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CHAdeMO adapter wait frustration

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If CHAdeMO units are current limited to 125A then the Model S can never get the full 50kW from them. The only way to get 50kW at 125A is by supplying power at 400V, but by the time the Model S pack is at 400V charge rate tapering means that it's already limited to less than 125A.

You'd only be able to get about 47-48kW.

This would also create the slightly strange behaviour that CHAdeMO charging would be faster at 50% charge than 0%.
 
Curbing my enthusiasm are continued reports of malfunction of Chademos, specifically in the Ft Collins CO area. The new one at the Science Museum is an 8 ft monster but nonetheless a *single* unit. And it has been reported 'down' often on PlugShare. But PS reports another Chademo in FC and a 3rd nearby in Longmont, the latter unfortunately seems in need of complete replacement. The other FC unit is like the new one with off and on again useability. So overall there might be a collective reliability here such that at least one might be functional on any particular day. I just might be jumping on this bandwagon after all.
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You've highlighted quite well why Tesla's model of an automaker owned/maintained charging network is the only one that makes sense if you're serious about EVs. It's in their best interest for them to minimize the time any given site is offline. DCFC's maintained by dealerships or third parties are often left to rot.

There are thousands of these, and they JUST WORK (caps on purpose).

This is indeed often the case but not always. There is a 100A unit in Prince Albert, SK that is a particular thorn in my side. I have to charge at this site before I can go anywhere else and I'm often down to my "reserve tank" by the time I roll in. It has been offline 4 of the last 5 times I've attempted to use it, resulting in a 5-7 hour stop at the Nissan dealership down the street. After each incident Sun Country Highway insisted it has been repaired and successfully tested, only to have it fail on me the next time I attempt to charge. After this last time they tell me they replaced the entire EVSE rather than trying to repair it, so hopefully it will work now. However, I'm not going to try and make the 400+ kilometer drive again until spring. I can barely make it in the summer.
 
As shown in that last image toward the end of charging Chademo appears to be replicating the SpC taper by slowly approaching 400v as a limit and, more rapidly, dropping below 100A to the nether regions of 70A and below. So during the latter half of the cycle perhaps the two are roughly the same, i.e. the MS thinks it is now connected to a SpC, so successfully being spoofed.
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As shown in that last image toward the end of charging Chademo appears to be replicating the SpC taper by slowly approaching 400v as a limit and, more rapidly, dropping below 100A to the nether regions of 70A and below. So during the latter half of the cycle perhaps the two are roughly the same, i.e. the MS thinks it is now connected to a SpC, so successfully being spoofed.
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In any rapid DC charging situation, the car is in charge of how charging proceeds, since the charger can't possibly know the specific charge characteristics of the particular battery it's working with. In the SC case the Model S directly controls the charge modules inside the SC cabinet (they're the exact same units that are also fitted inside the car), and in the CHAdeMO case it tells the charger what voltage and current is needed to optimally charge the battery.

So the tapering will happen in exactly the same way, because it's the same Tesla-algorithm that's being used in both cases.
 
I started a thread to collect Tesla incompatible CHAdeMO stations list in Japan. It seems that problematic chargers are newer slim Nissan 44kW chargers and some of Hasetec yellow chargers. In my experience Nissans tend to stop during the charge so you can get at least a little bit of charge per cycle, Hasetecs give you isolation error and never charge. Here in Japan Nissans are widespread because they're the cheapest, and Hasetecs are popular at convenience stores (Familymart). Currently I encounter one incompatible chargers outbox three or four chargers.

CHAdeMO
Sorry the information is all in Japanese :) but if you live in Japan and found incompatible chargers that are not in the list please add them!

So I think until Tesla figures out the issues it can't be sold outside Japan... I keep Tesla charging team informed about the incompatibilities but they haven't provided the firmware update for the adapter for a few months, except the first update.
 
I started a thread to collect Tesla incompatible CHAdeMO stations list in Japan. It seems that problematic chargers are newer slim Nissan 44kW chargers and some of Hasetec yellow chargers. In my experience Nissans tend to stop during the charge so you can get at least a little bit of charge per cycle...

This happens when LEAFs charge at these stations too. These slim Nissan units are poorly designed and in the USA they're poorly maintained as well. Overheating is common due to clogged air filters. The fan is too small for the task and its air intake doesn't even have a hood to protect from rain and snow.

Check the comments for Nissan of Visalia in California (some are for the dealer's L2 stations as well as the CHAdeMO unit) :

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/1404

For anyone not wanting to read them all, here's one comment from the user Matt:

Hack the overheating issue by giving the charger a duty cycle!! Run it only for 1:30 at a time with 30 second cool off stops, and it charged me all the way up. After it starts tapering off at around 80%, increase it to 2:15-:30 with the same 30 second stops - the charge in the battery will settle during the cooloff and give you the same charge duration. I got from 40% to 93% but tried letting it run its own taper, and still overheated at the end - but left happy. Just keep cycling it and it won't overheat!


 
This happens when LEAFs charge at these stations too. These slim Nissan units are poorly designed and in the USA they're poorly maintained as well. Overheating is common due to clogged air filters. The fan is too small for the task and its air intake doesn't even have a hood to protect from rain and snow.

