"Charging Adapter issue" (CHAdeMO error)

[RiverBrick]

Before I contact service, anyone else receive this dash message which is associated with a drop from charging at 105A-120A to 50A? (In the image it only shows 39A because 11A is going to cabin heating, but the station show 50A on its screen).

Occurs after 5-15 minutes of normal charging.

The first time it happened I thought it was the station, because I went elsewhere and CHAdeMO worked flawlessly. However, now it has occurred at another location.

V8.0 2.52.22 and on a prior version.

Exterior temps -10C -- +1C, but with a warm battery.

It is different than the adapter overheating message which I have seen twice in two years and only limits current by 10%.

 

[kort677]

I can't speak for your car but the chademo network has been notoriously unreliable.

 

[MP3Mike]

Is your adapter one of the original ones? (I'm guessing yes since you mentioned using it for 2+ years.) If so, some of them need a firmware update to make work better with some stations. Maybe that is what the message is telling you.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I can't speak for your car but the chademo network has been notoriously unreliable.

CHAdeMO is not a network; it is a protocol.

There are dozens of manufactures building these, as well as dozens if not more networks, plus owners of the equipment. The installed equipment that uses the CHAdeMO protocol runs the gamut of high reliability and high-quality to the lowest quality and biggest pieces of junk on planet earth. Blink is one of the worst.

This is in sharp contrast to TESLA Supercharger, which is not only the protocol holder, but they are also the network, manufacturer, the installer, the maintainer, the network planner, etc.

Saying CHAdeMO is unreliable is much like saying all television is unreliable because your 36 inch Sony Trinitron acts up all the time.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Before I contact service, anyone else receive this dash message which is associated with a drop from charging at 105A-120A to 50A? (In the image it only shows 39A because 11A is going to cabin heating, but the station show 50A on its screen).

Occurs after 5-15 minutes of normal charging.

The first time it happened I thought it was the station, because I went elsewhere and CHAdeMO worked flawlessly. However, now it has occurred at another location]

Is there carbon buildup or other corrosion on any of the receptacles are pins ? I pulled apart a Tesla Model S vehicle charge inlet the other day and those pins were really really dirty. I would start there and then get the newest update of software.

 

[kort677]

CHAdeMO is not a network; it is a protocol.

oh my, I am sorry for that error, by network I mean all of the places where a chademo unit is installed. the failure rate of these units/network makes it appear that the protocols are not ready for prime time.
this might be a shortcoming of the tesla adapter but I have heard many complaints from non tesla ev owners as well.
I want to thank you so much for pointing out and clarifying my misuse of the terms of the technology

 

[GSP]

The failure rate has nothing to do with the protocol(s). The failure rate is caused by the design, build, and maintence of the chargers, not the protocol(s) the Charger uses to connect and communicate with the car.

GSP

 

[RiverBrick]

I can't speak for your car but the chademo network has been notoriously unreliable.

It is a good point that there have been compatibility or reliability problems between Tesla and certain CHAdeMO stations. In this case, I was remiss in not mentioning that the problem is occurring at places where I have charged successfully many times before.

Is your adapter one of the original ones? (I'm guessing yes since you mentioned using it for 2+ years.) If so, some of them need a firmware update to make work better with some stations. Maybe that is what the message is telling you.

Judging by the serial number, it is about the 650th production adapter. I saw a message here once about a firmware upgrade, but during a subsequent annual service visit they said there wasn't a directive for such an update. Thanks for the reminder, I will look into it.

Is there carbon buildup or other corrosion on any of the receptacles are pins ? I pulled apart a Tesla Model S vehicle charge inlet the other day and those pins were really really dirty. I would start there and then get the newest update of software.

Thanks for the advice. When Sun rises I will check the inlet and the adapter for corrosion or buildup. What is the safest way to clean them?

 

[TonyWilliams]

oh my, I am sorry for that error, by network I mean all of the places where a chademo unit is installed. the failure rate of these units/network makes it appear that the protocols are not ready for prime time.

