Model 3 USB-C retrofit

[Durzel]

It's only ~£400 if you buy another Jeda USB hub (for the Model Y/post-June Model 3). It's only £325 (+ two adapters) if you want to turn a pre-June Model 3 into a post-June one, with regards to USB ports. If you don't need the wireless pad, you can just get the front USB hub and rear vents for ~£140.

USB-A ports in the Model 3 will do 5V/2A, for about 10W. The USB-C port will do 9V/3A for about 27W. So if you were looking at using a 18W MagSafe, it would be held back a bit by the USB-A.

Obviously how big a deal this is for you depends on how much you charge your phone in the car really. I don't do it much, but since this seems like something that can be retrofitted reasonably easily, I'm keen to do it.

 

[Joelly]

It's only ~£400 if you buy another Jeda USB hub (for the Model Y/post-June Model 3). It's only £325 (+ two adapters) if you want to turn a pre-June Model 3 into a post-June one, with regards to USB ports.

USB-A ports in the Model 3 will do 5V/2A, for about 10W. The USB-C port will do 9V/3A for about 27W. So if you were looking at using a 18W MagSafe, it would be held back a bit by the USB-A.

Obviously how big a deal this is for you depends on how much you charge your phone in the car really. I don't do it much, but since this seems like something that can be retrofitted reasonably easily, I'm keen to do it.

Thanks for that, I was sure on whether it was 5v/2a or 5v/1a. Is there anything that I should particularly look for with the adapter? I’m finding They’re surprisingly tricky to find. If you’re able to share a link of anything that would do the job on Amazon that would be really useful. Thanks

 

[Durzel]

It used to be 1A but a software update bumped it to 2A, I believe.

Not sure what you mean about adapters? You need two loom adapters if you're doing the conversion - Tesla Model 3 (2017-2020) USB C Retrofit Adapter | eBay - to convert the pre-June car loom connectors to the post-June USB hub, etc. These adapters are only needed for the retrofit.

@Jason71 made a great point in the second post about using a USB power bank to provide fast charging. That is a much cheaper option. I'm just looking to do the retrofit because it's something I think I can tackle, and I can say it's up to spec.

 

[Joelly]

It used to be 1A but a software update bumped it to 2A, I believe.

Not sure what you mean about adapters? You need two loom adapters if you're doing the conversion - Tesla Model 3 (2017-2020) USB C Retrofit Adapter | eBay - to convert the pre-June car loom connectors to the post-June USB hub, etc. These adapters are only needed for the retrofit.

@Jason71 made a great point in the second post about using a USB power bank to provide fast charging. That is a much cheaper option. I'm just looking to do the retrofit because it's something I think I can tackle, and I can say it's up to spec.

Apologies, an adapter that I can plug in to the USB port that will allow me to plug the MagSafe usb c into it. Are the current ports usb 2.0 or 3.0?

 

[Durzel]

What are these extended leather bits you mention?

It's the stitched bits on the side I mean, as in this photo. Might not fit the contour of the old centre console though, if it fits at all.

Apologies, an adapter that I can plug in to the USB port that will allow me to plug the MagSafe usb c into it. Are the current ports usb 2.0 or 3.0?

Oh sorry, I don't know really. Any USB-A to USB-C converter would work I guess, since the MagSafe charger is USB-C. Where would you put it though?

 

[CMc1]

It's the stitched bits on the side I mean, as in this photo. Might not fit the contour of the old centre console though, if it fits at all.


Oh sorry, I don't know really. Any USB-A to USB-C converter would work I guess, since the MagSafe charger is USB-C. Where would you put it though?

That image is blocked for hotlinking

I couldn’t find any decent passive batteries about so went with the cheaper 12v extension option and routed it via the centre console to front compartment. Better access than being under arm rear and gives me another port whilst providing 15 W via cigarette lighter USB adapter. QC 39 W available from adapter if required. £7.99 + £15.99

I believe iPhone <12 are limited to 10 W via wireless anyways, so wouldn’t be much benefit unless I upgraded my phone.

