Model S - HPWC (High Power Wall Connector)

[Cottonwood]

I would step back from this issue and ask yourself if you really need to squeeze that last little bit of charging performance out of your system. On average, how far do you drive and what is your minimum needed charge time? At best, it will save you a bit more than an hour for a zero to full charge (67 minutes - 4:27 vs 5:34). Since you probably won't drive your battery to empty, the actual time difference will be quite a bit less.

I agree completely. The only place this might be justified is at a public High Amp L2 (HAL2) charger where people are worried about charge time on a trip away from Superchargers. I looked into this because the host of the 70A J1772 Charger that I have helped get installed in Salida, CO, Wood's Distillery may change from 240-Volt, single-phase power to 208 Volt, 3-Phase power as their power needs grow.

 

[MyJoule]

I originally did not order the HPWC or Dual chargers, but after looking at the supercharger map more carefully, I decided to add the second charger for destination charging- for example, when I go to Phoenix from Tucson, if I want to drive around Phoenix before heading back to Tucson, I will need a charge. Since we frequently go to Scottsdale when we go to Phoenix, and there are HPWC available at both the service center and the mall- I figured that we'd like to have the maximum charge rate at one of those places before returning to Tucson- So I called and added the second charger, I had already decided to order the HPWC for my garage since I have Nissan Leaf EV and wanted to be sure I could charge both at the same time. Someday there will be a Supercharger between here and Phoenix, but until then this is insurance to being able to go on this road trip. Also, Looking at LA or San Diego for destinations, Easy to get to either, but Dual Chargers mean being able to get a faster charge in more places. Seemed like a good idea, better to have the capability than not and if you add it after delivery, it costs more than twice as much. My HPWC install was completed this week, and it passed inspection today- I'm all set for my car to be delivered Saturday!

 

[Mayhemm]

My HPWC install was completed this week, and it passed inspection today- I'm all set for my car to be delivered Saturday!

Well-reasoned regarding the dual chargers, and congratulations on your upcoming delivery!

 

[hiroshiy]

Tesla is coming next week to verify the HPWC installation. Have you experienced such visit by Tesla technician? I've seen some forum members in HK mentioned about it briefly.
Tesla mentioned they will bring their car, deplete the battery on the way (?!), and arrive almost empty. They will attach a data logger to the car and charge a few hours (in my case overnight so it's going to be full). Then they'll take the logger back and inspect.

I think Japanese grid and electrician work are, generally, equivalent or better to those of U.S. Haven't experienced outages for years (except on the day of earthquake). I appreciate they are testing my equipment and installation for free, but why test? Just curious.

 

[GSP]

Tesla is probably reacting (in a positive way) to their experience in Norway, where some customers had trouble charging. Best to check how the EVSE and charger respond to a different grid system early on, so they can fix any problems before a lot of cars are delivered. I think Japan uses 100 V and 200 V supply compared to 110-120 V and 208-240 V in North America. I think Tesla tried to simulate the Norway grid in their lab, but the real grid in Norway was a lot more varied and complicated.

I think it is a good idea to test. It is great that you are helping Tesla engineers to do a through job. Thank you.

GSP

 

[Mayhemm]

I appreciate they are testing my equipment and installation for free, but why test? Just curious.

Relieved to hear this was performed free of charge. My initial impression was they showed up and used $10-15 in electricity and then left.

I agree that testing equipment in a new environment is a good idea. As was the case in Norway, the lab cannot substitute for real-world data.

Testing my equipment was never a reasonable option for Tesla here since I am so far from any Tesla facilities. It would have been around double the price of my HPWC just to send out a technician.

 

[hiroshiy]

Thanks @GSP and @Mayhemm for comments! Now I remember Norway experienced high rate of UMC failures. I agree that it's a good idea to test on site with multiple different installations.

Now I'm wondering how to spend kWhs in a short time. If I were Tesla using Tomei expwy to Numazu is about 100km one way so making round trip would be 220km from the central Tokyo. That though would cost $74 round trip

 

[hiroshiy]

Tesla came tonight to check the installation of HPWC. The first photo is the obvious. It shows 60km/h charging at 200V 79A single phase. After 40 minutes into charging, the cable felt warm but not hot. Handle was also warm but not hot.
The second photo is the circuit board the engineer used to connect his laptop to the HPWC. The left side cable was USB and the right side was something like a clip. He checked the HPWC before charging with the board and his PC, with breaker off.

Now their P85+ is charging overnight (6.5 hours) and Tesla will pick the car up tomorrow morning.

 

[napoleonblownapa]

Trouble with HPWC!

I had a problem with my HPWC! The problem started about two weeks ago. After plugging the connector into my car, the car would click and clack several times. Sometimes green for a minute or two, sometimes red, sometimes blue. It would not charge for very long and got progressively worse. Finally, I could not charge at all. After reading this thread, someone mentioned it was probably a ground issue, SO: I switched off the breaker, took off the HPWC cover and tightened up all grounds. While I was at it, I tightened ALL connections. Nothing SEEMED especially loose, but after I put it all back together and tested it, it now works just like new!! Problem solved, and my install was done by a licensed electrician (not me).

 

[pgiralt]

The HPWC installation instructions have some pretty specific torquing instructions for the screws, but I doubt most electricians will actually use a torque driver to make sure it's as tight as Tesla says to make it.

 

[Mayhemm]

The HPWC installation instructions have some pretty specific torquing instructions for the screws, but I doubt most electricians will actually use a torque driver to make sure it's as tight as Tesla says to make it.

My electrician didn't even open the manual. I had to tell him about the power-level dip switches too...and do my own test cycle before plugging the car in for the first time...

