[NeoFrank]

Like many others, I'm looking forward to my first road trip with my ID.4 this summer. I'll be doing ~2000 miles with my son - visiting colleges and ball parks - from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, back to Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Boston, and home to Maryland again. I'd welcome any advice you might have -- or links you might point me towards.

A couple of top of mind questions:

• Hotels: I've started searching for hotels with EV chargers, and am surprised that the brands don't seem to promote this feature. So far, I've looked at Marriott and Hilton web sites, as well as Expedia. Maybe there aren't enough to be proud of? While they're likely in ABRP, it seems a lot to sort through...
• OBD2: How valuable is the additional data collected for a road trip? As an iOS user it seems my choices are pretty limited.

Any and all advice is welcome!

 

[TPG]

Like many others, I'm looking forward to my first road trip with my ID.4 this summer. I'll be doing ~2000 miles with my son - visiting colleges and ball parks - from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, back to Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Boston, and home to Maryland again. I'd welcome any advice you might have -- or links you might point me towards.

A couple of top of mind questions:

• Hotels: I've started searching for hotels with EV chargers, and am surprised that the brands don't seem to promote this feature. So far, I've looked at Marriott and Hilton web sites, as well as Expedia. Maybe there aren't enough to be proud of? While they're likely in ABRP, it seems a lot to sort through...
• OBD2: How valuable is the additional data collected for a road trip? As an iOS user it seems my choices are pretty limited.

Any and all advice is welcome!

I recommend looking for chargers in Google maps. Just enter the city you want and search for EV chargers and then hotels and see where they overlap. I don't know if you can can have multiple overlaid searches, but you could do 2 browser windows side by side.

 

[Wilsonium]

Don't forget

Like many others, I'm looking forward to my first road trip with my ID.4 this summer. I'll be doing ~2000 miles with my son - visiting colleges and ball parks - from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Ann Arbor, back to Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Boston, and home to Maryland again. I'd welcome any advice you might have -- or links you might point me towards.

A couple of top of mind questions:

• Hotels: I've started searching for hotels with EV chargers, and am surprised that the brands don't seem to promote this feature. So far, I've looked at Marriott and Hilton web sites, as well as Expedia. Maybe there aren't enough to be proud of? While they're likely in ABRP, it seems a lot to sort through...
• OBD2: How valuable is the additional data collected for a road trip? As an iOS user it seems my choices are pretty limited.

Any and all advice is welcome!

Don't forget to pick up a Tesla to CCS adapter... that way you can also leverage Tesla destination chargers (Does not work with Superchargers tho, only destination chargers).

 

[OnlyBob]

Plugshare has an amenities filter. You can select "Lodging" to show EVSEs which are near lodging. Some of these are just in garages near a hotel. But a lot are at hotels.

 

[Wilsonium]

Plugshare has an amenities filter. You can select "Lodging" to show EVSEs which are near lodging. Some of these are just in garages near a hotel. But a lot are at hotels.

Plugshare is a great resource too. You can see Tesla destinations chargers here. You can turn off all the superchargers and Tesla service centers (at bottom of window) and just see the destination chargers. Many are by lodging and for hotel guests only.

 

[Froggy]

All of the casinos here have destination chargers but getting the Tesla to CCS adapter might be a good idea. I am go to wait until October probably to do my road trip. Got to get through hurricane season and my parents 65 wedding anniversary first. Can’t wait too long because I want to drive to the Rockies.

 

[mochalatte]

• OBD2: How valuable is the additional data collected for a road trip? As an iOS user it seems my choices are pretty limited.

Not too valuable unless you are a certifiable data nerd. You would want an OBD2 device that supports BLE (I got the Veepeak one) and the Car Scanner ELM OBD2 app. The app is a general-purpose OBD app primarily for ICE cars, so it is a matter of a lot of configuration and playing around to weed out the useless information and to get a the interesting information for your ID.4. But if you let your son drive, you would have plenty of time to play around with it.

Keep in mind that it always draws power from the 12V battery, so you will need to remember to unplug it if the car sets unused for several days to avoid discharging the 12V battery. (At least I think that is the case. I guess it is possible that the car is smart enough to tap into the main battery to charge the 12V battery when it gets low, but I think different EVs behave differently.)

