Fun fact: 22kw (19.2kW in N.A.) OBC is physically larger than the 11kW (9.6kW in N.A. after OTA downgrade)

[whitex]

Here is something I learned today, so I thought I'd share. Both of these are N.A. region OBC. Mounting screw holes are only at corners of each, so even the mounting is different between them.

Also, 11kW made in Ireland, 22kW made in Italy, but that could be just the two I obtained.

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[whitex]

Found some online pictures of them installed:

11kW:

22kW:

 

[daveo4EV]

interesting thanks for sharing…

 

[Tooney]

 

[Dee]

How's that a fun fact?

 

[tigerbalm]

Also, 11kW made in Ireland, 22kW made in Italy, but that could be just the two I obtained.

For sure the four or five 22kW I went through were all made in Ireland but I did hear that they moved production to Italy (a new supplier) for about a year before they gave up on them.

This was the manufacturer: https://www.kostal-career.com/en-IE/

On Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/jTnuKxDFddr3ks8M6

 

[gnr3312]

How's that a fun fact?

I also wasn’t sure what to look for in those pictures. Need a circle or arrow OP because otherwise I feel like I’m staring at one of those “Where’s Waldo?” Puzzles

 

[Dee]

I also wasn’t sure what to look for in those pictures. Need a circle or arrow OP because otherwise I feel like I’m staring at one of those “Where’s Waldo?” Puzzles

I meant it's pretty clear that the 22kW OBC is bigger than the 11kW one.

 

[tigerbalm]

I also wasn’t sure what to look for in those pictures. Need a circle or arrow OP because otherwise I feel like I’m staring at one of those “Where’s Waldo?” Puzzles

Its the large shiny rectangular box sitting vertical in both pictures. The box on top of it to the left of the coolant tank is the infamous and equally troublesome "cabin heater".

 

[Genau]

...but that could be just the two I obtained.

Very much looking forward to your writeup on why you obtained these!

 

[whitex]

Very much looking forward to your writeup on why you obtained these!

To answer your question, the 11kW I acquired before I even had a Taycan, it was when I was waiting for an allocation and then build process (20 month wait during which the model year of the Taycan went up, along with a price too). It was pandemic times, so I had more time on my hands, so I ended up getting a bunch Taycan ECUs, including the instrument cluster, the PCM with both top and bottom screens, Gateway, ConBoxHigh, OTA module, etc. I built a "Taycan on a bench" at home to learn how it all works, and do some fun hacking/testing. I never ended up powering up the 11kW OBC though, so it just sat in my parts bin since then. Now that the 22kW OBC has been end-of-lifed, I decided to acquire one, replace the undersized MOSFETS in it, have it handy for the next time my 22kW OBC dies and Porsche tries to replace it with 11kW. I will have to of course try to work out some compensation deal with them, one that would be satisfactory to me and keeps my Taycan charging at 19.2kW at home. I'm willing to be creative and am not their typical customer - for example a lifetime PPN/PIWIS subscription has value to me, costs Porsche basically nothing, and gives me an incentive to keep buying more Porsches, so it would seem like a win-win type of compensation perk I'd be willing to consider as part of the package.

When (or if, should my OBC die before then I won't have as much incentive) I complete this MOSFET upgrade, I will post a writeup of my adventures. At the moment I am learning to use a CNC machine I acquired partly for this project, which I plan to use to open the OBC, as well as create a custom lid I can use to close it up again, making it a serviceable part.

Unfortunately I just realized that the 22kW OBC will not fit as neatly into the above CNC machine, so I would have to learn how to operate it with the lid open, and do the job in 2 passes while remounting the OBC. But that's a problem for later, so far I just got the machine running, learning CAM software in my free time, which I haven't had too much of lately. I will probably learn by opening the 11kW can first too.

 

[Dee]

I also wasn’t sure what to look for in those pictures. Need a circle or arrow OP because otherwise I feel like I’m staring at one of those “Where’s Waldo?” Puzzles

There you go.

 

[Dee]

For people who want to know more about the mosfets in the OBC and how to fix them:
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/22kw-obc-failure-insight-possible-solution.25739/

Long story short: The STMicroelectronics SiC MOSFET (1200V, 32A) is too weak and is replaced by the Nexperia SiC MOSFET (1200V, 65A) which can handle a much higher current.

 

[snoopy]

Do you need to reprogram in PIWIS to accept a new OBC when replacing it?

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