevy Volt in 2017, I read up a lot on their EVSE (specifically this thread: https://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?218442-2016-Volt-120v-EVSE-is-L1-L2-Conversion-Capable). It gave me enough confidence to make a pigtail adapter to fit our dryer outlet, and I've been charging our Volt on L2 ever since. (I used beefy components, like 10 gauge wires and lockable connectors, and labelled it in bright yellow and red to discourage anyone from plugging anything else into it.) I find it is more useful on the Volt than the Niro, due to the larger battery (we have a Niro PHEV). We have not felt the need to charge L2 on the Niro yet, but we can use the Volt's EVSE plugged into 240V if need be.

For those interested in building an adapter, there's lots of great info in that thread, including many disclaimers that you do it at your own risk. But considering the number of people doing it without incidence, and the electricians who've taken apart the Volt EVSE to determine that all the components are compatible with 240 volts, I would say it's definitely successful for the Volt EVSE. And, as jmurphEV said, Kia probably used the same basic EVSE for all regions, so it would probably work for the Niro EVSE as well.

Good luck, and happy EV driving!
This fact is reassuring.

Thus far after a full week of use, the only difference for the evse I've noticed between operating in L1 mode vs L2 mode is charge times are cut in half.
 
#27 ·
The :cool: in me is curious to try this but the :eek: in me figures that I don't really care about charge time at home and plus I'd have to install a 240VAC circuit in my garage so why risk it. But then the :nerd: in me loves electrical work and sort of wants to install such a circuit so to say I'm a bit :confused: about this would be an understatement. >:)

Thanks a lot @charlesH ;)
 
#28 ·
I was fortunate that I had an unused 220v circuit in my breaker box, since I had disposed of my hot tub after 25 years. But I did have to pull the wires out of the conduit, add some new conduit in my garage to feed a new outlet for my EVSE. Cost me less then $10 by reusing materials I had, and since the circuit was already in my service I didn't feel the need to apply for a permit. But I'm also comfortable working within an energized breaker box. I would caution anyone that has the slightest uneasiness to let an electrician do the work.
 
#29 ·
During the lease of my 2016 Soul EV, I purchased an upgraded Nissan Panasonic EVSE, and I am using that as my back up EVSE in my Niro. I bought adapters for it, so I van pul into a few different outlets from a standard home 120v to a NEMA14-50 240v 50 amp. The maximum amp the EVSE will allow is 16 am because of the size of the cable that used to be an L1.
An added advantage of purchasing this is I can change the amount of amp drawn by the EVSE, so if I am connected to an outlet that will easily trip, I can dial it down — not needed in the Niro because you can do this from inside the car.

The final primary reason I did this is that I leased my Soul and did not want to deal with returning the EVSE that came with the car to its original state.
 
#34 ·
The two standard plug approach is very common in the boating world. I have used a few different commercially made doublers that allow one to supply a boats 50 amp 220 volt requirement by plugging into two separate 30 amp 110 volt outlets. It often means trying different pedestal outlets until you find two that are out of phase but there is nothing sketchy about the approach if you understand what you’re doing. In my example of course, the boat gets 220 volts but 30 amps, not 50.
On the subject of sleeping soundly I would have as much or more faith in a home brewed higher voltage solution than the cheapest no-name EVSE you can buy on amazon:). Just my opinion.
 
#41 ·
I started EVing with a 2011 Leaf. Had the standard Nissan/Panasonic rewired to have a 220V plug on it and the got a Quick220 110-120 and 220-240 Voltage Converters & Accessories Nine years without a hiccup.
Now using it on the Niro.
The Quick220 has a short lead to go the the first plug nearby and then you take an extension cord and start trying nearby outlets. When you get one on the other phase it lights up and LED on the box and you're good to go.

I have debated changing the plug on the Kia EVSE but elected to get a 40 amp OpenEVSE that should be here next week.
 
#43 ·
I've just tried the Nissan L1 which I had re-wired to 230 Volt (really a Panasonic EVSE with a Nissan sticker on it.)
It plugged in with a little extra pressure but showed on the days 2.8 Kw
with a pig tale this will also run L1 on 120V.
Your Nissan EVSE is putting out 11.6 amps, which is about the same as the Kia EVSE (rated at 12 amps) that comes with the car. But it shows why using a "real" 240v EVSE is better than simply using the included EVSE on 240v. That addition 4+ amps makes a noticeable improvement in charging speeds.
 
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