Charge cable stuck [in CYC charge point]

[Glan gluaisne]

Thanks @glangluaisne , don’t want to highJack the thread but it’s a genuine interesting question for newbie like me. When we bought the car, was advised don’t get tethered at home, so we didn’t, as that future proofs in case we bought a different EV that didn’t have same cable / plug? as a Tesla. And only needed to carry the type 1 as an emergency type thing , as any public charger has fixed cables, tbh I’ve only visited 2 so far lol but both had more cables coming out of them than you could shake a stick at including the rapid charger plug that’s slightly different shape ( sorry it’s probably got a fancy acronym )

have I just been lucky ??

No UK market (or EU market) Tesla has a Type 1 connector, all are now sold with the pretty much universal Type 2/CCS. This is becoming pretty much the standard across the whole of Europe now, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.

Public AC charge points (which are not chargers - they are just AC outlets, they use a charger that's fitted inside the car) can either have a Type 2 socket, or some may have a Type 2 tethered lead. Most people find that having a tethered lead charge point at home is easier, and as the Type 2 connector is now pretty much universal it's fairly future-proof. Anyway, it's only ten minutes work to swap a tethered lead over, if things were to change at some future date.

All DC chargers (which are actually battery chargers) have a CCS connector, which is a Type 2 fitted with two additional DC sockets underneath. This is again a pretty universal DC charger standard, and looks set to be the defacto standard across Europe.

The only other DC charger connectors you may come across is the older, Tesla-only, one, not an issue, as all Superchargers now have CCS as well, or the CHAdeMo connector. The latter is only used by some older EVs now, mainly the Nissan Leaf, and will, in all probability, fade away in future, I think, to be replaced by CCS.

 

[Ledzep]

No UK market (or EU market) Tesla has a Type 1 connector, all are now sold with the pretty much universal Type 2/CCS. This is becoming pretty much the standard across the whole of Europe now, and I doubt it will change anytime soon.

Public AC charge points (which are not chargers - they are just AC outlets, they use a charger that's fitted inside the car) can either have a Type 2 socket, or some may have a Type 2 tethered lead. Most people find that having a tethered lead charge point at home is easier, and as the Type 2 connector is now pretty much universal it's fairly future-proof. Anyway, it's only ten minutes work to swap a tethered lead over, if things were to change at some future date.

All DC chargers (which are actually battery chargers) have a CCS connector, which is a Type 2 fitted with two additional DC sockets underneath. This is again a pretty universal DC charger standard, and looks set to be the defacto standard across Europe.

The only other DC charger connectors you may come across is the older, Tesla-only, one, not an issue, as all Superchargers now have CCS as well, or the CHAdeMo connector. The latter is only used by some older EVs now, mainly the Nissan Leaf, and will, in all probability, fade away in future, I think, to be replaced by CCS.

thanks for all the info lol think it all makes sense!

last question .... is this not a type 1 ? Came with car ?

 

[MrBadger]

thanks for all the info lol think it all makes sense!

last question .... is this not a type 1 ? Came with car ?

Thats a Mode 1 UMC cable (inline control box) but the plug is a Type 2.

Mode 2 is a dedicated wall connector which may have a tethered Type 2 cable, or simply have a Type 2 socket which you plug your own Type 2 to Type 2 cable in as supplied with the car.

A Type 1 plug/socket maybe found on some older US/Japanese vehicles. Europe is Type 2 for AC and CCS2 (normally just referred to as CCS) for DC, unless you have a Model S or X - I think it is a modified Type 2.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

That's a Tesla-unique connector, fitted to earlier Model s and X cars, not a Type 1. The lead is actually the UMC, the charge point stuff is in the box. You should also have a Type 2 to Tesla lead with the car, I think, so that you can connect to public AC charge points. The Type 1 connector has never been used by Tesla, AFAIK, it has a mechanical latch lever on the outside.

