retractor

[LelandSindt]

Through the winter, the charge cable for my car ended up draped across the floor or the back of the car. Always looking for ways to over-engineer a solution, I built what I am calling: retractor

Using some rope, pulleys, a linear actuator, drawer slides and plywood, I was able to build a mechanism that retracts or drops the charge cable.

A service subscribed to TeslaMate's MQTT messages monitors to see if the car is "Home" and the Charge Port Door is "open" and drops or retracts the charge cable.

It's working well, save for one thing... I often end up waiting on it to drop completely before I can plug the charge cable in. If I park the car, open the charge port, gather myself and get out... it is rare that TeslaMate has queried the car and published the Charge Port Door status in time for the cable to drop as I get out and walk to the back of the car. What fun is an over-engineered project that doesn't have room for improvement? 😄