Check the comments for Nissan of Visalia in California (some are for the dealer's L2 stations as well as the CHAdeMO unit) :

http://api.plugshare.com/view/location/1404

For anyone not wanting to read them all, here's one comment from the user Matt:

Hack the overheating issue by giving the charger a duty cycle!! Run it only for 1:30 at a time with 30 second cool off stops, and it charged me all the way up. After it starts tapering off at around 80%, increase it to 2:15-:30 with the same 30 second stops - the charge in the battery will settle during the cooloff and give you the same charge duration. I got from 40% to 93% but tried letting it run its own taper, and still overheated at the end - but left happy. Just keep cycling it and it won't overheat!


Hi, actually it is different I think. In my case with Model S the charger stops by protocol error, not overheating. Yes there might be some overheating cases but I doubt it... The charging typically stops in 10 minutes, sometimes a few seconds.

One Nissan charger I tried gave me only one full 30 minute charge cycle out of eight tries.
 
Here's my log at Japan Charge Network (JCN), one of the charging networks in Japan, for one specific charger manufacured by Nissan (new type).

5 2014/12/06 12:10:47 下呂温泉合掌村 00:09:35 540円
6 2014/12/06 11:38:58 下呂温泉合掌村 00:30:02 540円
7 2014/12/06 11:01:42 下呂温泉合掌村 00:17:02 540円
8 2014/12/05 19:30:17 下呂温泉合掌村 00:07:41 540円
9 2014/12/05 19:19:29 下呂温泉合掌村 00:01:19 540円
10 2014/12/05 19:12:31 下呂温泉合掌村 00:00:51 540円
11 2014/12/05 19:07:19 下呂温泉合掌村 00:04:50 540円
12 2014/12/05 18:59:22 下呂温泉合掌村 00:05:34 540円

session number, date, time, place, duration, cost(JPY)

As you can see, with this charger, one session succeeded to charge for the default length of 30 minutes, out of seven charge sessions (#6-12). Sessions #7-12 all failed with CHAdeMO protocol eror. The last session #5 was terminated by myself.
 
Anyone hear of updates to the adapter? I could really use one! I live in an apartment in the Bay and resort to using the Fremont SC (40 min away) once a week, nothing @ work either. Can't install a wall charger because I'm only here for 6 months then potentially moving away.
 
From what I've heard the US version is in production and as soon as relevant quantity becomes available it's shipping so I'm guessing the promise of US in January may actually hold. For the EU adapter the response is still that in final phases of testing, no clue on release.

As per the Quebec site roulezelectrique, today Jerome reiterated the January release (exact date unspecified) for North America.
 
As per the Quebec site roulezelectrique, today Jerome reiterated the January release (exact date unspecified) for North America.

Wrong. The news is from last August, even though insideevs.com only reported it today (they are always late):

Teslas Jerome Guillen Promises January Arrival Of Model S CHAdeMO Adapter

They linked the article from roulezelectrique.com is from 5 months ago:

EXCLUSIF : Adaptateur CHAdeMO pour TESLA sera commercialisé en janvier 2015 | Roulez Electrique

So unless we believe that what Jerome said 5 months ago still holds today, I don't have much confidence in "today's news".
 
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So unless we believe that what Jerome said 5 months ago still holds today, I don't have much confidence in "today's news".

I've learned to never believe any dates from Tesla until the product is actually shipping. Does not mater if the specified date is one month or one year away.

When it finally is out, it's always worth the wait. Stressing over the delays just makes me frustrated and unhappy. Life's too short for that.
 
I've learned to never believe any dates from Tesla until the product is actually shipping. Does not mater if the specified date is one month or one year away.

When it finally is out, it's always worth the wait. Stressing over the delays just makes me frustrated and unhappy. Life's too short for that.

Well said. :) Probably half the threads on this forum are either about or related to delays of anticipated or previously announced new hardware or software.
 
At the Tesla store opening in Montreal, December 6, Jérôme Guillen said he was sure that the ChadeMo adapter would be available this january.

This is a link to the latest article from roulezelectrique.com ( EXCLUSIF : Adaptateur CHAdeMO pour TESLA sera commercialisé en janvier 2015 | Roulez Electrique )

That said, I will believe it when I have mine in my own hands !!!

To top that, today, Nissan announces that it joins Cicuit Électrique to add 20 BRCC units in 2015, and 5 more in 2016, along major routes in Quebec.
We badly need the ChadeMo adapter to go outside the Tesla routes.
 
Wrong. The news is from last August, even though insideevs.com only reported it today (they are always late):

No, nothing to do with insideevs. There was a later roulezelectrique article (cited by ImaFrog above) on this following the December 2014 Montreal Center grand opening. Then, mention in another article on the NAIAS three days ago.

Quoi de neuf chez Tesla pour le Salon de lAuto de Détroit? | Roulez Electrique

Selon Jérôme Guillen (VP ventes mondiales chez Tesla), rencontré par Sylvain et Daniel, l’adaptateur CHAdeMO sera quant à lui commercialisé au cours du mois de janvier. À suivre de près…
 
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No, nothing to do with insideevs. There was a later roulezelectrique article (cited by ImaFrog above) on this following the December 2014 Montreal Center grand opening. Then, mention in another article on the NAIAS three days ago.

Quoi de neuf chez Tesla pour le Salon de lAuto de Détroit? | Roulez Electrique

Selon Jérôme Guillen (VP ventes mondiales chez Tesla), rencontré par Sylvain et Daniel, l’adaptateur CHAdeMO sera quant à lui commercialisé au cours du mois de janvier. À suivre de près…

The link ImaFrog shared is exactly the same as the one I pointed to in my post above, and it dates from August 2014.

Now the link you shared in this last post does have updates as of 12 Jan 2015, so thank you for that. Now let's just hope they do deliver this month!