Electric Car Etiquette

[Spectrum]

I did something similar in the 70s I put Daimler Dart V8 into my Mazda 929 Estate nowadays it would have been a Singer sewing machine.

[RobertArthur]

Etiquette continued: as long as the maintenance of charging stations leaves something to be desired here in France, there is a second form of force majeure. My intentions were good, please don't let me be misunderstood, but the charging station was a/ out of order; b/ didn't accept my credit card or c/ no matching cables.

Maintenance continued: were have the old school skills gone? You need an experienced ict guy to decode the messages produced by the invisible black box. Regular updates of my Launch OBD2 reader help, but probably without a clue when connected to an EV. Go to an authorised dealer.......

And even old school skills don't help if your car or tractor manufacturer tries to play the Apple trick: don't try or dare to repair anything at home. The John Deere story.

[niemeyjt]

The flip side of John Deere is they included a "kill switch" - usefully employed when the Russians stole a number of combines from Ukraine.

As for phones - look at Fairphone - with the added bonus it can be "degoogled"

[Polarengineer]

Amazing. Think of an inovation (and ignore useless critisism) and suddenly, it's been done.
https://newatlas.com/marine/mercury-ava ... -outboard/

[Hotrodder]

I did something similar in the 70s I put Daimler Dart V8 into my Mazda 929 Estate nowadays it would have been a Singer sewing machine.

Nice to know someone else has had the notion to do an engine swap. In the mid 70s I stuck a Chrysler V8 in a Bedford Cf van and in '79 I put a Rover V8 in a brand new Mazda B1800 pickup for a friend.

[niemeyjt]

Back to EVs - since we are soon to standardise on USB-C for mobile devices, is a standardised EV charger beyond the wit of man?

[RobertArthur]

@ Niemeyjt, there are different charge modes, low power single-phase from a standard socket, three-phase medium power and for the power hungry among us a 350 kW version has been introduced in 2020. This explains the existence of so many cables. It could have been worse, the French preferred their own ideas. The Germans were much faster from the drawing board to prototypes. And were moving faster in Brussels. Read all about how Mennekes managed to promote their plug to the European League. Mennekes cables, from 3.7 kW to 22 kW, should be enough for the average EV owner.

More power, other cables and plugs, don't do this at home, a fuse might blow. Or ask ENEDIS to install your own high voltage transformer.

[Spectrum]

It was just by coincidence that yesterday afternoon we was watching an old version of "Top Gear" 2011, they where testing two small EVs the "Leaf" and "Ions?" Pug they both cost an eye watering 30k+ and not too much to show for it, they both ran out of power way before they were supposed to do, then the problems really started, they both had to be pushed to be able to find someone who was willing to allow them to be charged up for the 13hours needed, the Sat Nav on one suggested the nearest charge point was 44 miles the range left was four They said that until there was as many quick charge points as petrol stations then they will never compete with Petrol/Diesel for travelling any great distance, 12 years later the same problem exists. And why hasn't a manufacturer put the battery in place first then built the car around it it could be as said a removeable type done at the main dealers, all cities and many towns have a choice of dealers, they could keep a bank of batteries charged up by solar panels on the showrooms roof, you drive in a fully charged battery is put in and you drive away, if we can put men on the moon Iam sure we can make a removable battery system, universal would be best but I cannot see that happening for a long time.

[niemeyjt]

Renault considers introducing battery-swapping in its electric cars

source: https://www.ft.com/content/cac5c438-900 ... aa905db4b6

But will you be happy to swap your brand-new battery for a clapped-out one someone else has abused?

[Antonia]

Ok, another dumb question if I may. Because of the extremes in temperatures we get around here batteries are a big issue. I've lost count of how many we've changed over the years. Are the batteries in EV's more protected or are they just as likely to die when it's sub zero temperatures.