I thought when you pushed it in you had to push the button. Maybe it was someone else. I’ve seen someone that claimed the communication pins disconnected before the power pins and therefore no arcing. Still should be replaced but not as dangerous as some are worried about.
Thanks Branden for your video in making the decision to go with the A2Z adapter instead. Eventually, I'm expecting to get a Rivian adapter but I need one now as I'm already taking road trips and need to juice up at Tesla superchargers.
Just a heads up. I ordered a CCS adapter from A2Z that arrived without a needed pin installed to enable charging. It was the second adapter from A2Z, the first one worked fine. I compared the two and immediately found the problem. I contacted A2Z, sent them a picture and they immediately shipped a replacement. The manufacturer A2Z used obviously had a production glitch that produced the faulty adapter. Conclusion is that this can happen in ANY manufacturing process for ANY device. A2Z handled the situation quickly and responsibly.
A2Z replaced my adapter as well, there were burrs on the plastic surround of the pins on my first one, and they said they made a slight update to the design. I still find the bottom slide lock difficult to use compared to the Lectron.
As a Tesla owner that has used a CCS adapter numerous times at CCS charging stations, I ALWAYS stop the charging process from the touchscreen in the vehicle. I hear the charging station power down and I know there is NO electricity present at the charge port.
Mine works great. Just went out and checked it again. Thanks for the heads up. I have never had issues with Lectron products. I have a Tesla level 2 adapter also for charging my my car and motorcycle.
UPDATE - I just received my replacement adapter. The spring is considerably stronger and it’s actually difficult to separate the adapter from the NACS connector. Maybe a little bit of overkill but it’s definitely not going to accidentally disconnect now!! :-) I will try mine, which also, is still in the box. Thanks for doing the video!!
I am employed with a European quality manufacturer for industrial equipment and we have had the same issues with outsourced materials or manufacturing. Can happen anywhere any time, look at Boeing Aircraft that has been in the lime light lately. I would buy a Lectron knowing that they are really on top of these issues. They can address this with new Q/A procedures which I really believe they will.
Someone in the early videos mentioned instructions on an adapter said to disconnect from the vehicle first and then separate the adapter and it was more difficult that way.
I mean if the data pins are shorter than the power pins it’ll always be first to disconnect. Not designing the data pins to be shorter the data pins by at least 2mm is stupid.
Interesting because I would have never known about it had it not been for RU-vid and the NHTSA. I wrote to Lectron about the recall and they asked me to go test it. Never even said what or how to test. Like how would I know? And yes, I have one, and it is defective.
Hi Tom. Thank you. I am glad I watched this video before I received my pre-ordered Lectron Vortex last week. It was confirmed by Lectron that it is not part of the recall. That being said, I experienced the opposite problem that caused the recall. Instead of easily disconnecting, the adapter I received gave me a hard time disconnecting it on my initial use. It took more than 30 minutes and an extra pair of hands to finally detach this adapter to the NACS plug. I informed Lectron about this problem and requested a return. I am quite hesitant to use it again. Just letting you know. Thank you again.
I think Lectron did the right thing and got in front if the issue. No matter what you buy can have a defect. I would always do a tug test at each charging station.
Tom, a recent Bloomberg article reported that the adapters from Rivian and Ford are made in the Tesla Buffalo factory. Of course some components are probably made in places like China, but it's interesting that Tesla is putting it all together in the USA.
That's what I originally thought, that the components are made in China, but assembled in the US. Thanks for this - I've asked Tesla multiple times for this info (and more about the adapter), but Tesla being Tesla, they never responded.
@@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney In case you need a proper citation... It's the article titled "Bloomberg: Tesla Axes Supercharger Team in Blow to Broader EV Market " with the quote of "Tesla has been building CCS-to-NACS adapters in Buffalo, New York, and shipping them to partnering carmakers. "
Good work, Tom! Funny thing, I thought it was the latch on the vehicle end, but it's now clear that it's the one on the cable end. Well… it's reassuring that they're doing a recall… but the supplier should have to foot the bill for NOT conforming to the intended design. Ah, well… I think I prefer the A27 adapter anyway. I just hope that the NACS transition hasn't been delayed -or even dropped!- because of the Supercharger firings. E'loon needs to post a reassurance of where things stand as a result. Immediately! Be sure to ask Chris if he knows if the J3400 plans have changed.
Supercharger income will bring Tesla additional billions of dollars per year, so you can bet that they will still be supporting the Supercharger network. From what I understand, they are mainly slowing down the expansion of the network, concentrating on enhancing and supporting the Superchargers already in existence. Makes sense, really.
