Tesla Destination EVSE and J1772 adapter

[John Trindle]

I'm trying to test an adapter to do J1772 charging from a tesla destination charger. One of the government-sponsored charging stations along my route has 3 tesla EVSEs, one with J1772 and two with Tesla connectors. The issue is a big truck blocking the J1772 much of the time.

My charge session from the other two EVSEs starts fine )dash lights are good) but terminates after about 2 minutes. How can I tell if this is the adapter I am using or, and I may be misunderstanding this, it is the non-J1772 EVSEs at this location aren't flagged for "third party chargers"?

My only idea is to keep trying destination EVSEs around town to see if any work, but I don't really want to risk my car or the infrastructure with a bad adapter.

NB: I'm color-blind so though I can tell the status light on the tesla is changing color when I plug in, I can't tell if it is red or green. It's not the same as the standby color. It's not blinking. The three Leaf lights are behaving properly until the connection drops.

 

[henrydehoja]

Hi John,

You have me kind of stumped when you say "tesla destination charger" and "government-sponsored... 3 tesla EVSEs".

What do these Tesla EVSEs look like?
Do they look like this wall-mounted EVSE (color may vary)?
Or like this typical Tesla destination charging station?

 

[John Trindle]

Sorry about that. It's like the Wall Mounted one. Some have Tesla connectors and one I have seen has a J1772. I thought the other ones were called high speed or Superchargers. ....John

 

[coulomb]

Or like this typical Tesla destination charging station?

That's a supercharger dispenser. For DC fast charging, not destination charging.

Despite "tesla-destination-charger-" in the URL.

 

[Doanster1]

Tesla HPWCs as they’re called (High Power Wall Connector) do not change colors when charging. The lights always stay green, but cascade downward when actively charging. Solid single green light means ready to charge.
So if you’ve tried using your adapter on different destination connectors to no avail, then it’s the adapter. Low risk in damaging your car as a proper handshake needs to be met before it’ll start accepting and continuing a charge. Also, there is no “third party” flag to this. HPWCs do not require an account setup or activation like superchargers do.
What brand of adapter do you have? I’ve used the TeslaTap adapter for years at home without issue. I know of one specific Amazon-purchased adapter that never properly handshaked or kept a charge session going.

 

[henrydehoja]

That's a supercharger dispenser. For DC fast charging, not destination charging.

Despite "tesla-destination-charger-" in the URL.

@coulomb Thanks for the catch. Quick slip up on my part.

@John Trindle I think it may be an issue with your adapter.
Either the adapter is bad or there may be physical connection issues between the adapter and EVSE plug.

 

[LarryKaplan]

You may want to consider having that truck ticketed. In most places it’s a violation.

 

[Bobjenkins]

Tesla HPWCs as they’re called (High Power Wall Connector) do not change colors when charging. The lights always stay green, but cascade downward when actively charging. Solid single green light means ready to charge.
So if you’ve tried using your adapter on different destination connectors to no avail, then it’s the adapter. Low risk in damaging your car as a proper handshake needs to be met before it’ll start accepting and continuing a charge. Also, there is no “third party” flag to this. HPWCs do not require an account setup or activation like superchargers do.
What brand of adapter do you have? I’ve used the TeslaTap adapter for years at home without issue. I know of one specific Amazon-purchased adapter that never properly handshaked or kept a charge session going.

I do not have a Tesla adapter and am considering getting one for my 2018 leaf. I assume they are for level 2 . When i look at Amazon I see there are about 6 available ranging from $57 to $100 . They all look about the same but are they ? What are risks involved in using one , if any ?
At some shopping malls I see a huge row of Tesla chargers , are they level 2.
Thanks for any input .

 

[John Trindle]

The ones I see grouped together (like at the nearest large indoor mall in a neighboring city, or at the largest Tesla site in our small town) are Superchargers (level 3). There isn't a way to go from Tesla DC chargers to Chademo yet. The largest number of destination chargers I've seen around here in a group is 3... might be 4 at the parking garage.

The one I have which cuts off after a minute or two is Fizzenergi 48A adapter. There is no publicity for this outside their site but it was the cheapest.

I am looking at the STOKE VOLTAICS E-KITE 60A adapter which at least has a review video on YouTube. Another brand reviewed by the same person is the Monzaryan.

I think the main danger of these (assuming they seem well made) is running out of money just buying random gear.

​

 

[RogerRDalTx]

Were you able to resolve your charging issues with the Tesla to j1772 adapter? I'm having the same problem with my 2019 SL Plus with a new Lectron adapter. It seems to start charging then stops after about 2 minutes. I've tried it at a couple of Tesla destination chargers, their L2 Tesla HPWCs, no luck.

I bought the more expensive Lectron adapter, thinking It was a known brand, I have one of their home chargers. And this adapter had 1300 positive reviews on Amazon.

After looking further into it, it may not be as useful as I thought. In my area, most of the Tesla destination chargers are at hotels, reserved for guests, or at private businesses reserved for employees. This isn't going to increase my charging options as much as I thought. But could still be a useful tool to have in an emergency.