Type 1 connectors were common on first generation, non-Tesla, EVs, cars like the Leaf, and most of the plug-in hybrids used them for years. The Type 1 is still commonplace in North America, too, as the Type 2 originated in Europe. This is what a the Type 1 (on the left) older Tesla proprietary (centre) and Type 2 (right) look like:

The Tesla proprietary connector is being phased out, I think. All Model 3s are supplied with a Type 2/CCS connector, and there's a retrofit kit available to convert older Model S and X cars to Type 2/CCS. Superchargers have both the older Tesla connector and a CCS connector, but no non-Tesla chargers or charge points have the Tesla proprietary connector, it's unique to older Teslas.

This is what a CCS connector looks like, just for completeness (CCS on the left, Type 2 on the right). The upper half is just a Type 2 connector with some missing sockets, but it has two additional high current DC sockets below that:

 

[Ledzep]

That's a Tesla-unique connector, fitted to earlier Model s and X cars, not a Type 1. The lead is actually the UMC, the charge point stuff is in the box. You should also have a Type 2 to Tesla lead with the car, I think, so that you can connect to public AC charge points. The Type 1 connector has never been used by Tesla, AFAIK, it has a mechanical latch lever on the outside.

Type 1 connectors were common on first generation, non-Tesla, EVs, cars like the Leaf, and most of the plug-in hybrids used them for years. The Type 1 is still commonplace in North America, too, as the Type 2 originated in Europe. This is what a the Type 1 (on the left) older Tesla proprietary (centre) and Type 2 (right) look like:

The Tesla proprietary connector is being phased out, I think. All Model 3s are supplied with a Type 2/CCS connector, and there's a retrofit kit available to convert older Model S and X cars to Type 2/CCS. Superchargers have both the older Tesla connector and a CCS connector, but no non-Tesla chargers or charge points have the Tesla proprietary connector, it's unique to older Teslas.

This is what a CCS connector looks like, just for completeness (CCS on the left, Type 2 on the right). The upper half is just a Type 2 connector with some missing sockets, but it has two additional high current DC sockets below that:

thanks guys, I have so many more questions lol but I might start a separate thread as unfair on OP as taking over his thread !

 

[hgmichna]

There have been some cases where a Tesla car refused to stop charging, so one could not unplug. If that happens to you, try a few things that should work:

• Stop charging in the Tesla app.
• Switch the car to a planned later charging time, then back to immediate charging. Then try to stop charging or unlock the charge port.
• Reduce your charge target to the minimum. If your battery is already charged higher than that, i.e. higher than 50%, it should stop charging and allow you to unlock the charge port.

 

[Zakalwe]

There's also a manual release cable inside the boot. You have to pull back some of the black fibre boot interior to get to it.

 

[ACarneiro]

There's also a manual release cable inside the boot. You have to pull back some of the black fibre boot interior to get to it.

Probably shouldn’t do that if charging is still ongoing...

 

[spartanheed]

Thought I'd pop back to the charger today in case it had unlocked and someone was tempted to nick the cable. Good job I did as the charge station had been powered off and the cable was unlocked. I found someone trying to plug it into their car thinking it was a tethered charger!

 

[MrBadger]

I think someone said that they wrote their address on a label and attached it to the cable. Sounds like a good idea if someone came across your cable and was able to return.

 

[hgmichna]

Probably shouldn’t do that [use the mechanical emergency release] if charging is still ongoing...

For AC charging it's not so bad. It's like pulling the plug of an electric heater while it is running.

What you can and should do is reduce the current first. Change it to the lowest setting, which is 5 A. It's not essential, but it certainly cannot hurt.

Then use the emergency release, which is a black plastic ring that you can find when you pull down the black inner cladding of the trunk/boot at the very top left side, near the light. There is also a cable. Do not pull that. Put a finger into the ring and pull it to the top and right. You may have to keep pulling it with one hand while at the same time pulling out the plug from the charge port with the other hand.

But try the other options first.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

For AC charging, it's fine to pull the connector out, but I suggest doing it slowly, to give time for the charge point contactor to open as it senses the CP go open circuit. The connector is designed to be pulled out safely in an emergency (as long as the latch pin is pulled), by having the CP pin in the car connector shorter than the other pins. This ensures that as the connector is pulled out, the CP breaks first, causing the charge point to detect a CP fault and kill the power very quickly.