Tesla Charging Adapters And CCS/NACS Explained

[@stewartkerlin2565]

After looking through a lot of these videos, this one was actually very helpful. Thank you!

[@JP-sw5ho]

Thank you for all the hard work you put into these videos

[@cassielayne911]

This video is incredible! I've been all over Google researching this info. Nothing explained that Tesla superchargers have those second adapters. I've been to a hundred of them and never knew

[@tonymcflattie2450]

I am no muskrat, but that Tesla plug is slick!

[@claudeganter3911]

Thank you for the video. I think it would gain to be better organized between the different subjects, in a sequential way so people new to to EV charging can understand.

[@mikecarter2737]

Yes - who is the audience? What is the message? Why are his eyes squinted closed? Keep it simple, Max! There are chargers in CA with ALL THREE DC PLUGS - Tesla, CCS1, and CHAdeMO. Why use adapters?

[@jeromejax8675]

Nice explanations by all. I understand now of how non Telsa owners need to equip themselves with the correct chargers in order to use the Telsa charging infrastructure.

[@oscarschmidlappen2302]

Are you guys in a snowmobile? The shades had me fooled there for a second.

[@GregHassler]

Let's be more clear that these are MECHANICAL adapters. There are no electronics inside. It's just some plastic and metal that couples NACS to CCS. I'm not saying one couldn't be poorly designed, but your Ford adapter will 100% work on a Volkswagen. The ports are the same, there's no software or electronics to be incompatible.

[@devinlinehan7048]

Exactly what I was going to ask. They can’t “turn them off” if there is not way for the charger to identify them. But maybe they have some type of RFID tag on them. But then the cars would need the reader….. I would love to hear from someone who knows this for sure.

[@BillB33525]

The FUD in this vid is totally unfounded. Scaring people into thinking the adapter might arc over to electrocute them is unbelievable. I expected more from you guys!

[@outofspecguide]

DC Charging is an inherently high-energy process with a lot of safeguards necessarily in place. It's important to be extremely cautious with it when even considering introducing third-party equipment.

[@jimrkelly]

My thoughts exactly! As bad as electric vehicles in general get panned I have not heard one mention of a death (or accident) due to faulty DC charging.

[@ezpoppy55]

@@jimrkellyActually, if you watch Sandy Munro (sp) and State of Charge, they’ve both talked about the dangers inherent in using inexpensive (read: cheaply made) components in Level 2 charging. Some of these poorly made components have caused fires during charging. I think, perhaps, Max went a bit overboard with the “death” thing. But his point of being cautious in what equipment one uses during EV charging is a well founded one, and not an exaggeration at all. Caveat emptor. Buyer beware. Me? I value my family, my life, my home, and my EV too much to “bargain shop” anything to do with EV charging. It’s up to each to decide risk/cost in those choices.

[@jimrkelly]

Couldn't agree with you more and I watched both Sandy's and Tom's videos. Max was talking about DC charging though. Just curious, did you have a licensed electrical contractor pull a permit and install your EVSC at home?

[@BillB33525]

@@jimrkelly No I didn't. I had previously installed 220V outlets in my garage where the main breaker box is located. Reviewiing U/T videos and of course monitoring all parts of the installation with an infrared temperature thermometer to make sure there was no overheating at the outlet or wiring. My EVSC, ChargePoint Flex unit, has performed flawlessly for more than 4 years now.

[@frankhernandez2410]

I have a 2024 Blazer EV and the Tesla App on my iPhone 15 Pro. I also have the Tesla adapter with me. I stopped at a Tesla 'Charging Station' at a Meijer (in Michigan) the other day, scanned the barcode on the charger station with the Tesla app and the charger station I was located at did not come up in the app (faster away stations came up) so I could not activate the charging session. What did I do wrong? Please teach me how to charge using the Tesla's. Thanks in advance.

[@hekesq]

I have a 2024 BMW 330e hybrid. It has a J-1772 plug. I can't use the CCs. It won't fit. Are there adapters for Tesla Supercharger to J-1772 vehicles?

[@Guerreropowerr]

agree about cable length/port location. in addition to adapting NACS, manufacturers should change their port locations to either rear driver or front passenger side.

[@owenjohnson5030]

Or, do like gas stations do. Provide pull through charging for all vehicles. And many gas stations have hoses long enough to reach the other side of the vehicle. A longer cable is the answer.

