Blinking Amber: Your car is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).

[snistala]

Problem:
I had this amber light blinking and the message :
Your car is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).. It was coming up to 17mi/hr.

I had some difficulty while pushing the charging plug and I pushed it hard as suggested.(Some times not pushing enough is suggested as cause)

Root Cause:

The black top of the right charging pin was broken and remained inside the charging port. so this black piece got stuck inside. I had to use a nose pliers to pull this piece out.

Suggestion:

Tesla should make sure this does not break this easily. User should get a warning if some thing breaks in charge port.

 

[qdeathstar]

I’m not sure this is a common issue. Is the charger yours or a public charger? Personally, i rather that the charger cord be made of weaker plastic than the car charging port.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

Problem:
I had this amber light blinking and the message :
Your car is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).. It was coming up to 17mi/hr.

I had some difficulty while pushing the charging plug and I pushed it hard as suggested.(Some times not pushing enough is suggested as cause)

Root Cause:

The black top of the right charging pin was broken and remained inside the charging port. so this black piece got stuck inside. I had to use a nose pliers to pull this piece out.

Suggestion:

Tesla should make sure this does not break this easily. User should get a warning if some thing breaks in charge port.

Common issue, covered by a TSB. These are called charge port pin "deadfronts," and can be replaced by mobile service (though maybe they won't do it, no idea).

New pins in the charge plug, a Tesla part change?

The only danger here when doing the replacement, from what I understand, is if the DC fast charge contactors have become welded (a different failure), which would mean that 400V would possibly be present on the pins. (This is an unlikely event but certainly worth checking.)

Supposedly only affects vehicles build before November 6th, 2018, but these deadfronts seem like they might break under other circumstances as well.

 

[snistala]

I’m not sure this is a common issue. Is the charger yours or a public charger? Personally, i rather that the charger cord be made of weaker plastic than the car charging port.

Ours is a home charger. We have not used a public charger yet.

 

[FoverM]

I had the same problem shortly after receiving my 3P+. The left black cap broke off inside my Wall Connector. I tried and tried but could never get it out. However, I didn't have any problems with charging at home or at a supercharger so I blew it off. Anyway, after I wrecked my car a few months later, Tesla replaced the charge port in the car during the repair ... which meant I could no longer charge at home (because the old black piece was still in the connector). Doh! Tesla mobile service finally came out and extracted the piece. Note: the mobile tech couldn't get it out with his usual methods, either, and ended up heating a wire with a lighter to slightly melt the black piece to get a grip on it.

 

[turns2stone]

I had the same problem shortly after receiving my 3P+. The left black cap broke off inside my Wall Connector. I tried and tried but could never get it out. However, I didn't have any problems with charging at home or at a supercharger so I blew it off. Anyway, after I wrecked my car a few months later, Tesla replaced the charge port in the car during the repair ... which meant I could no longer charge at home (because the old black piece was still in the connector). Doh! Tesla mobile service finally came out and extracted the piece. Note: the mobile tech couldn't get it out with his usual methods, either, and ended up heating a wire with a lighter to slightly melt the black piece to get a grip on it.

I realize this thread is 3 years old, but the exact same situation happened to me last night.

What made it crazier, is that yesterday I took delivery of a '23 Model 3P upgrading from my '20 Model 3P. I go to plug in the new car (old car traded into Tesla), and I get the error "charging plug not fully inserted" and blinking yellow Tesla light. Ugh! I try a few more times, then it finally starts to charge at 16/48 amps. I go ahead and schedule a service appointment in the app. Then I pulled out my mobile connector and started to compare the plugs vs. my wall charger.

I realized there is something stuck in the top right hole of the connector as you're staring into it. But it doesn't look melted. I start to tap the end of the wall charger connector on the ground, and sure enough this little piece pops right out!

It must have broken off from my old Model 3 the last time I charged it? Or possibly it's been broken for a while, and only when I inserted the plug into a new Tesla did it not mate properly.

So glad I found this thread and learned about deadfronts. Here is the TSB for future reference: https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10154509-9999.pdf