This prototype/RnD electric car charging port will send a shiver down your spine - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 10:30:27 am
content: Check out this video of an RnD concept electric car.The charging port segment in question starts around 35:19, you'll know it when you see it!

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 12:43:10 pm
content: Looks as if it might have been a three phase version of J1772 ... very odd!! Can't seem to find reference to it anywhere.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 01:09:00 pm
content: Quote from: tom66 on July 03, 2023, 12:43:10 pmThat is your takeaway from watching that segment, the type of connector?

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 02:54:23 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on July 03, 2023, 01:09:00 pmWhat do you mean? There's a lot more in that video but the charging port is definitely unusual. I half expected an inductive charging port as seen on very early EVs like the GM EV1. I've never seen that port before.The whole vehicle is odd. I didn't see any obvious way for the engine to generate power for the hybrid battery, no high voltage orange cabling in the engine compartment and only belt driven accessories.So perhaps they draw power from the rear motor in this case - basically using the road and two tyres as a massive belt. But if that's the case it can't run electric accessories when stopped in traffic (if the battery is flat) and low speed driving is unlikely to be enough to charge the battery.Or perhaps it can only run on the electric motor when the battery is charged from mains, and there is no way to top off the high voltage battery from the engine (so do you have a petrol-driven AC compressor and an electric driven one? What about heating? Charging the 12V battery?)They clearly never got as far as making those things work but the lack of any high voltage generator in the engine compartment makes this less of a hybrid and more of a dual powertrain vehicle.Very much looks like a "make sure it moves and that's all really" kind of prototype, which I guess is fine for what they were aiming at but I wonder what the plan for an actual vehicle would have looked like.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 03:55:57 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on July 03, 2023, 01:09:00 pmWell you did title the thread “charging port” so it stands to reason you’d be talking about the connector.The handmade protoboard PCB is perfectly acceptable for a concept car.So instead of the guessing games just tell us what YOU think should “send shivers down  spines”.

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 04:12:34 pm
content: Quote from: tooki on July 03, 2023, 03:55:57 pmAgreed, of all things to be phased by, an exposed protoboard above a doubly insulated EV charge connector which (presumptively, if it is J1772 derived) is not live until the car signals it wants to charge, is not a big deal. It's an issue for water and dust ingress etc but ... the van's probably done 500 miles in its whole 12 year life so I doubt anyone is getting upset.Bigger issue IMO is all of those loose wires under the engine compartment - a large bump and possibly they could touch the wrong thing (hot exhaust manifold?) or get caught in a belt or moving part.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 06:55:09 pm
content: Did they have a partnership with OceanGate?

author: Benta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2023, 08:08:21 pm
content: Aren't click-bait titles great?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 04, 2023, 09:01:44 am
content: And here I thought you would all have a laugh like we did at work seeing the veroboard,but no, you're all so serious.Veroboard is the last thing you expect to encounter next to the charge port of an electric car.Even considering it's a prototype, still funny and a bit scary.

author: tooki
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 19, 2023, 03:14:37 pm
content: Quote from: Psi on July 04, 2023, 09:01:44 amA concept car isn’t even really a prototype. They’re always lashed together from random stuff, both mechanically and electrically, so it’s nothing unexpected. Not sure why you guys find it so surprising or funny.Why is it scary? It’s not like the charging power is flowing through it.