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I have called Honda and talked with a couple of CS agents there and they only find/surmise that the original recharge cord is just for 120 volt (level 1) charging. Even though mention is made about the same cars sold in Europe where they only have 240 volt systems and also the heavy cord seems to be just as heavy or more so than the ones that are for sale to handle the 240 volts. I have also sent an e-mail to Honda to see if an engineer will post a response to this on line somewhere to answer officially along with the specifics as to WHY NOT use this original recharge cord for 240 volts. Is this a legal "scared-de-cat" reaction on Honda's part here to answer this simple question to eliminate the confusion among Clarity owners that would like to start using 240 volt and 2 1/2 hour recharge time without paying $400 or more for a "quote" 240 volt recharge cord that is no heavier than the original one? Somebody here have a conclusive answer to this?

 

[2002]

I have called Honda and talked with a couple of CS agents there and they only find/surmise that the original recharge cord is just for 120 volt (level 1) charging. Even though mention is made about the same cars sold in Europe where they only have 240 volt systems and also the heavy cord seems to be just as heavy or more so than the ones that are for sale to handle the 240 volts. I have also sent an e-mail to Honda to see if an engineer will post a response to this on line somewhere to answer officially along with the specifics as to WHY NOT use this original recharge cord for 240 volts. Is this a legal "scared-de-cat" reaction on Honda's part here to answer this simple question to eliminate the confusion among Clarity owners that would like to start using 240 volt and 2 1/2 hour recharge time without paying $400 or more for a "quote" 240 volt recharge cord that is no heavier than the original one? Somebody here have a conclusive answer to this?

The only answer that you are going to get from anyone at Honda is what is stated on the EVSE itself, 110V to 120V. If in fact the EVSE is identical, Honda could have done like some other EVSE manufacturers have done and provided a EVSE with a 240V connector, along with an adapter from the 240V plug to 120V plug. As far as I know that is the only legal way they could have provided an EVSE rated to work with both 120V and 240V. They chose not to do so either because they are not identical, or because they wanted to save a few bucks in the cost of the adapter and also testing and certification for using it for both voltages. Only Honda can conclusively answer the question which of those two it is, but I highly doubt if you will get an answer from them about it other than the standard canned answer that the EVSE is only rated for 110-120V.

 

[Rob43]

I have called Honda and talked with a couple of CS agents there and they only find/surmise that the original recharge cord is just for 120 volt (level 1) charging. Even though mention is made about the same cars sold in Europe where they only have 240 volt systems and also the heavy cord seems to be just as heavy or more so than the ones that are for sale to handle the 240 volts. I have also sent an e-mail to Honda to see if an engineer will post a response to this on line somewhere to answer officially along with the specifics as to WHY NOT use this original recharge cord for 240 volts. Is this a legal "scared-de-cat" reaction on Honda's part here to answer this simple question to eliminate the confusion among Clarity owners that would like to start using 240 volt and 2 1/2 hour recharge time without paying $400 or more for a "quote" 240 volt recharge cord that is no heavier than the original one? Somebody here have a conclusive answer to this?

Yep, I agree with what 2002 told you.


Honda, BMW, Chevy, Nissan & so on..... Will only tell you what they originally designed the car (and the EVSE) for. Any deviation from anything in the user manual will be met with the answer "NO".


At this point you are on your own, you have two simple ways that you can proceed:

1) Believe what I have mapped out for you including ALL of the different success stories with their pictures & testimonials.

2) Don't believe any of this and just buy a $200 to $500 dollar EVSE unit.


Good luck,
Rob43

 

[4sallypat]

There is a thread showing you how to modify the OEM L1 into a L2 for $20 but I am afraid of violating warranties, causing a fire and having the insurance company deny coverage due to my "cheapness".

I bought a used L2 charger on Craigslist for $100 and happy with that !

 

[mowcowbell]

Been using my OEM EVSE at 240 volts without any issues... but you won't get 2.5 hours recharge time... it's more like 5.5 hours since the amps is still ~11 amps, just the voltage doubled.

 

[Rob43]

There is a thread showing you how to modify the OEM L1 into a L2 for $20 but I am afraid of violating warranties, causing a fire and having the insurance company deny coverage due to my "cheapness".

I bought a used L2 charger on Craigslist for $100 and happy with that !

Fear is the mind killer...



Rob43

 

[obermd]

The biggest wear item on the OEM EVSE is the plug. Repeated insertions and removals of the plug (wall end) is a known issue with all EVSEs. For this reason I actually purchased an additional L1/L2 EVSE. I leave my EVSE plugged in all the time and carry one in the car.

 

[Rob43]

^ Yep, they're a bigger wear problem than most people realize.

I occasionally inspect any plug that gets more usage or is seeing amperage that's closer to the 80% rule. Plugs with copper/brass that look dull or dirty get a little sandpaper until they look clean for their best connection.