I have also wrapped my centre console including the rear ports so that would need replaced if I was to convert the rears.

 

[Durzel]

That image is blocked for hotlinking

I couldn’t find any decent passive batteries about so went with the cheaper 12v extension option and routed it via the centre console to front compartment. Better access than being under arm rear and gives me another port whilst providing 15 W via cigarette lighter USB adapter. QC 39 W available from adapter if required. £7.99 + £15.99

I believe iPhone <12 are limited to 10 W via wireless anyways, so wouldn’t be much benefit unless I upgraded my phone.

I have also wrapped my centre console including the rear ports so that would need replaced if I was to convert the rears.

Apologies, this is the image:

 

[Joelly]

12v extension option and routed it via the centre console to front compartment.

The issue I have with this is that the 12v is under the arm rest and any cable coming out of it will then be going out and in to the various compartments. Is there a way to avoid this? How did you route it via front compartment? thanks

 

[Durzel]

I’ve received all of the parts from Tesla now, just need to wait for my two adapters to turn up then I’ll have a crack at installing it. Will update thread with progress.

 

[Durzel]

I did the first part of this today after putting it off for months. Don’t know why as it’s literally a 3 minute job*

Planning to do the bigger job tomorrow - the front ports - this removes removing the centre console.. gulp.

Essentially, for about £105 (£95 for the part, £10 for the loom converter from @PhilippDen ) you can convert your rear USB-A ports to USB-C like on the current cars.

This takes the available voltage/amps/watts from 5V/2A/10W to 9A/3A/27W, with no other changes required to the car. Both ports are capable of the higher power simultaneously.

For the money I think this is a great little upgrade, and could be a boon if you have kids in the back using iPads and phones.

Excuse my hopeless photos..

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I wrapped the new connector in fibre tape to prevent rattling.

* The only stupid mistake I made was that the USB tester I was using doesn’t register USB-C power without a device connected, whereas with USB-A (the ports that came with the car) it worked on its own, so I thought the loom converter was broken and ended to redoing my work twice before I realised

Part 2 to follow...

 

[Durzel]

I just realised the above is a pretty useless explanation of what’s involved..

You just pull off the rear vent panel, which contains the USB hub for the rear etc as a complete assembly. The panel is held on with 4 clips. It’s simple to take off, you just pull on it

Then it’s a case of disconnecting the cable coming from the car, plugging in the loom converter into the cable, and the other end into the USB-C version of the rear vent panel.

The loom converter is needed because the USB-C has a different connector plug.

 

[HKP_Tom]

Interesting! The adaptor loom isn’t available on eBay any more though?

 

[Durzel]

Interesting! The adaptor loom isn’t available on eBay any more though?

Here you go:

Tesla Model 3 (2017-2020) USB C Retrofit Adapter | eBay

Ein direkter Einbau der neuen Konsole ist nicht möglich, da der Anschluss des Kabelbaums nicht mit der neuen USB-C Konsole übereinstimmt. Deshalb habe ich mit Hilfe des TFF-Forums einen Adapter designed.

www.ebay.co.uk

Same seller I bought mine from. It looks like the postage has gone up a fair bit since Brexit

 

[Durzel]

So I did the second part of this today. It took quite a while because I had problems getting bits of trim off and I didn’t want to force it.

All I will say is that the effort involved in changing the front USB ports from 2 x USB-A to 1 x USB-C and 1 x USB-A is probably disproportionate to the benefit. I did it because I wanted faster wireless charging at the front, using the OEM wireless pad.

I don’t really know where to start with the photos, so I’ll just include all of them.

It’s actually pretty easy to remove the console once you’ve pulled off the trims. It’s held on with 6 screws and two cables that need to be disconnected. The whole unit comes out in one go. I’ve heard that people in the States have replaced the whole console for the current one, for about $850.