With the layoff of the SC team, have no confidence in the Ford adapter coming anytime soon. Was going to go with lectron adapter. After hearing about recall ended up going with A2Z. Thanks Tom for the honest reviews!
I ordered one of these right after watching your review video, I even used your code that was provided! I've been tracking this issue ever since it came to light. I'm certainly interested in your upcoming review with the CEO, please push them hard on what has been done to fix this issue in their next batches of products. Luckily, my order has not been fulfilled yet so I hope I get a good/improved unit once it ships to me! I hope this is handled properly. I definitely don't want and won't use a risky unit.
You will, I pre-ordered my adapter back in November and got mine 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately it was one of the 1624 adapters that were defective. I contacted Lectron and they provided me a prepaid label to send it back for a replacement adapter which I did and received it today. No defective locking mechanism. Veronica the CSR I've been working with told me they have corrected the issue and so since you ordered yours much later than me, shouldn't have any issues with your adapter. Lectron apologized and made it right, that's all I could ask for and I'm very happy with my replacement adapter.
@@BigDaddyInKS Glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for commenting. I'm definitely looking forward to getting it and trust they will and have made it right, so I've kept my order. I'll definitely give it a tug test like Tom did though, lol.
@@BigDaddyInKS I'm wondering if this recall might expand. I received mine April 18th, and it appears to be part of the recall (NACS side requires latch to be depressed to insert plug, but will pull right out after inserted). I have searched, but never received an e-mail from Lectron aside from marketing emails since April. They did promptly respond and are requiring the adapter back for immediate inspection. Glad I checked mine on a recent road trip!
Wow, thanks so much for making this important video. This is a HUGE safety problem. If a vehicle was being charged at 250kW and someone pulls out the connector an arc could be produced. Assuming the arc lasted 1/100 of a second, it could deliver around 600 calories. 600 calories may not mean much but lookup what a suit that can withstand 100 calories looks like.
Tom, recommend plugging the vehicle side into a car (or mount your CCS port to a wall or something really heavy) when doing the pull test in the future. That's more representative for the concern and makes it significantly easier to test the pull since you're reacting the force against an "immovable" object vs pulling on both ends with your arms.
I cancelled my order with Lectron right after the issue was first noticed. My order was still in production. Lectron accepted the cancellation quickly, professionally and immediately refunded my prepayment. In my situation there are only 2 v3 Tesla superchargers in northern Michigan that are available to charge non Tesla EV’s anyway. All the Tesla chargers appear to be only V2. So, I decided to wait the Ford / Tesla adapter to be safe.
I pre-ordered mine in November of last year and got mine 2 weeks ago. It was one of the defective adapters, so I immediately contacted Lectron via email and Veronica a CSR for Lectron said they were aware of the issue and that a shipment of adapters with faulty locking mechanism had slipped through and been shipped to customers. She emailed me a prepaid return label, I sent the faulty adapter back and received my replacement adapter this afternoon. Veronica apologized for any inconvenience, never made any lane excuses, just stated that Lectron has corrected the issue and my replacement adapter would work properly which it does. I would recommend emailing Lectron and asking for an update on when you might receive your adapter? They were very helpful and transparent about everything to me, hopefully they can give you more info on when you'll receive yours? When you email them make sure to include your order# that will help them.
Excellent video Tom, you're 5X stronger than me. So I would never be able to pull that apart, but that tripping hazard is a real thing. I've seen arcing just by unplugging my hair dryer.
Very helpful and timely video, Tom! Thanks. With all the uncertainty about access to the Supercharger network by non-Tesla cars (other than Ford and Rivian), the consequence to Lectron maybe manageable to remedy.
Checked mine out this weekend during a trip, and found the latch on the NACS side is indeed backwards (push release to insert NACS plug, but pulls out with little effort). Checked my emails, no recall communication from Lectron (although I am receiving offers/marketing emails no problem). Reached out to them, and they promptly replied offering to replace it in a very timely manner, and requested mine be immediately returned for inspection. Might be good for any owners of this plug to verify it's operation just to be safe. Love the product, customer support has been solid, and glad to see they got on top of this quickly. As always, thanks for you videos!
I paid in full over a month ago and still haven’t had the adapter shipped. In my opinion they should not be taking full payment and not ship an adapter for over a month. Very disappointed.
Love the facial expressions doing the pull test. lol. But this product issue is a perfect example of improper testing. So many companies cut corners during the testing process, it's ridiculous!
