DIY Installing CCS Retrofit in My US 2017 Model X

[FeeYe]

My Car​

2017 Model X, upgraded to MCU2 with Intel processor

Background​

Superchargers could get busy over the weekends/holidays and so I was wondering if I could have another option.

Setec has a CCS1 adapter but it is selling for $610 with charging limit to around 70kw and it is known to have issue when charging. So getting the "offical parts" might be a better route.

Initial Research​

Initially, I read this post by @FalconFour. Model 3 has an ECU in place and so he had to swap out ChargePort Gen 3 to Gen 4 and ran into multiple issues. I searched in parts catalog, however, I found nothing related to chargeport ECU installed in legacy Model X.

Legacy Model S and Model X in EU provide CCS retrofit, so I was thinking whether this could be used in the US models as well. EU cars are using CCS2 plugs while US cars use CCS1 cars, but Tesla came up with a CCS1 adapter in Korea. In order to get it work, I will need the retrofit from EU and the adapter from Korea.

I found that the retrofit board 1495114-00-C is indeed in the US parts catalog. So I tried to order it from my local service center. However, the local service center refused to order it for me because the service center said the retrofit kit was suppoed for EU cars only. Therefore I asked my friend in EU to order the retrofit kit for me. I aslo asked my order friend in Korea to order the CCS1 adapter for me.

Also found this video regarding installation:

Looks like what he did was basically plug the retrofit ECU in, perform a software update, then done.

Steps to install​

0. Wait for a software update notice
1. Remove 12V battery connection and high voltage connection
2. Remove the panels on the left side of the trunk and expose the onboard charger

3. Connect the wiring harness. Remove the plug on the charge port and the communication ports, connect the removed plug to the harness and connect the harness to the socket. See the circles below

4. Remove three screws on the onbord charger and attach the retrofit ECU like this

5. Perform the software update

After the software update, however, I get "CCS Fast Charging is unavailable, Schedule Service - Configuration Change required" (Error code CHG_w084)

The CCS support in additional car info still shows uninstalled. from the error message, looks like a simple config change will resolve this issue. So I contacted the local service center to see if they could do the config change. Here is the conversation between me and the Tesla service advisor.

Advisor: DId you installed the EU CCS retrofit?
Me: Yeah, but this part is in the US part catalog. I ordered it from EU and installed it myself. It is just a plug and play thing and what it needs is a config change, which might be able to be done OTA.
Advisor: I am instructed not to perform the change because CCS charging is not supported in the US (lie). Also, this part is not installed by us, we cannot provide the support.
Me: OK. Thanks and have a good day

Initially, I did not tell him I installed the EU CCS retrofit but he asked me instead. So I assume he checked out the error code and found the solution but refused to perform the config change for various reasons. So I guess I will be the person to resolve this issue.

Troubleshoot​

I drove to the local service center, started the service mode and performed a complete software reinstall. No luck

I went back home and plugged in my mobile charger, which is connected to my NEMA-1450 outlet, the voltage jumped to 240V but no amerage. After 2 seconds the voltage dropped to 0 and then backt o 240V. After retrying a few times, the charging port light showed red and got "poor grid power quality possible"

I checked the "Service Alert" in service mode and found the following:

There are two unrelated error due to easy entry failure a long time ago which I didn't bother to fix. The other two are the two I mentioned before.

The next day I tried supercharging and I got 109kW in 49% battery, which is a normal speed.

I also tried a third party AC charging but I still get red charging port lights. This time, the CHG_u012 did not appear.

Assumption​

Looks like the retrofit ECU was not configured and so AC charging and CCS charging was disabled. However, supercharging functionality is not impacted

Next Step​

Luckily the MCU has been upgraded to MCU2 and I got a Toolbox 3 subscription. I ordered a dianostic cable from Ebay and will troubleshoot further.

Questions​

1. I have not used Toolbox 3 before. For those who has expenrience, can I know whether Toolbox will show steps to fix the error codes? Specifically, CHG_w084 and CHG_u012? Thanks
1. If possible, can I know how to perform a chargeport ECU config change using Toolbox?

Thanks a ton

 

[omarsultan]

I was looking to do something similar so asked my SC if ordering the latest rev ECU (1495114-00-C) and having them so the install was enough to enable CCS charging or if there is more. They got back to me and said the ECU by itself was not enough--the factory-ready CCS cars have a different wiring harness than non--CCS cars and the EU retrofit kit includes a retrofit wiring harness. The EU harness will not work in US cars (I assume because of the different charge port), so I'd have to wait for Tesla to release a US-specfic CCS retrofit kit. He was surprised it was still not available and did not have a timeline on when it might be available.

Hope that helps.

 

[FeeYe]

I was looking to do something similar so asked my SC if ordering the latest rev ECU (1495114-00-C) and having them so the install was enough to enable CCS charging or if there is more. They got back to me and said the ECU by itself was not enough--the factory-ready CCS cars have a different wiring harness than non--CCS cars and the EU retrofit kit includes a retrofit wiring harness. The EU harness will not work in US cars (I assume because of the different charge port), so I'd have to wait for Tesla to release a US-specfic CCS retrofit kit. He was surprised it was still not available and did not have a timeline on when it might be available.