CHAdeMO is one of the most mature designs in the world, and already about ten years old. There are about 14,000 in the world, 2,000 in the USA and 4,000 in Europe. There are a lot more than Tesla Superchargers.

In the beginning, folks would confuse the original clunky Yazaki manufactured plug used by most CHAdeMO specification at the time by charger manufacturers as "CHAdeMO".

Of course, the CHAdeMO specification had little to do with the design that Yazaki used, and many of those clunky plugs have been retired in favor of logical, intuitive plugs made by a half dozen manufacturers.

The same is true of Blink, a company that ripped off the tax payer for over $100 million to install less than one hundred low quality, poorly designed chargers that were CHAdeMO spec, from 2011 to 2013 when they liquidated.

I'm reasonably aware of the Tesla efforts for a CHAdeMO adaptor. One of my favorite pictures is one of our test vehicles with our JdeMO hardware charging at a crappy Blink charger, with a Tesla car along side, attempting to use a prototype (or beta test) CHAdeMO adaptor (sometime in late 2014).

Ours worked... their's didn't ;-)

 

[TonyWilliams]

Thanks for the advice. When Sun rises I will check the inlet and the adapter for corrosion or buildup. What is the safest way to clean them?

CHAdeMO monitors pin temperature, and if there is a bunch of corrosion, that might explain power reduction.

Just use residue free electronics cleaner with "gun cleaner" non-metallic swabs.

I suspect the swans will turn black with a little rubbing. Keep going until the swand are no longer turning black while cleaning.

 

[kort677]

CHAdeMO is one of the most mature designs in the world, and already about ten years old. There are about 14,000 in the world, 2,000 in the USA and 4,000 in Europe. There are a lot more than Tesla Superchargers.

In the beginning, folks would confuse the original clunky Yazaki manufactured plug used by most CHAdeMO specification at the time by charger manufacturers as "CHAdeMO".

Of course, the CHAdeMO specification had little to do with the design that Yazaki used, and many of those clunky plugs have been retired in favor of logical, intuitive plugs made by a half dozen manufacturers.

The same is true of Blink, a company that ripped off the tax payer for over $100 million to install less than one hundred low quality, poorly designed chargers that were CHAdeMO spec, from 2011 to 2013 when they liquidated.

I'm reasonably aware of the Tesla efforts for a CHAdeMO adaptor. One of my favorite pictures is one of our test vehicles with our JdeMO hardware charging at a crappy Blink charger, with a Tesla car along side, attempting to use a prototype (or beta test) CHAdeMO adaptor (sometime in late 2014).

Ours worked... their's didn't ;-)

what a wonderful insightful story, nonetheless the chademos seem to have a very poor reputation, and I certainly would never be dependent on one.

 

[Naonak]

I use my CHAdeMO adapter nearly every day and I have never seen that message. I've had stations pitch a fit now and again, but the car and the adapter have always appeared to work fine.

 

[TonyWilliams]

what a wonderful insightful story, nonetheless the chademos seem to have a very poor reputation, and I certainly would never be dependent on one.

With now over 200,000 miles driven in a number of electric vehicles, I don't put blind faith in any individual charger. Driving to Las Vegas over this past Thanksgiving,, the entire Tesla Supercharger station failed, and a CHAdeMO station saved the day for our family trip.

CHAdeMO saves the day regularly in locations like the very city I live in, San Diego, with 3 million people and thousands of Tesla cars, but just one Supercharger.

Oregon and Washington have a fantastic network of CHAdeMO stations called West Coast Electric Highway. You can't get around Seattle without using CHAdeMO.

Since there are so many more CHAdeMO locations, it becomes a convenience to use in locations with oodles of these stations, like the 100 or so in the San Francisco area, or the nearly 300 in SoCal.

When driving through and around Austin and Houston a year ago, CHAdeMO was essential. I used them regularly when driving around the northeast.

Let me suggest that it is wise to be prepared when driving an EV.

 

[TonyWilliams]

If you're really ambitious, you can pull out the power pins and clean them properly. Obviously, don't try and do this while the car is on, or while it's charging. Serious injury or DEATH may occur.