Wow thanks for this video❗️I ordered one in January for a Lightning and got it recently in May. I knew they would be in high demand and was not surprised I got an email informing me they would ship through May. I don’t really need to use Tesla stations and there aren’t that many around in the Bay Area anyway. I wanted to test it out at the Emeryville station but when I got there it was full of Teslas and three cyber trucks. I left because I felt awkward and didn’t want to wait for a stall because I knew I needed a lot of room to park weird. I took a trip to Santa Cruz and ended up having to use a Tesla charger and it worked BEAUTIFULLY!!! The station was not busy and I got to park funky at an extra large parking space where I had room to drive a bit past the station so the cable wasn’t stretched tight. Only problem was I had trouble removing it from the Tesla cable and had to have someone help me 🤣. So thankfully I got a good one. Lectron has not informed me about this recall but maybe it’s because I am not affected. I don’t really need this adapter but I will keep it just in case and will be more careful! I applied for the free one very early on that Ford offered but who knows when a free one will even ship 🙄. I learned a very valuable lesson from this video though, I usually just press the disconnect button on the Lightning to disconnect the charge cable. I also noticed at the Tesla charge station that it is very important to stop the charge on the station or on the app before disconnecting the cable!!! I can’t believe I’ve been so cavalier about disconnecting something so dangerous! I can’t thank you enough for this video 🙏!
SSSoooo that's why i haven't received mine yet.... ,🤣 I ordred mine a month ago and haven't received it yet. well i have the AtoZ adapter at least. Thanks for the info Tom!
Tom - thank you for your great advice. I just received a Lectron Adapter on 5/8/24. I took it to a local Tesla charging station. The adapter fit perfectly and I could not pull the Tesla end out of the adapter. In fact, it was difficult pulling it out with the release lever depressed. Bottom line, it's well tooled and just fine. Now I'll charge up my 2002 Kia EV6 at North TX Tesla stations once I get the Tesla mobile app to function correctly. Regards, Bonzo
Tom, enjoy your presentations. With all the info on EVs and batteries becoming available it becomes mind boggling to comprehend. Could you ever make a video on EV / battery 101 basics including basic electric formulas. My next vehicle will be electric and I’m between Model Y and F150 Lighting. Don’t think I need a pickup but am intrigued by its versatility and Model Y now has .99% financing that allows it to be an easy choice. My wife is handicapped so in/out accessibility is paramount. We have a WAWA station that was putting in a 9 stall SC in Summerfield Fl. I stopped to ask crew what kw were they putting in and he said he didn’t know and that they were all fired in the disappointing midnight firings. I have photos of the 99% completed, still born , WAWA awaiting next step.
Hundreds of amps at 800 or more volts with an unexpected disconnect is an arc flash event, an explosion which can be a fatal event to persons in the vicinity. It is impossible to overstate how potentially dangerous that could be. You can surmise the potential danger by how quickly the manufacturer reacted. If you’ve got one of the affected adapters, please take the recall seriously.
I think the issue is less about it getting pulled out but more about having a taught cable (like on the F150) which causes the connector to partially come out resulting is a weak connection that overheats and starts a fire
To be clear that has never happened and likely won't ever happen, even with the defect. The separation shold break the pilot signal and stop charging before any serious problem occurs.
Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I plan to purchase a KIA EV-9 later this year but haven't purchased a home charging unit yet. I was leaning towards a Teslas level 2 charger and purchasing an adapter to accommodate different auto makers vehicles in the future without having to change the home charging system. I look forward to your updates about this issue
Just an aside, this is not an adapter you would use for home charging. Tom is using the Tesla charger since it has the NACS connection to demonstrate the issue with staying latched but the adapter will only work at Tesla supercharger locations not level 2 home charging, you will need a different one for that.
Trust in a manufacturer is an important thing. Lectron was very fortunate that this flaw was so easily discoverable - a mechanical issue with a latch is something that anybody would be able to detect. But the fact that this made it through their quality control means there's an equal chance that an INTERNAL flaw with the electronics also made it through. That issue wouldn't be detected until it burns somebody's car down. Until there's an official, regulated, process of testing these units, we are at the mercy of the company to assume that they did enough internal testing to prove it's safe. Lectron has demonstrated that they did NOT do this testing on their consumer production units. Why should we trust that all the other internal components have been more stringently tested than the latch?
