Upgrade to newest 48A (12kW) Model X/S on board charger?

[swogee]

I just read that apparently the Tesla Model X and now the Model S will be offering a new standard on board charger of 12kW (48A) which is an upgrade from the older 10kW(40A) charger. I am curious if anyone knows if it might be possible to upgrade charger in the RAV4 EV to this new 12kW unit? I am wondering if the form factor is the same as the 10kW unit and if the wiring in the RAV4 EV would support the additional 8 amps? It may cut the total charge time down to 5 hours on a L2 charger when used with the proper EVSE. The JDEMO is still a superior choice but there are some situations where only a HPWC (with the use of an adapter), a former roadster EVSE, or other EVSE such as the Clipper Creek HCS-60 (used by Sun Country Highway) can supply at least 48 amps.

 

[fromport]

I just read that apparently the Tesla Model X and now the Model S will be offering a new standard on board charger of 12kW (48A) which is an upgrade from the older 10kW(40A) charger. I am curious if anyone knows if it might be possible to upgrade charger in the RAV4 EV to this new 12kW unit? I am wondering if the form factor is the same as the 10kW unit and if the wiring in the RAV4 EV would support the additional 8 amps? It may cut the total charge time down to 5 hours on a L2 charger when used with the proper EVSE. The JDEMO is still a superior choice but there are some situations where only a HPWC (with the use of an adapter), a former roadster EVSE, or other EVSE such as the Clipper Creek HCS-60 (used by Sun Country Highway) can supply at least 48 amps.

When I added my charge power indicator (volt and amp meter)

I had to undo part of the cable from J1772 inlet that goes "underneath" the car. I have experience doing solar installs and I would have used heavier wire from the J1772 to where ever the charger is for the current 40 amps. I would not feel confident adding another 20% more amps to that wire.

 

[4EVEREV]

I just read that apparently the Tesla Model X and now the Model S will be offering a new standard on board charger of 12kW (48A) which is an upgrade from the older 10kW(40A) charger. I am curious if anyone knows if it might be possible to upgrade charger in the RAV4 EV to this new 12kW unit? I am wondering if the form factor is the same as the 10kW unit and if the wiring in the RAV4 EV would support the additional 8 amps? It may cut the total charge time down to 5 hours on a L2 charger when used with the proper EVSE. The JDEMO is still a superior choice but there are some situations where only a HPWC (with the use of an adapter), a former roadster EVSE, or other EVSE such as the Clipper Creek HCS-60 (used by Sun Country Highway) can supply at least 48 amps.

The difference is so small why would you bother? It's a costly potential can of worms for a 20% increase in charge speed. Not to mention why do you need this extra speed for home charging? Is 1 hour going to really make a difference when you are already charging for 5.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I think adding a second charger makes more sense.

 

[4EVEREV]

I think adding a second charger makes more sense.

Yes, but of course if you have access to public EVSE units that make it worth while. Anyone needing to charge that much faster at home has the wrong EV for their needs.

 

[swogee]

I was thinking more along the lines of replacement of the onboard charger once it fails since it is a known issue. It wouldn't be worth it to upgrade a fully functional onboard charger. I also had the thought that it might also be more plug-n-play assuming the form factor was the same and the wiring could handle the added current, but it's a long shot for sure. The upgrade would mainly be helpful on the road where not all locations have DC fast chargers.

Dual chargers would be nice as well, but I suspect that would be much harder.

I believe the Model X has the option for a larger 72 amp charger as well, but I got the impression it was just a single charger and not dual 40 amp units.

 

[greenbert]

Not to hijack the discussion away from the 48A charger, but I wonder how possible it might be to replace our current onboard charger with the new optional 72A charger referenced in the prior post (by the way, it looks like this 72A charger is now an option on the refreshed Model S as well as Model X). If replacement were an option, the new 72A charger combined with a Tesla-->J1772 adaptor could be a compelling combo. This would allow us to technically but possibly illegally take advantage of Tesla's Destination Chargers, many of which provide enough power to take full advantage of the 72A charger (charging speeds might be around the mid-to-high 40's of miles per hour).

 

[miimura]

If you want to use a 72A on-board charger you will have to change the charge port and all the wiring all the way toward the traction battery. If you're going to do that you might as well put a Tesla S/X inlet. However, I think the more serious problem is getting the charger to do what you expect since the firmware in the chargers likely have dependencies to the rest of the car they were intended for.

 

[greenbert]

Seems like there are some happy owners of the 72A charger that Tesla started offering in its cars earlier this year.

Now, with the future debut of Tony's JDapter (http://shop.quickchargepower.com/JDapterQuickChargePowercom-Jdapter.htm), I'm curious if there is now any better case for retrofitting our RAV4EV's with the 72A charger? Are the wiring and possible firmware challenges surmountable in an economically efficient manner? I love the idea of being able to recharge the RAV4EV in about two hours at a high-amperage EVSE while visiting a destination.

This high-amperage charging capability could also come in handy in the future in households with two or more electric cars where the owners want to fit all overnight charging within the cheapest time-of-use window (and those windows may narrow over time). I'm sure there are other use cases that we can dream up as well.