PSA - DO NOT USE LECTRON ADAPTOR w/ Tesla Wall Charger on Rivian

[Stack]

From my experience -

The TeslaTap Mini is NOT UL rated/listed.

Despite all the positive reviews. I had a bad experience with the TeslaTap Mini. It was incredibly hard to plug in and remove from the Rivian. TeslaTap offered to modify it, but that seemed like it shouldn't be necessary, given the premium price.

The TeslaTap (regular) cable and handle IS UL rated, but the Tesla adapter section is NOT. Essentially, they are using an off-the-shelf handle and standard cable that are both UL listed/rated. But the custom Tesla adapter component is NOT UL rated.

The Lectron (1 piece) us unlikely UL rated. The Amazon listing says this - "Rest assured that the Lectron Tesla to J1772 adapter is safe and reliable, having undergone UL testing for your peace of mind"... but I can't find any other documentation or markings to support this. They are now using a SGS mark in their product images. More info needed there, but seemingly positive.

OP - What amperage were you charging out? I'd suggest lowering the max amperage via vehicle settings when using the Lectron adapter.

48 amps, but it tripped when we dropped it to 40 amps as well.

Sponsored

 

[Stack]

Yeah, Rivian blaming the lectron adapter is BS IMO. The vehicle should have protections in place to prevent damage. Further to this there should be no way for a damaged Rivian to kill another charging cable as you described.

This reminds me of those few times the Rivian's got welded to EA charging cables. This all points to the Rivian on-board charging setup not having enough protections in place.

With that, I use the same lectron adapter with a Tesla wall charger and my Polestar 2. Have been daily charging for almost a year now and have had zero problems. I have only ever removed the connector 2 or 3 times though and it sounds like you may have been removing your connector more frequently. I could see this wearing the connectors over time and if there is not a perfect fit between the pins in the cable it could lead to excessive resistance which could generate enough heat to melt things. But again, the vehicle should have sensors and systems in place to detect this and shutdown charging before damage occurs.

In the end, getting two of the Tesla Wall Chargers (one of each connector type) and setting up in a power sharing setup sounds like the best way forward IMO.

Yes we do swap the adapter almost daily, so you are probably correct in your assessment. Pins looked good though, but were a bit tarnished. Also agree that the Rivian should have triggered some sort of safety prior to getting damaged, but Rivian isn't discussing that.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Looks like I'm throwing out that unused Lectron I bought for traveling.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

I've been using my Lectron adapter on average about once or twice a week since I traded my Tesla in on a Rivian about 9 months ago.

I never disconnect it from the Tesla port and only plug it into the Rivian when I charge it.

Next time I charge it I'll monitor the temp of it just to see what it gets up to.

At some point I'll upgrade my charger to the Tesla J17772 wall one and use the Lectron only for trips. This was always the plan.

 

[s4wrxttcs]

Looks like I'm throwing out that unused Lectron I bought for traveling.

I'll give you my Model 3 Chademo adapter for it.

 

[SANZC02]

Looks like I'm throwing out that unused Lectron I bought for traveling.

Your choice, I have a 48 amp one that I purchased. Used it twice on one of my trips with no issues and plan to keep it in the truck as an extra option.

I’m not going to worry about it, lots of people have used them with no issues. There are so many things that could have caused this issue, just easier for Rivian service to blame the adapter. Would not make that my default use case but in a pinch I figure better to have it than not.

 

[Esap]

Is it possible that the Lectron adaptor was rated at 40 and not 48 amps and the power being sent was above 40 amp rating?

 

[hbkdinobot]

Anyone have experience with the Seguma adapter? It’s on sale on Amazon. The description states it has overheat protection.

 

[uthatch]

I find this issue difficult to call a PSA when there's a lot more data that needs to be gathered. I have both a teslaTap Mini and a Lectron adaptor and use them both with my Tesla wall charger charging at 48 amps. Currently I use the Electron adaptor the most because the TeslaTap would always freak out during the rain we were having and I got tired of putting it in my lab oven to dry it out.

The Lectron suffered no such errors during rain and has worked fine for me to date. I understand this is one of those issues that we don't really know if there will be a fault until something is broken, but these adaptors are not terribly sophisticated and I'm going to remain on the assumption that they work fine. 1 truck with the issue, while a pain in the butt to deal with, is not statistically significant.

 

[CheezyNachos]

I have been using my Lectron adapter since 2/10 and it has been fine. I don't think a fairly anecdotal and largely isolated situation serves as a reason for your PSA.

 

[pricedm]

That is the same setup I'm using, so caution on it. My Tesla cable is never really warm, but the adaptor gets to around 148 degrees. Tesla Gen 3 wall chargers have a J1772 connector? Wasn't tracking that, but would be great if true!

https://shop.tesla.com/product/j1772-wall-connector

 

[Honey]

Didn't want any risk with any other charger, glad I wemt with Rivian. Got it for $500, but I'd pay $800 if I had too, just for the piece of mind.

 

[dsps70]

H

Op what lectron adaptor are you using? The newer compact one rated for 48 amps or the larger older one rated for 40 amps? I've been using the compact 48 amp one with my tesla wall box for 8 months. The only issue I've ran into is when charging in the rain. I park outside and the lectron adaptor is not water proof.

Had issues similar with OP using the Tesla 40amp charging cable with the compact Lectron 48A adapter. Issues developed after about 7 mths of trouble free use. I was also advised by SC not to use the Lectron adapter moving forward.

 

[Joints4Sale]

I traded my LE R1T for a Model Y(I have another reservation for Max battery R1T) when Tesla had the huge price drop in January. My wife drives an Audi e-tron GT and she has her own J1772. I have two 50amp circuits installed for our charging setup.
I started using the Rivian EVSE with the Tesla adapter to charge my Model Y and ended up having a problem with the Tesla adapter using the Rivian EVSE. Ended up with a bad pin on the Rivian EVSE. Rivian wouldn't send out a replacement handle but did change the whole unit. So I ended up replacing one of the J1772 with a Tesla EVSE.

If I had to do it all over again, I would go with two Tesla units(one j1772 and the other NACS) and have them load share on one circuit. When I trade the Model Y in on my next Rivian I will likely replace my current Tesla EVSE with the Tesla J1772.

 

[Lizardo]

Think a similar thing happened with a friends Ford Lightening. Tesla wall charger with the lectron adapter. Fried his lightening port.

Sponsored