I'm copy/pasting my posting from the A2Z video comments since I think it's relevant as well here: "We just received our adapter from A2Z because the adapter from Ford is taking forever to ship (scheduled for August since last March), and I have to say it's been a nightmare to close the lower locking mechanism. On our first visit to the Tesla station it took lots of tries (about 10 minutes or more) to finally get it to close. On our second visit to a different Tesla station we tried on the first stall and wouldn't close. After at least like 10 minutes trying we decided to move to a different stall and we had the same problem, it wouldn't lock. Every time we thought it was locked it wasn't. I was not going to keep moving the truck (F-150 Lightning) so I decided to first try the adapter on each available stall and see if it would lock, and finally I found one where after playing with the adapter for a while it locked and charge as expected. It took about 30 minutes of tries and a very sore thumb to which you add the charging time (15 minutes) and we end up about 45 minutes to add 13 kW if charge (not cool). This shouldn't work like this, it should be a seamless operation to lock it. Thank goodness we were testing only and not out of necessity with a dead battery or the panic would have escalated significantly. Now, both times when it finally locked and we were able to start the charge I have to say the handshake and starting to charge was way faster than with Electrify America, but we are talking about a few minutes or even seconds only, but it is noticeable. After all the struggle at least the faster hand shake diminished somewhat the stress. We normally charge at home but soon we are planning a road trip and needed to make sure this adapter would work since where we are heading the closest Electrify America is about 100 miles but there is a Tesla station about 5 miles from our planned hotel. Well, now we know what lies ahead."
Years ago they offered me a free evse plug to review.... I went to their website and tried to contact them via the contact us email, it was their support email .... Email didn't work. I let the contact know I can't do anything for them until they fix their contact us email. Crickets.
I just received two of these units on June 12, 2024. W The two units that I received it is very difficult to remove my tesla wall unit plug from the adapter. I know it’s not a supercharger, but the plug is identical. In some cases, it took me several minutes. I am returning them. It was nearly impossible to remove.
It would be nice if those that have a pending order received any kind of communication re: the recall and how it is going to impact our outstanding orders. So far, crickets.
It's been recalled. If you have it send it back in. I ordered one and have yet to receive it. I drive a KIA EV9, so I'm in no hurry to receive it. It's not a big deal, they will make it right. It shouldn't affect faith in a company. You judge a company based upon how it handles adversity, not when everything is going smoothly.
This is exactly why adapters can be dangerous‼️ Any OEM, based on Tesla‘s actions in the past seven days, would be smart to have a native J3400 inlet and a native CCS1 Combo inlet both on your next EV. We don’t know when your particular OEM will finally get adopted into the ‘vast’ and ‘expensive,’ ‘best in class’ Tesla charging network that fired everybody. We don’t know when the other charging outlets will add plugs for the J3400 standard. So do your customers a favor OEM’s and put both inlets on you next EV that way you can skip adapterville and all the liability. You just witnessed by Tom’s own hand exactly why Tesla forbid any adapters other than their own on their network. Welcome to the reality of 2025/26 and building your next EV we consumers can have the most possibilities of charging. (FULL STOP)🎯 Great video Tom‼️ 18:50
Lectron is actively shipping out adapters, mine is scheduled to arrive this week. I assume they're only shipping out the corrected adapter, would have been helpful if you'd included information such as the affected / unaffected serial numbers.
I'm on my THIRD 40A NACS charger from Lectron. The first two were replaced under warranty because the wall plugs started overheating after several weeks of use. Now, the third one is beginning to overheat exactly like the first two did. Each time, a new charger works perfectly for several weeks then it begins to overheat. I requested a refund, but they just keep replacing the chargers. Each time they do, I'm without a charger for about a week and a half while waiting for the defective one to ship back and a replacement to ship out. I wish they'd just give me a refund.
You really can't see inside good enough to see the difference because the rounded edge is on the inside. Even if I show it you wouldn't be able to notice a difference.
I just received two of these units on June 12, 2024. W The two units that I received it is very difficult to remove my tesla wall unit plug from the adapter. I know it’s not a supercharger, but the plug is identical. In some cases, it took me several minutes. I am returning them. It was nearly impossible to remove. It appears my experience is similar to another user below. This is going to be a nightmare to remove from superchargers.
This explains why Lectron couldn't or wouldn't give me an estimated delivery on my order. I ended up canceling it. Poor communication skills by Lectron.
Tom, you cannot test that adapter on a home charger. The connectors are different for obvious reasons. I just got my upgraded vortex adapter, and it did the same thing in my home charger, It pulled right out! I thought I got another bad one. When I took it to the supercharger, it locked in safely. Hope this helps
Hey Tom , iam interested in in getting a 2022 mustang Mac-E, WOULD THE 2022 model be able charge at a Tesla supercharger with an adapter? , or is it only the 2023 and newer models?
Good afternoon Tom. Taking a drive south on NJ TURNPIKE NEXT WEEK and looking for EV GO CHARGERS FOR NEW BZ4X free charging. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Same. They were quick and professional to reply with me on the matter. I have a recalled adapter as well, but did not receive any emails about it that I can find aside from marketing. Decided to check the adapter, and it's definitely defective since the NACS plug can be pulled right out.