Need to figure out if there's some handshaking problem between the charger and my car or if it's a bad adapter. This is my adapter https://a.co/d/5gnrCKd

 

[rgs]

I have used a Lectron adapter with a 2020 SV+ and a 2014 S with a Tesla destination charger and a Tesla wall charger without any problem.

 

[RogerRDalTx]

John, I'm working on testing my adapter and this info might be helpful to you. I did not wait 30 seconds before plugging the adapter into my car. I don't see how steps 2 and 3 are practical when dealing with someone else's charger. Will try again in the next few days before returning my adapter.

Per Lectron Support:
1. After connecting the Tesla charger to our adapter, please wait 30 seconds before connecting it to the electric vehicle.
2. If you are using Tesla Destination Charger or a Tesla Wall Connector and you see a red light blinking on the charger, please adjust the charger current to 40A or below (i.e. set the rotary switch to position 1-8).
3. Please make sure that the charger you are connecting to does not exceed your EV's voltage rating.
4. Please make sure the Tesla Charger is plugged into the adapter tightly.

From this two-year-old thread, there seems to be significant differences between three versions of the Tesla L2 charger, some may not work with adapters. There are similar comments on Readit
https://mynissanleaf.com/threads/is-this-2020-leaf-a-good-deal.33537/post-624806

 

[henrydehoja]

My charge session from the other two EVSEs starts fine )dash lights are good) but terminates after about 2 minutes.

I wonder if these 2 Tesla Wall Connectors are Gen3 models with their Access Control set to only allow Tesla vehicles access to charge.

A similar feature was included with the past Gen2 Tesla Wall Connectors via an internal DIP switch.

This type of restriction may have been purposely done by the Wall Connector owner, or inadvertently left enabled by default.

 

[John Trindle]

I've managed to lose the detailed post I did after tonight's session.

The lights on the Tesla EVSE are a steady red while the Leaf's 3 light display has one light blinking (like a normal charge). On the unit with a J1772 connector, the lights are a scrolling green during a successful charge.

Both the STOKE VOLTAICS E=KITE adapter and the Fizzenergi adapter behave the same, with the connection appearing to start, lasting for about 4 dozen blinks of the Leaf display over about 2 minutes before the connection stops. The E=KITE adapter seems better built, but there is no obvious differences in pins that would affect the actual charging.

I have not tried any destination chargers other than three at the one location. The two tesla connector units requiring an adapter behave the same as above, and the J1772 one requiring no adapter works just fine. This location is a county rec center. I'm concerned that the other parks and rec center charging stations were set up at the same time with the same configuration and have the same issue.

 

[Doanster1]

I’ve used the 40A Teslatap adapter for three years now with a Gen2 HPWC with zero issues. Yes, you need to ensure it’s securely plugged in all the way. I generally wait a few seconds before plugging into my ‘21 SV, but not 30secs. Lectron has always gotten good reviews so perhaps you just got a bad unit @Bobjenkins ?
BTW, there is no internal switch to lockout non-Teslas, at least not for the Gen2 HPWC. It’s really not that smart.

http://www.umc-j1772.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=17&product_id=102

 

[John Trindle]

Doesn't work with adapter


Works, Doesn't use adapter.

 

[John Trindle]

The TeslaTap web page includes the following verbiage:

"The adapter has a special circuit that allows it to work on any current Tesla charger including Destination Chargers."

If there is an active electronics hack in that one it could explain the need for initial delay, to allow the "special circuit" to boot or charge.

Evaluating this stuff is complicated by the fact most reviewers have only used it once, with one single EVSE.

 

[Doanster1]

The TeslaTap web page includes the following verbiage:

"The adapter has a special circuit that allows it to work on any current Tesla charger including Destination Chargers."

If there is an active electronics hack in that one it could explain the need for initial delay, to allow the "special circuit" to boot or charge.

Evaluating this stuff is complicated by the fact most reviewers have only used it once, with one single EVSE.

Again, we’re talking about just ensuring power can be safely initiated and consistently delivered. It’s not a hack to work around HPWC/destination chargers only working with Teslas. Even Home Depot sells the Lectron adapters and there’s no mention of any delay.
Reverse example is true. I can use the J1772-to-NACS adapter to charge my Tesla at Blink, ChargePoint, etc. with zero issues. Car just recognizes level of current being delivered.

 

[John Trindle]

Not trying to be pejorative to the Lectron or TeslaTap people, but I've seen it called a hack by tesla owners. It's TeslaTap the explicitly calls out the "special circuit", where Lectron just seems to claim the compatibility.

After working in an ISP and in a software development company as phone support back in the 90s, sometimes a recipe that succeeds almost 100% of the time wins over more accurate info that is harder to communicate. This is why my cable modem provider has everybody unplug their device for minutes instead of the second or two it should take, so folks don't flicker the power to the unit or fail to unplug it at all. That's my hypothesis of the origin of the "wait 30 seconds" delay step.

I contacted the former owner of my Leaf, and he personally recommended the Lectron as something that worked great with his Wall Charger. I don't think he personally tried any other EVSEs, though.

 

[John Trindle]

I got a Lectron (old school with flexible cable between the connectors) and got the same result. I have noticed that all the NACS wall connections I am trying to use are set up by the same company, so I've written them asking if they have Access Control blocking the non-Tesla users.

This is the third adapter I've tried... a Lectron 40A