A newbie screws things up

[thefortunes]

I hit Stop Charging. I exited the vehicle and the light was blue. I grasped the handle and pulled but it didn't move.
I pressed the button and it went green. At this point I fumbled through a bunch of variations such as unlocking
the charge port from my phone, pressing the trunk button, pressing Stop Charging again. Variations.
It eventually unplugged.

Again, I just picked this S85 up on Tuesday. It is low miles. It went through a mechanical inspection.
It was likely charged by Tesla to full range before they delivered the car.
It looks like I have some problems to work through.

As Hank is trying to explain you have to HOLD the button until the light turns white then, while continuing to hold the button, pull out the charging cable.

If you release the button the car thinks you just inserted the charging cable and will re-lock it in place and start the charging sequence.

 

[EVChris]

Yes, I held the button for several seconds. I didn't just push the button.

As buttons go, they are the squishiest buttons I've ever felt. Calling them buttons is overstating.
You barely know it's a button and then you really don't get any positive feedback
as to what it thinks you just did. On the plus side, I don't think it will ever wear out.

 

[thefortunes]

Yes, I held the button for several seconds. I didn't just push the button.

As buttons go, it is the squishiest button I've ever felt. Calling it a button is overstating.
You barely know it's a button and then you really don't get any positive feedback
as to what it thinks you did.

I'll say it again...hold it until the light turns white then pull the cable out (without releasing the button/switch/whatever you want to call it ).

Once you get the hang of it it really is pretty simple.

 

[EVChris]

I think I did that but I will try it again. How long are you holding the button? 5s? 10s?

On the bad charger at Fremont, it was yellow and said something like Waiting for Charger.
I should have taken a picture but really I just wanted to charge.
Now my hackles are a bit up and I'll start documenting things better.

 

[thefortunes]

I think I did that but I will try it again. How long are you holding the button? 5s? 10s?

On the bad charger at Fremont, it was yellow and said something like Waiting for Charger.
I should have taken a picture but really I just wanted to charge.
Now my hackles are a bit up and I'll start documenting things better.

Hold the button until you pull the cable out. Should take 1-2 seconds to stop charging and release the lock (you will hear it release and light will turn white). If you stop pressing the button, it will re-lock.

 

[Stiction]

I did push the button. I really did. But clearly I didn't push the button the Right Way because it stayed locked.
I can't think of a reason why after I press Stop Charging from inside the vehicle that it wouldn't/shouldn't also unlock the handle.

According to the documentation quoted above, it is supposed to work this way. Stop Charging shoulSo there is a 1% chance that this isn't pilot error and rather a problem with my chargeport. I have a service scheduled for an LTE upgrade next week and I'll bring it up with them.

Thinking about it a little, the button is there for when you walk up to your car in the morning and want to unplug.

You didn't unlock the car before pushing the button.
(You don't want some random kid pulling out your charging cable when you aren't there do you?)

 

[Stiction]

You didn't unlock the car before pushing the button.
(You don't want some random kid pulling out your charging cable when you aren't there do you?)

Oh, sorry, you pushed the MCU button to unlock. *THAT* should work!??!

 

[EVChris]

You didn't unlock the car before pushing the button.
(You don't want some random kid pulling out your charging cable when you aren't there do you?)

Yeah, I kinda do.

If we're talking about the Tesla Supercharger, it's not going to be some random kid. The charging session will have finished and the charger cable+handle aren't mine to lose. You should be able to unplug someone else's supercharger if the session is over.

If we're talking about the J1772 adapter and I'm at home, that's not going to happen. If I'm at a public charging station, yeah I should be able to lock the adapter.

All of this is not hard to get right. It's not hard for the car to understand the context and take my preferences into account. The way Tesla has done it is not the worst thing in the world. But unplugging at a supercharger is an order of magnitude harder than plugging in. And that doesn't have to be.

Are you at an SC? Yes. Unlock. No. Lock unless dialog or preference+location say otherwise. Done and done.

 

[HankLloydRight]

But unplugging at a supercharger is an order of magnitude harder than plugging in. And that doesn't have to be.

I still think you're missing something. When you're done charging, just press-and-hold the charging button, wait 2 seconds, and pull the plug. How is that 'orders of magnitude' harder? It's pretty much the same as charging -- you press the button to open the charge port (might take two or three tries) and then plug in.

All of this is not hard to get right

You're right, it's not hard. But they did get it right. It's just that your 'right' is different from everyone else's.

Are you at an SC? Yes. Unlock. No. Lock unless dialog or preference+location say otherwise. Done and done.

Ummm. no. The buttons and actions should be consistent and not dependent on location. As I said, if I want to stop charging, it's NOT up to the car to decide for me that it should also, without further input, ALSO unlock the charge port. That's up to me to decide. There are cases where one might need to stop and start charging, at a SC, without unlocking the charge port. There's no way to say in 100% of all cases of charging at a SC, that when one presses 'stop charging' they always want to unlock the charge port.

I get that you're a new owner, but you seem to ignore the fact that these cars have been in production and working like this for six years now. Tesla, and a large percentage of the user base are also highly technical and logical people. We've already done the caclulus and accepted that this actually is the best way to enable 'stop charging' and 'unlock' the charge port as two independent actions. If it really was the 'wrong' way for all this time, don't you think they would have fixed it by now?

Just because you don't agree (which is fine) doesn't mean they didn't do it the right way.

By the way, if you really want to enable this functionality to your own preferences and/or location, you can use the API, and write a web app or mobile app to send the 'stop charging' and 'unlock' commands together, and even base that on GPS coordinates. Done and done.

 

[Joe F]

You should be able to unplug someone else's supercharger if the session is over.

