There is tons of information about this in this thread and the internet. I assume you are in the USA.
Your Fiat charger is 120v 12 amp, has a J1772 connector to the car and a standard plug (in the USA a 5-15 or 5-20).
Your car controls the charge rate (amps) up to the ability of the charger to supply.
You won’t be able to charge faster than 12 amp with 120v.
If you have access to 240v you have tons of options, both portable and hardwired. The more amps the faster, up to the car max of 28.
All you need is to make sure the car end of the charger (EVSE) has a J1772 connector and the “house” end has the correct plug to fit the outlet you have. Then choose the unit you want with the amps you want (or more) and your circuit breaker can handle it.
I have a JuiceBox pro 40 amp charger. I plug it into a dedicated 50 amp circuit using a standard dryer plug (14-50). The car still can only charge at 28 amp, but I have the future EV in mind.

 

I have the same JuiceBox set up - Works great!

 

3x on the Juice box.

Also, depending on which EVSE your car came with, it might work on 240V too. The original large Lear charger (with the round Fiat sticker on the top and 2 rows of lights) can.

-J

 

#4 through 6 positive JuiceBox experiences:
- One of my 500e-driving friends has one & loves it.
- I've used it a few times on my 500e just to check it out.
- My eGolf friend has used it several times. The 7.2kW charger in the eGolf means it actually charges faster on the JuiceBox than on public chargers

 

where the best place to buy JuiceBox ! and which type is best ?
i have access to 240v

and thank you everyone for help

 

what about this one !
audiovideo2go.com/fiat-500e-quick-charger-240v/

 

Frankly a terrible choice. It's limited to 16A and is at least double the price of similar products.

I'll give you the same advice I give to others. Since you already have access to 240V, try testing your charging routine with the OEM charger that came with the car with your 240V circuit using a very inexpensive adapter, which is a tenth of the price of the overpriced cable you listed. The OEM charger delivers 12A, which is 75% of the power of the again overpriced charger you listed.

As a new owner, the most important thing when it comes to charging is figuring out what your needs are. Many tend to spend the maximum amount of money for the highest level of charging without ever trying to figure out if they actually need it. Whether it's a JuiceBox or a VersaCharge, or the overpriced item you listed above, an EVSE is little more than a glorified smart extension cord with a special plug that plugs into the car. As such, taking the time to see what's the right fit is worth the time and energy as opposed to spending dollars.

Just to give you an example, here is essentially the exact same EVSE as you listed at less than half the price: https://www.amazon.com/Duosida-Portable-Electric-Vehicle-Charger/dp/B018A6QK7C

Experiment with the OEM EVSE. You've already paid for it. It works at 240V. I've personally tested mine. It may be good enough. If not then you can rethink your next move without having to invest money before doing so and being much more informed.

I also have a question: What type of receptacle/socket is your 240V connected to? You may need an adapter to get it to work.

ga2500ev

 

My 120v level 1 charger that came with the car also works fine on 240v. It costs about $30 or so to make an adapter. But, the adapter is not rated for the voltage and, although likely safe, you assume your own risk.

A safer option would be to chop off the 120v plug and put on a 240v plug that fits your 240v socket, then build the adapter to go back to 120v for flexibility, should you ever need to charge somewhere there are only 120v plugs.

Also note, the juice box can be run on 120v if needed, so the same adapter could be used there as well.

 

Just want to put a +1 on the OEM charger working for 240v. I learned that from this thread last night. Built my adapter today and plugged it in. The whole thing cost $11. A note about the previous post. 120v components not rated for 240v. Wires and components are typically rated for Amps rather than voltage. So it is unlikely to be a problem. I bought a 6ft long 15amp 120v (Nema 5-15) apliance cord, cut the mail end and 66 inches off and installed a 20 amp 240v Male plug (Nema 6-20). According to the car my battery level was 21% and estimated charge time was 7hours 30 minutes. Compared to 18hours 47minutes at 120v. Not bad for $11.
Disclaimer: I am not an electrical professional, just a guy with a passing knowledge of this stuff from years in a machine shop. Try at your own risk. Good luck!

 

I should mention the nema 6-20 receptical was already available at my house. These are pretty uncommon. More of you will have 30amp recepticals typical with driers ect. The concept is the same though.

 

So what do you wire to what?

 

See photos, this is all I made. Nothing more to wire. The black end is the 240v plug. Your type may vary depending on what's available at your house. I plug the normal fiat lever one charger into the white plug then plu the black one into my 240v wall receptacle. Hope that helps.

