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14-50 Winter Charging
- Thread starter BBBC
- Start date
mrau
Authorized Driver
May want to double check that the 14-50 adapter from Tesla is fully plugged into the UMC. Unplug adapter and then put it back in. It should be flush around the edges. When checking just make sure to unplug from the wall outlet and the car first.
Also check if the lights on the UMC are flashing any warnings.
Also check if the lights on the UMC are flashing any warnings.
Yes, wired correctly then, and did that voltmeter testing routine to get the 120, 120, 240 readings. Thanks.
thank you, it is plugged in all the way, and the charger box is all green, no warning indicators.
PACEMD
Active Member
Modern digital multimeters will test volts, amps, ohms, blah, blah, blah........need to be sure your wiring is correct. Correct breaker, gauge of wire, and receptacle.......
OK one other question from left field - do you have a LR or SR? Have you ever charged from AC (not supercharged) at more than 16A before?
The SR cars have two 16A inverters and the LR cars have three 16A inverters. Giving you charging rates of 32A and 48A amps respectively.
It's possible one of the inverters isn't working. I believe this issue is logged and people have been able to phone Tesla to determine if one of the inverters isn't working.
The SR cars have two 16A inverters and the LR cars have three 16A inverters. Giving you charging rates of 32A and 48A amps respectively.
It's possible one of the inverters isn't working. I believe this issue is logged and people have been able to phone Tesla to determine if one of the inverters isn't working.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
/cough rectifiers
But yes, I agree this is a plausible explanation.
As for other posts in this thread - the voltage is obviously correct because the car says so. So we’re not missing a leg.
There is no such thing as an “amps tester” that will tell you anything useful when the circuit is not under load. When it IS under load, you already have the car telling you it’s drawing 16 amps.
OP needs to rule some things out first though. First by getting that cold weather message to go away and trying again.
If still a problem you need to try another car on your mobile connector and/or try your car at another L2 charging station to start ruling things out.
mrau
Authorized Driver
The extra clicking you hear when plugging into the car is not normal. Sounds like it is not making a good connection. When I plug my UMC in the car it is just as solid as when using a supercharger ...and no extra clicks.
If there is a Level 2 charger near you (check Plug Share or Charge Point) you can use that with your J1772 adapter to make sure your car can charge at 32 amps. That would rule out any problems with the car. It is good idea to test a new car’s J1772 just to make sure it works before you really need it.
Hopefully it is something simple. You should be getting 32 amps easily in this weather..it’s not that cold yet.
If there is a Level 2 charger near you (check Plug Share or Charge Point) you can use that with your J1772 adapter to make sure your car can charge at 32 amps. That would rule out any problems with the car. It is good idea to test a new car’s J1772 just to make sure it works before you really need it.
Hopefully it is something simple. You should be getting 32 amps easily in this weather..it’s not that cold yet.
As asked above, did you check the Tesla screen to see if the car is being limited to 16A charging?
PACEMD
Active Member
/cough rectifiers
But yes, I agree this is a plausible explanation.
As for other posts in this thread - the voltage is obviously correct because the car says so. So we’re not missing a leg.
There is no such thing as an “amps tester” that will tell you anything useful when the circuit is not under load. When it IS under load, you already have the car telling you it’s drawing 16 amps.
OP needs to rule some things out first though. First by getting that cold weather message to go away and trying again.
If still a problem you need to try another car on your mobile connector and/or try your car at another L2 charging station to start ruling things out.
Sure, thanks for clarifying that. Obviously I'm not an electrician. So you're saying you would need a load pulling 32 amps to test that it was pulling 32 amps and we know it's only pulling 16, right? Makes sense. Meaning you can't directly/passively test what the circuit is capable of pulling only what is......
eprosenx
Active Member
We need to see the rest of this error message in one of the pictures you posted.
I suspect this is saying “charge port unable to latch, check for obstruction”. This will limit you to 16 amps charging exactly.
Even if the battery is cold it should draw the full 32 amps and use that to heat the battery.
Take a look inside the charge port on your car and more importantly, inside the charge handle on your UMC. You may have some broken plastic jammed way down in there keeping the plug from seating in the receptacle.
At some point, calling Tesla is on the list of steps, but I would check to make sure it is latched in properly first. Listen to it as it try’s to latch when you plug it in. I wonder if it sounds funny at all?
As others mentioned, it could be a dead rectifier module in your car too. But I bet it is a latching issue.
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
The picture in post #9 confirms the car is set to 32/32 amps but only drawing 16.
eprosenx
Active Member
I just re read re OP’s post and he said it clicks weirdly and does not seem solid in the port.
I can nearly 100% guarantee at this point that the issue is the charge cord not latching properly into the charge port and the car is falling back to a “limp home” mode where it limits charging to 16 amps.
All the facts line up! This is not a cold battery issue (but that is a good callout).
Also, this is not a wiring issue of the receptacle. All the details point to that looking fine (no weird color lights on the UMC, no errors on the car, voltage looks good, amps are not just reduced by a little, they are dropped in half, etc...)
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
eprosenx
Active Member
All of the above. If no obstructions, maybe try shoving the plug in firmly while it try’s to latch, or wiggle it gently a little, etc... Could their be ice or snow in the receptacle or plug?
Incidentally, the reason it latches there connector in to begin with is to avoid “arc flash” events when pulling out the cord while under a heavy load. This can damage the contacts in your UMC cable or the charge port and it can be dangerous to the person doing the unplugging. Limiting this to 16 amps does not eliminate this danger, but it reduces it a lot. Don’t unplug things under load! (Have you ever pulled out a vacuum while it is running and seen the arc?)
I pulled it out and looked inside the charge port and the charger “wand” and there are no obvious obstructions. When I plug it in, I hear about 5 “cha-chick” clicks sounds before it’s finally done mucking about and the charging starts.
I have had the “obstruction” warning maybe only one or two times in 10 days, but the loose feeling to the charger has been consistent.
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