CHAdeMO Charging the Model 3

Last night I received the 2019.24.4 software update for our Model 3. So this morning I tested Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to determine the rate of charge, and see how many miles I’d get and how long it would take to charge from a given SOC. Summary: 45 minutes gave me 139 miles of rated range and cost $8.69. Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter is easy to use and provides more charging options for the Model 3.

A DC charger at a charging station in Sacramento.

This site where I charged has one DC charger with dual plugs to charge EVs with either CHAdeMO or CCS charging ports. It can charge one car at a time, delivers a maximum of 125 amps, and provides maximum power approaching 50 kW depending on factors such as state of charge, battery pack temperature, etc. I arrived at the station with 126 miles of rated range – 39% SOC – in our long range RWD Model 3.

I arrived at the station with 126 miles of range / 39% SOC.

If you haven’t used CHAdeMO chargers before the plugs are substantial, and by that I mean big. But using the adapter, while not dead simple like a Supercharger, was straightforward and easy: I removed the CHAdeMO plug from its holster on the charger, connected it to Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter, and plugged the adapter into the Model 3’s charging port.

This station is operated by Greenlots. To start a charging session you either call their 1-800 number, use the Greenlots phone app, or a Greenlots RFID card. I have a Greenlots account and their RFID key fob so I held the key fob next to the labeled sensor on the charger and it verified my account. The charger provides you with easy to follows instructions. I pressed the button to select the CHAdeMO plug, and then pressed the button again to start the charging session.

I connected Tesla’s CHAdeMO adapter to the charger plug, plugged the adapter into my Model 3 charge port, and used an RFID card to start the charging session.

The charger delivered 22.8 kWh in the first 30 minutes, providing about 90 miles of rated range.

This DC charger sent 23 kWh to the Model 3 in 30 minutes, adding 90 miles of rated range to the pack.

The session started with the charger delivering 42 kW when the battery pack was at 39%. The power slowly increased, hitting 49 kW when the battery pack reached 80% SOC. I didn’t charge long enough to see where the taper would begin, but I’m guessing that would be in the range of 80-85% SOC.

It took a total of 45 minutes to go from 39% to 81% SOC. This included the time it took me to plug in and initiate the session. In 45 minutes the charger delivered 33.7 kWh (according to Greenlots), adding 139 miles of rated range to the pack.

The charging session started with the charger delivering 42 kW at 39% SOC, and the power slowly increased hitting 49 kW when the battery reached 80% SOC.

At this location Greenlots charges 25¢ per kWh, plus taxes and a 35¢ session fee. Total cost for this charge was $8.69, so just under 26¢ per kWh, which is comparable to the cost of using a Supercharger. The cost of using CHAdeMO chargers varies depending on the network that operates the station.

CHAdeMO charging stations are not Superchargers, yet. Some of the new stations coming online provide more than 125 amps, but I believe Tesla’s current CHAdeMO adapter will accept no more than 125 amps (please correct me if I’m wrong). CHAdeMO chargers don’t span the entire country, and generally don’t have as many charging stalls per site compared to most Supercharger locations. But some regions of the country have a good number of CHAdeMO charging locations that support EV drivers. So while 139 miles in 45 minutes is slower than a Supercharger, it’s better than L2 charging. Most importantly this gives us more charging options for road trips and regional travel.

I’ve used this station before to charge our 2012 Toyota Rav4 EV, thanks to Tony Williams’ CHAdeMO charging port, JdeMO. Adding the CHAdeMO charging port to our Rav4 EV expanded the horizons of that car, and I expect the CHAdeMO adapter to come in handy for our Model 3. I don’t expect to use it for local charging, but plan to use the adapter on longer trips we have planned.

Quick charging my 2012 Rav4 EV at this station several years ago.

If you are new to EVs and want to know how to find CHAdeMO charging stations, Plugshare is a very good resource. Go to that website (or download the phone app), click on the filter tab, and select CHAdeMO (or any other type of charger) to find charging locations near you.

Screen shot from the Plugshare.com website showing the location of CHAdeMO charging stations in the Atlanta area.

