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[Jigglypuff]

Sounds like I'm too late, but I spotted this 10ft, 12AWG cord yesterday:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078V9K14V/?coliid=I1ALC1ZC77UAMS&colid=3TT44I4EXPTAF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I was about to order one, but I already have a spare OEM cable.

[alko]

Sounds like I'm too late, but I spotted this 10ft, 12AWG cord yesterday:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078V9K14V/?coliid=I1ALC1ZC77UAMS&colid=3TT44I4EXPTAF&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I was about to order one, but I already have a spare OEM cable.

I'm getting one. Thanks for the info.

[Too little too late]

Could you please let us know if you actually receive the 12 gauge cord, and also if it stays fairly cool in use. The three foot 12 gauge cord I ordered arrived and it was a 14. I could only get the 7 foot in 12, and I had to modify one end. A 10 foot would be great for the road. It looks like a nice cord. Thanks puff, it's never too late. Exploring all options.

[JaimeC]

I can verify that a BRAND NEW 14AWG cord in the ten foot length is NOT getting hot (barely lukewarm) compared to my two year old cord that got too hot to touch.  These things DO wear out as repeated plugging/unplugging causes the contacts to wear out increasing resistance.

I suspect that 12AWG cord will just take a little longer to wear out, but it will eventually wear out.

[MrBlc]

Hmm.. I tend to disagree there.. The power load of these cables isn't what makes them warm, it's the increased resistance at the contact point. And that is the result of arcing when terminating and removing the connection countless times. The wear and tear would be MUCH less if it was possible to shut off the charger before making or removing connection. This is partly the reason why EV cars rely on the communication between external controller and internal charger. by cutting supply before removing the plug you reduce the stress of the metal within the connector so much it more than 5 doubles the lifetime of the connector.

[JaimeC]

Friction causes the plating to wear, and the older plug doesn't fit as snugly over the pins as the newer one does.  Tighter fit generally means better contact and therefore less resistance.

I'm wondering if the life MIGHT be extended a bit by coating the pins with dielectric grease?  That would certainly reduce the friction from countless plug/unplug cycles and should reduce the wear...

[boardwalk]

I'm wondering if the life MIGHT be extended a bit by coating the pins with dielectric grease?  That would certainly reduce the friction from countless plug/unplug cycles and should reduce the wear...

Dialectric grease is non-conductive, isn't it?

[DonTom]

Finally going to put some closure on this issue I was having with 14 gauge charging cords. One was only three feet long but was warming up to 135 degrees in only 20 minutes. I could smell the insulation cooking.

I find the best way to charge these bikes is with 240 VAC. The stock  bike chargers will draw half as much current at 240 VAC.

I charge my SR with as much as 8.3KW at home and nothing gets all that warm.  IIRC, you also own an electric car. If you charge that with 240 VAC J1772 or Tesla, there are ways to convert that to charge your bike. I use a Tesla Wall station, with a TeslaTap which runs the on-board and two 2.5KW chargers. That adds up to around 6.3 KW, all from a single line.

If I am in a hurry to charge, I also have two 1  KW Delta Q chargers that each use 120 VAC, separate lines on a ten gauge line. So then I charge at 8.3KW, using mostly 240 VAC, but two KW worth on 120 VAC, all at the same time. 

8.3 KW worth of charging and nothing gets overly warm.

You can buy one of these at Tucson EV, They are much better than the one Zero sells.

-Don-  Reno, NV

[MrBlc]

Friction causes the plating to wear, and the older plug doesn't fit as snugly over the pins as the newer one does.  Tighter fit generally means better contact and therefore less resistance.

I'm wondering if the life MIGHT be extended a bit by coating the pins with dielectric grease?  That would certainly reduce the friction from countless plug/unplug cycles and should reduce the wear...

Friction is only a fraction of the problem. Arcing makes the metal oxidize(sp). Friction on a 0 voltage connection will still outlast 5k+ matings easy.. with arcing however, not even close..
I learned this working for a company producing contactors.. Same problem there. The contactors had their MTBF based on doing matings with current running through them. their lifetime increased from ~100k matings to 1.5 million+ if done without current running through them.

If the grease is conductive, and the arcing is moved from the surface of the metal to the surface of the grease, it could help.. if not, the problem would still be there.. :/

[MrBlc]

(despite being last poster, i decided to make another instead of editing since the information is that much older/newer)

Yesterday i decided to make a new chargecord for my DSR.
I was pensive about this for some time simply because i'm waiting for the excellent work of DigiNow to arrive.
Knowing the supercharger was just a few weeks away, and this years riding season nearing it's end i wasn't going to spend any money on this this year.

Still, as an electrical engineer it annoys me that the charger doesn't shut off when finished, but keeps pushing amps untill disconnected.

So, i made a 5 meter cable with a box on it. Inside this box i have 2 relays. One is handling the power to the charger, the other handles the power to the first.
Second relay is one of those smart relays you can program. In this case i set it for delayed off, then for 4 hours of operation. This covers my daily needs for when commuting.
It will keep the contactor off until power cycled.

So, my idea was.. Use components i have "in stock" at home, create a simple way for a set it and forget it type of operation, make it work in a way that if it needs more attention, make sure it gives ample charge for the daily commute and that it shuts off the charger safely preventing arcing in the outlet.
It's a simple solution for a temporary "problem"..
We'll see with time if it works or not.

[JaimeC]

It actually does shut off when the battery is fully charged.  When the bike is charging, the cord is warm.  In the morning, when I unplug it, the cord is ice cold.  Also, you can pull it from the bike first and there is no arcing (not like if you plug it in there to charge AFTER you've already plugged it into the wall, or if you pull it before it is completely charged).

Zero's documentation even says when the battery is fully charged, it will stop charging and not start charging again until the battery drops below 90%.  If it detects that it hasn't been moved in a long time, the newer software will drop the level from 90% down to just 60% (long term storage mode).

[MrBlc]

Weird
Three times now i've experienced otherwise..
2 of which caused arcing when pulling the plug from the bike.
Dash said 100%, the green LED had stopped blinking, app said still charging despite displaying 100%

Bike is on latest firmware.

[alko]

I don't care if it's fully charged or not, I always unplug from wall first. Just a good habit imo to PLUGIN wall last and UNPLUG wall first.

[Crilly]

Just to clarify.  On the SR/F, when you push the button on the handle it stops charging.  So donot unplug at wall first.

[JaimeC]

I don't care if it's fully charged or not, I always unplug from wall first. Just a good habit imo to PLUGIN wall last and UNPLUG wall first.

What HE said.