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Problem charging with J1772 charger and Lucid adapter

A

Altieb

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2026 Lucid Gravity
The other evening, we were almost stranded because 3 different J1772 chargers would not charge the Gravity using the Lucid adapter. The error message was "check cable or call customer service". It was midnight. Customer service? Never got it to work. Found a Tesla charger the next day. Has anyone experienced this and/or found a solution?
 
Altieb said:
The other evening, we were almost stranded because 3 different J1772 chargers would not charge the Gravity using the Lucid adapter. The error message was "check cable or call customer service". It was midnight. Customer service? Never got it to work. Found a Tesla charger the next day. Has anyone experienced this and/or found a solution?
Click to expand...
DC or AC? Which adapter were you using?
 
Altieb said:
The other evening, we were almost stranded because 3 different J1772 chargers would not charge the Gravity using the Lucid adapter. The error message was "check cable or call customer service". It was midnight. Customer service? Never got it to work. Found a Tesla charger the next day. Has anyone experienced this and/or found a solution?
Click to expand...
Never had any issue at all. Did you check PlugShare to see if there were any other reports from users of issues at the chargers you tried? Have you had any luck with that adapter before today? Perhaps it could be faulty or broken?
 
D'oh. I did not know the car came with two adapters, and I used the DC adapter, not the J1772. I found the correct adapter today and I am confident the problem will be solved.

Thank you for the input and advice!

-A
 
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Altieb said:
D'oh. I did not know the car came with two adapters, and I used the DC adapter, not the J1772. I found the correct adapter today and I am confident the problem will be solved.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's interesting to note that while there are some CCS1 to NACS adapters that claim to support both AC and DC charging (so older cars can use NACS chargers), it's impossible to support both in the other direction due to the design of the J1772 and CCS1 plugs.

Here's a video explaining some of this, with some additional (and potentially confusing) information around the specific Ford Wall Connector that has bi-directional support:

When the rest of the world catches up to NACS we'll all be better off.
 
Here a summary of adapter use for the Gravity (I needed to work through this for my own sanity):
  • Station has NACS plug: directly plug in.
  • Station has non-NACS plug and is DC (fast charging stations): use the Lucid CCS1 adapter.
  • Station has non-NACS plug and is AC (typically wall mount and destination chargers): use the Lucid j1772 adapter.
More specifically:
  • Station has NACS plug: directly plug in (can't make a mistake).
  • Station has CCS1 plug and is DC: use the Lucid CCS1 adapter (possible to use the wrong adapter and not be able to charge).
  • Station has CCS1 plug and is AC: use the Lucid j1772 adaptor (possible to use the wrong adapter and not be able to charge).
  • Station has j1772 plug: use the Lucid j1772 adaptor (can't make a mistake).

More details for those interested.​

The j1772 standard supports AC charging only. The CCS1 standard takes the j1772 AC standard and adds the DC portion. This is why the j1772 adaptor can be used with CCS1 plugs for AC charging.

Lucid’s CCS1 adapter is only 1/2 an adapter. It passes only DC and will not work if the station outputs AC. The j1772/CCS1 adapter confusion comes in because both adapters can used with CCS1 plugs. You need to know whether to station is AC vs. DC and select the correct Lucid adapter: j1772-adapter for AC and CCS1-adapter for DC.

There are 3rd party adapters that support both CCS1 AC+DC. With adaptors that support the full CCS1 standard, you can use the same adaptor for any CCS1 station or wall charger, regardless of whether it is providing slow AC charging or fast DC charging.

I'm guessing the reason Lucid's CCS adapter doesn't support both AC+DC to make our lives easier is that the AC portion is redundant:
  • j1772 adapter for AC: We need this adapter, as many stations are j1772 (j1772 is slowly being phased out).
  • CCS1 adapter for both AC and DC: We don't really need the AC portion, since we'll have the j1772 adapter anyway.
Personally, I would prefer that Lucid's CCS1 adapter support the full standard (AC + DC) so that we don't need to go through the mental gymnastics of AC vs. DC. See a CCS1 plug? Use the CCS1 adapter. See a j1772 plug? Use the j1772 adapter.
 