Hope that helps.

Yep, that is really helpful.

Looks like two things that are blocking this DIY install:

1. Might need to change the gateway config to enable CCS charging. The paid suscritpion Toolbox does not support chaging such config
2. The pin location of the wiring harness, especially the one connects to the charge port, does not match the included wiring harness. I might need to do some modification to make it work but that's going to be an extensive research

 

[Watts_Up]

... I might need to do some modification to make it work but that's going to be an extensive research

You can search on e-bay for "A bundle of wires with crimps, some with resistors, & 24-pin connector housings"

See posting #225 under:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Thank you for this great thread, FalconFour! My case is the more simple one where I need to swap my ECU (1537264-80-B) with the CCS-enabled one (1537264-00-B). I ordered the part from my local SC today and should have it next week. In preparation, I watched a video on how to access the 12v...

teslamotorsclub.com

Also posting #175:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Welp, can confirm the old port doesn't have a resistor on Prox. Lame. Well, good news is, the Prox signal was split in 2 pins (copied/shorted to both) probably for this very reason (and Gen3 has 2.7k between the Prox pin and Gnd). So I just have to add the resistor that changed places, now we...

teslamotorsclub.com

And also #169:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Welp, can confirm the old port doesn't have a resistor on Prox. Lame. Well, good news is, the Prox signal was split in 2 pins (copied/shorted to both) probably for this very reason (and Gen3 has 2.7k between the Prox pin and Gnd). So I just have to add the resistor that changed places, now we...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[FeeYe]

You can search on e-bay for "A bundle of wires with crimps, some with resistors, & 24-pin connector housings"

See posting #225 under:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Thank you for this great thread, FalconFour! My case is the more simple one where I need to swap my ECU (1537264-80-B) with the CCS-enabled one (1537264-00-B). I ordered the part from my local SC today and should have it next week. In preparation, I watched a video on how to access the 12v...

teslamotorsclub.com

Also posting #175:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Welp, can confirm the old port doesn't have a resistor on Prox. Lame. Well, good news is, the Prox signal was split in 2 pins (copied/shorted to both) probably for this very reason (and Gen3 has 2.7k between the Prox pin and Gnd). So I just have to add the resistor that changed places, now we...

teslamotorsclub.com

And also #169:

Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach

Welp, can confirm the old port doesn't have a resistor on Prox. Lame. Well, good news is, the Prox signal was split in 2 pins (copied/shorted to both) probably for this very reason (and Gen3 has 2.7k between the Prox pin and Gnd). So I just have to add the resistor that changed places, now we...

teslamotorsclub.com

The parts are for Model 3 and Model X has a different wiring than Model 3. But that post is still super helpful. Thanks!

 

[FeeYe]

Update:

Connected to Toolbox 3, the personal paid subsctiption does not allow me to change the gateway configs. Therefore this is a no go.

Decided to uninstall the retrofit. The error codes are cleared and AC charging is working again

 

[matthewserta]

I wanted to do the same to my 21 model Y performance, I read some guides here on the forums, but ultimately decided to schedule service with Tesla to have the ECU replaced and flashed. The whole process took about 20 minutes, and cost $300 with mobile service.
My car now supports CCS charging.

Not sure how much more the cost would be for a model X though, considering you’re likely going to need more parts than just the ECU.

 

[FeeYe]

I wanted to do the same to my 21 model Y performance, I read some guides here on the forums, but ultimately decided to schedule service with Tesla to have the ECU replaced and flashed. The whole process took about 20 minutes, and cost $300 with mobile service.
My car now supports CCS charging.

Not sure how much more the cost would be for a model X though, considering you’re likely going to need more parts than just the ECU.

The good thing about Model Y is you could simply replace a gen3 chargeport ECU to a Gen4 and then resintall the software. The CCS retrofit for Model X and S are officially launched in EU but not "available" in the US yet.

The ECU and the wiring harness are both in the US parts catalog and so I assume those parts could be used in US spec models.

I sheduled a service to ask the service center to install those parts for me and see if they are willing to. I highly doubt though

 

[FeeYe]

I researched a bit on the wiring diagram. The jumper cable included in the retrofit kit (1486940-00-A) is indeed in the parts catalog.

There are two connectors on the jumper cable that needed to be connected to the vehicle. One is X105 on the chargeport and the other one is X106 the pilot and proximity. See the wiring diagram and locations below

X105:

X106:

I inspected the connector side on the jumper cable and I got two questions. However, the diagrams above provides the answer

Why pin 5 in the connector to be connected to the chargeport was not used?

PIN 5 in X105 is intentionally left out and so the jumper cable is correct.


Why there are three black wires in the jumper cable going to the ECU and two of them are not connected to the pins in the circuit board? Also, why there are two unused pins in the ECU circuit board?

The black wires are ground wires and so I think only one of them will be needed. For some reason the jumper cable split one into 3 and only 1 is used.

There are two left-out pins in the ECU circuit board but they are not used probably because Model S and Model X used the same circuit board but different plastic cases. Maybe Model S will use those unused pins by Model X.

