CCS Adapter for North America

[Rocky_H]

TBH though... i have yet to see a routing which would be doable with CCS but not doable with the Supercharger network here in the US.

I just had to use it yet again in September. Tesla still hasn't connected the 255 mile gap between Winnemucca, NV and Boise, ID. It's a giant pain in the butt.

 

[theothertom]

Sometimes there is a convenient CCS station where you are already stopping but you would have to go out of your way to a Supercharger.

Yep. I looked at a route from South Carolina to Houston that we take 3-4 times a year. There are some inconvenient superchargers that we could skip and use a CCS if we had the adapter.

 

[texas_star_TM3]

There is a big difference between "doable" and "convenient". Sometimes there is a convenient CCS station where you are already stopping but you would have to go out of your way to a Supercharger.

problem is that V3 SC's will go to 250kw top charging speeds whereas the CCS test in Canada maxed out around 100kw... in the best case the CCS adapter will deliver you speeds of a really slow V2 SC...

 

[SageBrush]

problem is that V3 SC's will go to 250kw top charging speeds whereas the CCS test in Canada maxed out around 100kw... in the best case the CCS adapter will deliver you speeds of a really slow V2 SC...

The point here is to have choices and options. You are not expected to marry a network. You will not be accused on infidelity -- promise.

 

[clegg]

problem is that V3 SC's will go to 250kw top charging speeds whereas the CCS test in Canada maxed out around 100kw... in the best case the CCS adapter will deliver you speeds of a really slow V2 SC...

Given that you're stopped at a place that has CCS but no SC in this scenario, 100 kW is infinity times faster than a 250 kW charger that doesn't exist. Opposite of a problem!

 

[e of pi]

problem is that V3 SC's will go to 250kw top charging speeds whereas the CCS test in Canada maxed out around 100kw... in the best case the CCS adapter will deliver you speeds of a really slow V2 SC...

To pull a 50% Model 3 LR charge, you need...what, 40 kWh? So at 250 kW, that'd take 9.6 minutes. At 110 kW, that's take 21 minutes. If you can avoid going 15 minutes out of your way to get to the "slow" CCS charger, you've saved 5 minutes on net. Moreover, you're not going to be at 250 kW the whole session in reality, due to the charging curve. That means the savings of being on the 250 kW charger will be less than the "nominal" 11 minute savings--maybe more like 7-8 minutes. If it's closer to your route, enables a faster routing, or allows a cheaper session (like EA's free charging in at least CA and the northeast over this Thanksgiving), it could be worth it.

Tesla's 250-kW Supercharger Only Saved Us 2 Minutes vs. a 150-kW Charger

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/c4kxr9

 

[SageBrush]

Given that you're stopped at a place that has CCS but no SC in this scenario, 100 kW is infinity times faster than a 250 kW charger that doesn't exist.

But, but ... what about L1 ?
I doubt that CCS place with Tesla adapter is much more than 80x faster.

 

[miimura]

problem is that V3 SC's will go to 250kw top charging speeds whereas the CCS test in Canada maxed out around 100kw... in the best case the CCS adapter will deliver you speeds of a really slow V2 SC...

We don't actually know the top charging speed of the CCS adapter yet. However, anything faster than Urban Supercharger speed (200A+) is definitely useful to have.

 

[SageBrush]

However, anything faster than Urban Supercharger speed (200A+) is definitely useful to have.

Anything CHAdeMO speed or faster is useful to me, simply because CCS is already much more reliable and distributed than CHAdeMO. But whatever. I plan to have both CHAdeMO and CCS adapters with me when I travel, in addition to a packet of L2 adapters.

And if I am lucky, I won't use any of them.

 

[miimura]

Anything CHAdeMO speed or faster is useful to me, simply because CCS is already much more reliable and distributed than CHAdeMO. But whatever. I plan to have both CHAdeMO and CCS adapters with me when I travel, in addition to a packet of L2 adapters.

And if I am lucky, I won't use any of them.

I actually agree with you that the 125A of the CHAdeMO adapter is useful. The guy was complaining that it wasn't 250kW, so my "definitely useful" level set a slightly higher bar.

 

[chinney]

Anything CHAdeMO speed or faster is useful to me, simply because CCS is already much more reliable and distributed than CHAdeMO. But whatever. I plan to have both CHAdeMO and CCS adapters with me when I travel, in addition to a packet of L2 adapters.

And if I am lucky, I won't use any of them.

Well, the overall reliability of CCS charging is subject to some doubt - I have seen reports of lots of chargers simply not working - in various different ways and for various different reasons - even for EVs which incorporate native CCS charging. There are a lot of versions of CCS chargers out there and specific versions on a given day sometimes work or don't work with different vehicles, if they are up and running at all.