I pre-purchased one of these from Lectron back in January. It JUST shipped this Monday (May 5th 2024), arriving later this week. I'm assuming the large delay I had was to fix this defect, and assuming I am getting a revised unit from them. I will be inspecting the adapter to verify it's the updated model... it would be silly for them to ship me a defect one after the NTSB date.
Shenzen, Dropcases LTD... All of these companies not named Lectron are responsible for this major and inexcusable safety issue, and this is exactly why I don't buy anything from Amazon anymore. Especially when we're talking about something that's pumping hundreds of kW of electricity through it into a car that costs 10s of thousands of dollars. Who pays when your car charge port is fried, your house burns down, or you're dead? RIP Lectron.
Same here. I e-mailed them on April 22, and their response was "we are actively fulfilling orders, and hundreds are being shipped each week. Your order is currently in queue and will be processed shortly." Great video, Tom.
thank you for all the information about EV and EV charging, can i currently use one of the adapters for my 2023 iD4, the connection will work physically but will the charger recognize the VW AND VICE VERSA?? i hope as i live in western essex county in NJ and an electrify america dead zone, and Tesla station are everywhere , thank for your help
If you try with an adapter unless it's a Tesla Magic Dock site you will receive an " unauthorized vehicle " message during the last part of the handshake process when it detects it's not one of the 3 authorized makes of vehicles ( Tesla included )
It makes the whole adapter issue suspect. Cars should just be made with both connectors - one on each side. We can no longer trust Tesla either with the layoff of their whole charging group.
Chevy is next to get access. You will know when you can use your vortex, a2z or Tesla adapter by going to the Tesla app (after downloading it to your smart phone.) no need to sign into app. Scroll down to Services. Scroll to the right to supercharging membership. Click on explore. Click on general. There is an FAQ here which lists following vehicles that are approved. Ford and Rivian are listed. When you see GM listed in the future, you will be able to use an adapter. Not before !! The only exception is if you can find a magic dock then it should work NOW. I understand there are very few magic dock equipped superchargers at this point nationwide.
This issue, coupled with the lack of communication from Lectron to keep me appraised of my “pre-selling” orders (plural) really has me doubting the professionalism & capabilities of this company. I receive zero updates, without first having to ask for said update. I should have taken them up on their offer to refund my “pre-selling” orders. 😵💫🥴 All my research down the drain.
If you get the A2Z adapter when it is not certified yet and it becomes certified down the road, does the pre certified units becomes certified automatically or only post certified production units are officially certified ? Hope that makes sense.
3rd party adapters are not the problem. But buying or selling high-power 3rd party adapters that that have not yet been 3rd-party national-testing-lab certified to have successfully completed the UL 2252-required gauntlet of safety tests, inspections, and factory-visits verifying the for-sale retail-production adapters match the tested examples? THAT is the problem. Sage advice from a retired professional mechanical engineer who had to serve as "expert witness" on too many personal injury lawsuits related to people doing unsafe practices or using unapproved or modified devices they "thought" were safe enough. If your OEM is slow delivering their own approved adapter, just wait until the code and standards experts have finished their standards development, the 3rd party adapter manufacturers have completed their independent-party testing, and the listing agencies issue the certifications of compliance that will be printed on every adapter before buying. When playing with high voltages and amps, things that "look" safe enough can kill you. UL, ETL, Intertek and other safety standards, listing and testing agencies solely exist to protect you. Use them.
Only a response to the idea posited that the adapter made by Tesla is perfect just because it’s made by Tesla and all others are suspect. It’s to the point I’m surprised when anything is made well and works like it should.
Did you WATCH the video? He showed the original adapter he reviewed and demonstrated the flaw there as well. Turn on your brain next time you post a comment.
I received the so called "correct" lectron vortex adapter. Now Its impossible to release it from the supercharger cable. I went to try my adapter as soon as I received it and it got stuck to the supercharger. Used all my force and energy. Pressed the release latch as hard as I could and I'm a 200lb fairly strong guy and nothing seemed to work. Please dont buy from this Brand.
I pull into a fuel station, twist off my cap, and stick the nozzle in. Never had one that did not fit. Well at least not in the 73 years I have been filling up my vehicles.
That’s not how it was in the first ten years of gas vehicles. Current gas pumps have quick disconnects because people routinely drive away with the hose still attached. I would’ve hoped your 73 years had made you smarter and not so simple minded.
Try switching on the lock on the gas pump handle so you don't have to hold it down, and then see if you can pull it out of the nozzle while gas is still flowing. Let us know how it works out for you.