[@VafaPhotography]

Always blows my mind when I see your videos and there are nooooo tesla cars being charged with huge amount of open charging locations. Here in Vancity u wait 5-10 minutes for a spot at sites with 15 stalls

[@redmanblue]

You are very wise re: UL certification. Not only are we dealing with a $20,000 battery but our lives. I wound up paying the piper and getting the Tesla model rather than cheaper 3rd parties.

[@markbrassette3406]

@outofspecguide, question for clarity. For new non tesla DC chargers that will come out with NACS, will my 21 Y LR which is not currently CCS compatible work on that? Or do I need to get the retrofit for 3rd party NACS to work? Price just went down so it's tempting to pull the trigger now!

[@williamgrunzweig571]

You did point out something very interesting. The ccs chargers will have to use the adaptors. My question is: Will...for example..EA upgrade there cables to eliminate the need for adaptors? Has EA given any indication of this possibility? Have other dc fast charges given any indication of a future upgrade to eliminate adaptors all together? That would be something worth looking into.

[@outofspecguide]

EA has confirmed they will support NACS in the future. We have no idea exactly what that will look like. Adapters will go away when CCS cars are off the road but given the existing base of EVs with disparate ports and charging infrastructure with existing cables in the ground that will be a while yet to come. Adapters are inevitable for a couple of years minimum.

[@phxazcraig]

How about retrofitting NACS onto CCS cars?

[@outofspecguide]

Very unlikely and if so, it will be a very expensive process.

[@gmmaupin]

How do you find out IF your particular car will be able to use an adapter and charge at Tesla Superchargers? I have an Audi Etron. Will the handshake work between the Supercharger and my car? How do you find out?

[@outofspecguide]

Every modern vehicle with a CCS port from major manufactures, Audi included, (Stellantis excepted for the moment) will work. The certification will happen later this year at an unspecified date with Ford going first. You'll hear from your vehicle manufacturer when the all-clear is there. Today you can already use magic docks with an e-tron (and most CCS vehicles) no problem.

[@dianewallace6064]

@@outofspecguide Good answer, Max.

[@garyclark6747]

The reason there are two adapters is because CCS EV’s simply receive AC and DC on different sets of pins by design of the charging standard and are not engineered to handle the routing of the wrong voltage type on the wrong pins to the right connections inside the CCS EV’s. Tesla receives either voltage type on the same set of pins by their private standard that they released to go public that is now J3400. Tesla EV’s and future J3400 adopters manufacturers will automatically handle either AC or DC on the same pins by design inside the EV. The J3400 to CCS adapters do not automatically handle the routing of those voltages as they are passive on those power pins. So it’s up to the user to choose the correct adapter to get the correct voltage to the correct pins. The legacy CCS EV’s and newer Tesla’s with their adapters still need other pins adjacent to the AC pins to communicate CCS charging equipment. The dangerous part comes as these are not goof proof. Someone with a compromised adapter either by poor craftsmanship or improper handling/care could go from charger to charger spreading damage by its compromised pins to cable pins that will in turn damage future connections. It is already happening with the only adapters out there now (CCS to Tesla) which is why companies have band adapters on their charging equipment. They will supply both cable types to natively charge. They’d be smart to implement methods to detect the attachment of adapters in future equipment deployment. Cable maintenance from user damage ruins everyone’s experience and adapters are yet another way to leave that charging headache wake behind. 15:48

[@BradGold]

Will either of these 3rd party chargers work with an Ioniq 6?

[@tonymcflattie2450]

10/10, would plug that!

[@nidog]

Do you guys know When will Tesla open up the network? Do we know if it will be majority of charging stations or will they slowly open them up? Thx

[@markfitzpatrick6692]

Ford will be the 1st to get to use the network with a adapter

[@frenchorcatrainer]

Nice sunglasses ! Are those Oakley ? Do you have a link to their product page by chance ? Thanks !

[@dianewallace6064]

Thank you or the heads up. I will wait until Rivian and Hyundai contact me about what to do to get Tesla supercharging.

[@acolon8999]

It seems that if you don't want the extra hassle when it comes to charging, you're better off waiting until the manufacturers start releasing their cars with the nacs plug built in or just buy a Tesla.

