I just got back from a 1,200+ mile road trip and Superchargers, especially with the trip planning, made it easy!
However non-Tesla chargers seem to be more common in Connecticut. I went to try one and discovered I don’t have as complete a set of adapters as I thought. What if I need to charge at a CCS charger?
I looked online and the price range is huge. I see a $64 and one close to $300, and several in between. Do you know what the difference is or what I should be looking for? Is there one you’d recommend? Is it even worth it, since Superchargers are everywhere, plus I charge at home, and CCS is likely to go away in a couple years?
Charging (and thus battery) really not something I’d skimp on. I’d go for the Tesla official one (new or used).
Thanks, I didn’t know there was one. Google finds everything.
Does anyone know the compatibility? The manual says it’s not compatible with all vehicles and suggests checking “additional vehicle information” that is not where the manual says to look, and I didn’t find it
Tap on the car icon, then software, then the blue text that says “Additional Vehicle Information”. It will be listed as the 3rd entry “CCS and 3rd-party NACS DC charging” and say “Enabled” if you have it.
I have a 2018 Model 3 and did the upgrade myself (swapped out a small ECU module in the trunk and a small wiring harness adapter) and it only took me an hour total. Reputable places will sell you everything you need - I went with A2Z, and came bundled with a CCS to NACS adapter. Lots of YouTube tutorials. Involves a socket wrench and disconnecting the 12v and main battery. Very straightforward though.
If you’re less handy, Tesla will do the retrofit for you at a reasonable price as well, including their adapter.
Lightnings have a CCS charge port so they might stick around a while.
In Europe the Tesla proprietary charger is not used at all and more or less all fast chargers are CCS - including Tesla superchargers. Some older ones have also CHAdeMO but it’s mostly slower than CCS and appears less and less.
It’s important to note that North America and Europe use slightly different versions of CCS. I believe OP is in North America, which uses the SAE J1772 connector, while Europe uses the IEC 62196 Type 2 connector. The Tesla NACS connector, while originally proprietary, is in the process of becoming an open standard as the SAE J3400 connector.
