CHAdeMo adapter , $450 , seriously ?? Why so expensive

[TexasEV]

I always took the CHAdeMO adapter with my Model S for annual service. There were two firmware updates over the four years I had it. The first time I asked about it the service writer had never heard of CHAdeMO updates, but he checked and found out there was such a thing.

 

[Rocky_H]

When I just had my 4 year service done this spring, I asked about it. The Service Ranger looked up the available updates and found that there was one newer one, but it wasn't very relevant to my use, so we didn't apply it.

 

[mknox]

When I just had my 4 year service done this spring, I asked about it. The Service Ranger looked up the available updates and found that there was one newer one, but it wasn't very relevant to my use, so we didn't apply it.

Okay, I'll bite... I thought you either used the CHAdeMO adapter or you didn't. What could possibly be use case that would require an update for some, but not others?

 

[Rocky_H]

Okay, I'll bite... I thought you either used the CHAdeMO adapter or you didn't. What could possibly be use case that would require an update for some, but not others?

It seems that the very wide variety of CHAdeMO stations from so many different manufacturers are not necessarily very good at adhering to consistency of standards. So most of the updates for Tesla's adapter have to do with some particular kinds of CHAdeMO stations that have a weird screwed up behavior in some circumstance, so sometimes Tesla puts in an adjustment or workaround for it. I haven't owned my adapter for a really long time, so it was mostly up-to-date when I bought it. He read the description of what that last update was for, and I can't quite remember what it was about, but I think it was for some kind of type of station in some other region or country or something that I wouldn't run into.

 

[hill]

Got a new one on E-Bay for just over $200. It's a Chinese replica, but for the price I'll take that risk. It doesn't look like it should be a terribly difficult piece to replicate.

here's a chinese EV charge station .... they think it's the cause of all their ev buses catching fire;

so good luck with that
.

 

[GWord]

I've seen lots of posts recently recommending having a CHAdeMo adapter on board. I was shocked to see they cost $450 at the Tesla store. Why so expensive? Are there any better alternatives?

I know this is an older post but I didn’t see it definitively answered. The adapter has a microcontroller inside and some high power electronics. It’s more complicated than the UMC adapters that are basically just a small bit of metal and plastic. There’s a tear down post here on TMC where one of the members cut it open to reveal the circuitry.

 

[Truffles1]

My wife and I were traveling from Atlanta to Panama City Beach, FL and stopped in Dothan, AL where they have a brand new Charge Point location with Two stations. I was not able to connect with any adapter that I had with me. This put is a bind, we had to plug into a slow charging station (30 mi/ hr) for an 1 1/2 hours enough to go out of our way to Mariana, FL where there is a Tesla Supercharger station.

What would normally take 4.5 - 5.0 hours to get to PCB took us over 7.5 hours. There must be a better way to get to the Pan handle of FL.

Is this the CHAdeMO adapter the one to fit these types of connections?

It would seem to me that if I was adding a new charging station to a city, I would make it more compatible with Tesla's connections.

I welcome any comments.

Thanks,

 

[brkaus]

@Truffles1 there is not a Tesla manufacturered adapter for that plug.

There is an aftermarket one that some have used with mixed results.

hopefully soon!

 

[jelloslug]

My wife and I were traveling from Atlanta to Panama City Beach, FL and stopped in Dothan, AL where they have a brand new Charge Point location with Two stations. I was not able to connect with any adapter that I had with me. This put is a bind, we had to plug into a slow charging station (30 mi/ hr) for an 1 1/2 hours enough to go out of our way to Mariana, FL where there is a Tesla Supercharger station.

What would normally take 4.5 - 5.0 hours to get to PCB took us over 7.5 hours. There must be a better way to get to the Pan handle of FL.

Is this the CHAdeMO adapter the one to fit these types of connections?

It would seem to me that if I was adding a new charging station to a city, I would make it more compatible with Tesla's connections.

I welcome any comments.

Thanks,

The chademo adapter will fit the round plug in your pics. It's limited to 50 kw/h though.

 

[brkaus]

Oops. I only saw the second photo.

 

[GWord]

My wife and I were traveling from Atlanta to Panama City Beach, FL and stopped in Dothan, AL where they have a brand new Charge Point location with Two stations. I was not able to connect with any adapter that I had with me. This put is a bind, we had to plug into a slow charging station (30 mi/ hr) for an 1 1/2 hours enough to go out of our way to Mariana, FL where there is a Tesla Supercharger station.

What would normally take 4.5 - 5.0 hours to get to PCB took us over 7.5 hours. There must be a better way to get to the Pan handle of FL.

Is this the CHAdeMO adapter the one to fit these types of connections?

It would seem to me that if I was adding a new charging station to a city, I would make it more compatible with Tesla's connections.

I welcome any comments.

Thanks,

This is what you need for your picture #1: CHAdeMO Adapter

 

[Rocky_H]

I welcome any comments.

I do have some. I am sorry that they may sound a bit critical as far as your trip method and choices.

My wife and I were traveling from Atlanta to Panama City Beach, FL and stopped in Dothan, AL

What had you done before Dothan? What route did you take and what Superchargers (if any) had you used along the route? You mention later having to sit for 1 1/2 hours using slow charging at this point in Dothan, so it sounds like you intentionally skipped Tesla Superchargers along the way until this point.

It is usually best to hop from one Supercharger to another, even if the route is a little less direct, just so you don't have to deal with annoyances like that. In looking at Atlanta to Panama City Beach, I would definitely stop at the Auburn, AL Supercharger, and then probably the Mariana, FL Supercharger. That distance is only 159 miles, so a very easy section to cross and does go through Dothan along the way. So why were you forced to stop for charging in Dothan?

where they have a brand new Charge Point location with Two stations. I was not able to connect with any adapter that I had with me.

Why did you go to that station, expecting to use it on your trip, without finding out beforehand about what connectors public charging networks have? You didn't even know what either of the two plugs were, yet were expecting to use them?

There must be a better way to get to the Pan handle of FL.

There is, and I already covered it above. Don't skip Auburn, AL.

Is this the CHAdeMO adapter the one to fit these types of connections?

Yes, the CHAdeMO is the one on the left, and Tesla does sell an adapter to be able to use that. You seemed to expect to use that without buying the Tesla adapter for it.

It would seem to me that if I was adding a new charging station to a city, I would make it more compatible with Tesla's connections.

They did exactly that. What would you suggest? CHAdeMO and CCS are the only two fast charging standards available in the U.S., and they provided BOTH of those. What more could they have done? Tesla has their own customized, proprietary plug type that most public charging network companies won't install. If you had bought the Tesla CHAdeMO adapter, you could have used this, but you didn't. I have one, and I've used it many times and lent it out to people a few other times for their trips. If you are planning to use any public fast charging stations that aren't Tesla Superchargers, you have to have it.

It's limited to 50 kw/h though.

That should be 50 kW, not kW/h.