 

[gpetti]

My electrician didn't even open the manual. I had to tell him about the power-level dip switches too...and do my own test cycle before plugging the car in for the first time...

I can top that now. My electrician was similar to yours in that he didn't really seem to read the manual but eventually I got a working HPWC at 80amps. More recently the same electrician (actually there were two of them) had to replace my breaker box (again)as they had miscalculated during my basement renovation how many breakers I needed. They did it fairly seamlessly - or so I thought until the night of my first big road journey. I pushed my car up to 80 amp charging and started it. I came back to the car for something later in the evening and realized it had stopped charging, complaining about the power input. I looked at the breaker box and discovered that my 100 amp breaker had been replaced with a 50 amp breaker that had tripped and was pretty hot. Good thing I checked though I guess I would have checked the app before going to bed. I was able to dial it down to 40 amps and it was ultimately ready when we left. No real explanation from the electrician - other than oops! What surprises me is that I had been charging at 60 amps for a while with no breaker trip. In fact it charged for a while at 80 amps before tripping too.

 

[FlasherZ]

The standard for tripping a breaker is up to 2 hours at 135 pct of rating... it's not a precision device.

 

[gpetti]

The standard for tripping a breaker is up to 2 hours at 135 pct of rating... it's not a precision device.

Thanks, that makes sense. Normally I'm not charging quite as much as two hours a night. The 80 amp was definitely less than two hours but not instantaneous either. I guess this wasn't necessarily dangerous but the breaker was pretty hot.

 

[Chipper]

I can top that now. My electrician was similar to yours in that he didn't really seem to read the manual but eventually I got a working HPWC at 80amps. More recently the same electrician (actually there were two of them) had to replace my breaker box (again)as they had miscalculated during my basement renovation how many breakers I needed. They did it fairly seamlessly - or so I thought until the night of my first big road journey. I pushed my car up to 80 amp charging and started it. I came back to the car for something later in the evening and realized it had stopped charging, complaining about the power input. I looked at the breaker box and discovered that my 100 amp breaker had been replaced with a 50 amp breaker that had tripped and was pretty hot. Good thing I checked though I guess I would have checked the app before going to bed. I was able to dial it down to 40 amps and it was ultimately ready when we left. No real explanation from the electrician - other than oops! What surprises me is that I had been charging at 60 amps for a while with no breaker trip. In fact it charged for a while at 80 amps before tripping too.

Whenever I hear a professional--anyone I am paying to accomplish a task--say, "Oops!" when I point out a problem after an install, I make note of who not to use next time and who not to recommend to others. Especially so if s/he refuses to read the directions. In my opinion this installer is without excuse. Oops just doesn't cut it with me.

 

[Mayhemm]

I can top that now. My electrician was similar to yours in that he didn't really seem to read the manual but eventually I got a working HPWC at 80amps. More recently the same electrician (actually there were two of them) had to replace my breaker box (again)as they had miscalculated during my basement renovation how many breakers I needed. They did it fairly seamlessly - or so I thought until the night of my first big road journey. I pushed my car up to 80 amp charging and started it. I came back to the car for something later in the evening and realized it had stopped charging, complaining about the power input. I looked at the breaker box and discovered that my 100 amp breaker had been replaced with a 50 amp breaker that had tripped and was pretty hot. Good thing I checked though I guess I would have checked the app before going to bed. I was able to dial it down to 40 amps and it was ultimately ready when we left. No real explanation from the electrician - other than oops! What surprises me is that I had been charging at 60 amps for a while with no breaker trip. In fact it charged for a while at 80 amps before tripping too.

Let me see if I'm understanding correctly; In the process of changing out your panel, your electrician replaced your 100A breaker with a 50A?

You're right, that does top my experience (and is pretty scary to boot)! Wiring an electrical panel isn't like assembling your kids' playhouse. If you have pieces left over, that's not good.

So was this in the past, or is your HPWC currently out of commission?

 

[Lloyd]

I'm surprised that he could get #3 wire (minimum for 80 amps) in the lugs for a 50 amp breaker!

 

[gpetti]

Let me see if I'm understanding correctly; In the process of changing out your panel, your electrician replaced your 100A breaker with a 50A?

You're right, that does top my experience (and is pretty scary to boot)! Wiring an electrical panel isn't like assembling your kids' playhouse. If you have pieces left over, that's not good.

So was this in the past, or is your HPWC currently out of commission?

This was a few days ago, just before I headed out on my first big road trip. They were supposed to be rectifying while I'm away.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm surprised that he could get #3 wire (minimum for 80 amps) in the lugs for a 50 amp breaker!

Hmmm, that's worrying. Same electrician did the wiring. I better check that out.

 

[linkster]

Personally, I would probably put in the HPWC with #4 wire and 72 Amp charging

Did just that!

for reasons:

a) ease of install
b) availability and cost of wire
c) choose not to "redline" the HPWC at 80A
d) prefer hidden wiring as opposed to exposed conduit
e) didn't really think that the additional "handful" of mph charge rate was cost-effective.

However, I did countersink the rear entrance mounting plate hole to provide proper thread engagement of the romex style connector nut to eliminate any interfering/binding/stress to the HPWC inner liner. I also found it interesting that when tested at 79A, the 4AWG still operated cooler than the HPWC pigtail.

Btw, I have no use for this HPWC as it was installed solely to supplement the "Super" network as we have been using a more than adequate 14-30 (always runs cool) for a 160-mile commute (currently at 30K miles).

 

[Mayhemm]

Btw, I have no use for this HPWC as it was installed solely to supplement the "Super" network as we have been using a more than adequate 14-30 for a 160 mile commute (currently at 30K miles).

So you installed this HPWC solely for the use of other Model S owners who may be passing through? If so, that's awesome and thank you! (even if I will likely never take advantage)