 

I found this website very helpful. It is easy, just make sure you connect the correct wires to the plug, depending on your phone f your 240v plug is 3 or 4 prong.

http://carcharging.us/adapt/home-made-adapters.php

Mine was 5-15 to 14-50 with 4 prongs. Ground to ground and the two hots to the two 5-15 prongs, drop the neutral.

 

Thanks to both of you!

 

Alels, your welcome. Renkinj, nice find! that link explains everything very well.

 

Interesting, I am a new owner, and have been trying to figure out the electrical side of things. I have a charger that says it will go up to 250volts, but it only has the standard household plug on it and 14 guage wire. I have a 240 outlet with 30 amps and uses the 14-30 type plug. They have adapters like the ones you made that will go from the 14-30 to the 3 prong, but they step down the voltage to 120.

Does that help me at all? Dont you get into trouble if you hook your 120 volt plug and wire on the original fiat charger into your home made adapter?

thanks for helping

Michael

 

Can you post pictures of plug and label please?

Also can you send a link to the adapter in question?

ga2500ev

 

Here are the two adapters, the plug on my charger is standard 3 prong 5-15, with 14 gauge cable. The charger apparently draws a max 16A. My charger says it is good for 110V to 250V.

This is the first adapter, but it apparently steps it down to 120, so I wouldn't be gaining anything, would I?

AC WORKS® [AD1430520] Adapter NEMA 14-30P 30A Dryer Outlet - Household 15/20A 125V T-Blade Connector

This AC WORKS® brand product [AD1430520] is a super durable and compact adapter. It is a NEMA 14-30P to NEMA 5-15/20R. The adapter is a NEMA 14-30P, 30 Amp, 125/250 Volt, 4-prong dryer male plug to NEMA 5-15/20R, 15/20 Amp, T-blade female connector. The pins and terminals are nickel-plated...

acworks.com

This next one says you can plug in the OEM charger, and get Level to as you said, who knew that was even possible. The manual that comes with the charger says 120V, nothing about 220. It has a maximum of 12 amps. I cant tell the regular 3 prong plugs into it, but it must if it is for OEM charger, right?

Level 2 Upgrade Adapter 220 240V for Fiat 500e 2017, 2018, 2019

Do you have a 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019 Fiat 500e?If you have access to a 220V / 240V outlet, you can use this Level 2 Upgrade adapter, along with the charge cord (EVSE) that came with your car, to effectively DOUBLE to voltage and possibly TRIPLE your charge rate (if you're stuck at 8A...

ideafab.shop

To get the maximum level 2 4 charge, it takes 240 volts, but how many Amps?
What is the maximum Amps the car will take? 28 or 30 or more?

thanks Michael

 

Here are the two adapters, the plug on my charger is standard 3 prong 5-15, with 14 gauge cable. The charger apparently draws a max 16A. My charger says it is good for 110V to 250V.

This is the first adapter, but it apparently steps it down to 120, so I wouldn't be gaining anything, would I?

AC WORKS® [AD1430520] Adapter NEMA 14-30P 30A Dryer Outlet - Household 15/20A 125V T-Blade Connector

This AC WORKS® brand product [AD1430520] is a super durable and compact adapter. It is a NEMA 14-30P to NEMA 5-15/20R. The adapter is a NEMA 14-30P, 30 Amp, 125/250 Volt, 4-prong dryer male plug to NEMA 5-15/20R, 15/20 Amp, T-blade female connector. The pins and terminals are nickel-plated...

acworks.com

There's nothing that gives any indication that this adapter above delivers 240V to the 5-15 socket. It's not really a step down. A 14-50 has two 120V lines, a ground, and a neutral. The two 120V lines together form 240V, while either 120V and a neutral gives 120V. So this adapter likely does the latter without any real step down.

This next one says you can plug in the OEM charger, and get Level to as you said, who knew that was even possible. The manual that comes with the charger says 120V, nothing about 220. It has a maximum of 12 amps. I cant tell the regular 3 prong plugs into it, but it must if it is for OEM charger, right?

That's correct. The OEM EVSE is a worldwide unit. It operates at both 120V and 240V. I've personally tested this and it works fine.

Level 2 Upgrade Adapter 220 240V for Fiat 500e 2017, 2018, 2019

Do you have a 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019 Fiat 500e?If you have access to a 220V / 240V outlet, you can use this Level 2 Upgrade adapter, along with the charge cord (EVSE) that came with your car, to effectively DOUBLE to voltage and possibly TRIPLE your charge rate (if you're stuck at 8A...

ideafab.shop

To get the maximum level 2 4 charge, it takes 240 volts, but how many Amps?

12 amps. The EVSE doesn't change the amount of current that it offers to the car.

What is the maximum Amps the car will take? 28 or 30 or more?

