Porsche Wall Charger Connect | Unbox & Install

[Tooney]

I agree 100% @whitex - the fact that Porsche's EVSE's are demonstrating such bad compatibility rule's them out as options for me personally - but not every agrees with that as a decision criteria

It's convenient that wall receptacles, timers, switches, and plugs made by GE will work with appliances, lighting fixtures, and electronics made by GE and others. Same with many EVSE's, other than Porsche.

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[whitex]

yeah - need to make a really informed purchase decision here.

Porsche should really have a disclaimer on their PMWC ordering page stating that they only officially support Porsche branded cars and not the SAE J1772 standard, meaning that non-Porsche cars may or may not charge from their EVSE, or even if they do today they may stop working with a future OTA update.

 

[daveo4EV]

Porsche should really have a disclaimer on their PMWC ordering page stating that they only officially support Porsche branded cars and not the SAE J1772 standard, meaning that non-Porsche cars may or may not charge from their EVSE, or even if they do today they may stop working with a future OTA update.

100% agree - Porsche's handling of North American charging has been horrible to date.

 

[W1NGE]

I agree 100% @whitex - the fact that Porsche's EVSE's are demonstrating such bad compatibility rule's them out as options for me personally - but not every agrees with that as a decision criteria

I think the Porsche chargers are poor choices given price, performance and compatibility

but the Wall charger for 60 amps for VW/Audi/Porsche charging is a reasonable choice as long as you are making an informed decision with regards to price and compatibility.

One thought, are you guys adding the non-Porsche EV into your PMCC/ PWCC via the web interface so that it is an authorised vehicle.of your EVSE?

There should be a handshake where a code (similar to a VIN - PID I think) is offered up but unless this is 'accepted' and added to the EVSE permitted vehicle list it will be prevented access.

Just a random thought.

Personally, I rate the PMCC highly.

 

[Porsche-dude-23]

I will be using the PWCC on a 60A breaker with 48A charging. Once we upgrade our panel, I plan to bump up to the 80A charging.

That was my thought. Use it with 48A and then plan to upgrade later. I see the compatibility issues mentioned here but I am only using this with the Porsche but it’s definitely good to know. As I already have the PWCC I will be installing it and also, I like the charger and the touch screen options etc.,

 

[satchurator]

Btw, have people confirmed Porsche EVSE compatibility with all VW/Audi cars (even the early ones)?

My PWCC works with my wife's new Audi Q4 etron, albeit with some issues.

Audi's mobile chargers are made by the same company that makes the PMC+, PMCC and PWCC (Katek/eSystems). Not a guarantee of compatibility I suppose...

 

[daveo4EV]

One thought, are you guys adding the non-Porsche EV into your PMCC/ PWCC via the web interface so that it is an authorised vehicle.of your EVSE?

There should be a handshake where a code (similar to a VIN - PID I think) is offered up but unless this is 'accepted' and added to the EVSE permitted vehicle list it will be prevented access.

Just a random thought.

Personally, I rate the PMCC highly.

none of this makes any sense with regards to a generic North American EVSE - it's just plug & go… no vehicle vin required or adding the EVSE to your porsche account

EVSE's are just glorified extension cords providing "raw" AC power for the car to control - vin ID and other fancy features are not supported by 90% of existing EV's - and to to data only 2021 Taycan's or later can do VIN ID w/PMCC, and none of the VW/Audi products I've tested provide it…

so access controls via vehicle VIN is hit/miss - and mostly miss given very very limited support from existing EV's

 

[W1NGE]

none of this makes any sense with regards to a generic North American EVSE - it's just plug & go… no vehicle vin required or adding the EVSE to your porsche account

EVSE's are just glorified extension cords providing "raw" AC power for the car to control - vin ID and other fancy features are not supported by 90% of existing EV's - and to to data only 2021 Taycan's or later can do VIN ID w/PMCC, and none of the VW/Audi products I've tested provide it…

so access controls via vehicle VIN is hit/miss - and mostly miss given very very limited support from existing EV's

I know all of this (of course) but I had to add my car's PCID as an authorised vehicle. PCID is provided by the car on connection. Suspect Audi, Seat, VW do the same.

Just a thought

 

[Surlymcm]

 

[Surlymcm]

Just need a car to charge. Come on Porsche get me on a ship!

