Whats the difference between Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle and Corded Mobile Connector?

[EVchiq]

The Corded Mobile Connector is twice the price and says

"The Corded Mobile Connector features a NEMA 14-50 plug and improved charging speeds (versus standard Gen 2 Mobile Connector with NEMA 5-15 adapter)."

But if you look at the adapter kit NEMA Adapter Bundle
it states that all the adapters only work with the Gen 2 Mobile Connector.

I'm trying to understand why you buy one vs the other.

So do you buy the "Corded Mobile Connector" if you ONLY want to charge with 2 prong, and you buy the cheaper Gen 2 if you want to use the 2 prong in addition to other plug styles?


Gen 2 Mobile Connector - Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle

Corded Mobile Connector - Corded Mobile Connector

 

[Rocky_H]

It's a power difference. The Corded Mobile Connector is based on the old 1st generation cord, and it provides up to 40A of current. So it has a more robust, permanent 14-50 plug attached.

The 2nd generation mobile cord came out later, and is a bit smaller and thinner cable, because it only does a maximum of 32A current. But it does have the ability to use those different changeable adapter plugs.

So it just depends on whether that extra charging speed matters to you for the price. And yes, they REALLY need to mention that on the product page of both of those two products.

 

[SSedan]

you do understand you will get a Gen 2 Mobile connector with the 5-15 adapter with the car right?

I advocate having a backup solution in case something fails, is lost or stolen so I am not saying don't buy something.

 

[jcanoe]

The Corded Mobile Connector is twice the price and says

"The Corded Mobile Connector features a NEMA 14-50 plug and improved charging speeds (versus standard Gen 2 Mobile Connector with NEMA 5-15 adapter)."

But if you look at the adapter kit NEMA Adapter Bundle
it states that all the adapters only work with the Gen 2 Mobile Connector.

I'm trying to understand why you buy one vs the other.

So do you buy the "Corded Mobile Connector" if you ONLY want to charge with 2 prong, and you buy the cheaper Gen 2 if you want to use the 2 prong in addition to other plug styles?


Gen 2 Mobile Connector - Gen 2 Mobile Connector Bundle

Corded Mobile Connector - Corded Mobile Connector

The corded mobile connector has one less interconnect between the wall outlet 14-50 receptacle and the Mobile Connector unit. The fewer the number of interconnects the better for reliable operation and safety. As the number of interconnects increases this requires reducing the maximum supported current from 40A to 32A. Interconnects are a source for increased resistance, heat build up and a potential fire hazard. (The Gen1 Mobile Connector when used with the 14-50 plug adapter would support 40A; there were some electrical fires.)

 

[fr4c]

Corded Mobile Connector - NEMA 14-50 plug only, can charge at 40A for M3/MY. Thicker cable and the NEMA plug cannot be changed.

Gen 2 Mobile Connector - Come standard with vehicle with NEMA 5-15 wall plug. Can be used with the other NEMA adapters that Tesla sells, such as the NEMA 14-50. However the max charge rate is limited to 32A.

 

[ijoe13]

What’s the miles per hour charge improvement one could expect to see with the corded mobile connector? I get 33mph charge rate with the charger I received with my Model 3.

 

[jcanoe]

Which Model 3 do you own? If you have the SR M3 or the SR+ M3 then you are already charging at the maximum of 240V/32A. If you have the Long Range M3 or the Performance M3 then you would be able to charge at up to 240V/40A (25% more power, ~25% faster than at 32A) using the Corded Mobile Connector.*

* Assumes the Corded Mobile Connector is plugged into a 50A circuit.

 

[Rocky_H]

What’s the miles per hour charge improvement one could expect to see with the corded mobile connector? I get 33mph charge rate with the charger I received with my Model 3.

As @jcanoe mentioned, that does depend if the onboard charger in your car can take more than 32A, but as to your question, you can always just run a ratio if you have one data point of a mph charging speed:

33 mph / 32A = XX mph / 40A

And it's just some basic math cross-multiplying. That applies as long as the voltage is the same in both cases.

 

[ijoe13]

Which Model 3 do you own? If you have the SR M3 or the SR+ M3 then you are already charging at the maximum of 240V/32A. If you have the Long Range M3 or the Performance M3 then you would be able to charge at up to 240V/40A (25% more power, ~25% faster than at 32A) using the Corded Mobile Connector.*

* Assumes the Corded Mobile Connector is plugged into a 50A circuit.

I have the 2021 LR M3.

 

[jcanoe]

I have the 2021 LR M3.

You need to account for about 10% charging overhead losses so the amount of energy you can put into the battery in an hour is 240V X 40A (9600W) X .90 = 8640W; Assuming you are able to achieve 230Wh/mi (very good driving efficiency) this is 8.64kW X 4.35 miles per kWh for ~37.5 miles per hour of charging.

In comparison, your current charging setup is 240V X 32A = 7680W; 7680 X .90 = 6912W. 6.912kWh X 4.35 miles per kWh for 30 miles per hour of charging. That's a really good number, I don't see how you are able to add 33 miles per hour of charging with your current setup.

 

[Rocky_H]

I have the 2021 LR M3.

OK, then yes, the larger batteries do have the bigger onboard charger that can take up to 48A, so the Corded Mobile Connector could up your charging speed some.

Assuming you are able to achieve 230Wh/mi (very good driving efficiency)

That will never have anything to do with it. The refill charging speeds are just based on the rated mile constant for the vehicle model--never on anyone's personalized driving efficiency.