Experience with the Setec product indicates that things often get worse using a CCS adapter with a Tesla, as various different versions of the adapter firmware and, in some instances, the Tesla vehicle software, can affect whether an otherwise functional CCS charger will work with the vehicle. Perhaps a Tesla-branded CCS adapter will overcome this aspect of the reliability issue, but this will not necessarily be the case.

I do plan to get the Tesla CCS adapter myself, if and when it becomes available in North America, but I don't expect it to be as reliable as native Tesla charging. I do hope that overall reliability will improve as time progresses and the technology becomes more standardized and advanced.

 

[SageBrush]

I actually agree with you that the 125A of the CHAdeMO adapter is useful.

Yep !

I was in Colorado's Supercharger desert not too long ago and had to make do with L2 charging. I was delighted to find a (autographed by Elon, no less) TWC at 9.6 kW I could use instead of the fairly common 6 kW EVSE around. Shaving more than 50% of charging time was very welcome. CHAdeMO is ~ 4x faster than the TWC, or about 7x faster than garden variety L2.

Does it stink compared to a Tesla Supercharger of any variety, let alone V3 ? Sure. But ymmv for what is available, and I still run around in places where CHAdeMO level DC charging is nothing to complain about.

 

[jsight]

To pull a 50% Model 3 LR charge, you need...what, 40 kWh? So at 250 kW, that'd take 9.6 minutes. At 110 kW, that's take 21 minutes. If you can avoid going 15 minutes out of your way to get to the "slow" CCS charger, you've saved 5 minutes on net. Moreover, you're not going to be at 250 kW the whole session in reality, due to the charging curve. That means the savings of being on the 250 kW charger will be less than the "nominal" 11 minute savings--maybe more like 7-8 minutes. If it's closer to your route, enables a faster routing, or allows a cheaper session (like EA's free charging in at least CA and the northeast over this Thanksgiving), it could be worth it.

Tesla's 250-kW Supercharger Only Saved Us 2 Minutes vs. a 150-kW Charger

https://www.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/c4kxr9

I used to use an EA site with a chademo adapter for this reason. It sure beat a 20+ minute detour, even with only ~45kw charging rates. I rarely needed more than ~15% anyway.

 

[Dave EV]

Experience with the Setec product indicates that things often get worse using a CCS adapter with a Tesla, as various different versions of the adapter firmware and, in some instances, the Tesla vehicle software, can affect whether an otherwise functional CCS charger will work with the vehicle. Perhaps a Tesla-branded CCS adapter will overcome this aspect of the reliability issue, but this will not necessarily be the case.

Almost certainly the Tesla CCS adapter will be far more reliable than the Setek - which emulate's the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter to the car.

That said, there's enough reported weirdness with various other EVs and CCS chargers that it almost certainly will not be as reliable as Supercharging which just works unless there's a physical problem with the Supercharger.

 

[brkaus]

I’ve used the chademo several times on a road trip to a specific location, but Tesla put a supercharger up the street from the one I needed. So that’s all good now.

I’d probably pay $500 to upgrade my car, just to reduce the risk of holiday charging jams.

 

[AlexUA]

yeah... I'm a bit bummed that once they release the adapter... pre 2020 (?) Model 3s (which are a large amount) will need a retrofit before being able to charge CCS. hopefully the Mobile Ranger can do the retrofit (?) and it won't cost an arm and a leg.

TBH though... i have yet to see a routing which would be doable with CCS but not doable with the Supercharger network here in the US.

Every owner can do it himself, pretty same as replace memory in laptop. + update car after.

 

[SageBrush]

Every owner can do it himself, pretty same as replace memory in laptop. + update car after.

And then expect Tesla to cover the cost of any damages when the owner does something stupid.

 

[phigment]

Every owner can do it himself, pretty same as replace memory in laptop. + update car after.

Cool, can you point out the instructions? I wouldn't know where to start.

 

[Xelloss99]

Cool, can you point out the instructions? I wouldn't know where to start.

The service manual has it.

Open the trunk, and remove the left hand trim inside the trunk (inside where the charge port is). The ECU is mounted by the charge port on the wheel well.
Disconnect 12V power from the car
Disconnect the 3 connectors from the ECU.
Remove the one bolt that holds the ECU to the body and slide it to the right to remove it.
Then install the new ECU and reverse the process.

 

[GtiMart]

The only step missing is how to update the software in that new part. Does it do it automatically, can we do it or do we need the tech?