PIP Charging Safety

All of that has been thought of in SAE J1772.

There are signalling pins and lots of grounding. You can charge in the wet, you can lick the connector, you can do whatever, it is safe.

 

I don't know that I've ever answered techo questions in the newbie forum, but what the heck .... welcome! Its not just grounding that keeps the J plug safe. You can still get zapped with grounding. It's the ground fault circuitry that truly reduces electrocution dangers. The setup is such that one can plug in, while standing bare foot in 4" of water, in the pouring rain, while you're soaking wet. Just for cheep thrills, I do that some times :madgrin: .

That said, and to answer a couple of your questions, the J plug's signaling does not prevent 'accidental pulling away'. The J plug has a mechanical latch that you have to depress (much like the latch on a door) in order to pull the plug away. Thus, no accidental pulling away. It's strictly volitional ... in that you either push the latch to remove the plug or you don't. But yes, the signaling pin is the last pin to engage with a car's built-in charger, and when you remove the J plug, it's the first pin do disengage. The larger 400v Chademo plug has similar safety protocols.

There are other J1772 safety features I discovered when I had a PiP test vehicle for a few days. For example, when you're charging, the car can't roll away. Manufacturers design the system so that either the parking brake can't be disengaged - the Park/Drive/Reverse selector can't be taken out of Park, or both. There are ways around those kinds of safety features, but I don't want enable any sort of idiot behavior when the production PiP arrives ... so, enough said about that.

Thus, no fire extinguisher necessary. BTW, halon has been outlawed due to it's ozone destructive properties, much like old the Freon chemistry.

 

<--- What 2K1 said.

No voltage leaves the cable unless it is attached to the car AND the car tells the charger to begin. There are ground fault detection circuits that instantly kill power if a short occurs (such as a damaged cable). The car won't start or move if the charger cable is attached.

 

But is it like licking the terminals on a 9V or have they taken all the fun out of it?

 

No current flows and no voltage is present until the signaling pins are connected and the control signal is received. So perfectly safe.

 

I think if there's a safety issue, it will be with ensuring that you use a good electric circuit. A typical household circuit breaker supports many lights and/or outlets, and is rated at 15 Amps. But the PiP can use a full 15 Amps by itself, for three solid hours. There are other things that can do the same, like an electric oven, clothes dryer, AC or hot tub. Ideally, you should run a dedicated circuit for your vehicle charging, make sure the plug is in good condition, that normal sort of thing you know you're supposed to do. If there's an accident, my bet is it will fire, not electrocution, and the cause will be bad household wiring or a bad extension cord, not the charging unit or the car itself.