But given that, the tables on Tesla's site do show about 30 rated miles per hour from the charging cord at 32A. 33 mph does surprise me a little, but maybe with the 2021 versions with the heat pump, they have a slightly better efficiency constant than when those tables were published on Tesla's website?

Mobile Connector

 

[acarney]

The corded mobile connector does about 2kW more than the Gen 2 with a 14-50 adapter. This mean approximately an additional 2.5% of the battery in the LR 3/Y per hour over the Gen 2. (Assuming a 75kWh battery).

32amp gets you about 10% recharged every hour
40amp gets you about 12.5% recharged every hour


An ideal 0-100% (with no slow down as you get close to 100%) would take...


7 Hr 48 Min at 40 amp
9 Hr 45 Min at 32 amp

 

[acarney]

The only other thing is that when in the deep cold & preconditioning the battery and cabin you might actually still be able to charge at 40amp, at 32amp I maintain my charge, but if I change the percentage to try and also charge during that process it won’t... at least for the first 30 minutes or so while heating the battery.

 

[Rocky_H]

The only other thing is that when in the deep cold & preconditioning the battery and cabin you might actually still be able to charge at 40amp, at 32amp I maintain my charge, but if I change the percentage to try and also charge during that process it won’t.

I put a disagree on it, but then decided to undo that. But this is badly, horribly misleading. Both versions of charge cable absolutely definitely will charge the car, no matter how cold it is. So don't say this.

at least for the first 30 minutes or so while heating the battery.

Wow, big whoop. One has a little bit more warming delay. But don't tell people one won't charge their car.

 

[acarney]

I put a disagree on it, but then decided to undo that. But this is badly, horribly misleading. Both versions of charge cable absolutely definitely will charge the car, no matter how cold it is. So don't say this.

Wow, big whoop. One has a little bit more warming delay. But don't tell people one won't charge their car.

Hmm, mine doesn't. It was pretty cold a few days this last week or so and my battery was cold soaked (in a garage, but 36 degrees or so and had sat overnight) and I put preconditioning on for 69F in the cabin. This also kicks on the battery warming now(at least for the Model Y), then I decided I was going to be out for awhile so I bumped my charge limit up 5%. After 25 minutes or so, the cabin was 69F and the battery heater was still going, but I was still only at 70% battery charge level, it hadn't moved a single percent in 25 minutes. At 240v and 32 amp that should have been 3.2kWh in 25 minutes. 1% battery on a 75 kWh Model Y should be about 0.75kWh, so 3.2 kWh should equal about 4% battery increase. Now obviously I was maintaining heat in the cabin with the heat pump running AND it was still heating the battery. But I was a little surprised I hadn't gained even 1% battery charge.

Now this is an edge case, and I don't mean to say that in cold weather the 32 amp mobile connector can't CHARGE the car, but it can't charge it, heat the cabin, and warm the battery at the same time. It absolutely can maintain the charge, but don't expect to add to the charge during that first 25 to 30 minutes.

Could this be an issue? Probably not, at most it probably would delay you half an hour or something and likely would only show up on a day you were going to take a road trip and either didn't expect cold weather (and thus want to set a little higher departure charge) or just flat out forgot the night before to bump up your charge level limit.

(If you assume any extra would actually be able to charge the battery as well as preheat then in 30 minutes that extra 8 amp would get you almost 1 kWh added. Not enough to add 5% during that time, but enough for about a 1.3% during that pre-condition time.)

 

[Rocky_H]

Now obviously I was maintaining heat in the cabin with the heat pump running AND it was still heating the battery.

Well...of course. If you're trying to heat the car and charge it at the same time, that's going to be something like 12kW of power required. Neither form of charge cable is going to be able to provide nearly that much power, so it's still irrelevant.

 

[Marcust99]

I'm just not sure the corded 14-50 connector is worth the whopping $520 price tag for the small charging rate increase. I'm getting 28-29 MPH generally with the corded adapter and 14-50 plug. I think I'm just going to go and get another regular mobile connector bundle for $275 and another $45 for the 14-50 adapter. Always good to leave one in the car....

 

[jcanoe]

I'm just not sure the corded 14-50 connector is worth the whopping $520 price tag for the small charging rate increase. I'm getting 28-29 MPH generally with the corded adapter and 14-50 plug. I think I'm just going to go and get another regular mobile connector bundle for $275 and another $45 for the 14-50 adapter. Always good to leave one in the car....

If you have not already installed a 14-50 receptacle at home the Tesla Wall Connector may be a better solution, would end up cost less than ~$200 versus the additional items needed for a NEMA 14-50 installation. This is less than buying a second Tesla Mobile Connector ($275).

See thead, post #10 for cost comparison of the Tesla Wall Connector versus NEMA 14-50 receptacle:
Regular 120 Outlet Question

 

[Marcust99]

If you have not already installed a 14-50 receptacle at home the Tesla Wall Connector may be a better solution, would end up cost less than ~$200 versus the additional items needed for a NEMA 14-50 installation. This is less than buying a second Tesla Mobile Connector ($275).

See thead, post #10 for cost comparison of the Tesla Wall Connector versus NEMA 14-50 receptacle:
Regular 120 Outlet Question

Yeah thing is I already have a 14-50 installed....

 

[jcanoe]

Yeah thing is I already have a 14-50 installed....

Me too, back in 2016. Anyway, I can't use the Tesla Mobile Connector because the charging cable is only 18.5 ft long. If you do use the Mobile Connector with the NEMA 14-50 plug adapter note that you should not let the Mobile Connector hang supported by the plug adapter. The Tesla Cable Organizer ($35) or similar kit on Amazon has a wall mount for the Mobile Connector chassis and a hanger for the charging cable.