A2Z adapter tips for sliding the locking tab?

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

After hearing so much about these difficulties I made a point last weekend when testing out mine for the first time to exercise the adapter by seating it/locking it, and reseating it/locking it about 30 times on the Tesla charger.

I'm not sure if it made a difference because I was so intent on seating it fully the first time that I push it on with force and then braced it on the charger and pushed even more haha

The first time I used my adapter, late at night and dimly lit, I could just barely see the wear mark on the NACS plug and that it wasn't fully seated. I did the same as you, pushed against the charger, no change. Then I remembered seeing a video on YT where they gave their adapter an abrupt hard slap at the CCS1 end to pop it on. I tried that. Flesh and bone on hard edges did not feel good at all. Then, I thought the s00nish cap I bought has more surface area, which could distribute the force better and hurt less. That worked on first try. The slide lock even engaged itself. This final technique I repeated successfully, and with less force, second and third time.

One of the suggestions I would give @A2ZEV is to color fill the letters on the slide lock, or add a color filled dot, so it's easer to see (in low light) if the lock is engaged or not.

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[MountainBikeDude]

Maybe with continued use it will ease up a bit.

This Above.

Mine was extremely tight to any imperfections/grit on a NACS plug. it you quickly wipe the exterior with your hands to brush off any debris it helps a bit. I've also noticed it's taking less and less brute force to fully insert the connection.

If the locking slider doesn't engage on its own, then the plug isn't fully inserted FYI for others.

 

[LL75]

I also had trouble at one SC, banging it on a surface was the only workaround I found...may need to try a lubricant as some others have mentioned...was first time showing my wife which inspired zero confidence...first time it worked fine...go figure...

Tell me about it. Charging 3x on our trip to Tulsa and each time, I had some troubles with the lock. Wife was sitting the car shaking her head with the " I ain't trying it" look.

 

[dixosw]

Tried mine earlier this week. It's crazy difficult to get it latched. I even practiced with our Tesla HPWC in the garage a few times to break it in and it seemed ok, but the supercharger experience with the A2Z was just awful. It's even difficult to get it to latch into the Rivian - like the adapter is slightly larger than it should be. Even pulling it out required jiggling it from side-to-side which can't be good for the charge port. I have no issues with proper CCS plugs. I guess I'll keep trying but overall it's an awful experience. I can only hope the official Tesla/Rivian one is better than this dreadful thing.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Tried mine earlier this week. It's crazy difficult to get it latched. I even practiced with our Tesla HPWC in the garage a few times to break it in and it seemed ok, but the supercharger experience with the A2Z was just awful. It's even difficult to get it to latch into the Rivian - like the adapter is slightly larger than it should be. Even pulling it out required jiggling it from side-to-side which can't be good for the charge port. I have no issues with proper CCS plugs. I guess I'll keep trying but overall it's an awful experience. I can only hope the official Tesla/Rivian one is better than this dreadful thing.

It's just tight tolerances. Like it's made too precise, by mere microns. Definitely not a low-resistance user experience. But also not end-of-the-world difficult. A tiny bit of patience is necessary. Videos of the official adapter (Ford examples in particular) don't seem to have this issue. They have a different problem, during removal/disassembly, if you attempt to push the adapter away from you—as you disengage the lock, rather than pull apart—you could eject the adapter away and out of your hands.

Tales from post-recall Lectron users tell a even more difficult experience. The lock is much harder to disengage. Some had to improvise and use pocket knives to depress the locking tab. Not sure how it's actually done, but it just doesn't seem like something a customer should be expected to do at all. Like the Rivian R1 itself, flaws and all, I think @A2ZEV released a better product.

 

[LL75]

This is from A2Z support. They adviced against lubricant . They also sent a video instruction for using the adapter, but that seems to slide in too easy compared to real life experiences

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