Tesla Charger Support Thread

[arber333]

Hi, not sure if the right thread to ask but what is the max voltage Tesla gen2 charger can charge to? Also can it charge at 3.3 kw from single phase when needed as well as full 10 kw? Thanks

About 420VDC.

You can configure to charge over single phase, three phase, or both.

Hi

I just got one Gen2 charger and Damiens board is incomming.
Can you please elaborate on how to select individual phase modules for charging, if it is at all possible.
I have a 3phase EVSE, but it is not allways fully capable. So i want to avoid overloading my house . Currently i use DUE to cycle chargers over CAN. Is there something similar possible for Gen2 charger?

I apologise if this was discussed already, just point me there then...

tnx

[janosch]

...

I think it means the stm32 is not reading back what it is sending so it backs off right away. Could be a bad transceiver or solder joint

Just to wrap this up for someone reading this in the future with a similar problem:
The logic board should always send CAN messages with the IDs: 42C, 43C.
The phase boards should always send CAN messages: 209, 229, 20B. [1]

For me my logic board stopped sending data altogether and kept stumm, swapping CAN transceiver didn't fix it. It did charge previously in a vehicle. I had another board on the shelf that sent messages straight away, not sure what is different about it, the firmware seems to execute on the other boards just fine, just no CAN comms.

The question remains if the stumm board is salvageable, and why it worked for a while and then stopped suddenly - but I will look into that later.

[johu]

Yes indeed the CAN messages are sent unconditionally. Is there any input to the CAN transceiver on pin 1? And, silly question, did you perhaps flash some firmware that doesn't belong there? Nothing stops you from flashing stm32_sine to the charger. I think it might even blink the led

[arber333]

Hi All

I am working on my Tesla charger 2nd gen. I am trying to fit it under the seats. Not a problem for now. But i see a specific problem in future, weatherproofing! Did any of you implemented his charger in a car on the otside? How did you deat with weatherpoofing? It is not exactly IP67 class.
Also there is not much room for grommets or cable fittings.
I have in mind a simple formed alu sheet glued to Tesla case with wires coming out of two holes. I want to glue those wires with automotive gasket sealant which when hardens is still flexible enough to dampen vibrations somewhat.

Does anyone have another idea? A fresh view would be most welcome.

tnx

[paaa]

Hi All

I am working on my Tesla charger 2nd gen. I am trying to fit it under the seats. Not a problem for now. But i see a specific problem in future, weatherproofing! Did any of you implemented his charger in a car on the otside? How did you deat with weatherpoofing? It is not exactly IP67 class.
Also there is not much room for grommets or cable fittings.
I have in mind a simple formed alu sheet glued to Tesla case with wires coming out of two holes. I want to glue those wires with automotive gasket sealant which when hardens is still flexible enough to dampen vibrations somewhat.

Does anyone have another idea? A fresh view would be most welcome.

tnx

Would a 3d printed cover that goes over the connectors work in conjunction with a tpu seal that goes on the side of the top side of lid?

[EV_Builder]

Yes or just weld up a hollow tube like a 60*30mm cut out the corner of the lid and cap the ends and weld or seal it to the lid.

Then you have some distance for two IP67 glands.

Other possibility might be to undo the connector inside the charger and move it / start from there with other type of connection and just finish the lid with piece of sheet and try to add the glands there.

The Panamera has huge void where the battery is in the back I'm gonna swap the battery for a small one and add the charger and DC/DC there..wish me

[arber333]

Other possibility might be to undo the connector inside the charger and move it / start from there with other type of connection and just finish the lid with piece of sheet and try to add the glands there.

Hm... I could remove plastic floor with connectors fittings and replace it with just plastic sheet. Then i could get one additional box welded up on the plateau, cut out part of it and also weld up the front. Since i would then got another box maybe 25mm higher there would be enough room for two glands on the front where there would be additional glacis. I will make a mockup and some photos tomorrow...

tnx

[jon volk]

You could 3D print a cover similar to what they did for the MB B class Tesla powered stuff to weatherproof. This was under hood I believe. Probably needs to be a two piece print unless you have a CR10 MAX or larger.

[remy_martian]

FFF 3D prints are not watertight and are total garbage for EMI.

Are you sure the MB cover is not backed or cored with metal? That plastic piece may simply be double insulation to get around a safety compliance rule.

[arber333]

I cant seem to connect to my tesla rev2 charger via serial.
I got the V5aB3 board from Damien and i soldered USB type B connector and FT232 chip to the left side. When i prepared to connect to the board i connected AC and DC and powered the board via 12V. Then i connected USB cable. Immediately both leds went out and i couldnt get response from PC USB. Did i turn my FT chip the wrong way?

Is it possible to connect via connector9? I can connect with FTDI and power the main chip up. But i cant get any response. What am i doing wrong?
EDIT: both FT232 leds just lit up and stay lit no matter what i connect to... also FT is really hot to touch. I guess it is broken.

tnx

[m.art.y]

Does anyone have another idea? A fresh view would be most welcome.

You could build an enclosure for it or cover it with some sealant.
Another option is to use gen3 Tesla charger that one is better in that regard, would still reguire some rubber or sealant in the wire holes but much less. I have a few of the gen3 ones for sale.

