Purpose of the bottom cover of the CCS1 receiver

[mrau]

Wish it was spring loaded like the old gas cap covers. Just swing open and swing closed. How easy is that?

If spring loaded it may make it harder to plug in some DCFC cords that are quite thick and take two hands to handle. I suspect Ford engineers took all the above mentioned points and designed the DC pin cover as best they could to fit most situations.

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[Sedawk]

If you are charging outdoors with a J1772 connector the cover keeps the rain, bugs, and dust out.

But when I am charging with my FCSP (outside in the rainy Pacific Northwest) it is just a little swimming pool that I always need a rag handy when done. Or I just did a DCFC at a Tesla station two days ago in the pouring rain - literally used by shirt to wipe it out before closing it!

 

[carys98]

But when I am charging with my FCSP (outside in the rainy Pacific Northwest) it is just a little swimming pool that I always need a rag handy when done. Or I just did a DCFC at a Tesla station two days ago in the pouring rain - literally used by shirt to wipe it out before closing it!

Fortunately I’ve never had to DC charge in the rain. Good intentions but a bad implementation.

 

[RickLightning]

But when I am charging with my FCSP (outside in the rainy Pacific Northwest) it is just a little swimming pool that I always need a rag handy when done. Or I just did a DCFC at a Tesla station two days ago in the pouring rain - literally used by shirt to wipe it out before closing it!

I have to ask - why do you think it needs to be wiped?

 

[Sedawk]

I have to ask - why do you think it needs to be wiped?

The whole purpose of the door is to keep water from being in contact with the DCFC pins, yes? Because of the rim around the edge it is a little pool that catches water. When closing the door it would dump a bunch of water directly in the DCFC pins which defeats the entire purpose of the door in the first place.

 

[RickLightning]

The whole purpose of the door is to keep water from being in contact with the DCFC pins, yes? Because of the rim around the edge it is a little pool that catches water. When closing the door it would dump a bunch of water directly in the DCFC pins which defeats the entire purpose of the door in the first place.

Where did you find that information?

I believe that the purpose of the door is keep water from FREEZING in there, or snow from freezing in there, making the pins unusable then.

I think water is a non-issue. If you think it's an issue, please provide a link to a source that says that, and is legitimate.

It's like people buying a snow cover for charging. Drape a towel over it, nothing else is needed IMO, and only a towel in a blizzard or ice storm.

 

[Sedawk]

Where did you find that information?

I believe that the purpose of the door is keep water from FREEZING in there, or snow from freezing in there, making the pins unusable then.

I think water is a non-issue. If you think it's an issue, please provide a link to a source that says that, and is legitimate.

It's like people buying a snow cover for charging. Drape a towel over it, nothing else is needed IMO, and only a towel in a blizzard or ice storm.

What do you mean where did I find that information? I have eyes. I can see the pool of water literally being thrust into the DCFC port.

"I think water is a non-issue". Then please provide a source for this! Yeesh! Listen to your own advice!

The door is obviously designed to keep water out - hence the ridges - the same ridges that make a little pool when its raining out. I live in the Pacific North-west. And much of the winter it could easily be raining then immediately freeze. Based on your wisdom I need to keep that pool empty at least 3 or 4 months of the year.

If you want to squeeze water into your DCFC port go right ahead - but I'm always ensuring the swimming pool is empty before I close the door.

 

[Danface]

Your right, we could enhance our time usage by not doing all sort of things ... mowing the lawn, paying the mortage, changing channels, eating, typing into a web page on the internet ... the list goes on!

 

[farmtruck]

I wish that cover covered both the DC pins and the 1772 pins. Where I'm at, I have had to clean the 1772 pins with contact cleaner due dirt getting in them. The outer cover does nothing to stop dirt and moisture from getting into the charge port bay. I would like to see Ford make the cover seal all of the pins and attach it to the outer door so that it seals all pins just by operating the outer door.

 

[Effonefiddy Lightning]

Forum readers - my math was incorrect. My apologies! 50 weeks x 5days/week x 10 seconds/day = 2500 seconds/year = 41.66 minutes per year. Despite the hyperbole, the question remains whether the bottom cover is necessary!!

41.66 min. will save you thousands.

 

[tdowens]

My core question was why have two covers on the charging port - the smaller cover over the two pins seems redundant; moreover, not very effective! My facetiousness (complaining about losing 10 seconds/day) got lost in the discussion but I remain unclear about the need for the smaller cover. I love my lightning & it's my 1st choice for commuting to work over my Telsa Model X (OK - I'm all electric and own a Zero SR/S & when the weather is right, the motorcycle is the first choice). Irrespective, the core question is whether I will be potentiating harm if I gently remove the small pin cover?

 

[Pioneer74]

Take the cover off. Then you can tell us if there are problems later.

Somebody has to go first.

 

[Henry Ford]

My core question was why have two covers on the charging port - the smaller cover over the two pins seems redundant; moreover, not very effective! My facetiousness (complaining about losing 10 seconds/day) got lost in the discussion but I remain unclear about the need for the smaller cover. I love my lightning & it's my 1st choice for commuting to work over my Telsa Model X (OK - I'm all electric and own a Zero SR/S & when the weather is right, the motorcycle is the first choice). Irrespective, the core question is whether I will be potentiating harm if I gently remove the small pin cover?

I did a little Googling and it seems that most of not all vehicles with CCS1 ports have a removable plug over the DC pins and every EV forum complains about it.

Based on several minutes of internet research I think the best theory is the cover is there to protect the DC port from debris when only using the J1772.

Is the cover also designed to keep out water? Sure, I guess. Maybe it's a "belt and suspenders" type situation since the drain hole at the bottom of the port also keeps water from pooling in the port.

If you never use a J1772 it's probably fine to remove the cover...unless I'm completely wrong and the cover is there for another reason.

Suppose when a plug is inserted, part of the protocol to identify what kind of power can be delivered is the DC pins are momentarily powered. Now supposed your finger was in contact with the pins when they were powered. That seems like a "serious injury or death" type situation. Maybe the cover is there to prevent that. Seems unlikely.

If it were me, I'd probably just deal with the cover and figure out a way to open and close it that doesn't take 10 seconds, require wiping it out, or getting my shirt wet.

 

[Mmiketa]

What do you mean where did I find that information? I have eyes. I can see the pool of water literally being thrust into the DCFC port.

"I think water is a non-issue". Then please provide a source for this! Yeesh! Listen to your own advice!

The door is obviously designed to keep water out - hence the ridges - the same ridges that make a little pool when its raining out. I live in the Pacific North-west. And much of the winter it could easily be raining then immediately freeze. Based on your wisdom I need to keep that pool empty at least 3 or 4 months of the year.

If you want to squeeze water into your DCFC port go right ahead - but I'm always ensuring the swimming pool is empty before I close the door.

The ridges are not to keep water out, they do not have a gasket. If water ingress was the problem there would be a gasket on that piece. It's to keep debris out of the slot. I have splashed water straight into mine probably dozens of times at this point and it still looks brand new.

If you want to keep a rag on hand to wipe it down, there's nothing wrong with that. No one is forcing you to have a rag though, it's not necessary.

 

[sotek2345]

The ridges are not to keep water out, they do not have a gasket. If water ingress was the problem there would be a gasket on that piece. It's to keep debris out of the slot. I have splashed water straight into mine probably dozens of times at this point and it still looks brand new.

If you want to keep a rag on hand to wipe it down, there's nothing wrong with that. No one is forcing you to have a rag though, it's not necessary.

I still keep going back and forth over just drilling a small hole in mine to let the water drain.

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