[@mikeintampa250]

Will Tesla come out with a Chademo adapter?

[@outofspecguide]

An adapter already exists to charge Tesla vehicles at stations with CHAdeMO plugs. If you're asking about the other direction, that's unlikely and if anyone will do it probably has to be Nissan.

[@mikeintampa250]

@@outofspecguide thanks, yeah I was asking the other direction.... seems that's where it's needed most.

[@barryw9473]

Any indication Tesla will authenticate adapter to keep out the riff raff? If so how May it be done? RFID? NFC? Other method?

[@TheBroadChannel]

I have a 23 VW ID-4 and live in Louisiana. My Lectron CCS1 Adapter arrived today. I downloaded the Tesla App, paid for the supercharger membership. Then I drove my car to the only supercharger in New Orleans. I carefully plugged in and...crickets. I tried starting from the MY-VW app and got one of 2 error messages, the attempt to charge failed, try again in a few minutes, or you can't start charging with the ignition on. Huh??? I will admit that the app does not acknowledge that this supercharger station exists, so maybe Tesla hasn't granted permission for us to supercharge with an adapter. What do you think?

[@kevin13c]

Why can't NACS to CCS adapters (like A2Z) simply work like magic dock? As I understand it, you pull up to a magic dock enabled supercharger, enable it on the app, and begin charging. Seems like an adapter would simply work that way as well.

[@outofspecguide]

Tesla has designed magic dock and given those sites special designation. The A2Z adapter is a third party whom Tesla doesn’t have to play ball with.

[@kevin13c]

@@outofspecguide Thanks for your reply ✔️

[@frankd9042]

I'm wondering the same thing. When I look at the Tesla App, it seems to indicate that if I have the adapter, i can charge my CCS equipped vehicle regardless of brand. I'm willing to shell out for the adapter, but wouldn't mind a link to a reputable manufacturer that has stock. Too bad Tesla doesn't sell them on their website.

[@kevin13c]

@@frankd9042 Recent videos say that the car's software must updated for the adapter to work BUT since I have one, this weekend I'm going to see for myself...

[@NormalShock]

Adapter is a non-issue really. Vehicle receptacle location is 150% of the consideration. Appropriate location should have been a requirement for other manufs to use Tesla network. This would mean only one or two model years would be in the wild taking up two Supercharger locations. Are you able to find out if the other manufs are taking this altered receptacle path?

[@flyingdutchman6566]

Most of the Tesla owners who purchasing or using alternative charging adapter are due to employers offer free campus charging, and they are not NACS standard. In fact I have yet to notice a single company in my area providing Tesla standard charging station.

[@mlj9931]

In Europe and many other markets everyone, including Tesla, is using CCS2 now. This means that e.g. VWs can use Tesla Superchargers without needing an adapter. It's a shame that there isn't a global standard.

[@PaulBodyBuilder]

Doing a great job Wyndmoor PA

[@bfvader]

Maybe it's where I live in Canada, but around here there are far more CCS locations (180-350kW ones specifically) than Tesla superchargers (mostly urban 72kw and v2 125kW, only one v3 250kW newly opened and another announced). It's pretty common to see more Teslas than other EVs charging at CCS locations using adapters. Getting an adapter to charge my EV6 at a Supercharger is a pretty hard sell when there's only one V3 Supercharger that it would work on, and even then it's only 500V and can't push as much voltage as an Electrify Canada or Petro Canada station. Nevermind that the laughably short cable would cause me to have to use up two stalls. It's interesting to see the online pushback from Tesla owners wanting to keep other EVs out, when it's okay for them to cause lineups at CCS stations or drain the batteries at the Freewire battery-based CCS chargers.

[@jps30]

Have you seen the chademo to CCS (European) adapter, THAT is chunky.

[@johnsord-xp3ij]

The NACS is now the standard because Tesla has the patent on this style and has waved all fees and offered the free use of its technology. If Ford or GM owned that technology, do you think either would have made the same offer?

[@jm9371]

I am a Canadian 2023 EV6 buyer (ordered 2022). I commute 5km to work and have put about 3500km in 10 months on my vehicle. I live in a condo and do 99% level 1 charging. Despite my frugal charging requirements, I still very much care about the transition to NACS and how other CSS vehicles will be able to transition; the adaptor is the only fair option. If a manufacturer agrees to a new charging standard other than the one that they originally sold to their customer, a free adaptor should be part of that relationship. Way to go Ford.... Kia?

