Success: US/NA Model 3 charging on CCS2 in Europe

[robgmartin]

Hi all -

Just thought I would share how I successfully updated my US/North America Model 3 (2018 AWD) to charge from European CCS2 chargers (exception: does not work on V3 superchargers due to error cp_a139 and cp_a066).

First: I purchased the CCS2 to TPC (Tesla proprietary connector - now known as NACS) from EVSEadapters. I have used EVSEadapters in the past and have been happy with the quality of products. Unfortunately, it seems they may have *slightly* misrepresented this adapter. The website claims the adapter will work out of the box to enable US teslas to charge on European CCS2 chargers. The truth is you will need to modify the adapter or modify your car first.

Link: NEW! CCS-2 Fast Charger / European Supercharger Adapter for US Tesla – EVSE Adapters

Option 1: retrofit your model 3 (or model Y) to have a European charge port ECU. This will disable the use of TPC/NACS superchargers but will work out of box with the adapter.

Option 2 (what I did): modify the adapter and place a 160 ohm resistor between PP-PE contacts. Assuming you have CCS adapter support enabled this will allow you to charge at all CCS2 stations except for V3 superchargers while maintaining compatibility with TPC/NACS superchargers for when you return to the US.

To do this, I used a hacksaw to cut open the adapter. It has 5 screws but they have had the heads removed to prevent tampering. Once open, solder a 160 ohm resistor between PP-PE contacts. Then reassemble adapter. For my first test, I held the adapter together with zip ties. I am now gluing everything back together and will add a few screws.

I am here in Europe for a year or two and even without the ability to use v3 superchargers this setup should be more than sufficient for making long trips throughout Europe (3rd party CCS2 chargers are nearly everywhere).

Next projects:
-EU modem replacement
-DAB radio replacement

 

[moa999]

Congrats.
Was your car CCS compatible/ready in the US?

How did you know to add the 160ohm resistor.

Assume you are providing feedback to EVSEadapters.

 

[robgmartin]

It was not CCS compatible in the US. I added the v4 ecu and “bundle of wires” while here in Germany to enable ccs support.

The information on the resistor was something found in a thread here at TMC.

Yep - we are in talks. It looks like they have an updated version they plan to release soon

 

[RayK]

For anyone interested in how adding a resistor (160K ohms, not 160) allows an adapter to report itself as a higher current limit, see here:

How do adapters signal max amperage to UMC?

I may be in a position to have aftermarket adapters made, at least in small quantity. Not super eager to start cutting apart my spare adapters (and I don't have spares for some) to figure out how they signal max amperage to the UMC. Has anyone done this yet?

teslamotorsclub.com

The way resistors work when connected in parallel, is that the resulting resistance is always lower than the lowest one in the pair. A 15A NEMA adapter has a 140K ohm resistor inside. If you connect a 160K ohm resistor in parallel, it will lower the overall resistance to 74.6K ohms, or close enough to identify as a 20A NEMA adapter (75K ohms).

 

[krzakx]

Option 1: retrofit your model 3 (or model Y) to have a European charge port ECU. This will disable the use of TPC/NACS superchargers but will work out of box with the adapter.

I do look for more details on it but couln'd find so far.... any of forum member would redirect me to proper thread?

 

[xeac]

Hi all -

Just thought I would share how I successfully updated my US/North America Model 3 (2018 AWD) to charge from European CCS2 chargers (exception: does not work on V3 superchargers due to error cp_a139 and cp_a066).

First: I purchased the CCS2 to TPC (Tesla proprietary connector - now known as NACS) from EVSEadapters. I have used EVSEadapters in the past and have been happy with the quality of products. Unfortunately, it seems they may have *slightly* misrepresented this adapter. The website claims the adapter will work out of the box to enable US teslas to charge on European CCS2 chargers. The truth is you will need to modify the adapter or modify your car first.

Link: NEW! CCS-2 Fast Charger / European Supercharger Adapter for US Tesla – EVSE Adapters

Option 1: retrofit your model 3 (or model Y) to have a European charge port ECU. This will disable the use of TPC/NACS superchargers but will work out of box with the adapter.

Option 2 (what I did): modify the adapter and place a 160 ohm resistor between PP-PE contacts. Assuming you have CCS adapter support enabled this will allow you to charge at all CCS2 stations except for V3 superchargers while maintaining compatibility with TPC/NACS superchargers for when you return to the US.

