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Hi, everyone!

I'm a brand spanking new Tesla owner (a used S70D). I wanted to say "Hi!", and also bounce a question off everyone (which, if it's a stupid question with an obvious answer, my apologies in advance, being a 'newbie')......

Has anyone had any issues with their J1772 adapter going missing while using a public charger? I ask because, as opposed to my previous pseudo-electric vehicle (a Ford C-Max Energi), the Tesla J1772 adapter is a separate, +$90 piece that (I'm assuming?) could be stolen while charging?

Thanks in advance for clarifying. And, again, greetings from a newbie! :)
 
When I picked up my M3, the guy who gave me a walkthrough on all the features and stuff suggested putting a brightly colored piece of tape around the adapter as a reminder. I had some orange electrical tape that I used and made a ring.

I haven't >used< the adapter yet so hopefully it'll actually work...
 
That’s where something like this can help. :D

Tesla J1772 Charger Adapter Lock by Raider1284

That won't really help with theft. It's designed to prevent the J1772 handle from being un-plugged from the J1772 adapter, not to prevent the J1772 adapter from being stolen.

As others have said, the car locks the charge port, so in theory, it shouldn't be possible for a passerby to remove the J1772 adapter from the car, although such a person could unplug the J1772 handle of the EVSE from the J1772 adapter, thus interrupting your charge -- that's what the Thingiverse adapter lock referenced by Black306 prevents.

Note the "in theory" words. On a Model 3, the charge port unlocks when the temperature drops below 41F, since there were reports last winter of the mechanism freezing up and making it difficult to unplug the car. I don't know offhand if this is done on the Model S, though. If not, then it'd be more secure on a Model S than on a Model 3 in cold weather. There's also a recent thread about a Mobile Connector being unplugged and stolen in temperatures that were reported to be above 41F; it's unclear what went wrong in that situation.

As practical advice, then, I recommend minimizing use of the J1772 adapter in public places in cold temperatures. Some EVSEs also have little holes to which you can attach small padlocks, like this:

5bcccd900881c042ae3cace77b04b23d_preview_featured.jpg

You could use such a padlock on a public EVSE; however, in my experience (with the Clipper Creek EVSE I have at home), the padlock doesn't really prevent the J1772 handle from being unplugged because there's a little too much give in the mechanism. It might work better on some handles, though, and could serve as a deterrent -- or maybe it would attract attention and backfire. There's also the question of whether the EVSE's owner would appreciate use of a padlock like this; it could cause problems in an emergency or if your car needed to be towed. In sum, the padlock is probably overkill, unless perhaps you must charge outside at home with a J1772 EVSE (as I do). If you're just charging at a public EVSE because it's convenient, I'd either minimize such sessions in cold weather or combine multiple sessions together -- that is, charge one 2-hour session every four days rather than four 1/2-hour sessions every day (or whatever).