[@StevenScott12153]

The issue is all about software not working properly and station reliability, if we get good software then every station provider will be useable

[@usguyver]

One point that you guys made that is wrong is that the adapter should work or anyone the Ford adapter should be work for rivian. The ribbon deficiency work for Ford because it was made by Tesla. It's the same adapter that's in the magic dock

[@PamelaSmith-q7u]

A bit confusing... you start about talking about CCS formats using Tesla and you use a Tesla as the example. Can you please do a video using a non-Tesla car using CCS format at a Tesla station? Also, can you please give an update on what's happening with the expansion of magic docks and other non-Tesla access to Tesla's infrastructure?

[@bkilpattn1]

Your concern for safety is great, but, I have been unable to find one instance of a customer being electrocuted by a charging station. There was one article of a person electrocuted while working on a station. They do not emit any charge until all connections are made and it is deemed safe by the computers in the car and charging station. This is the reason why people have been able to steal the cables for the little bit of copper inside without dying. Also, just a suggestion, don't wear your sunglasses while filming inside a vehicle. it's kind of distracting. Love your content!

[@kenny9088]

Even that tesla plug is designed beautifully, and a pleasure to hold. unlike that electrify america plug is atrocious 😂

[@darrenorange2982]

Why would it be hundreds of dollars, look at all the cheap adapters out there now. The CCS1 to NACS is only about 60-80 bucks now.

[@Johno144]

How is someone going to pay for Tesla superchargers?

[@outofspecguide]

You need to use the Tesla app today, and in the future on newer stations, there will be equipped card readers. Some companies like Ford announced billing will be done through FordPass to make things easier for their customers, so manufacturers' own apps could also integrate with Tesla in the future. TL;DR it really depends!

[@barryw9473]

Should use term “J3400” in title.

[@PeaceChanel]

Peace.. Shalom.. Salam.. Namaste 🙏🏻 😊 🌈 ✌ ☮ ❤

[@ahbushnell1]

I think you guys are worrying to much about this. I think if it's UL approved it will be safe. There is always a possibility with using energy. Gas stations burn.

[@hibob841]

The scary thing is non-certified equipment, or (worse yet) counterfeit stuff that only claims certification. Sadly both Amazon and eBay have become nearly unregulated flea markets where all manner of “this could kill you” gadgets can be found-and that’s just dealing with mains power. We’re talking about a couple hundred amps at 400 volts DC here. So yes, caution is warranted.

[@cconnon1912]

What’s dumb is Tesla superchargers don’t list if they have adapter built in. Traveling there’s no way to tell. This is stupid.

[@tonymcflattie2450]

Ewww, the ccs plug is so clunky.

[@CharlieMallow]

Hard to take any of this seriously with the strange sunglasses. Tesla cool kids glasses .

[@AaronStarkLinux]

Haha I suppose it's common in that area that style of glasses. Perhaps he loves skiing. He seems always ready :)

[@williamgrunzweig571]

Aren't you a ray of sunshine. Bless your heart.

[@dianewallace6064]

@@AaronStarkLinux Agreed. I think they are skiing sunglasses.

[@AaronStarkLinux]

@@dianewallace6064 🤣

[@PhilFilum]

One thing I’m not hearing from anyone - I understand that non-Teslas will not necessarily be able to use the entire Tesla charger network. If I am correct, what’s the limitation? Is it Level 2 vs Level 3 or something else?

[@czmfz3]

Jabber jabber jabber. Just show us the plugs and sockets.

[@webreakforsquirrel4201]

Imagine needing adapters to put fuel into your car. Dumb!

[@skipondowntheroad5833]

Imagine people burning a fuel in their ICE cars that spews 100's of thousands of tons of toxic cancer causing chemicals into the air in the areas with the highest concentrations of people. Now that's REALLY dumb.

[@rahuljha3965]

I am sorry for rude comments but why all the out of specs presentor like blabring nonsense so much just show the details and data , show yor face make it bad video

[@Potet578]

You do realize that is a patent infringement.....

[@robjohnson8662]

Charge ports should be front and center on all cars as with the leaf.