When I got my device, I was new to OBD and didn't really know what to expect. I was hoping for being able to get data logs from the car, but that isn't a thing. If you want to keep a log of anything, the iOS has to be open and running and you have to have the signals you want to log configured on the app dashboard screen. If you do that, you can graph the data within the iPhone app or send the data as a CSV file to open in a spreadsheet app on your computer later.

But that said, it might be fun for you to set up some dashboard screens to view battery and charger temperatures at several measurement points. In addition to all the usual signals like speed, odometer, distance, etc. there are some EV-specific signals to view also. You can actually see the temperature and voltage of each battery cell individually, which might be interesting to look at if any cells start going bad. You can watch the DC Battery Power as you hit the accelerator, and watch it go negative as the battery is charged during regeneration. You can see the motor RPM. Another interesting signal is something call "HV Battery: circulation pump flow", which is usually zero but I've seen it at 6% when driving on a hot day and at 8% when charging at a DC Level 3 charger. That same DC Battery Power is interesting to compare to a EA level 3 charger while charging.

And of course, you can view any diagnostic trouble codes that occur.

If you like to tinker with data, yep, get one.

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

All of the casinos here have destination chargers but getting the Tesla to CCS adapter might be a good idea. I am go to wait until October probably to do my road trip. Got to get through hurricane season and my parents 65 wedding anniversary first. Can’t wait too long because I want to drive to the Rockies.

Make sure you get one that is rated for 48 amp continuous as most of Tesla destination chargers are rated at this current and once plugged in it will report your ID4 can pull full 48 amp....and if you buy one that is rated less continuous you will risk having your adapter on fire or overheating adapter....be warned if you go this route.

e.g. TeslaTap 50 AMP - HIGH POWER

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

Regarding picking up a lot of important PIDs coming from OBD2 is good thing to have....buy cheap android device or tablet and get car scanner it quite good once you figure out how to use....

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

Not too valuable unless you are a certifiable data nerd. You would want an OBD2 device that supports BLE (I got the Veepeak one) and the Car Scanner ELM OBD2 app. The app is a general-purpose OBD app primarily for ICE cars, so it is a matter of a lot of configuration and playing around to weed out the useless information and to get a the interesting information for your ID.4. But if you let your son drive, you would have plenty of time to play around with it.

Keep in mind that it always draws power from the 12V battery, so you will need to remember to unplug it if the car sets unused for several days to avoid discharging the 12V battery. (At least I think that is the case. I guess it is possible that the car is smart enough to tap into the main battery to charge the 12V battery when it gets low, but I think different EVs behave differently.)

When I got my device, I was new to OBD and didn't really know what to expect. I was hoping for being able to get data logs from the car, but that isn't a thing. If you want to keep a log of anything, the iOS has to be open and running and you have to have the signals you want to log configured on the app dashboard screen. If you do that, you can graph the data within the iPhone app or send the data as a CSV file to open in a spreadsheet app on your computer later.

But that said, it might be fun for you to set up some dashboard screens to view battery and charger temperatures at several measurement points. In addition to all the usual signals like speed, odometer, distance, etc. there are some EV-specific signals to view also. You can actually see the temperature and voltage of each battery cell individually, which might be interesting to look at if any cells start going bad. You can watch the DC Battery Power as you hit the accelerator, and watch it go negative as the battery is charged during regeneration. You can see the motor RPM. Another interesting signal is something call "HV Battery: circulation pump flow", which is usually zero but I've seen it at 6% when driving on a hot day and at 8% when charging at a DC Level 3 charger. That same DC Battery Power is interesting to compare to a EA level 3 charger while charging.

And of course, you can view any diagnostic trouble codes that occur.

If you like to tinker with data, yep, get one.

Car scanner is not that difficult you can weed out all other unnecessary PID and have only PIDs that work with your ID4.
If someone needs help i will be more than happy to help. Another you mentioned are good alternative but it is subscription type.

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

For good obd look for OBDLink MX for android and OBDLink MX+ for IPhone.
They are not cheap but you can live it in indefinitely in obd2 port...they have option for deep sleep that use very little power even if ID4 battery was not charged for weeks...but we know already that this is done by ID.4 even when car is not used for days... so battery getting low on charge will not be happening unless bad cells in 12V battery start shorting out.