Rob43

 

[Tourist]

I know about electricity. But I also know about lawsuits and liability. You will not get any answers from Honda people. It would be prohibited by their corporate lawyers.
It's all interesting; I am sorry a level 2 was not included in my purchase; I'll deal with that because I have all night to charge for the next day's 40-mile run.
I have already learned that the value of this car lies with your driving habits and needs.
But the subject is tempting and very interesting since I have an unused electric dryer outlet available should my needs change...

 

[ClarityDave]

I know about electricity. But I also know about lawsuits and liability. You will not get any answers from Honda people. It would be prohibited by their corporate lawyers.
It's all interesting; I am sorry a level 2 was not included in my purchase; I'll deal with that because I have all night to charge for the next day's 40-mile run.
I have already learned that the value of this car lies with your driving habits and needs.
But the subject is tempting and very interesting since I have an unused electric dryer outlet available should my needs change...

Just my personal thought on this. You should have no fear of lawsuits or liability. The EVSE is obviously designed to do 240V. I have been using this technique with a Chrysler EVSE now for 2-1/2 years and it works great. Charges either of my PHEVs in 5-6 hours instead of 10-12 hours. In reality, a Level 2 was included with your purchase because that’s what the EVSE becomes when you plug it into 240v.

 

[EV Nerd]

GM did the same thing on the OEM EVSE that comes with the Chevy Bolt. The guts in the EVSE are the same as the model provided in Europe and Asia, but in the States, the plug is a NEMA 5-15P. I cut off the 5-15P and changed it to an L6-20P. Do note that removing the OEM 5-15P will disable the temperature cut-off sensor in the plug. I just taped them off in the L6-20P, and depend on the fact that I've replaced the outlets with new screw-down terminal types in the locations I'll (rarely) use in my garage.

All of my extensions and adapters go from an L6-20R to whatever I want on the other end. My road kit has a #12AWG 100' L6-20 extension, and adapters for a 5-15P, 10-30P, 14-30P, and 14-50P. The GM OEM EVSE will pull 12A at 240V max, so will never overload the extension or adapters. (It appears that the Clarity will only pull 11A.)

I plan to cut off the 5-15P from the Clarity EVSE, and replace it with an L6-20P. That way, there will never be a 5-15R laying around in my garage with 240V on it...

 

[JimO]

I have called Honda and talked with a couple of CS agents there and they only find/surmise that the original recharge cord is just for 120 volt (level 1) charging. Even though mention is made about the same cars sold in Europe where they only have 240 volt systems and also the heavy cord seems to be just as heavy or more so than the ones that are for sale to handle the 240 volts. I have also sent an e-mail to Honda to see if an engineer will post a response to this on line somewhere to answer officially along with the specifics as to WHY NOT use this original recharge cord for 240 volts. Is this a legal "scared-de-cat" reaction on Honda's part here to answer this simple question to eliminate the confusion among Clarity owners that would like to start using 240 volt and 2 1/2 hour recharge time without paying $400 or more for a "quote" 240 volt recharge cord that is no heavier than the original one? Somebody here have a conclusive answer to this?

I can‘t speak for Europe but power (ie watts) is equal to voltage times amperage (w=v*ii). I suspect that’s the module supplied with the u.s. Clarity is only rated at 20 amps. Level 2 chargers are 32amps and higher.

 

[2002]

I can‘t speak for Europe but power (ie watts) is equal to voltage times amperage (w=v*ii). I suspect that’s the module supplied with the u.s. Clarity is only rated at 20 amps. Level 2 chargers are 32amps and higher.

The OEM EVSE that comes with Clarity runs at 12 amps. 12 amps x 120 volts = 1.4 kW. People who have measured it report that a full charge uses just over 14 kWh of electricity. 14 kWh / 1.4 kW = 10 hours, which is about how long it takes to fully charge the Clarity using the OEM cable on 120V. Although usually longer than that because of charging losses and also thermal control by the battery management system which will reduce the charging rate as needed to maintain battery temperature.

If using the OEM EVSE with an adapter on a 240 volt circuit, that would be 12 amps x 240 volts = 2.9 kW. 14 kWh / 2.9 kW = 5 hours, which is generally how long people say it takes to fully charge using the OEM EVSE on a 240 volt circuit, again usually a bit longer than that in practice.

The maximum that Clarity will use on a third party EVSE is 32 amps, even if the EVSE (and circuit) is capable of more than that. This works out to about two hours for a full charge. For those who feel comfortable using the OEM EVSE on a 240V circuit, the decision then becomes whether it is worth it to spend $200 on a new EVSE so that you can charge in two hours, compared to five or six hours using the EVSE that comes with the car.

 

[EV Nerd]

I can‘t speak for Europe but power (ie watts) is equal to voltage times amperage (w=v*ii). I suspect that’s the module supplied with the u.s. Clarity is only rated at 20 amps. Level 2 chargers are 32amps and higher.

EVSEs advertise the maximum current they're capable of supplying via the J1772s Pilot signal line to the vehicle. (It's done by adjusting the duty cycle of a 1kHz +-12V signal.) According to other posts on these fora, the OEM only advertises around 11A, regardless of whether it's on 120V 60Hz AC, or 220V 50Hz AC, so the vehicle pulls no more than that. The gauge of the wire for both US and foreign applications shouldn't be an issue, as the current is the same. The wire insulation rating might be, but it's doubtful.