 

[snstevens]

I have been very frustrated with the PMCC and wanted to change to another EVSE, but I also wanted the 80A capacity for a future 19.2KW charging experience.

I looked at wired alternatives but they were both somewhat clunky looking (IMO) and pretty pricy (e.g., the ClipperCreek CS-100 is $2,195). When the PWCC came out with a special price of $1,339 (shipping included and a free return if I didn't like it) I decided to give it a good look, and came away feeling that it would be a good choice. There was a bit of "leap of faith" here though, given the poor PMCC quality, but there was a free return option so what the hell?

Of course, after I ordered it I read some posts on this thread that indicated that it might only work with Porsche vehicles, and I was concerned that if that was true I had screwed up (more on this later).

The PWCC arrived and the unboxing experience was the same as described by @satchurator. I'll share just a couple of pictures that might be of interest to others. I decided to not use conduit since the PWCC is only 16" center to center with my distribution panel. In the picture below #1 points to a spot where I drilled to open up a hole for power entry, and #2 points to the wiring connection to the PWCC electronics. We used 4 AWG wire for the two hot lines and 6 AWG for the Ground.

Here is the connector in #2 above up close. On the left side is the selector switch to choose the breaker size, and the DIP switch to select the power source type.

I also decided to use the same mounting holes for the PWCC as I had used for the PMCC.

One difference was the need to use 10" fasteners and I opted for TimberLok (Home Depot), and I only used two for the stud mounts.

The wiring was pretty simple, and the cost unbelievably low at $300 to the electrician (wire and 100A breaker included). I think I got a deal here.

@spicyypenguin mentioned the difficulty of attaching the front cover, and for that I used a T25 Torx head and a 1/4" socket wrench. The Torx fits in the 1/4" socket fits perfectly, and it is short enough to allow for screwing from the backside of the front cover.

Here's the final result -

A couple of points --

• The setting of the unit is for a 100A breaker (Switch Position F), and DIP switch setting for 240V split phase (standard NA power).
• The setup when you first turn it on is the same as a PMCC, and you can set the current at whatever maximum you want. I have it set for 80A, although I'm only charging at 47-48A for my 4s since it has a 11.5KW onboard charger.
• When connecting the PWCC to the Taycan, the car communicates the maximum current allowed, and the PWCC provides that current, in this case 47-48A.
• Any car I get in the future that charges at a higher current will work without modification or changing settings on the PWCC.
• The PWCC supports web browser login as well, same as the PMCC.

So what about charging non-Porsche vehicles. This was a big concern to me and so I asked a neighbor with a Tesla Model S to lend me his car. The car backed into the garage; we connected the Tesla/J1772 adapter; we plugged it in and I held my breath.

And it worked

After charging for 5 min I pushed the release button on the J1772 handle and that signaled to the Tesla that it should release the electrical connection. The ring around the Tesla charging port turned white, and we disconnected safely.

Hope this is helpful to some of you considering this option, although I agree with many others on this thread that you should explore alternatives.

P.S. @Administrator - I've tried deleting the duplicate picture of the socket wrench below several times but it won't stick. Can you help me here?

 

[whitex]

We used 4 AWG wire for the two hot lines and 6 AWG for the Ground.

Out of curiosity, is AWG #4 the wire size recommended by the PWCC documentation?

 

[snstevens]

Out of curiosity, is AWG #4 the wire size recommended by the PWCC documentation?

From the Installation Instructions —

- The Wall Charger Connect is designed exclusively for the connection of copper wires. When using an AWG 4 supply cable, it must have a temperature rating of 90 degrees. When using a supply cable of AWG 3 or larger, this cable must have a temperature rating of 75 degrees.

 

[Tooney]

From the Installation Instructions —

- The Wall Charger Connect is designed exclusively for the connection of copper wires. When using an AWG 4 supply cable, it must have a temperature rating of 90 degrees. When using a supply cable of AWG 3 or larger, this cable must have a temperature rating of 75 degrees.

It would be nice if Porsche was as concerned about wire sizes it actually put in its PMCC and PMC+ EVSEs as it is about external supply wiring to this one.

 

[gnop1950]

Good to hear about the PWCC being able to charge other cars. I've been very happy with my PWCC. Now I don't have any intention of buying a Tesla, but if one of my less fortunate friends shows up with one I can give them a charge

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