Final note: In the United States the two non-Tesla DC charging standards are CHAdeMO and CCS. The CHAdeMO charging standard was designed and promoted by Japanese power companies and auto manufacturers including Nissan and Mitsubishi. The Nissan Leaf, which came on the market in 2010, is the best selling EV with the CHAdeMO port. Other auto manufacturers use the CCS DC charging standard. Cars with the CCS port include the Chevy Bolt EV, BMW i3, VW e-Golf, and other European made EVs coming on the market. Ultimately cars with a CCS port will outnumber those with CHAdeMO. At some point Tesla may sell a CCS adapter for use in the United States, but there’s no indication of that yet.

This guest post from Steve Noctor originally appeared on his blog It’s Electric. 

 

[Threader]

I was also considering getting an adaptor when they next became available, and checked the website tonight, and there they were. So pulled the trigger. I love road trips in the model 3; having further charging options will be great.

Edit: So, how big is this thing anyway? Will it fit in the cubby under the trunk? In the frunk? Do I need a roofrack?

When they go out of stock they seem to accumulate pent up demand. Went out of stock today again. Good luck with your new CHAdeMO adapter.

 

[Ryefry]

I tried my CHAdeMO adapter for this first time since getting it three months ago. I didn't need a charge but I wanted to make sure this solution worked. I stopped at a very busy Wal-Mart that has an Electrify America site and was rather surprised that none of the spots were ICED as the chargers are smack-dab in the middle of the lot. After trying for 10 minutes to get the CC reader to work I decided to try another route and just sign up on EA iOS app. So after doing that and it taking my $10 to put into my account, it would try to initialize but would not start charging. Being this was my first time using the adapter and, according to Plugshare, another Tesla owner was successful here, I tried several more times. After about 20 minutes of failure I was totally frustrated so I skipped calling EA support and just took the L.

There is an EVgo station a few miles down the road that also had one 50kW CHAdeMO so I decided to give that one a try. It was in a much nicer spot, over to the side of a much less busy Walgreens. It didn't have a CC reader so I signed up on their iOS app. Once doing that it initialized quickly and I was very relieved that it started charging with no further issues. I started with about 70% and I went to 80% in about 10 minutes at 44kW and $.30/min.

I purposely didn't try this with my family in the car or with a dire need of charging as I knew that could ratchet up the frustration levels big time. It really made me thankful for the Tesla SC network as I would never want to have to rely on these other charger networks.

 

[Wennfred]

With the EA Charger did you hear a pop from the Adapter? Or it wouldn’t initialized? Mine would pop and would not successfully connect, this happened with EVGo but it would work fine with the older Blink station, I contacted Tesla sales and had the adapter swapped out. The replacement adapter worked fine on EA & EVgo. See if you can find someone with a CHAdeMO adapter in your area so they can try theirs in the EA Charger. There’s a good chance yours could be defective as well.

Using Plug Share, you can message those model 3’s that were successful charging with their CHAdeMO adapter, maybe one can meet you there.

Fred

 

[Ryefry]

No I didn't hear a pop from the adapter. The furthest I could get it to go is the charger fan started up and the phone application showed arrows spinning in a circle and it said initializing and it would just get stuck there.

 

[mike123abc]

Only thing I have noted with the EA charger is that you have to have the car all hooked up with the adapter before you pay. If you try to pay then hook it up it will not work.

 

[Rocky_H]

Only thing I have noted with the EA charger is that you have to have the car all hooked up with the adapter before you pay. If you try to pay then hook it up it will not work.

Yes, I was going to ask about that. And every EA listing in Plugshare has a note of instructions that they have added to it to inform people that they do need to get plugged in first before trying to activate the station.

 

[dpee]

So will using the chademo adapter excessively cause software throttling? I recently ordered my adapter but after a little research this seems to be the case. Some users seem to think it's limited to certain battery on s bthe modelut I don't see why the model 3 wouldn't be effected. Such a bummer too, I have access to a chademo charging station for free at work. I worked it out to 150 - 30 minute lunch sessions to pay for the adapter and I wasn't going to stop there either haha

 

[srs5694]

So will using the chademo adapter excessively cause software throttling? I recently ordered my adapter but after a little research this seems to be the case. Some users seem to think it's limited to certain battery on s bthe modelut I don't see why the model 3 wouldn't be effected. Such a bummer too, I have access to a chademo charging station for free at work. I worked it out to 150 - 30 minute lunch sessions to pay for the adapter and I wasn't going to stop there either haha