You don’t need to replace the front USB hub if you just want faster ports in the back. They are powered independently. The front ports have data though.

Total cost for this part of the job (excluding the wireless mat and phone holder): ~£65 (£55 for the USB hub and £10 for the loom adapter)

(Unfortunately I forgot to get photos of the USB tester to show the difference, but it’s basically the same as the rear)

 

[Durzel]

I should add that guides I’ve read say to disconnect the 12v battery for the second part. Other people haven’t bothered. I was one of those people.

I powered down the car using the screen but it did wake up of its own accord a couple of times. There were no ill effects (warnings, etc) from disconnecting or reconnecting the console despite not disconnecting the 12v supply.

 

[nealey]

Just did the back. It took me more like 7 minutes, because I had to run back inside to get a plastic bag to stuff around the joint between the old connector and the adapter. I hate rattling noises.

The retrofit was about the same difficulty as replacing the hubcap on my kid's Nissan Leaf. Very simple, and the 50W output is going to be phenomenal on road trips. Well worth the price of the one part from Tesla.

I also got my adapter from Philipp in Germany, despite living in the US. I do amateur electronics and didn't want 196 unused plugs lying around the house, or a crimping tool I'll never use again. Philipp did a great job putting these together, all the connections are solid. Somebody in the US who likes making things really ought to start selling these, since I paid the purchase price a second time just for shipping. Abstract Ocean, maybe?

I also bought the stuff for the front, but after researching things, I'm not going to install it until we all get new phones that can charge wirelessly. The setup for wired phones would put one phone (driver's side, probably) directly into the USB PD port for fast charging. Everything else would still plug into the same 4-port USB 3 hub on the right side, so that phone would still be a "slow" charge. I did a lot of reading about Jeda's hub, and it works the same way: nobody redistributes current from the USB C port, although maybe there's a hub somewhere that will parcel out the 24W evenly.

The big win for the front retrofit is if you charge wirelessly.

 

[Durzel]

There is a guy in the States that does make them, on the other thread you posted on (@smatthew I believe)

As you say replacing the rear is very simple and takes no time at all. The front is a little more involved, but still not particularly difficult.

The Jeda hub (the Model Y variant that fits the late 2020 Model 3) passes through the full power on the right most USB-C port on the hub, I’ve got my (Tesla) wireless charger plugged into that, which charges both sides on one cable.

It’s a bit of a shame the front two USB ports weren’t USB-C, but the late 2020 refresh didn’t last that long.

Also +1 on the quality of @PhilippDen ’s connectors, they’re really good, certainly better than I would’ve managed.

 

[APotatoGod]

As y'all mention, but I didn't realize until getting it, the front hub with the part number described in the 20 page thread linked in the first post here, is the one with one USB-C port, and one USB-A port, rather than both being USB-C.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good USB hub that utilizes the full power available from the USB-C port, and splits it to several USB-A ports? I have an existing wireless charger that needs 2 USB-A ports, a microSD card adapter (also USB-A), and also would like to be able to connect up to 2 game controllers. I'm considering this one, but there's no information I can find about how much power it actually provides each port, and would prefer one or two more ports if possible, maybe a passthrough USB C port.

I haven't yet done the front install, but the rear one (with both ports becoming USB-C) was seamless and took around 2 minutes. I used the adapter from @chopps, and it worked perfectly.

 

[Durzel]

The front USB hub that is two USB-C ports, i.e. the one fitted to cars delivered with the second generation console, doesn’t have the blanking part of the port so that the USB-C port takes up the same rectangular space as a USB-A one, if that makes sense.

Therefore if you fit the latest 2 x USB-C hub to a original centre console you’d have a small gap around each port (the holes on the current console are oval, matching the port)

I’m not entirely sure if they’re electrically different either. At an initial glance it doesn’t look like it.