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

[terranx]

okok it's time to engage the forum community

This is the stock situation of the pin-side housings (larger ones) of the Bundle:

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Has anyone out there built one of these Bundles themselves, that has additional pin-side housings laying around? I might buy them from you at a reasonably handsome profit, if you've got them laying around in a drawer... or if you bought a bunch hoping to build some but never got around to it... (maybe I might offer this in exchange as well? ha)

Seems like there's a fair amount in stock in Europe. Not sure what the best way to order from there would be, but in a large enough quantity I imagine the shipping premium wouldn't be too prohibitive.

Alternatively would this work? Seems to mate to the same parts 1376103-1 : AMP TH/.025 CONNECTOR SYSTEM, HOUSING

Possibly this one too: 1376103-2 : TH/.025 Connector System Automotive Housings (might be keyed differently, though the drawing looks about the same on a quick glance)

 

[HowardBrinton]

Just finished building a BOW myself. Bought the two plastic plugs and female crimp pins from Digi-Key per the list on this thread. The male crimp pins were on back order so I got them from Allied Electronics Allied Stock #: 70284485

The retrofit worked well, just got done testing at Electrify America, max rate on my 2019 M3 was 120KW which is about what I get on a Tesla SC. Tried a Shell Recharge station (formerly Greenlots) and got a charging fault after being prompted to start charge. Don't know if the charging station was down or some other communication protocol issue. Preloaded the Shell app with $10 which may be down the drain if the network can't communicate with a retrofit Tesla. Oh well.

 

[FalconFour]

Seems like there's a fair amount in stock in Europe. Not sure what the best way to order from there would be, but in a large enough quantity I imagine the shipping premium wouldn't be too prohibitive.

Alternatively would this work? Seems to mate to the same parts 1376103-1 : AMP TH/.025 CONNECTOR SYSTEM, HOUSING

Possibly this one too: 1376103-2 : TH/.025 Connector System Automotive Housings (might be keyed differently, though the drawing looks about the same on a quick glance)

Lifesaver! How did you even cross-reference that? I couldn't figure out how to coax usable info out of TE's site, so I always thought the only mating P/Ns were those two specific parts.

So, it'll be a slightly different color, but YES! Ordered! And with that, they're now available again for next weekend's builds

 

[Smiley416]

Quick question if you guys don't mind.. Would a software update do the same thing as the service menu -> reinstall?

 

[scalbert03]

Quick question if you guys don't mind.. Would a software update do the same thing as the service menu -> reinstall?

Yes.

 

[Smiley416]

Yes.

Thanks. Somebody on here suggested I try doing the software reinstall to see if it would detect my DIY Homelink Module install.

It did not. Back I go to arguing with Tesla!

 

[owlowlowlowl]

Just finished building a BOW myself. Bought the two plastic plugs and female crimp pins from Digi-Key per the list on this thread. The male crimp pins were on back order so I got them from Allied Electronics Allied Stock #: 70284485

The retrofit worked well, just got done testing at Electrify America, max rate on my 2019 M3 was 120KW which is about what I get on a Tesla SC. Tried a Shell Recharge station (formerly Greenlots) and got a charging fault after being prompted to start charge. Don't know if the charging station was down or some other communication protocol issue. Preloaded the Shell app with $10 which may be down the drain if the network can't communicate with a retrofit Tesla. Oh well.

I've charged at a Shell Recharge station with CHAdeMO and CCS (and Level 2 GreenLots). I had a bit of trouble with the CCS connector and communication with the station when I tried it a couple of weeks ago in Central California. It could have been (my) user error, since I was only starting to learn how to use the CCS adapter and not let it wiggle too much when inserting it into the Telsa. The CCS plug was _really_ hard to remove from the Tesla CCS adapter, but it came off after some hard wiggling. I was able to pull 42-47kW from it (50kW max).

 

[jhartbarger]

Finished my retrofit earlier this week and today had a chance to test it out today using one of Electrify America's 350kw CCS stations.