To do this, I used a hacksaw to cut open the adapter. It has 5 screws but they have had the heads removed to prevent tampering. Once open, solder a 160 ohm resistor between PP-PE contacts. Then reassemble adapter. For my first test, I held the adapter together with zip ties. I am now gluing everything back together and will add a few screws.

I am here in Europe for a year or two and even without the ability to use v3 superchargers this setup should be more than sufficient for making long trips throughout Europe (3rd party CCS2 chargers are nearly everywhere).

Next projects:
-EU modem replacement
-DAB radio replacement

Hi robgmartin,

thanks for your story.

I am in the similar situation , having US TM3 2019 in Deutschland w/o CCS support.
Now i am planning to make the CCS retrofit. Cold you please let me know if the ECU 1537264-20-b with the bundle of wires will do the trick? i am reading different stories for ECU 1537264-20-b and 1537264-00-b? Which ECU did you use?
I also have a China CCS2 to TPC adapter. Once the CCS is enabled , i assume that i will be able to charge on V3 superchargers. Whats the reason you are stating that it is not posible?

Do you have any progres with the Navi and internet?

thanks a lot

 

[Retired in AZ]

Hi robgmartin,

thanks for your story.

I am in the similar situation , having US TM3 2019 in Deutschland w/o CCS support.
Now i am planning to make the CCS retrofit. Cold you please let me know if the ECU 1537264-20-b with the bundle of wires will do the trick? i am reading different stories for ECU 1537264-20-b and 1537264-00-b? Which ECU did you use?
I also have a China CCS2 to TPC adapter. Once the CCS is enabled , i assume that i will be able to charge on V3 superchargers. Whats the reason you are stating that it is not posible?

Do you have any progres with the Navi and internet?

thanks a lot

The dash 00 ECU is for North America only. I believe the dash 20 is for EU. Look on the outside of the ECU at the label where the part number is located. To the right will be NA for North America or EU for Europe.

 

[xeac]

The dash 00 ECU is for North America only. I believe the dash 20 is for EU. Look on the outside of the ECU at the label where the part number is located. To the right will be NA for North America or EU for Europe.

Yes, i know that. My question was if you used "dash 20" or the NA one?
I bought the dash 20 last week , but i doubd it will work with the NA charge port. Maybe i have to replace it with the NA (dash 00) one.

Any success with the Navi?

thanks

 

[Joe Wang]

Yes, i know that. My question was if you used "dash 20" or the NA one?
I bought the dash 20 last week , but i doubd it will work with the NA charge port. Maybe i have to replace it with the NA (dash 00) one.

Any success with the Navi?

thanks

I have the exactly same question here. I successfully retrofitted ECU-1537264-00-B on my 2019 Model-3 AWD. Everything works fine including Tesla Superchagrer TPC V2/V3, Tesla Superchagrer CCS2 V2, and 3rd-party CCS1/CCS2 DC 500Amp fast chager when using the CCS1/CCS2 adaptor. The only one doesn't work and shows the red error light on the charge port is the Tesla Superchagrer CCS2 V3. Should I replace my ECU-1537264-00-B to dash-20 one to make Tesla Superchagrer CCS2 V3 work? and will it cause any side-effect?

 

[Joe Wang]

Yes, i know that. My question was if you used "dash 20" or the NA one?
I bought the dash 20 last week , but i doubd it will work with the NA charge port. Maybe i have to replace it with the NA (dash 00) one.

Any success with the Navi?

thanks

I used US Gen4 ECU with PN:1537264-00-B and bundle of wire to retrofit my 19 year end Model 3. Almost all type DC charger port specs work well except the Tesla Superchager CCS2 V3. Below is the adator that I use, and remember to press in its switch in order to work with Tesla Supercharger CCS2 V2. However, V3 always shows error no matter switch is pressed In or Out. I don't know if using EU Gen4 1537264-20-B would make V3 work or even worse such as immediately disabling the TPC supercharger compatibility.

 

[jason_my]

I used US Gen4 ECU with PN:1537264-00-B and bundle of wire to retrofit my 19 year end Model 3. Almost all type DC charger port specs work well except the Tesla Superchager CCS2 V3. Below is the adator that I use, and remember to press in its switch in order to work with Tesla Supercharger CCS2 V2. However, V3 always shows error no matter switch is pressed In or Out. I don't know if using EU Gen4 1537264-20-B would make V3 work or even worse such as immediately disabling the TPC supercharger compatibility.