Maximum is 30 amps at 240V giving 6.6 kW of power.

thanks Michael

No problem.

ga2500ev

 

BTW there is nothing special about these adapters. They are cheap and easy to build yourself. Take a short range cord like this Home Depot Range Cord and connect it to a 5-20 receptacle. Put it in a blue electrical box with a cover and you're out the door for less than $20.

As always it's best to both label and possibly lock up this project because it does deliver 240V to a 120V socket. So the unsuspecting might just plug in a vacuum or some other 120V device and release the magic smoke. This locking cover allows for the EVSE to be plugged in while having the box locked for example.

All three come in under $25 total and can be put together will little more than scissors, screwdrivers, and a little patience. Simply wire the red and black wires to the gold and silver terminals, the green wire to the green terminal, and leave the white wire (neutral) unconnected and taped off.

ga2500ev

 

This locking cover allows for the EVSE to be plugged in while having the box locked for example.

Thanks. That's exactly what I need. We charge in the driveway off a 12/3 extension cord. I'm having an outlet installed outside.


ga2500ev

 

Well, I spoke to the owner of the co who makes the first adapter the orange one, it does step it down to 120, so he said no real difference in time for charging.

So what I hope is that second one will deliver 240 to my 16Amp charger and give me level 2 charging. When you use a commercial level 2 charger, are they 240V? How many Amps?

thanks Michael

 

Commercial Level 2's are often 208V because they are on 3 phase circuits. Amps vary from 24 to 40 in typical commercial installs.

ga2500ev

 

I think the big problem is the outlet can put out 30 amps, if something goes wrong, I am putting 30 amps into wiring designed for only 16, the fuse would not blow and then fire hazard.

I guess I could change the breakers to 2 8 amp ones, then the maximum output is 16 amps, at 240 volts, right?

 

Ok so here is the bottom line, how much faster will it charge at 240 volts and 30 amps, vs 240 volts and 16 amps?

That will make my decision, if anyone knows, thanks.

Michael

 

Typically empty to full at 6.6 kW (240V/30A) is just about 4 hours. Everything else is generally proportional to that. So 240V/16A is 3.84 kW. Nominally 6.6 kW for 4 hours is 26.4 kWh. 26.4 kWh/3.84 kW give 6.875 hours. So the 16 A charger will take about 7 hours from empty to full.

ga2500ev

 

He's a quick break down. Normal 120v 16amps outlet using your Fiat EVSE charger will charge at 1.1 kW per hour. With the adapter, not the short orange one, you can charge using the 240v 30amp dryer outlet using your Fiat EVSE charger at 3.3 kW per hour. This is not quite L2, but still much better than 120v. True L2, like a chargepoint charging station, will charge at 6 kW per hour. I think it's something like 240v 50amps rated, but sure of the actual.

 

thanks, so how dangerous is it having the oem Fiat charger plugged into the 30 amp circuit?

If there was a problem, things would start to burn before the breaker flipped, wouldn't it?

Thanks Michael

 

so how dangerous is it having the oem Fiat charger plugged into the 30 amp circuit?

No problem. The OEM Fiat charger limits itself to drawing a maximum of 3.3kW (at 13.75 amps). You can plug it into a 50 amp circuit and it will still pull the same 3.3kW. Think of how you can run a vacuum cleaner from a 120V receptacle and your phone charger doesn't burn out when you plug it into the same receptacle.

However, the 500e can charge at up to 6.6kW. The OEM Fiat charger will only go up to 3.3kW and can't take full advantage of your 240V circuit.

 

And, if I used my second charger, 16 amps at 240 volts, how many Kw/hour would that give me?

thanks

 

The Fiat EVSE can charge at 30 amps no problem. It's designed for both 120v and 240v, except the US version comes with 120v plug as standard.

 

The Fiat EVSE can charge at 30 amps no problem. It's designed for both 120v and 240v, except the US version comes with 120v plug as standard.

I don’t think this is correct. At 120v I’m fairly certain 12a is the limit. At 240v with a modified evse the car charges slightly faster than 2x on 120, so my guess is that it might do 16a at most. If it were capable of 30a no one would be buying any 3rd party evses, and it would have fried my 20a circuit.

 

I am not even sure if you can do 240v 16amps.

 

Of course you can. It's 16A at 120V that won't pull full power.

ga2500ev

 

That is nuts! Why would they not have in the manual that it can run 240V? 30 amps, really? How do you know that?

I didnt need to buy the other one. Too bad.

 

Lawyers. If it has 5-15 plug on it, the label has to state that it can only be run at 120V. If anyone decides to violate that, even it if works fine, which it does, then FCA is off the hook if anything happens.

ga2500ev