 

[Dayle]

I'm on my second Chevy Bolt EV and have a 240VAC / 40A EVSE in my garage. I use the same EVSE for both the Bolt and our new Clarity. The car is smart enough to know how much current it will accept. It take about 2 to 2.5 hours to charge her from dead empty.

Dayle

 

[EV Nerd]

Much to the chagrin of others on these fora, I finally converted the OEM EVSE to work on 240V in such a manner to be able to use the already-made L6-20 charging infrastructure I've built over 20 years of EV and PHEV ownership.

This is not a recommendation to do any of this. It's simply a statement of my findings when I did so.

I cut off the 5-15P from the OEM EVSE, and found five wires inside the cable. In USA standards, they represented HOT (black), NEUTRAL (white) and GROUND (green). The two additional (smaller) wires are violet and pink. I connected the black, white and green wires to their correct positions on the L6-20P, tested the EVSE and it flashed both LEDs on the EVSE, showing an error. ("Plug temperature rise detected")

Knowing that the 5-15P on the OEM EVSE has a high temperature detection circuit, I measured the resistance between the pink and violet wires on the old 5-15P, and found 300 Ohms between them. I soldered a 300 Ohm resistor between the pink and violet wires within the new L6-20P, and the OEM EVSE again functions properly, on 240V, albeit without a plug thermal protection function. I should note that I specifically chose to use L6-20s so that none of my adapters nor extensions contain live 240V on a 5-15R, so that potential adapter safety issue is avoided.

 

[ClarityDave]

Much to the chagrin of others on these fora, I finally converted the OEM EVSE to work on 240V in such a manner to be able to use the already-made L6-20 charging infrastructure I've built over 20 years of EV and PHEV ownership.

This is not a recommendation to do any of this. It's simply a statement of my findings when I did so.

I cut off the 5-15P from the OEM EVSE, and found five wires inside the cable. In USA standards, they represented HOT (black), NEUTRAL (white) and GROUND (green). The two additional (smaller) wires are violet and pink. I connected the black, white and green wires to their correct positions on the L6-20P, tested the EVSE and it flashed both LEDs on the EVSE, showing an error. ("Plug temperature rise detected")

Knowing that the 5-15P on the OEM EVSE has a high temperature detection circuit, I measured the resistance between the pink and violet wires on the old 5-15P, and found 300 Ohms between them. I soldered a 300 Ohm resistor between the pink and violet wires within the new L6-20P, and the OEM EVSE again functions properly, on 240V, albeit without a plug thermal protection function. I should note that I specifically chose to use L6-20s so that none of my adapters nor extensions contain live 240V on a 5-15R, so that potential adapter safety issue is avoided.

You might even be able to find a thermistor with the correct characteristics and replace that 300-ohm resistor!

 

[EV Nerd]

You might even be able to find a thermistor with the correct characteristics and replace that 300-ohm resistor!

The thought had occurred to me, but I already had a selection of resistors on hand...

Also, the OEM 5-15P is a solid, molded piece, that has a much better heat-transfer characteristic than the replacement L6-20P. The L6-20P contains a lot of air-filled spaces. Plus, the receptacles on the adapters and extension I will be plugging it into are all brand new and commercial grade L6-20R. This L6-20P will never be plugged into a wall receptacle.

 

[2002]

The thought had occurred to me, but I already had a selection of resistors on hand...

Also, the OEM 5-15P is a solid, molded piece, that has a much better heat-transfer characteristic than the replacement L6-20P. The L6-20P contains a lot of air-filled spaces. Plus, the receptacles on the adapters and extension I will be plugging it into are all brand new and commercial grade L6-20R. This L6-20P will never be plugged into a wall receptacle.

It's too bad that Honda didn't do like some EVSE manufacturers do and have it come with an L6-20 plug on the end, and include an L6-20 to 5-15 adapter. But I guess that would have required some additional UL certification, and a few dollars for the adapter. Instead they cheaped out, as did Toyota who apparently uses the identical Panasonic EVSE. In fact it was people on the Prius Prime forum who first discovered that the OEM cable could be used on 240V, after finding out that the same EVSE was provided by Toyota in Europe with a different plug on the end being the only difference.

 

[EV Nerd]

It's too bad that Honda didn't do like some EVSE manufacturers do and have it come with an L6-20 plug on the end, and include an L6-20 to 5-15 adapter. But I guess that would have required some additional UL certification, and a few dollars for the adapter. Instead they cheaped out, as did Toyota who apparently uses the identical Panasonic EVSE. In fact it was people on the Prius Prime forum who first discovered that the OEM cable could be used on 240V, after finding out that the same EVSE was provided by Toyota in Europe with a different plug on the end being the only difference.

Yup. Same thing for the 12A OEM EVSE provided with 2017-2021 Chevy Bolts. The 2022 Bolt EUV includes a different EVSE, with adapters to use it for 240V.