 

[NeoFrank]

Make sure you get one that is rated for 48 amp continuous as most of Tesla destination chargers are rated at this current and once plugged in it will report your ID4 can pull full 48 amp....and if you buy one that is rated less continuous you will risk having your adapter on fire or overheating adapter....be warned if you go this route.

e.g. TeslaTap 50 AMP - HIGH POWER

My foray into EVs has been enormously well-informed by this community, but I fear I've made a mistake. Unfortunately, I have already purchased the Lectron - Tesla to J1772 Adapter, Max 40A & 250V adapter. It sounds like the ID.4's capability to draw more than 40A makes this adapter risky to use? Is there a means for throttling the amps, or should I trash this uninformed purchase?

 

[NeoFrank]

Not too valuable unless you are a certifiable data nerd.

I've been called worse!

it might be fun for you to set up some dashboard screens to view battery and charger temperatures at several measurement points. In addition to all the usual signals like speed, odometer, distance, etc. there are some EV-specific signals to view also. You can actually see the temperature and voltage of each battery cell individually, which might be interesting to look at if any cells start going bad.

This is really helpful. Actually getting into the EV signals does sound like fun, and a learning experience (for myself, and for my son!)

 

[mochalatte]

My foray into EVs has been enormously well-informed by this community, but I fear I've made a mistake. Unfortunately, I have already purchased the Lectron - Tesla to J1772 Adapter, Max 40A & 250V adapter. It sounds like the ID.4's capability to draw more than 40A makes this adapter risky to use? Is there a means for throttling the amps, or should I trash this uninformed purchase?

That's what the "Reduce AC charge current" button is for, so hopefully it does its job. Personally, I would get a 60A adapter. The SW will probably work, but the consequences of a bug or forgetting to set it could let the smoke out of the device.

 

[mochalatte]

John411iD found a really useful set of dashboard layouts for Car Scanner that he posted on another thread. Check out the YouTube below. The description has download links for the background image and dashboard layouts that I just downloaded to my iPhone. They are really nice--highly recommended. Read the YouTube description for instructions.

 

[fiehlsport]

Everyone... it's a Tesla to J1772 adapter, not CCS. CCS is the fast charging protocol. (Not what is being used)

The Lectron 40A adapter works fine at 48A. No heat issues whatsoever. The manufacturer has told me this is fine. They should just label it as 48A compatible at this point. I use it every single night and even after 2 hours of charging it's not toasty in the least - no warmer than it is when I had the EVSE set to 40A.

 

[mochalatte]

I just scrolled through the customer photos at amazon for the 40A Lectron and didn't see any images of charred adaptors, so that's not a bad sign.

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

My foray into EVs has been enormously well-informed by this community, but I fear I've made a mistake. Unfortunately, I have already purchased the Lectron - Tesla to J1772 Adapter, Max 40A & 250V adapter. It sounds like the ID.4's capability to draw more than 40A makes this adapter risky to use? Is there a means for throttling the amps, or should I trash this uninformed purchase?

Don't trash it...sell it and buy one that is rated for 48 amp continues or more.... this is going to be big fire hazard for people who are not aware. Unfortunately you can only control your own EVSE Tesla unit if you have one ....but Tesla destination chargers are not available and usually they are set at 48 amp or even 80 amps older models.

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

There are built in temperature sensors for fail safe in Lectron adapter but i would not rely on this and push 48 amp continues over 40 amp rated.... That is what i have heard from Lectron calling....
This should be sticky for Moderator to make aware all future people buying this type of adapter to go for one 48 amp continues minimum or higher if possible. Tesla destination chargers have sensor built in plug and once they sense overheating it will signal EV for less current and try to keep charging and most of recognized brands would have this also.....but this would make people think EV or EVSE is not delivering full rated current ( but instead it is fighting against melting and possible fire hazard)

 

[VW TECHNICIAN]

Everyone... it's a Tesla to J1772 adapter, not CCS. CCS is the fast charging protocol. (Not what is being used)

The Lectron 40A adapter works fine at 48A. No heat issues whatsoever. The manufacturer has told me this is fine. They should just label it as 48A compatible at this point. I use it every single night and even after 2 hours of charging it's not toasty in the least - no warmer than it is when I had the EVSE set to 40A.

Good luck with it.... you are putting your EV warranty in line..... I would ask in writing this statement....because this not what i have been told.