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Photo evidence: Tesla Adapter to J-Plug (on a Mercedes B-Class EV!)

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My Tesla is having some work done at the local service center and when I parked my loaner, I wanted to be nice and plug it in. Unfortunately, the HPWC was taken and the cord was routed ... to a Mercedes B-Class EV??!?!?! Notice also that the Mercedes has no license plate, but rather, a Tesla backplate on it.

Yes, there is definitely an adapter for Tesla to J Plug, and further, it appears the Mercedes B Class can communicate with the HPWC to activate it. Is this a pet project? Is this a beta test of something bigger to come? Will Mercedes be the first to "buy in" to Tesla's Supercharger network?

Check it out:

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- K
 
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Well, that white box is the adapter - and it could easily be a quick hack that a Mercedes engineer whipped up (or a Tesla engineer, for that matter). There is no special signalling needed for an HPWC, it acts just like a J1772 public charger. It is only the Supercharger that requires special signalling and authorization. So all that white box is doing is having a female Tesla plug (which isn't available anywhere, except to Tesla and/or Mercedes) directly connected to a random J1772 cable. Nothing fancy there.
 
Well, that white box is the adapter - and it could easily be a quick hack that a Mercedes engineer whipped up (or a Tesla engineer, for that matter). There is no special signalling needed for an HPWC, it acts just like a J1772 public charger. It is only the Supercharger that requires special signalling and authorization. So all that white box is doing is having a female Tesla plug (which isn't available anywhere, except to Tesla and/or Mercedes) directly connected to a random J1772 cable. Nothing fancy there.
This. Also, considering that the B-Class ED is running a Tesla battery and drivetrain, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few kicking around Tesla facilities for testing or development purposes.
 
I was excited a bit thinking this was CCS or something (although now that I think about it, the B-Class EV doesn't support CCS). A Tesla to J1772-AC is pretty straightforward in comparison (as others mentioned, no special signaling needed).
 
Doesn't the car communicate with the HPWC to know what the DIP settings are, to determine max charge rate? :)

Kinda. The HPWC actually advertises the power available to the car by way of the duty cycle on the pilot pin - the car never talks to the HPWC except by pulling down the voltage to request the main power be connected, it mostly just listens.

The important part, though, is that the HPWC complies with J1772 standards for signalling, so the only adapter needed is to make the physical pins match up.
Walter
 
Doesn't the car communicate with the HPWC to know what the DIP settings are, to determine max charge rate? :)

In this case the HPWC generates a pilot signal telling the car how much ampacity is available. The adapter box can send that same signal through to the J-Plug. They both use J1772 standard pilot signal, so it is electrically compatible. Just a physical connector conversion.
 
This would be super easy as long as you had a Tesla charge port, or some serious 3D printing capabilities. The Tesla connector operates no differently than a J1772 connector. So for those out there with other EVs with a J1772 plug, you can take a Tesla charge cable cut the Tesla connector off and wire a J1772 on without issue.

On another note, let's say your Tesla charge cable has an adapter you can't get off (or melted on) and you vehicle/cable is no longer under warranty. You can actually cut that off and pick up a new 14-50 connector at an RV center or some other place that deals with electrical.
 
On another note, let's say your Tesla charge cable has an adapter you can't get off (or melted on) and you vehicle/cable is no longer under warranty. You can actually cut that off and pick up a new 14-50 connector at an RV center or some other place that deals with electrical.
I'm pretty sure this is wrong, because the adapter has a resistor in it that signals the current rating of the outlet you're plugging into. You can get the plug at any of the big home improvement stores, like the orange or blue stores. But you'd need a 9k ohm (or thereabouts) resistor between (IIRC) the ground and signal wire.
 
Also, for folks with the proper skills and tools, how hard can it be to take an impression (or 3D scan) of the head of the MS charging wand and manufacture the socket needed to do this? I'm sure they could sell hundreds of them to people who want to make these types of adapters (Tesla copyright/IP issues not-withstanding).
 
Also, for folks with the proper skills and tools, how hard can it be to take an impression (or 3D scan) of the head of the MS charging wand and manufacture the socket needed to do this? I'm sure they could sell hundreds of them to people who want to make these types of adapters (Tesla copyright/IP issues not-withstanding).

Henry Sharp already makes a Model S (female) to Roadster (male) adapter that works quite well. I have one for my Roadster. No one seems to complain about these adapters...

See Model S to Roadster adapter - Page 47 for a recent post of a Roadster charging at the factory in Fremont.
 
I'm pretty sure this is wrong, because the adapter has a resistor in it that signals the current rating of the outlet you're plugging into. You can get the plug at any of the big home improvement stores, like the orange or blue stores. But you'd need a 9k ohm (or thereabouts) resistor between (IIRC) the ground and signal wire.

It works. I know because I have personally used one and know a few people that have done this modification when their UMC was no longer under warranty. It's not ideal per say but it will allow you to charge your car. But you are correct on the resistor.
 
My Tesla is having some work done at the local service center and when I parked my loaner, I wanted to be nice and plug it in. Unfortunately, the HPWC was taken and the cord was routed ... to a Mercedes B-Class EV??!?!?! Notice also that the Mercedes has no license plate, but rather, a Tesla backplate on it.

Yes, there is definitely an adapter for Tesla to J Plug, and further, it appears the Mercedes B Class can communicate with the HPWC to activate it. Is this a pet project? Is this a beta test of something bigger to come? Will Mercedes be the first to "buy in" to Tesla's Supercharger network?

Check it out:

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- K

HPWCs and UMCs are signal compatible with J1772. Nothing odd here, except for the tesla tag.
 
It makes total sense to have a Tesla-to-J1772 adapter. This will allow all of the facilities with HPWC destination chargers to be used with J1772 capable vehicles. It also gives a two EV household with a Tesla the ability to charge the non-Tesla using the HPWC.

i have been looking for such an adapter because my daughter will be getting a Leaf and I would love to be able to charge it off of my NEMA14-50-connected UMC. Otherwise, I need to install a new outlet. I considered a Jesla, but then I would have to use the J1772 adapter on my Tesla which isn't ideal.
 
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