2018 M3P
SOC when session started was 1% and and floated between 172kW - 174kW and peaked at 178kW

 

[Tranman329]

Just did this retrofit this morning for my August 2021 build Model Y after getting my part in . I wasn't planning on installing till the next update which I figure was coming soon, but once I got home, an update was waiting. I signed up for the free annual service manual at Tesla Service and searched for ECU - CHARGE PORT and removed a few trim pieces and lowered down the seat. It was actually easier then I thought. Had plenty of room to work with if you take the time to remove the trim pieces and you're able to pull it back further. I think total time was 30 minutes with reassembly. I installed the update and now CCS ADAPTER ENABLED!

 

[motormo]

I was able to submit a service request yesterday morning via the app, and pick up the ECU on the same day!

I live in San Francisco, so I chose the soonest service date at a nearby service center (Berkeley) to get the ball rolling, and requested the Gen 4 ECU part number. A service rep called me within 30 minutes, asking if I wanted them to install the part or if I would install it myself, and I told him I would install it. He said Berkeley would be getting the part in stock on 6/14, and I asked him if I could pick up at the SF service center instead. He said the SF service center already had the part in stock! So he transferred my appointment to the SF service center, and said the part would be reserved for me there and that I could pick up anytime. I messaged them through the app to make sure they had the part, and they confirmed, so I drove over to pick it up. Success! Now I just have to wait for my bundle of wires and my adapter before I install.

Update: I completed the installation last week on Wednesday with ECU from Tesla ($140) and a bundle of wires with crimps and some resistors (purchased from eBay listing). Tested L2 charging on Thursday, and was able to charge successfully. Tested CCS charging on Sunday with adapter from Harumio, and was also successful! But today, I opened the charge port to plug into an L2 charger and this error showed up on the display: "Charge port requires service. Charging may not be available." I plugged in the L2 charger and my car is charging just fine, but I'm worried that the car is sensing something off with the ECU installation / bundle of wires. I did a full software re-install after replacing the ECU and adding the wire harness, and CCS shows as enabled in the UI. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

 

[FalconFour]

But today, I opened the charge port to plug into an L2 charger and this error showed up on the display: "Charge port requires service. Charging may not be available." I plugged in the L2 charger and my car is charging just fine, but I'm worried that the car is sensing something off with the ECU installation / bundle of wires.

Interesting! I'd suggest getting back into service mode (or ask service to give you a report of the service-fix faults), so you can see the underlying hidden service message - it'll detail exactly what it's complaining about/what it's sensing, and how to fix it. I would say it's unlikely to be something in the Bundle, but... with so many built, all by hand, you never know!

 

[Watts_Up]

@FalconFour Another successful installation of the bundle of wires with the GEN4 ECU on an older Model 3 (October 2018).

I tested home charger, public L2 charger, Tesla 250 kW Super charger, and EA 350 kW.
I was at 70% SoC and got 43 kW with the 250 kW Tesla SC and 57 kW with the EA 350 kW.



Note: The CCS cable is very heavy and not very flexible.
You need to adjust the position of your car so the CCS cable don't make too much (left or right) pressure on the CCS Adapter.

I used in fact one of the bollars protecting the CCS Charger, to hold some of the weight of the cable.
Otherwise I was getting some errors and the LED ligh next to the receptacle of the car was changing from Blue to Red,
Instead of changing from Blue to Green.

In the future,I think I will carry a cardboard box that I will place under the CCS cable to take some of the weight of the cable.
I think I will use the CCS charger only for emergency,
I seems that the CCS adaptater makes too much vertical pressure on the car's Teslareceptacle.

 

[israndy]

Charge at a few more, I have put quite a few under my belt now and it doesn't seem there is much issue charging from CCS at the majority of stations

 

[Watts_Up]

Charge at a few more, I have put quite a few under my belt now and it doesn't seem there is much issue charging from CCS at the majority of stations

Can you insert the CCS Adpter all the way to the body of the car, or do you have like half inch gap between the back of the adaptor and the car receptacle?

