Change CCS to NACS port?

[Billyt1963]

I searched a little for this, but wasn’t sure exactly what to search for. How much effort, how expensive would it be to take the current charging port out of the Rivian and replace it with an NACS port?

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[TollKeeper]

I brought this up on another thread, and the response was that it could not be done. Period.

 

[Billyt1963]

I brought this up on another thread, and the response was that it could not be done. Period.

Ok, thanks. Sorry I didn’t look harder.

Billy

 

[emoore]

My guess it would be at least $70k in 2025 and probably could be done for $50k in 2026. Those are just my guesses based on a new R1 or R2......

 

[Autolycus]

Not practical at all. Would require a new HV wiring harness, new control and safety circuit, etc.

 

[Cycliste]

Wait two years, remove old CCS port and everything attached to it and replace with a new R1 NACS port with everything attached to it.
Ridiculous? Think about it.

(Credit Blacktail Studios for Think About It Logic at 18:45 )

 

[crow979]

I still don't get why a CCS to NACS conversion will be all that difficult or pricey. Tesla built the v3 Superchargers to be compatible with CCS for a reason. More importantly, we know that all of the required conversion hardware can fit in a space the size of a MagicDock adapter, so I don't know why it would be difficult to build that into the vehicle itself. Is space behind that port that constrained?

On a separate but related note, I am guessing that part of the NACS agreement with Tesla (allowing access to Superchargers) also requires that EV manufacturers relocate charge ports to a position that is compatible with the shorter Supercharger v3 and/or v4 cables. So I am guessing that Rivian will move the NACS port to either the passenger front corner or driver rear corner. The R2 reveal might provide a clue. It's also possible that Rivian, or any manufacturer, could offer a dual port solution where one port is locked out if the other is in use.

 

[Dark-Fx]

I still don't get why a CCS to NACS conversion will be all that difficult or pricey. Tesla built the v3 Superchargers to be compatible with CCS for a reason. More importantly, we know that all of the required conversion hardware can fit in a space the size of a MagicDock adapter, so I don't know why it would be difficult to build that into the vehicle itself. Is space behind that port that constrained?

On a separate but related note, I am guessing that part of the NACS agreement with Tesla (allowing access to Superchargers) also requires that EV manufacturers relocate charge ports to a position that is compatible with the shorter Supercharger v3 and/or v4 cables. So I am guessing that Rivian will move the NACS port to either the passenger front corner or driver rear corner. The R2 reveal might provide a clue. It's also possible that Rivian, or any manufacturer, could offer a dual port solution where one port is locked out if the other is in use.

It's the shared AC/DC pins. The onboard charger would need to be designed with that in mind and it's an additional cost that's totally unnecessary for CCS.

You could potentially do the separation with contactors external to the charger, but they would be expensive and clunky and would not technically be NACS compliant.

Rivian could design their new hardware to be a drop-in replacement, but they have no incentive to support that on a vehicle perfectly well served with an adapter.

Magic dock stations are now supporting the full 500A that the Rivian is capable of, so there's no advantage to replacing the port besides the minor convenience factor if you literally only use Tesla cables and stations today.

 

[Autolycus]

There’s a very good reason the Tesla to J1772 and Tesla to CCS adapters will only do either AC or DC.

 

[srnyoung]

...
On a separate but related note, I am guessing that part of the NACS agreement with Tesla (allowing access to Superchargers) also requires that EV manufacturers relocate charge ports to a position that is compatible with the shorter Supercharger v3 and/or v4 cables. So I am guessing that Rivian will move the NACS port to either the passenger front corner or driver rear corner. The R2 reveal might provide a clue. It's also possible that Rivian, or any manufacturer, could offer a dual port solution where one port is locked out if the other is in use.

I can't imagine Rivian choosing to make their own in-house charging network difficult to use just so they can have access to a competitor's charging network.

 

[CharonPDX]

Yep, the reason this isn't easy is the AC/DC combination. On J1772/CCS, the AC and DC pins are completely separate - routed through the vehicle completely separately. (To the point that many/most CCS plugs don't even *HAVE* the AC pins present.)

On NACS, the pins are shared - so there needs to be a switching mechanism and all the safety features for that.

On adapters, it's easy. CCS adapter? Just don't connect the AC pins, so there's no chance of even TRYING to feed DC power into the AC pins. J1772 adapter? Doesn't have the DC pins, so there's no chance of feeding AC power to the DC pins.

There are safeties in place on the charger of NACS/Tesla to make sure it only feeds power when the correct signal is received, but it needs the corresponding circuits on the receiving end. The adapters are hardwired to either AC or DC. We won't see any "combo AC/DC CCS to NACS" adapters for that reason.

Is it theoretically possible to build an adapter that could do the switching, and even theoretically possible to retrofit that into the vehicle; but it's not something the manufacturer would do because of all the regulatory compliance safety issues. We might see aftermarket conversions become available, but I would expect those to run in the "multiple thousand dollar" range.

For that, I'll just carry a couple adapters.

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