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Saksak said:
Here a summary of adapter use for the Gravity (I needed to work through this for my own sanity):
  • Station has NACS plug: directly plug in.
  • Station has non-NACS plug and is DC (fast charging stations): use the Lucid CCS1 adapter.
  • Station has non-NACS plug and is AC (typically wall mount and destination chargers): use the Lucid j1772 adapter.
More specifically:
  • Station has NACS plug: directly plug in (can't make a mistake).
  • Station has CCS1 plug and is DC: use the Lucid CCS1 adapter (possible to use the wrong adapter and not be able to charge).
  • Station has CCS1 plug and is AC: use the Lucid j1772 adaptor (possible to use the wrong adapter and not be able to charge).
  • Station has j1772 plug: use the Lucid j1772 adaptor (can't make a mistake).

More details for those interested.​

The j1772 standard supports AC charging only. The CCS1 standard takes the j1772 AC standard and adds the DC portion. This is why the j1772 adaptor can be used with CCS1 plugs for AC charging.

Lucid’s CCS1 adapter is only 1/2 an adapter. It passes only DC and will not work if the station outputs AC. The j1772/CCS1 adapter confusion comes in because both adapters can used with CCS1 plugs. You need to know whether to station is AC vs. DC and select the correct Lucid adapter: j1772-adapter for AC and CCS1-adapter for DC.

There are 3rd party adapters that support both CCS1 AC+DC. With adaptors that support the full CCS1 standard, you can use the same adaptor for any CCS1 station or wall charger, regardless of whether it is providing slow AC charging or fast DC charging.

I'm guessing the reason Lucid's CCS adapter doesn't support both AC+DC to make our lives easier is that the AC portion is redundant:
  • j1772 adapter for AC: We need this adapter, as many stations are j1772 (j1772 is slowly being phased out).
  • CCS1 adapter for both AC and DC: We don't really need the AC portion, since we'll have the j1772 adapter anyway.
Personally, I would prefer that Lucid's CCS1 adapter support the full standard (AC + DC) so that we don't need to go through the mental gymnastics of AC vs. DC. See a CCS1 plug? Use the CCS1 adapter. See a j1772 plug? Use the j1772 adapter.
Click to expand...
I hope you notice that none of the reputable companies (Lectron, A2Z, Tesla etc.) sell one of those combined AC/DC CCS-1 to NACS adapters. There are safety concerns with linking the voltage pins like that.
 
Saksak said:
Station has CCS1 plug and is AC: use the Lucid j1772 adaptor (possible to use the wrong adapter and not be able to charge).
Click to expand...

Please note: there are no charging stations that have CCS1 and output AC.

Saksak said:
The CCS1 standard takes the j1772 AC standard and adds the DC portion. This is why the j1772 adaptor can be used with CCS1 plugs for AC charging.
Click to expand...

More correctly, CCS1 uses the communication pins of the J1772 connector and adds two heavy duty pins for high voltage, high current DC power. The AC power pins of the J1772 are not used at all. Using a J1772 to NACS adapter on a CCS1 charger Will not work.

Saksak said:
You need to know whether to station is AC vs. DC and select the correct Lucid adapter: j1772-adapter for AC and CCS1-adapter for DC.
Click to expand...

You need to know whether [the station has CCS21 or J1772 and choose the corresponding] Lucid adapter.

Saksak said:
Personally, I would prefer that Lucid's CCS1 adapter support the full standard (AC + DC) so that we don't need to go through the mental gymnastics of AC vs. DC.
Click to expand...

There is no such "full standard". One reason why none of the reputable adapters do this is that it is dangerous.

These plugs are designed such that power is not present in the connector until all pins are fully connected, and thus fully insulated from the end user.