I found that the Adapter, because of the weight of the CCS plug and cable, always try to move out and got some connection errors.
To fix the problem, I need to push very hard the plug and the adpater against my car.
This is not a very tight fit, and I wonder if the car receptacle might not worn out?

 

[israndy]

Yeah, there is almost finger space under the adapter, on my Model 3, perhaps it's different on other cars

I did find a couple of chargers that may have had an issue, but I haven't gotten errors, just worried about the adapter or the port on my car with the weight, but other chargers I have been to the cord laid on the ground and didn't pull as much. Also, I have gotten more confident that the components are actually build for this load, it's a LOT more than a Supercharger ever is, but it's not too much.

 

[ThndrCgrFlcnBd]

Thanks FalconFour, 2MuchSun, and everyone else who has contributed.
I bought a 2021 Model 3 Performance last fall with a -80 ECU. Not too long after I got it I took my nephews hiking in the Wichita mountains in SW Oklahoma and we made it to the OKC Super Charger with 1 mile of range left! I had charged at home to 100%, but I live NE of OKC and I wasn't trying to conserve power on the trip because I thought I could make it to the Super Charger without any trouble.
I wanted to be able to make this trip without range anxiety. There are some level 2 chargers in Lawton and Chickasha, but I wanted to charge faster, so I was excited to read about this project.
I bought a -00 ECU and with all the info in this thread installed it without any issues. After installation I was able to charge with my Wall Connector, so I went to the grocery store where Francis Energy has four 50kW chargers. I tried each one, but kept getting the message DISPENSER_OVERCURRENT_ERROR on the charger. I went to another Francis location and tried both of the 50kW chargers there and got the same error.
I was worried, so I went to the OKC Super Charger and everything worked fine. I went to a ChargePoint 125kW charger and was able to charge, but only at 29kW (the screen in the car said 26kW). Seems low, but I hadn't preconditioned the battery, and the car was around 50% SOC.
The other night I was in South OKC and decided to drive to the Francis 200kW charger on the turnpike to Lawton. Charging started off at 109kW at 47% SOC and charged to 57% SOC at 91kW. So that will work great for future hiking trips.
Is anyone else getting those errors at 50kW chargers? It's not likely I will use those particular chargers since they are relatively close to my house, but I'd hate to get that error sometime when I really need the charge.

 

[Power Surge]

Joined the club today! Thanks to Falcon4 and everyone else who shared great info. Installed the ECU this evening and just finished updating. Charging the car right now on the home mobile connector and verified Level2 charging works. Will try Supercharging and then CCS1 charging over the next few days to make sure all is working properly.

 

[Power Surge]

Alright.... verified everything is working properly. Level2 home charging working. Supercharging working. CCS1 charging working.

I had planned to try the Chargepoint EV charger at the local Harley dealer nearby, but for some reason that location did not show on my app so I could not initialize the charger.

I went another 10 minutes to a nearby Walmart that has Electrify America stalls (I have set up my EA account). I chose one of the 150kw chargers. I did NOT precondition the car before arriving. Plugged the adapter into the charge cable, then plugged into the car. Those EA cables are short, and very stiff. Definitely was concerned about the strain put on the charge port. The left side cable had too much side tension and would not allow the adapter to seat well. Tried the right side cable and was able to get a working condition. To my surprise, the car started charging at just about the full rating. Pic below.

 

[CubedRoot]

I’ve been surprised at just how much cheaper Electrify America has been over supercharging in my area. I’m jn TN and GA so we’re billed by the minute. I actually signed up for the EA pass to get their lower rate and I’m paying about 1/4 the costs at EA vs supercharging just about every where I go in TN and GA.

 

[miles267]

Am about 2 hrs from nearest service center. Was planning to wait until FSDBeta 10.13 release before installing my 00-B Gen 4 ECU since I wouldn't have any way to get the car into service mode at home or at a local supercharger.