The most thorough analysis I know about of this issue was in a YouTube video by Bjorn Nyland:

In brief, at the time that video was posted (May 10, 2019), the throttling after "excessive" DC fast charging was limited to 75kWh and 90kWh battery packs in the Model S and Model X. (Throttling begins after 2,626 kWh of DC fast charging and rises to a maximum throttling at 13,125 kWh) It did not affect any other battery pack, including those in the Model 3. Chances are that it affects the 75kWh and 90kWh packs specifically because of something unique about them -- different cell chemistries, poorer cooling, or what have you. (I have no idea what the difference is, though; I'm just tossing out a couple of possibilities that spring to mind.) Ultimately, the drop in charge speed is deliberately triggered by Tesla in order to prevent some (presumably worse, at least to Tesla) problem down the road; it's not a "natural" and direct result of whatever is unique about those battery packs. Tesla seems to count all DC fast charging toward the limit over which charging speeds are reduced. That is, both use of Superchargers and use of CHAdeMO DC fast chargers via the CHAdeMO adapter count toward the limit.

Note that, although the Model 3 has not been identified as affected, it's possible that this is simply because few Model 3s have yet hit the limit (a possibility that seems unlikely if the limit is the same as identified for the S and X) or that the limit is significantly higher on the Model 3 than on the S and X. It's also possible that Tesla will decide to initiate such a limit on the Model 3 in the future -- say, if they start to see battery problems that are associated with DC fast charging, but Tesla hasn't noticed them yet.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about this on the Model 3. OTOH, I also wouldn't press my luck by using DC fast charging (including CHAdeMO charging) unnecessarily.

 

[smatthew]

Seeing that CHAdeMO is only between 2-4 X more power than the on-board charger, I doubt CHAdeMO will cause problems.

If Tesla is smart, the measurements of hours of charging distinguishes between different kW levels. For instance - ever supercharged as the second car on a charger? I assume Tesla has models that show the difference in effect on the battery between a 30kW charge source, a 120kW charge source, 250kw, etc.

 

[srs5694]

Seeing that CHAdeMO is only between 2-4 X more power than the on-board charger, I doubt CHAdeMO will cause problems.

If the reporting in the above-referenced YouTube video is accurate, then CHAdeMO not causing problems is an invalid assumption; CHAdeMO charging does count as DC fast charging toward the DC fast charging limit in 75kWh and 90kWh Model S and Model X vehicles. Anything beyond that is speculative -- and even the information being reported so far is pretty sketchy.

 

[Rocky_H]

Seeing that CHAdeMO is only between 2-4 X more power than the on-board charger, I doubt CHAdeMO will cause problems.

If the reporting in the above-referenced YouTube video is accurate, then CHAdeMO not causing problems is an invalid assumption;

You missed that point entirely. Those are two separate things:
1. Is it actually causing problems for the battery?
2. Does Tesla mark it as "bad" anyway and count it toward their limiting?

For these slow CHAdeMO, the answers are pretty much No, Yes.

 

[srs5694]

If the reporting in the above-referenced YouTube video is accurate, then CHAdeMO not causing problems is an invalid assumption;

You missed that point entirely. Those are two separate things:
1. Is it actually causing problems for the battery?
2. Does Tesla mark it as "bad" anyway and count it toward their limiting?

For these slow CHAdeMO, the answers are pretty much No, Yes.

Both of those things qualify as "problems," so when either one occurs, it's a problem. I stand by my answer. You conveniently omitted this portion of that answer, which elaborates on the nature of the problem to which I was referring (your harm type 2; note that what looks like the first sentence here is part of a bigger sentence and is a summary of the YouTube video's claims):

CHAdeMO charging does count as DC fast charging toward the DC fast charging limit in 75kWh and 90kWh Model S and Model X vehicles. Anything beyond that is speculative -- and even the information being reported so far is pretty sketchy.

Whether CHAdeMO charging actually causes damage to batteries (your harm type 1) is speculative. What's generally accepted is that batteries degrade over time and with charge/discharge cycles, and that faster charging exacerbates this degradation. Tesla, of course, limits charge rates and otherwise takes measures to minimize this harm when DC fast charging. Where charging at CHAdeMO speeds fits on this curve of battery harm when charging is something that is, AFAIK, largely unknown to those outside of Tesla. You can give a simple "no" answer to the question, but that's speculative -- unless you have hard data to back it up. If so, please share it.

