snowball515

Hello, I am posting for the first time to these forums and I hope someone may be able to help. I've attempted to scan existing posts and have not yet seen an answer to my question. Hopefully this will help others as well as I feel like I can't be the first person to have these questions.

I recently purchased a 2018 Panamera 4 E-Hybrid. One of the major selling points for me was the ability to charge the vehicle at third-party chargers at the grocery store, etc. Examples being EVGo, ChargePoint, and the like here in the United States.

I received the 3.6W kit with my vehicle which I've not yet had an electrician professionally install for me. However I had (incorrectly) assumed that I would be able to leverage the CCS or CHAdeMO chargers while out and about. I was surprised when I pulled up to a charge point last week and found that neither was compatible with my vehicle's existing connection.

I followed up with my salesperson who was (to my surprise) did not himself have an answer for my question. He referred me to his parts department, and I was told:

"You would need to purchase an adapter for type 1 to either “CCS” or “CHAdeMO” through an aftermarket company. You would also need to purchase the adapter for the 7.2kw charger; however, please note that if you use the 7.2kw, it will not charge at that rate since your vehicle was equipped with the 3.6kw."

So my understanding is:

1. In order to charge at a third-party station, I must purchase the 7.2 kw charger
2. Additionally, I need to purchase a third-party adapter to bridge the Porsche 7.2 kw charger to a CCS or CHAdeMO adapter

Am I tracking accurately? If so, which third-party adapters have others on this forum purchased? And what standard (e.g CCS)? I really wish Porsche explained this better to their customers, as I've been at wits end with this situation (while I do very much love the car). Thanks in advance for the feedback.

jnolan

I use Chargepoint and EVGo all the time.

dougpan4

Juicebox. They are #1 ranking in EV charging. there are many articles about Juicebox pro. I bought 1 for my 2016 pan hybrid from costco.

jnolan

I think the first rule to follow is to not rely on Porsche for anything charging related. Their knowledge is spotty, at best, and the accessories they sell are ridiculously overpriced. Porsche, like other manufacturers, uses industry standard charging components and connectors. You can get these through third parties (just search on Amazon) at a fraction of the price of Porsche parts.

Any charger with a SAE J1772 (type 1) connector will work with your Porsche PHEV. Chargepoint and EVGo both offer Type 1 connectors, CHAdeMO has a different connector but the big difference - and important one - is that the CHAdeMO system relies on the external charger while J1772 is a system where the charger is integral to the car. The Porsche power "brick" that you have not yet installed just delivers power from the line circuit to the onboard charger. You car has a 3.6 kw charger and that is all it will consume. The Porsche power supply that came with your car is capable of delivering 3.6 or 7.2kw but the onboard charger in the car is what determines the charging rate. As an aside, when you have the electrician install your charger have him hook it up to a 240v circuit.

CHAdeMO chargers are 3 phase power, which you will not find in anything other than an industrial or commercial installation here in the USA. In Europe you will find 3 phase power in homes for some appliances. I am not aware of anyone who makes a CHAdeMO to J1772 adapter for the simple reason that the systems themselves are incompatible. There are many options for CHAdeMO to Tesla.

Bottom line:
- your car will only charge at 3.6kw and there is nothing you can do to change that
- CHAdeMO is not compatible with Porsche charging systems (and fwiw, it is far less popular than J1772 because it is not designed for home use)
- Chargepoint and EVGo along with Volta and a bunch of other systems all come with J1772 Type 1 connectors by default, and this works with Porsche
- Porsche dealers are the worst place to go for knowledge and accessories related to your PHEV

snowball515

jnolan, this is extremely helpful, thank you for the thoughtful answer (thanks others as well).

If you would not mind, I want to make sure I understand some key takeaways from your feedback:

1. Don't rely on Porsche to provide accurate charging information outside of what they provide for their own home charging kit (not snark... but reality <shrug>)

2. I *cannot* upgrade to an increased 7.2kw on-board charger as an aftermarket accessory because the car was not built with that from the factory, even if I wanted to

3. Look for the CCS standard at any public Type 2 charging station (EVGo, Chargepoint, Blink, etc); CHAdeMO will NOT work (side note: I see news article on Google saying VW supports CCS as a standard, which makes a whole lot of sense now)

My last question (hopefully this thread helps others as well): is there an aftermarket accessory I can buy that will possibly improve my ability to connect to public chargers where (for whatever reason) the CCS Type 2 connector isn't compatible? Sorry if I'm a little foggy still, I'm just terribly embarrassed when I pull up the chargers in my neighborhood and fumble around with the wrong connector. In particular, this charger is a few miles from me and I was unable to hook up to the CCS connector (see attached).

jnolan

No problem. It took me a bit of research to learn the basics here.

1) I am not being snarky, Porsche (and other traditional vehicle manufacturers) really struggle with charging because they are used to selling proprietary technology. The Porsche home charging kit is a big empty box that mounts on the wall and you snap in the power brick that ships with your car. I have one, it is huge and kind of embarrassing.

2) Correct... but I have often wondered if I could just buy the 7.2 charger from Porsche parts and retrofit the car. I just don't know what parts are required to do this changeover. I have to also point out that I think it is kind of shameful that Porsche does not make the 7.2kw charger standard. My car had a $210k MSRP and the 7.2kw charger was an option. You CANNOT use a third party charger to override the onboard charger.

3) If you are like me and located in the USA, your car will not connect to CCS or CHAdeMO because those are fast DC chargers and we have Level 1/2 capabilities with J1772 plugs. Any EVgo, Charepoint, Volta, or really any charger with this style of connector will charge your car. As far as I know there are not adapters for CCS or CHAdeMO to connect to J1772 equipped cars (you see them showing up for Tesla now but Tesla has a propriety connector that is designed around an external fast DC charger - Supercharger). The Nissan Leaf and others come with both CHAdeMO and J1772 ports and the car is designed to charge with either external fast chargers or onboard Level 1 or 2 charging. On the Panamera a fast DC charger would be a waste because the car cannot fast charge with DC power.

stealthpilot

What is the benefit of the juicebox vs the free Porsche charger that comes with the car?

ploglet

I am looking at a e-hybrid version and sounds like if the options list doesnt have the 7.2KW option, then the car has the standard 3.6KW onboard charger. I would presume all the Cayenne's come with a charging cable/block or is that something you have to buy in addition to the car? Would seem weird to do that but with Porsche you never know. With the lower 3.6KW charger, assume that just means it charges at a slower rate?