A2Z adapter needs to break in

pikepilot

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Receiving my A2Z Adapter today. From this forum, it seems like it needs to be "broken in" in a bit by repetitive use. I have a Tesla Universal Charger (NACS) at home. Would practicing with the NACS portion of my charger do any good breaking in the adapter or does a Supercharger have different components (obviously never used a Supercharger before) that wouldn't translate into actually helping at a real supercharger? Any other ideas I could do at home would be appreciated....if not maybe a quick refresh of useful tips to get it to work properly at a Supercharger.

FYI I ordered it on May 13th, arriving today (June 4th).
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ocdxfv

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The connector on your home unit will work nicely, with very little resistance. It's when you get to a Supercharger that you'll have a problem. For some reason, the AC & DC handles are not identical. When you receive your adapter, plan on spending some time at a Supercharger working the plug in and out. I also wore a glove to make holding the adapter a little less uncomfortable. The way I plug mine in is to push it in and out about half way several times then end with a good hard slam. Check to see if it locks. Of not, repeat the process. I have not found that trying different stations makes any difference. The more you use it the better it works.

ALSO, the CCS part of the adapter should slide fairly easily into your car. Don't force it. I forced mine and it bent one of the small pins, creating a world of grief. Examine the port on your car and make sure all the pins are centered.
 

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The connector on your home unit will work nicely, with very little resistance. It's when you get to a Supercharger that you'll have a problem. For some reason, the AC & DC handles are not identical. When you receive your adapter, plan on spending some time at a Supercharger working the plug in and out. I also wore a glove to make holding the adapter a little less uncomfortable. The way I plug mine in is to push it in and out about half way several times then end with a good hard slam. Check to see if it locks. Of not, repeat the process. I have not found that trying different stations makes any difference. The more you use it the better it works.

ALSO, the CCS part of the adapter should slide fairly easily into your car. Don't force it. I forced mine and it bent one of the small pins, creating a world of grief. Examine the port on your car and make sure all the pins are centered.
On the NACS end patience is the key. When that part connects, the underside latch will slide to fully show the word "OPEN".

Yes on the CCS end I use steady pressure and just rock it up/down a tiny bit to wiggle in. You know the CCS side is in good when you hear the mechanical latch whirr shut.

I always stay by the car for a couple minutes. If something goes weird (i.e. the red ring of frustration) you will notice in that time. Everything is as expected if you hear the Mach-E relays click, then you hear the supercharger stand's fans speed up.
 

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I had a lot of trouble trying to connect the Tesla plug to my A2Z adapter by hand. I just could not apply enough force to seat it properly. I wound up putting a towel around a 2x4 and setting it on the ground. I insert the plug part way into the adapter, and then, being careful not to put any pressure on the locking lever, set the face of the adapter on the 2x4 and push in the plug hard. At some Superchargers I need to insert the plug a couple of times before it seats properly, but it eventually fits. Then I slide the locking switch into place and plug it all into the car. I've done about 5 or 6 charges this way. A2Z says it should get easier after 5-10 insertions. I haven't seen that quite yet, but am hopeful....
 

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Try some silicone lube on the slide lock and pin to help with the slight click you will feel when the NACS plug is seated.

Yes, it takes many Supercharger charges to get the A2Z to wear in.

After 20+ charges over almost 3 months of use, it's now easy - just slips in and a light click is felt.
 


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pikepilot

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Went to try it out tonight at an actual supercharger. Took a good 10 or more tries on a few different stations but it eventually took. Was low on time so not sure if I had gone back to a previous station if it would've worked on the second try or if it was just the specific charger that wouldn't take.
My big takeaway was the cords are short....I knew they were but this particular tesla charger bank is brand spanking new (online within the last week or so), I expected a new one to have longer cords. Would definitely be an issue if busy.
 

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Is it an alignment thing or is it plastic to plastic? It’s so tight and there’s a suction or a vacuum or something? the silicone lube sounds like a solution if it’s plastic on plastic, which is hard to slide if that’s acceptable?
 

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Receiving my A2Z Adapter today. From this forum, it seems like it needs to be "broken in" in a bit by repetitive use. I have a Tesla Universal Charger (NACS) at home. Would practicing with the NACS portion of my charger do any good breaking in the adapter or does a Supercharger have different components (obviously never used a Supercharger before) that wouldn't translate into actually helping at a real supercharger? Any other ideas I could do at home would be appreciated....if not maybe a quick refresh of useful tips to get it to work properly at a Supercharger.

FYI I ordered it on May 13th, arriving today (June 4th).
I take it that using the HPWC didn’t help to break it in?
 

23macheGT

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I received mine last week and travelled 800miles over the weekend. Used the adapter a few times at supercharger and had no issues. Reading the forum here I thought I would have issue too so I tried too hard jamming it in not realizing it was already in. Turns out the clip doesn’t have that much of a travel. Works great. Happy I got it.
 

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I did a light sprayed silicone lube on the plastic then wiped it off really good and it made it work much better. I have only used it 3 times and it's worked well each time.
 
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pikepilot

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I take it that using the HPWC didn’t help to break it in?
The home Tesla charger didn't help break it in, it sat a lot looser (no locking issue at all) in the Home NACS charger than the Supercharger.
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