"Charge cable may not be plugged in correctly"

[jsmay311]

So this begs a question: Do people realize that this fundamental change has happened? Was it explicit in the release notes?

Not explicit, no. But it was alluded to.

I doubt any owners understood the meaning of this before observing it first-hand.

I wonder if this is the new behavior year round, or just in cold weather?

It's been observed to be temperature dependent, with the trigger temp being near freezing. So unless you live in Antarctica, it won't be year-round.

 

[scatter.xray]

Just a data point: When you shove the connector in, a solenoid engages that locks the charging handle into the vehicle so you can’t pull it out while under heavy current load. This would create an arc flash that is dangerous and could cause damage.

Tesla (rather smartly) has a fallback method such that if the solenoid fails to engage it does not leave you high and dry. It will still let you charge at up to 16 amps. I suspect this is a much safer charge current if someone were to pull it out while under load.

There have been a number of reports like yours lately so either there is some software bug recently introduced, or, there is a hardware issue either related to the weather, or due to some component failing over time.

I would call Tesla. Please report back what the resolution ends up being!

P.S. also, check inside your charge cord and port to see if there is any broken plastic or debris in there. We have seen this problem from Model S and X vehicles where part of their charge port breaks off deep inside your charge pier handle and then causes an interference issue on a different vehicle that is not missing the plastic piece.

Just a data point: When you shove the connector in, a solenoid engages that locks the charging handle into the vehicle so you can’t pull it out while under heavy current load. This would create an arc flash that is dangerous and could cause damage.

Tesla (rather smartly) has a fallback method such that if the solenoid fails to engage it does not leave you high and dry. It will still let you charge at up to 16 amps. I suspect this is a much safer charge current if someone were to pull it out while under load.

There have been a number of reports like yours lately so either there is some software bug recently introduced, or, there is a hardware issue either related to the weather, or due to some component failing over time.

I would call Tesla. Please report back what the resolution ends up being!

P.S. also, check inside your charge cord and port to see if there is any broken plastic or debris in there. We have seen this problem from Model S and X vehicles where part of their charge port breaks off deep inside your charge pier handle and then causes an interference issue on a different vehicle that is not missing the plastic piece.

Hi Thanks for your post.

There is no issue with the connector, charge cord or port so far as I can determine on visual inspection.
You are correct that it appears to only permit charging at 16 A which is why this accomplishes 21/23 km/hr rather than the usual 67-68 km for 48A (my original post was incorrect - where I said it was 48 km per hour).

I will contact Tesla service directly to discuss, and report back.

 

[Snow Drift]

I can't figure it out. Some days it works, others it doesn't. I sent a message to Tesla with the escalate to Executive option. Hopefully they come up with a compromise and fix this.

 

[swotam]

It looks like this is fixed with 2018.50.5. I now get the message "Charging rate may be limited due to cold temperatures", so that's an improvement.

 

[RedGVAN]

Hey,

I've had my Model 3 for a couple of months. I've plugged it in and charged it many times without issues before. Usually, when I plug it in, after a second the Tesla logo turns dark blue (from pale blue), at which point the charge cable is locked in.

But today, I got a car wash from one of those touchless car washes. And now, when I plug it in, the Tesla logo doesn't turn dark blue it stays pale blue. The cable doesn't lock in. And my Tesla App says, "Charge cable may not be plugged in correctly".

I've tried every way I can think of to plug it in, though, as I mentioned before, I've plugged it in numerous times without issues before.

I'm assuming water got in there, and it's -10C outside, so I'm assuming that whatever water got in there also froze. I've tried using a hair dryer to melt any frost/ice that may have built up, and shoving paper towel in the port to try and soak up any excess water. But it still gives the same error.

On the plus side, the car still charges, whether it be on a schedule or by telling it to charge immediately. I'm too chicken to attempt pulling out the cable while it's charging to see if it's actually locked in at this point (what if it's not??).

Last thing I've noticed is that after I plug it in every second or so I hear a slight 'tick' sound. I imagine that this is the thing that is attempting to lock the cable in, and it's failing to do so, so it keeps trying every second.

I'm using the Tesla Wall Connector as my charge cable.

Anyone have any tips for me? Should I call service?


Thanks In Advance,

Jon

Just a data point: When you shove the connector in, a solenoid engages that locks the charging handle into the vehicle so you can’t pull it out while under heavy current load. This would create an arc flash that is dangerous and could cause damage.

Tesla (rather smartly) has a fallback method such that if the solenoid fails to engage it does not leave you high and dry. It will still let you charge at up to 16 amps. I suspect this is a much safer charge current if someone were to pull it out while under load.

There have been a number of reports like yours lately so either there is some software bug recently introduced, or, there is a hardware issue either related to the weather, or due to some component failing over time.

I would call Tesla. Please report back what the resolution ends up being!

P.S. also, check inside your charge cord and port to see if there is any broken plastic or debris in there. We have seen this problem from Model S and X vehicles where part of their charge port breaks off deep inside your charge pier handle and then causes an interference issue on a different vehicle that is not missing the plastic piece.

Just went through this, and after a lengthy call with Tesla's charger specialist (yes, there is such a person), I was all set to get a new charger. It turns out that the problem was actually snow packed into the charger plug (just had a record snowfall and cold freeze here in Toronto). I thought that using a hair dryer would've done the trick, but it didn't get hot enough to melt the ice apparently. Instead, I put the plug end of the charger cable facing downward into a medium-sized plastic box with an electric heater going, and covered the box with a blanket. When I came back 10 minutes later, there was a small puddle of water inside the box and the plug was cleared. After that, the charger worked fine--though it did take a few minutes to get up to the usual 40 amps.

What I noticed in all of this was that the portable charger cable from the trunk had no issues. But unfortunately, there was no 240V outlet available as an alternate. So my plan is to get an electrician to install an outdoor NEMA 14-50 next to the Tesla charger, with a transfer switch inside the garage. That way, if there is ever another problem, I can just swap charger cables and use the NEMA outlet instead.

 

[eprosenx]

Just went through this, and after a lengthy call with Tesla's charger specialist (yes, there is such a person), I was all set to get a new charger. It turns out that the problem was actually snow packed into the charger plug (just had a record snowfall and cold freeze here in Toronto). I thought that using a hair dryer would've done the trick, but it didn't get hot enough to melt the ice apparently. Instead, I put the plug end of the charger cable facing downward into a medium-sized plastic box with an electric heater going, and covered the box with a blanket. When I came back 10 minutes later, there was a small puddle of water inside the box and the plug was cleared. After that, the charger worked fine--though it did take a few minutes to get up to the usual 40 amps.

What I noticed in all of this was that the portable charger cable from the trunk had no issues. But unfortunately, there was no 240V outlet available as an alternate. So my plan is to get an electrician to install an outdoor NEMA 14-50 next to the Tesla charger, with a transfer switch inside the garage. That way, if there is ever another problem, I can just swap charger cables and use the NEMA outlet instead.

Glad you got it sorted! Thanks for reporting back!

If your wall connector circuit is a 50a then yeah, a transfer switch is a nice and graceful way to give you both options available.

Though you likely don’t have a neutral to the wall connector which is needed for a 14-50.

You could easily do a 6-50 instead (no.neutral) and just get the right adapter from Tesla.