Charging Renault Zoe with a Tesla Gen 2 Wall Connector

[Thunderbird1]

Hi All,

My son is purchasing his first EV (a Renault Zoe R135), and I am struggling to find any info online regarding Zoe's and their ability to charge at home with a Tesla Gen 2 Wall Connector which we already use for my Model 3. Does anyone know if this is something that would work, as the Zoe also charges by Type 2 from its CCS port like the Model 3. Thanks in advance! https://www.tesla.com/support/charging/gen-2-wall-connector

P.S. if there are any Zoe owners out there, does your car "wake up" the Tesla Gen 2 wall connector for scheduled charge sessions? Eg plug in the Zoe at 6pm and set the car to start charging at 10pm? Thanks!

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

It should work fine, you may find the Tesla wall charger tries to talk ‘Tesla’ first before switching to normal Type 2 when it times out, and the odd car struggles with that but if the worst happens there’s a switch inside the charger that changes it to compatible mode which avoids it trying to talk Tesla (it will still charge a Tesla, you just won’t be able to diagnose any charger faults). We charged BMWs on our old Gen 2 charger and have charged Audis on our Gen 3 charger without any issues or the use of compatibility mode.

The only thing to avoid is the older mobile charger that the MS and MX came with because it don’t follow the rules correctly.

 

[Thunderbird1]

Thanks for that very useful indeed.So you would need to physically open the charger and turn a switch to compatible mode ?

 

[GeorgeSymonds]

Thanks for that very useful indeed.So you would need to physically open the charger and turn a switch to compatible mode ?

Only if you have problems, which is unlikely.

It’s probably easier to believe it will work, but if on the rare chance it doesn’t, there might be a solution without throwing the charger away.

 

[kelvin 660]

I had Zoe rental a few years ago when my Tesla was in for repair. It charged just fine without any adjustments using my Gen 2 TWC.

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Zoes are quite finicky about earthing, more so than other cars, which has created problems in the past, but if your charger is otherwise OK it should be fine.

 

[KennethS]

It should work fine, you may find the Tesla wall charger tries to talk ‘Tesla’ first before switching to normal Type 2 when it times out, and the odd car struggles with that but if the worst happens there’s a switch inside the charger that changes it to compatible mode which avoids it trying to talk Tesla (it will still charge a Tesla, you just won’t be able to diagnose any charger faults). We charged BMWs on our old Gen 2 charger and have charged Audis on our Gen 3 charger without any issues or the use of compatibility mode.

The only thing to avoid is the older mobile charger that the MS and MX came with because it don’t follow the rules correctly.

I don't believe the Gen2 TWC has any compatibility mode setting option. I have read the installation manual and can't find it anyway. It does appear to be a feature of the Gen3 version. That said, the Gen2 TWC should be compatible with most EVs.

 

[MrBadger]

I don't believe the Gen2 TWC has any compatibility mode setting option. I have read the installation manual and can't find it anyway. It does appear to be a feature of the Gen3 version. That said, the Gen2 TWC should be compatible with most EVs.

I’m pretty sure Gen 2 does - it’s the setting to allow Tesla destination charging to be Tesla Only so only really used for commercial installs. Iirc it’s the dip switch shared with earthing type that is effectively documented as ‘do not touch’.

Long time I looked at this but believe it’s documented elsewhere on TMC or even the white sticker inside the TWC.

Edit - here you go - caveat ‘it depends’
Thread 'Legacy mode'
Legacy mode

 

[KennethS]

Iirc it’s the dip switch shared with earthing type that is effectively documented as ‘do not touch’.

My bad -- I saw the "do not touch" admonition in the installation manual and took that as the final word. I did wonder why the switch would be there....

 

[MrBadger]

For OP, also worth reading the bit towards end about various versions affecting ability to charge non Teslas.

https://github.com/ngardiner/TWCMan...a-wall-charger-revisions-and-how-they-operate

 

[Thunderbird1]

Hi All,

Thanks for your advice, greatly appreciate it. My son's Zoe has arrived, however we are unable to get it to charge on the gen 2 wall connector, despite setting the dip switch 2 to “legacy mode”. The neighbours MG EV charges successfully, as does my Model 3. The Zoe does charge successfully elsewhere also.

Zoe's are notorious for their need for a good earth loop impedance, and occasionally we’ve seen a GFCI trip error on my Tesla, so we think the charger must be not be well-grounded enough.

What’s the best way to improve the earthing on the gen 2 charger? At the moment we’re thinking of adding two more earth rods in series, to make three in total. Any other suggestions?

Many thanks

 

[Tony Hoyle]

Find a friendly sparky with the tools to measure the ground resistance.. adding more earth rods might not do anything. Might even require a matt:e or similar to replace the earth rods.