No, no one should be able to unplug another owners Supercharger cable. How do you know that person's car is done charging? And, to what end? Do you think you'll be able to move their car and pull yours in to charge?

All of this is not hard to get right. It's not hard for the car to understand the context and take my preferences into account. The way Tesla has done it is not the worst thing in the world. But unplugging at a supercharger is an order of magnitude harder than plugging in. And that doesn't have to be.

Are you at an SC? Yes. Unlock. No. Lock unless dialog or preference+location say otherwise. Done and done.

You seem to be an efficiency expert to me. How much more efficient and time consuming is it to interact with the screen three times to unplug a charger cable than the one button depress on the charger cable itself?

That, and if at a Supercharger, like most people, you go someplace to do something after plugging the charger in. How inefficient is it upon returning to enter the car, make several interactions with the screen, get back out of the car and remove the charger handle? That makes more sense to you than simply pushing and holding the button on the handle until the ring turns white, then pulling the handle out of the port?

You spent more time here arguing how you think things should work than it would take to use the documented procedure, not to mention all of the patient good folks on TMC trying to educate you on the process, than you'll spend in the lifetime of owning the car doing it properly. In fact, it's so simple, there's a posted video on TMC by a young child that you can watch and learn how to do it. And, "A little child shall lead them" has never been truer.

 

[TexasEV]

If we're talking about the Tesla Supercharger, it's not going to be some random kid. The charging session will have finished and the charger cable+handle aren't mine to lose. You should be able to unplug someone else's supercharger if the session is over.

Wrong on two levels. First, there’s no way for you to know if another car has finished supercharging. Second, there’s nothing you could do with the cable if you’ve unplugged it. It’s not like it could reach a car waiting next to it.

Having supercharged more than 100 times over five years I don’t think Tesla could have made this any simpler. Press the button on the handle to open the charge port and insert into the charge port. When you’re finished, press the button again until the port light turns white and remove the handle, then let go of the button.

 

[EVChris]

TexasEV, solid green when fully charged.

 

[Rocky_H]

TexasEV, solid green when fully charged.

No it isn't. You are new to this. This is spelled out in the manual--that when the owner is away, and the car is locked, the lights in the port will be OFF, regardless of what the car is doing. Charging or not, full or not--you can't see any kind of indicator lights.

 

[mongo]

No it isn't. You are new to this. This is spelled out in the manual--that when the owner is away, and the car is locked, the lights in the port will be OFF, regardless of what the car is doing. Charging or not, full or not--you can't see any kind of indicator lights.

@EVChris Unless you push the handle button which will stop the current charge cycle and put the car on the lower power secondary output of a paired supercharger...


Related post: Idiot trying to unplug my car during Supercharging

 

[Rocky_H]

Unless you push the handle button which will stop the current charge cycle and put the car on the lower power secondary output of a paired supercharger...

Oh well yeah, I was kind of assuming not pulling the dick move of clicking everyone's charge handle buttons. The guy was talking about being able to tell by looking.

 

[mongo]

Oh well yeah, I was kind of assuming not pulling the dick move of clicking everyone's charge handle buttons. The guy was talking about being able to tell by looking.

For sure, but since they were seeing colors (which only happens if you have either just started, or pressed the button) , I thought it would be good to provide the warning about button pressing side effects.

Hey Tesla! Maybe check for the unlock state/ fob before terminating the charge session.

 

[EVChris]

I think there are enough wherefore's and only if's here to sink a battleship. So it is a more complex interface than it at first appears.

Quite simply, when I am in the car at a supercharger and I press the Stop Charging button and then I exit the car (my fob is now outside the car), that the S should be able to put those three things together and unlock. I also understand that you should be able to lock things down. For example, someone else can unplug the J1772 after seeing that your session is done but then they can't remove your $95 adapter. There's even a J1772 lock.

Mongo, I didn't understand your point. Isn't the handshake:

Plugin, Lock, Start Session
Request End Session, Request Unlock, Unplug​

The car shouldn't be able to terminate an unlocked charging session since that should never happen.

 

[HankLloydRight]

TexasEV, solid green when fully charged.

Maybe Leaf owners are different, but among Tesla owners, absolutely nothing gives you the right or privilege to touch their car or charging handle, ever.

Additionally, even if you could see charging status, you have no idea if someone is done charging but then pre-conditioning their cabin or battery for their subsequent trip, especially critical in very hot or cold weather.

If you interrupt or degrade my charging session and delay my trip, it won't be a pretty scene.

 

[HankLloydRight]

Quite simply, when I am in the car at a supercharger and I press the Stop Charging button and then I exit the car (my fob is now outside the car), that the S should be able to put those three things together and unlock. I also understand that you should be able to lock things do

Quite simply, no.


Edited to add: why is your procedure less complicated than the simple-as-possible "press and hold" that solves all these issues with a single button press?

 

[mongo]

I think there are enough wherefore's and only if's here to sink a battleship. So it is a more complex interface than it at first appears.

Quite simply, when I am in the car at a supercharger and I press the Stop Charging button and then I exit the car (my fob is now outside the car), that the S should be able to put those three things together and unlock. I also understand that you should be able to lock things down. For example, someone else can unplug the J1772 after seeing that your session is done but then they can't remove your $95 adapter. There's even a J1772 lock.

Mongo, I didn't understand your point. Isn't the handshake:

Plugin, Lock, Start Session
Request End Session, Request Unlock, Unplug​

The car shouldn't be able to terminate an unlocked charging session since that should never happen.

If the supercharge handle button is pressed (regardless of car locked/unlocked) it will stop the current charge cycle and then start a new one (only sometimes if on J1772). This could be coded better to not abort when locked.