[m.art.y]

Just have a question about precharging a Tesla charger, gen3 in my case. Every time I manually connect HV to it it produces a spark. I tried precharging with a bulb - no sign of light nor does it help - immediately after it still produces a spark. I tried connecting 12v to all the modules before connecting HV, no help either it still sparks. Once HV is connected all modules in the charger work fine. Do your Tesla chargers also do that and how do you deal with it? Leave it permanently connected or use precharge somehow?

[arber333]

OK, i got the charger to work.
But i just couldnt access serial or CAN bus for original firmware. I had to reinstall open firmware.
I went around the FT chip and soldered some wires directly to FT chip input pins. Then i used FTDI module for Arduino and i got serial connection.
I went to setup menu and setup 15A charging up to 420Vdc. Charger will heatup fast without coolant and then it will derate.

On the other note i enlisted help from a welder friend who welded a small box over OEM chaarger cover for a straight surface. He warned me about the chance of alu material having too much magnesium. This could prevent welding and cause material to burn. Luckily that was not the case.
New cover will allow me to fit several glands there and make the charger IP67 .

[Jack Bauer]

I really dont know what to say to all this. There is an extensive wiki article here describing how to use the board and firmware :
https://openinverter.org/wiki/Tesla_Mod ... age_manual

All boards are supplied pre programmed with commercial firmware with the pin entered which you access via the wifi interface as per the instructions in the wiki article linked above. The ftdi and usb are not populated because they are not needed.

[arber333]

....
All boards are supplied pre programmed with commercial firmware with the pin entered which you access via the wifi interface as per the instructions in the wiki article linked above. The ftdi and usb are not populated because they are not needed.

True and i could tell it was commercial as the led was blinking. I just couldnt get anything from can bus. I tried with soldered and free termination pads. Also i tried multiple devices.
I could clearly see can traffic with my scope but my transcievers could not read it.
But i had to test if i had the working charger...

Any chance you could pm me the pin again ?

[jon volk]

When you say couldn't access CAN, I assume you're referring external connection from the Molex connectors? If so, at least on the board version I have, they are not connected to the external pins by default. I needed to run jumper wires in order have external CAN comms.

[arber333]

When you say couldn't access CAN, I assume you're referring external connection from the Molex connectors? If so, at least on the board version I have, they are not connected to the external pins by default. I needed to run jumper wires in order have external CAN comms.

No, i mean directly on internal CAN connector i could see CAN traffic with scope, but i couldnt negotiate connection with my CAN tools or arduino. Strange... I have V5b3 board.

[EV_Builder]

When you say couldn't access CAN, I assume you're referring external connection from the Molex connectors? If so, at least on the board version I have, they are not connected to the external pins by default. I needed to run jumper wires in order have external CAN comms.

No, i mean directly on internal CAN connector i could see CAN traffic with scope, but i couldnt negotiate connection with my CAN tools or arduino. Strange... I have V5b3 board.

Wheren't there fake can drivers shipped?
Check those drivers out first.

[johu]

Plus make sure you're either using the older release firmware or this one: https://openinverter.org/forum/viewtopi ... 240#p42240

[m.art.y]

I have now first tried charging with EVSE from a public 22kw charger and my Tesla gen3 charger. It is charging and I like it a lot but I noticed a strange behaviour - the charger is constantly ramping current up and down every few seconds - ramps from around 2A AC to 16A AC, then drops back to 2A and up again. I only had 2 modules enabled but both of them were doing this sinchronously, I tried just one module, same thing. I'm using open source software variant. Just wondering if this is normal or not as I have not noticed this autostart mode off and applying AC voltage manually? Are your Tesla chargers also doing this?

[EV_Builder]

Sound like a temperature issue? Could that be it?

[arber333]

Could be that your CAN telegram repeat time is too long and charger sees lack of signal and throttles back. When is sees the signal again it quickly revs back up.
Or could be that rev3 needs some fast heartbeat telegram similar to outlander at 30ms interval?

Try to shorten that time between telegrams maybe it will help...

Edit. Or could be that your can wires are high impedance and only some of telegrams get through...

[m.art.y]

Sound like a temperature issue? Could that be it?

Don't think so, does this from the start when charger is still cold.

[m.art.y]

Could be that your CAN telegram repeat time is too long and charger sees lack of signal and throttles back. When is sees the signal again it quickly revs back up.
Or could be that rev3 needs some fast heartbeat telegram similar to outlander at 30ms interval?

Try to shorten that time between telegrams maybe it will help...

Tesla gen2 and gen3 chargers are essentially the same control wise just that gen3 has more power. So Arber just to confirm your Tesla gen2 charger is not doing this? I wasn't sure if this is normal or not just wanted to ask. Otherwise if that behaviour is not normal your guess about CAN intervals makes sense. My CAN lines has 60 Ohm resistance so should be all good there. Besides I only noticed this when I started using EVSE, before I was just applying AC manually and the charger didn't seem to do this.

[arber333]

Ah ok, i have to get home to install my gen2 first. When i tested it dry it didnt mind steadily letting out 9kW. I will manage in the next few days i hope then ill report...

Edit:
How long is your Cp line? I heared this can be a problem...

Also check your grounding cable. They can cause all kinds of problems if not good enough contact.