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2023 Mercedes ESQ SUV 580 ● 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge
Originally Posted by abhansali
There are 2 versions on Amazon - one with a Nema 14-50 and the other one with a Nema 6-50. There is a $170 difference between the 2 and it seems like the only difference is the plug type. Is there a compelling reason to pay $170 more tor the 14-50 plug?
If you are going to hardwire, my guess would be to go for the cheaper one. If you are going to plug into a receptacle, then choose the plug style that matches the receptacle that you have installed. I recommend hardwire if you can.
Thanks for sharing the video. I'm going with the Chargepoint Flex. But here is my question. There are 2 versions on Amazon - one with a Nema 14-50 and the other one with a Nema 6-50. There is a $170 difference between the 2 and it seems like the only difference is the plug type. Is there a compelling reason to pay $170 more tor the 14-50 plug?
The NEMA 6-50 is a 3 prong receptacle which is all you need to wire the Home Flex to your circuit breaker (50A). The NEMA 14-50 is more common for electric dryers and some welders so they offer that plug for owners who may already have this receptacle available. I selected the 14-50 because I did not fully understand the requirements to install the wall box. You'll also need to buy the wiring and there two ways to go, 6 gauge 3-wire romex, or a conduit with three individual 6 gauge wires. Talk to an electrician about which is best for your application based on the length of wire you need. If you do select the NEMA 14-50 plug, the electrician can still install the same wiring and just not wire one of the 4 prongs (that is what my electrician did with the 3-wire romex cable I purchased). That said, you really only need the 6-50 plug (3 prongs). Some here are recommending you hardwire the wall box. That is also an option but if you do you would need an electrician to replace the wall box if it failed for some reason. The plug in version is easy and safe for the consumer to replace. Your choice but I went with the plug which supports a 40A continuous, 9.6 kW which is perfect for the EQS SUV.
No. List price for both is $749. Because of scarcity third party sellers are selling it over list. If you’re not in a hurry go to ChargePoint home page where you can order it at list. (It may be backordered). Also Amazon sells both at list. They go fast when Amazon has both versions in stock. I was lucky, I still haven’t got my car yet so when I ordered thru my friends electric company there was a $500 instant rebate. It took about 4 weeks but I have the charger, just not the car.
I just went to City Electric Supply website. They have both versions in stock at $749.
Thanks for this post. Yesterday night I went on Amazon multiple times and once I saw both chargers at $749 (one 1 neva 14-50 in stock) and quickly ordered it. Should come on Monday.
A great source for chargers is Juice Box, they have been around for a long time. I have in the past purchased Tesla portable chargers as they come with various plugs so that you can take advantage of the availability of plug types. I would send the unit to a shop in Arizona where they remove the Tesla end and add a J1772. The current portable Tesla unit only charges up to 32 amps. Their older unit did in fact push 40 amps which is the max that the EQS will take. Tesla also offers a unit that is meant for permanent attachment. It will charge up to 48 amps and is adjustable. That is what I am currently using for the Tesla Model X that I have. If I do in fact buy the Mercedes, I will just cut off the Tesla end and attach a J1772 unit. It should not be that difficult to do. There are some videos on YouTube. My only concern is not having a terminal press that I can use. I will need to investigate what options I might have. There are so many options out there for chargers. 40 amps in on the higher end.
I purchased a Lectron Nema 14-50 Level 2 charger - 240 V 40 Amp and approximately 1 out of 8 times I charge the EQS 450+, the charging stops. The Lectron cable shows the following faults.
I have used the cable at my friends house over the summer for ~4 months and not once was there an error message. The only difference is the wiring here but I had the electrician look at the wiring and he could not find a problem. Have gone back to the Mercedes dealership and they say it is not the cars fault. Lectron suggests lowering the charging rate but at AC charging I see no way to do that. What could cause the 46.6 Amp failure? I am at a loss. Suggestions?
On my chargepoint during the initial setup it asks if you are plugging in or hardwired and the circuit amperage and from that it internally sets the max amps for charging. I know other l2 chargers have physical jumpers. If you are using a plug and a 50a circuit YOU SHOULD NEVER let it the charger go above 40a. It is a fire hazard because for continuous charging the max amps is 80% of your circuit rating. I know people that are using a nema 14-50 plug but have put in a 60a breaker and use that to charge at 48a and that is bad bad. If your charger is trying to go to 48a using a nema plug this could be the issue
Check for jumper but lower the max amps to 40 for sure.
Adding to the above posts for those adding a 14-50 plug at home do not buy the $15 plugs sold on Amazon made in China. There are reports of them eventually melting from use. Spend the $75-$85 on the American made Hubbell plug. I am not a electrician but I play one on TV.
If you Google for Lectron 46.6, you’ll see a few other EVs also having the same issue. Lectron’s response to one Ioniq 5 owner was to manually reduce the charging from the car. Is that possible from the EQS?
I have asked my dealer about reducing the charge rate but I don't think you can do this on the EQS. I Googled Lectron 46.6 and noted that some people thought the weight of the cable was the problem and propped it up to correct the issue.
I have asked my dealer about reducing the charge rate but I don't think you can do this on the EQS. I Googled Lectron 46.6 and noted that some people thought the weight of the cable was the problem and propped it up to correct the issue.
Dealers usually don't know anything. Service advisor at our dealership was asking me to explain L1 and L2 charging to him. The car charges at 9.6kwh which is 40A. So that is why it is unclear why your see 46.6 on yours. Actually the charging rate on the EQS is one of the negatives of the vehicle in my opinion. Even the Ford Mach-E charges at 11kwh which is 48amps. And in Europe the EQS charges at 11kwh also and has an option to pay and unlock 22kwh charging as well (which requires the circuits typically found in Europe).