 

[im.thatoneguy]

Or it wouldn’t initialized? Mine would pop and would not successfully connect, this happened with EVGo but it would work fine with the older Blink station, I contacted Tesla sales and had the adapter swapped out. The replacement adapter worked fine on EA & EVgo.

Fred

I have to try like 5 times before my CHademo works. It will go "CLUNK" in the charger, the green light will come on... and the Tesla screen will say "Charging stopped" immediately. Then a few seconds later the EVGo charger realizes it's not charging.

I've tried all kind of super superstitious approaches and there is no consistent way to win the lottery and get it to start on the first try.

Another thing is the charging port goes "Click click click click click" usually when the charging tries to start or even when I put it in. But the screen says "Ready to Charge".

 

[Wennfred]

I have to try like 5 times before my CHademo works. It will go "CLUNK" in the charger, the green light will come on... and the Tesla screen will say "Charging stopped" immediately. Then a few seconds later the EVGo charger realizes it's not charging.

I've tried all kind of super superstitious approaches and there is no consistent way to win the lottery and get it to start on the first try.

Another thing is the charging port goes "Click click click click click" usually when the charging tries to start or even when I put it in. But the screen says "Ready to Charge".

It’s faulty, get it replaced. Mine did the same, so did the Moblie Ranger that came out with his. Mine was brand new. My replacement works on the EVGo Chargers now.

Also if you continue to try, let’s say over 5 times you will smell the smoke.

Fred

 

[im.thatoneguy]

Did you just drop in on a service center or schedule a service?

 

[Wennfred]

Did you just drop in on a service center or schedule a service?

I scheduled a service ticket within the App and they sent a Mobile Ranger which we met at the EVgo Charger, didn’t matter which location I went too, they all caused the CHAdeMO to Pop.

The CHAdeMO was brand new so I also submitted the Sales dept order number, they still give you an invoice with a charge that you approve but later they refund you for the warrenty repair. In my case they sent me a new one and a FedEx number to send the damaged one back.

Fred

 

[ewoodrick]

Whether CHAdeMO charging actually causes damage to batteries (your harm type 1) is speculative. What's generally accepted is that batteries degrade over time and with charge/discharge cycles, and that faster charging exacerbates this degradation. .

I really don't think that it is speculative. It doesn't damage the battery.
And let's put it this way, the cars with the longest battery life (~500,000 miles) Supercharge multiple times a day. So if that's what a damaged battery can do, sell it to me a reduced cost.

And a CHAdeMO pales in comparison to V3 Superchargers.

 

[cwerdna]

It seems DrivetheArc has extended 100% discount promo ticket offer until further notice.

COVID-19 update: 100% discount PromoTicket services - DRIVEtheARC posted May 27, 2020 states this.

There are some Bolt drivers on Bolt FB groups who claim they're now able to get free SAE Combo charging too, although I see nothing that directly says that on their strange web site. They only mention free CHAdeMO charging.

 

[smatthew]

It seems DrivetheArc has extended 100% discount promo ticket offer until further notice.

COVID-19 update: 100% discount PromoTicket services - DRIVEtheARC posted May 27, 2020 states this.

There are some Bolt drivers on Bolt FB groups who claim they're now able to get free SAE Combo charging too, although I see nothing that directly says that on their strange web site. They only mention free CHAdeMO charging.

If you can find a station that's actually working. My local DRIVEtheARC charger has been dead for quite a while now.

edit: Found this on their websites. "All CHAdeMO EVs and Combo EVs can be charged at DRIVEtheARC stations."

 

[israndy]

My wife's sister was hospitalized this month, gallbladder issues. We have been doing the drive there to help out. She's back home and on the mend.

Finally was able to pay off my CHAdeMO adapter with all the free charging I have been using it for. Last two full charges were actually free, not dependent on the upfront cost of the adapter. Who would have thought I would ever pay this thing off? And I was SO sure by the time my adapter arrived the NA CCS adapter would be out, but it's still nowhere to be found.