Such an adapter would have the AC pins and the DC pins connected together. When using it with a J1772 EVSE, it would present 240 VAC with high current capability on the unprotected DC input pins. Definitely not safe.
 
eelpout said:
I hope you notice that none of the reputable companies (Lectron, A2Z, Tesla etc.) sell one of those combined AC/DC CCS-1 to NACS adapters. There are safety concerns with linking the voltage pins like that.
Click to expand...
I actually did not know the dual AC+DC adapters are not recommended. Thanks for the info. Although technically feasible, a good explanation of why these are not made by reputable brands is in:
.
 
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johnse said:
Please note: there are no charging stations that have CCS1 and output AC..
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That is good to know. I guess the Ford charger providing AC through CCS1 is a special case where the j1772 adapter is purposely prevented from mating.

I take this to mean that there will never be a reason to use a j1772 adapter on a CCS1 station/wall-charger, which is nice.
 
Even simpler:
  • If it’s the big handle, use the big adapter (CCS1).
  • If it’s the little handle, use the little adapter (j1772)
Also:
  • Beware of what big adapter (CCS1) you buy if you need to purchase one.
  • Never buy one that has dual charge capability (DC & AC). Stick with the reputable brands.
  • You’ll want CCS1, DC, unless you have the Ford charger.
It’s unfortunate that the little adapter fits into the big handle, but at least there are no scenarios where this is required.
 
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Smorgasbord said:
That, unfortunately, does not work if you encounter that Ford home charger with V2H capabilities, as described in the video I linked above.
Click to expand...
For those with the Ford charger, the rule still applies (big adapter for the big handle) but now you must select the correct big adaptor.

For those without the Ford charger, make sure to purchase the DC version of the CCS1 adapter and not the AC version, as both versions are now on the market.
 
Saksak said:
For those with the Ford charger, the rule still applies (big adapter for the big handle) but now you must select the correct big adaptor.
Click to expand...
OK, fair enough.

Saksak said:
For those without the Ford charger, make sure to purchase the DC version of the CCS1 adapter and not the AC version, as both versions are now on the market.
Click to expand...
It's nice that Gravity comes with both adapters you're likely to need (not the Ford charger compatible one).

And if you are shopping for adapters, the pretty much standard naming convention is from the plug (cord) side of things, for instance:
"NACS to xxx" is for Lucid Air, which adapts NACS plugs on charger cables to the J1772/CCS1 ports on the Air.
"xxx to NACS" is for Lucid Gravity, which adapts the J1772 or CCS1 plug on the cable to the NACS port on the Gravity.

Saksak said:
I actually did not know the dual AC+DC adapters are not recommended
Click to expand...
Thanks for that video. While a single NACS to both J1172 and CCS1 adapter is not recommended, what about the other direction? Could a single adapter take either a J1772 or a CCS1 plug and output a NACS? Or, would the charger complain (or fail catastrophically) that the DC and AC pins were connected to each other? I know right now that some plastic prevents that.
 
johnse said:
Please note: there are no charging stations that have CCS1 and output AC.
Click to expand...
I have to backtrack just a bit here...there do exist such beasts: Ford and GM both make them for bidirectional charging. The DC pins are used for powering the house from the car's battery.

These are not, however, on the public charging networks.

See this video for more details...but you still need a separate and different adapter for AC vs DC

 
Smorgasbord said:
Could a single adapter take either a J1772 or a CCS1 plug and output a NACS? Or, would the charger complain (or fail catastrophically) that the DC and AC pins were connected to each other? I know right now that some plastic prevents that.
Click to expand...
Tom explains why that is a bad idea. At the end of the video above he shows an adapter exactly like that and the safety issues with it.

I also suspect using that LeTough adapter on the Ford EVSE could damage the car or the charger as it would tie the AC power output pins to the DC power input pins.
 
Saksak said:
I actually did not know the dual AC+DC adapters are not recommended. Thanks for the info. Although technically feasible, a good explanation of why these are not made by reputable brands is in:
.
Click to expand...
until this thread, I didn't know that (so claimed) combined AC+DC adapters were even on the market. I'm tempted to get one and take it apart to see how they work. These things are dirt cheap too compared to the recommended DC only ones which is another warning sign.
 
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