I think in the US they have made this 9.6kwh decision for safety, because this is the safest charging speed with a NEMA 14-50 plugin charger. Since so many here in the US use that, it avoids any bad electrical wiring and fires that could come as a result of that. Read about the Porsche Taycan chargers online. Porsche actually firmware updated the chargers and reduced the maximum charging rate from 48amp to 20amps I believe after multiple people had their wall plugs overheat and melt (this actually happened to a friend of mine).
2023 Mercedes ESQ SUV 580 ● 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge
Originally Posted by Utopia Texas
Spend the $75-$85 on the American made Hubbell plug.
I have made this suggestion in many EV related forums.
Before I was aware of this issue, I have one one those cheap ones installed. But after gaining more knowledge, I had it replaced with a Hubbell. Seeing and holding them together side by side, there is a huge and obvious difference in quality.
Also, I highly recommend ChargePoint Home Flex for L2 charging. Mine has worked flawlessly charging my two EV's for the last 2 years. (EQS SUV 580 on order, trading the Tesla)
Last edited by LasVegas_89135; Nov 30, 2022 at 08:02 PM.
I have made this suggestion in many EV related forums.
Before I was aware of this issue, I have one one those cheap ones installed. But after gaining more knowledge, I had it replaced with a Hubbell. Seeing and holding them together side by side, there is a huge and obvious difference in quality.
Also, I highly recommend ChargePoint Home Flex for L2 charging. Mine has worked flawlessly charging my two EV's for the last 2 years. (EQS SUV 580 on order, trading the Tesla)
I also have installed the ChargePoint Home Flex and love it. Has not even got warm. Also use a certified electrician. In Austin, we are required to use a certified electrician to get the 50% city rebate on charger + installation and I think that is a very smart move on the city's part for safety.
....Porsche actually firmware updated the chargers and reduced the maximum charging rate from 48amp to 20amps I believe after multiple people had their wall plugs overheat and melt (this actually happened to a friend of mine).
Porsche offered two different portable chargers. Mine was the lesser PMC+ model that was not firmware updatable. It had a button to switch between 50% and 100% which was 20 Amps or 40 Amps. The charging rate on the PMC+ is determined by the power cord. A PMC+ configured with a NEMA 14-30 power cord would theoretically draw at 24 Amps. One configured with a 14-50 or 6-50 power cord would draw 40 Amps. It's possible to use the 14-50 or 6-50 outlet with a 40 Amp breaker. There are no NEMA 40 Amp outlets. So if you use a 40 Amp breaker you need to use a 50 Amp outlet. Unfortunately, the PMC+ does not know that you are using a 40 Amp breaker with the 50 Amp power cord and it will draw up to 40 Amps which is higher than the 32 Amps permitted on the 40 Amp circuit.
Since I got my chargepoint I have no luck with it. It always has the side red LED on which blocking the charge. Chargepoint sent me a replacement but still same issue. My electrician and JCPL checked it out and everything thing is installed correctly from wiring to voltage reading. Chargerpoint cannot figure out the issue. Does anyone experience the same issue? Any recommendations for another charger brand
for EQS?
2023 Mercedes ESQ SUV 580 ● 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge
Originally Posted by Emank
Since I got my chargepoint I have no luck with it. It always has the side red LED on which blocking the charge. Chargepoint sent me a replacement but still same issue. My electrician and JCPL checked it out and everything thing is installed correctly from wiring to voltage reading. Chargerpoint cannot figure out the issue. Does anyone experience the same issue? Any recommendations for another charger brand
for EQS?
I don't know what to tell you. I've been using the ChargePoint flawlessly for two years for my 2 current EV's (EQS SUV 580 on order to replace Tesla)
Since I got my chargepoint I have no luck with it. It always has the side red LED on which blocking the charge. Chargepoint sent me a replacement but still same issue. My electrician and JCPL checked it out and everything thing is installed correctly from wiring to voltage reading. Chargerpoint cannot figure out the issue. Does anyone experience the same issue? Any recommendations for another charger brand
for EQS?
Don’t spend more money on another brand until you see if the problem is with the EQS. Do you have anyone locally with a EV that you can invite to your location to try the charger on their EV?
Since I got my chargepoint I have no luck with it. It always has the side red LED on which blocking the charge. Chargepoint sent me a replacement but still same issue. My electrician and JCPL checked it out and everything thing is installed correctly from wiring to voltage reading. Chargerpoint cannot figure out the issue. Does anyone experience the same issue? Any recommendations for another charger brand
for EQS?
Are you certain that you do not have a no charge window specified on the car? Other than white, I don't find the charging port colors easy to read. What you would expect to be green looks blue, and the orange color can be easily mistaken as red. When the lights are solid orange, it means that the charging is paused. I regularly plug the cord in during my peak rate period which I have designated as a no charge window, and the lights are orange until the peak rate period ends.
Also, I believe the lights may be orange if you specify a departure time and the eco charging option. With those two items set, charging won't start immediately, It will start at a calculated time that will finish at your set departure time based upon the capacity of your EVSE.
Since I got my chargepoint I have no luck with it. It always has the side red LED on which blocking the charge. Chargepoint sent me a replacement but still same issue. My electrician and JCPL checked it out and everything thing is installed correctly from wiring to voltage reading. Chargerpoint cannot figure out the issue. Does anyone experience the same issue? Any recommendations for another charger brand
for EQS?
Can you please post some pictures of the LED lights you’re referring to?
Can you please post some pictures of the LED lights you’re referring to?
Good question. I was assuming that the lights in question were the ones under the charging port cover on the EQS. If not, my post above is not relevant.
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