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48 amp charging for Model 3 LR

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John Rogers

White LR AWD Mod 3 FSD AB
Feb 4, 2020
39
16
Tarneit, Australia
Am I correct in assuming that, with the correct wiring to the circuit breaker, the correct circuit breaker and a 48 amp mobile connector tail, then the mobile connector could also allow the Model 3 Long Range version with 48 amp onboard charger to charge at 48 amps?
 
Am I correct in assuming that, with the correct wiring to the circuit breaker, the correct circuit breaker and a 48 amp mobile connector tail, then the mobile connector could also allow the Model 3 Long Range version with 48 amp onboard charger to charge at 48 amps?

No, thats a false assumption.

The mobile connector (version 2) is limited to 32 amps by its electronics. So will never provide more than 32amps of power. If you want more than that with a mobile connector, you can try to find a used Gen 1 mobile connector that maxes out at 40amps, but it will likely cost you around what a wall connector would.

TL ; DR -- if you want to go faster than 32amps you will need "some form" of wall connector, either tesla's or another one that also provides that throughput.
 
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Thanks for the replies. Is the 32 amp limit in the unit or the tail?

I sold the wall connector that came with the car as I have a 32 amp Zappi unit that can adjust depending on the amount of excess power available from my PV system. I kept the mobile connector that also came with the car and am investigating how fast it can charge on the road or from a 50 amp outlet at home if I want a 50% faster charge.
 
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I was about to answer this, but I just noticed you are in Australia. I'm not sure if the mobile cords in Australia are different since the cars there use the Type 2 plug and are made to be able to use 3 phase electricity. The answer for the North American cables is that they can only use single phase electricity, and that is an absolute maximum of the electronics body of the cable. 32A is all it can do, regardless of which adapter plug it's using. Different plug types are made for different types of outlets though, so they have a chip in them that will signal if the amount of amps is supposed to be lower for that other outlet type.
 
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I was just noticing this product, which is right around the same price as the Tesla Wall Connector and is the same 48 amps, but it will charge smartly from solar:


It connects sensors to the leads coming into your house from the grid and from your solar panels and can calculate what electricity you are NOT using and then feed that to your car for later use while driving so you don't have to give it to the grid for pennies on the dollar.
 
You need the Tesla Wall Connector to pull 48 amps.

I have the Wall Connector at my house and pull 48 amps regularly. Requires a dedicated 60 amp breaker with 6 gauge THHN hot wires and 10 gauge THHN neutral/ground wire. Do not use ROMEX (unless 4 gauge which isn't regularly available).

Edit: I am in the USA so YMMV in other countries.
 
The European and Australian Model 3 LR have the CCS Type-2 charge port. I believe the facts below are all true for those markets:
- The Gen2 Mobile Connector is only single phase and depending on the tail (plug adapter) used, can deliver up to 32A
- The Model 3 LR can only accept up to 32A single phase and 16A 3-phase, regardless of EVSE used.
- If you want to charge faster than 32A single phase (7.6kW) you need to use a 3-phase supply and EVSE. I believe the limit is 16A 3-phase (11.5kW).
 
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