My Model 3 comes with Gen 4 P1537264-00-B which works with any CCS2 Non-Tesla chargers. Just that it doesn’t work with the 250kWh Tesla superchargers.

If I retrofit it with the P1537264-20-B, would it work?

 

[jason_my]

I used US Gen4 ECU with PN:1537264-00-B and bundle of wire to retrofit my 19 year end Model 3. Almost all type DC charger port specs work well except the Tesla Superchager CCS2 V3. Below is the adator that I use, and remember to press in its switch in order to work with Tesla Supercharger CCS2 V2. However, V3 always shows error no matter switch is pressed In or Out. I don't know if using EU Gen4 1537264-20-B would make V3 work or even worse such as immediately disabling the TPC supercharger compatibility.

Hey, I just retrofitted with Gen-4 1537264-20-B and it works on V3 CCS2 supercharger.

 

[Hulle]

Hey, I just retrofitted with Gen-4 1537264-20-B and it works on V3 CCS2 supercharger.

Hello, did you have to do a software update or was it enough to just switch to the 1537264-20-B?
I have the 1537264-00-B installed and it works with non Tesla CCS. When I try with V3 SC it just says ready to charge, waiting on charging station, is this what you got before you changed to the new ECU as well?
Thanks
Jakob

 

[jason_my]

Hello, did you have to do a software update or was it enough to just switch to the 1537264-20-B?
I have the 1537264-00-B installed and it works with non Tesla CCS. When I try with V3 SC it just says ready to charge, waiting on charging station, is this what you got before you changed to the new ECU as well?
Thanks
Jakob

You need to do a software update or reinstall.
Yes, 00-B enables CCS charging, and only works on non Tesla SC. I read it works with Tesla V2 Supercharger, not the V3.

 

[Hulle]

You need to do a software update or reinstall.
Yes, 00-B enables CCS charging, and only works on non Tesla SC. I read it works with Tesla V2 Supercharger, not the V3.

Hi and thanks for your support.
I have now installed the new ECU 1537264-20-B and it works on the V3 SC.
However I now get an error CP_a109_thermistorIrrational.
So my question. Did you used the extra cable bundles for on the 1537264-00-B? I still have it there but I wonder if should remove it?
Thanks

 

[jason_my]

Hi and thanks for your support.
I have now installed the new ECU 1537264-20-B and it works on the V3 SC.
However I now get an error CP_a109_thermistorIrrational.
So my question. Did you used the extra cable bundles for on the 1537264-00-B? I still have it there but I wonder if should remove it?
Thanks

Yeah, I have the same alert message CP_a109. I did not use the bundle, cuz my model 3 is already equipped with a Gen-4 ECU.

Apparently the CP_a109 error has something to do with the heating capability of the charge port during winter. It is now incompatible because you’re still on a NACS port. But the Supercharger now works though.

If anyone here knows what it means, hope to get some insights. Thanks.

 

[jason_my]

Hi and thanks for your support.
I have now installed the new ECU 1537264-20-B and it works on the V3 SC.
However I now get an error CP_a109_thermistorIrrational.
So my question. Did you used the extra cable bundles for on the 1537264-00-B? I still have it there but I wonder if should remove it?
Thanks

I think @FalconFour would be the best person to answer the question about the bundle of wires.

He did mention to me before that this is not an advisable approach and we should compare the EU and NA charge port to understand the difference and we will find that the thermistors are on different pins.

 

[FalconFour]

Aha, hey there! Yeah, I can't advise mucking about in this direction - but if you want to press on regardless, you're definitely going to have to start getting down and nerdy with it - compare charge port wiring and service info. When I first dug into mine, I got all the information I could - service info is freely available from Tesla now (at the time, I think I subscribed for an hourly/daily price ), and you can buy/compare charge ports from different versions/variations to find the differences in how the components (e.g. thermistors) are wired.

In my design of the Bundle of Wires (for NA Gen3 to Gen4), I took all those differences in wiring into account to create the adapter. For a different region of car and a different setup, you'll definitely want to start looking through the differences there too!

Hopefully some of the info in the original thread (at least the first 7 pages or so) is relevant to knowing where to get started: Retrofit CCS compatibility onto earlier (NA) Model 3 - DIY approach (I'm still salty about the mod handling of that thread, which is why I'm not here much)