So I am 99% sure that the retrofit ECU will work but that needs a gateway config change. I am so close to being done but I don't have a way to change the gateway config, even with the Toolbox 3 susbcription

 

[JosephRodrigue]

Great research! I would recommend reaching out to Falcon to see if her can assist.

 

[AlexUA]

@FalconFour wires would not help here, you need a secured config update. Internal.dat
@FeeYe you need to update the config as described in this thread DIY Installing CCS Retrofit in US Model S

Tegra is easy.
Intel is harder but still doable.

Guess you need SC technician help...if you don't have such friend

 

[FalconFour]

@AlexUA ~ Yep, I've been directing people here (actually, to that other thread, which I thought was this one - but I'll link them here too!). This is awesome info. Of course the S/X platform is totally different from the Model 3, so it's not quite as easy as the 3/Y update with the Bundle of Wires. Seems like CCS here is done with an additional module (weird)!

(Don't try copy-pasting another car's solution in here (e.g. the Bundle of Wires)! That's a quick way to have a bad time and waste money. The S/X is a totally different platform! Yeah, the connector will fit, but you don't know what the wires do, do ya? )

I'll hopefully get a chance to play with this in the near future with a 2013 S (possibly Gen1?) that had its dual chargers replaced 2 years ago. Possible it was given Gen2 OBCs that make this possible? I can hope! But it has MCU2 (Intel) so we'll need to find a service tech to buy a nice dinner for!

 

[FalconFour]

I inspected the connector side on the jumper cable and I got two questions. However, the diagrams above provides the answer

Why pin 5 in the connector to be connected to the chargeport was not used?

PIN 5 in X105 is intentionally left out and so the jumper cable is correct.


Why there are three black wires in the jumper cable going to the ECU and two of them are not connected to the pins in the circuit board? Also, why there are two unused pins in the ECU circuit board?

The black wires are ground wires and so I think only one of them will be needed. For some reason the jumper cable split one into 3 and only 1 is used.

There are two left-out pins in the ECU circuit board but they are not used probably because Model S and Model X used the same circuit board but different plastic cases. Maybe Model S will use those unused pins by Model X.

So I am 99% sure that the retrofit ECU will work but that needs a gateway config change. I am so close to being done but I don't have a way to change the gateway config, even with the Toolbox 3 susbcription

Oh this is super useful. Same kind of digging I had to do with the Gen3->Gen4 Bundle of Wires - same concept with 3 grounds -> 1 ground (it was because the ECU was providing individual grounds, from the same bus, to 3 hard-wired sensors - merged together in the Bundle). This bodes well, then. In the Gen3->Gen4, there was a new sensor needed (HV cover presence) and a moved resistor (2.7k for prox, moved from the ECU board to the charge port PCBA itself).

Really relieves some of my fears about this being an EU port specific thing. The only other thing I'd keep an eye out for is thermal sensors! All the thermal sensors land in the right place, yeah?

I would also be really curious (though likely too late as it's now installed/buried) to crack open that retrofit ECU box and see what board is inside. If it's yet another variation of the Gen4 ECU board (different load/no-load on the board, different firmware, different pins loaded/blank), I will laugh so hard. It's like a Swiss Army Knife of charge port control and is probably only used for its PLC hardware here, whereas the Gen4 "-80-" variation is stripped of its PLC hardware. Take from one, give to another! Interesting config...

 

[brainhouston]

I'm a bit confused...
Does EU retrofit kit work for legacy X? (9/2016) in my case
Does "bundle of wires..." from ebay work for X? or can one be made if i acquire just the ECU?
Thank you.

 

[M0rpH3x]

I'm a bit confused...
Does EU retrofit kit work for legacy X? (9/2016) in my case
Does "bundle of wires..." from ebay work for X? or can one be made if i acquire just the ECU?
Thank you.

If you buy the whole kit (and you can access the gateway and do redeploys), you are fine. But you need the whole kit (ECU + wires), not just the ECU.

 

[omarsultan]

My Service folks specifically said the wire harness from the EU retrofit kit would not work in my '16 X as the wiring harness was different between EU and US cars. He might be mistaken, but he did a bunch of research before getting back to me, so I tend to believe what he said.

 

[AlexUA]

My Service folks specifically said the wire harness from the EU retrofit kit would not work in my '16 X as the wiring harness was different between EU and US cars. He might be mistaken, but he did a bunch of research before getting back to me, so I tend to believe what he said.

We do retrofit US spec cars here, and they are working just fine with provided EU kits

 

[M0rpH3x]

I can only speak for the Model S, but the wiring harness is the same, EU and US. Said that, the main charger and the CCS ECUs are the same between Model S and X, the only thing that changes is the bracket in both cases (so you get a different P/N). So I’m sure the harness will work. I’m also sure they don’t know what they are talking about.

 

[M0rpH3x]

I mean, saying that the wiring harness is the same is a way to speak. There is no US wiring harness, there is only an EU CCS kit.

 

[brainhouston]

Does anyone know where or how to source EU retrofit kit? i can't find it anywhere...
Some on eBay listings but OOS currently...