Charge rate reduced warning - 35K miles and never Supercharged

[lightningrob]

In the last few weeks I suddenly started getting this warning every time I plug in at home. (Haven't tried charging elsewhere since then.) . Nothing changed with home electric setup, same Tesla charge cable I've always used. I've read about Tesla's getting reduced charging after a certain number of supercharger sessions, but this car has never supercharged (and rarely even charges to full, typically to 90%). And my 2014 S-60 only has 35K miles after 5+ years.

The car charges at around 20 m/hr vs closer to 30 before. Not a catastrophic reduction but surprising and concerning.

Anyone else had a similar experience or have recommendations? I scheduled a service apt for next week to get it checked out.

 

[meomyo]

In the last few weeks I suddenly started getting this warning every time I plug in at home. (Haven't tried charging elsewhere since then.) . Nothing changed with home electric setup, same Tesla charge cable I've always used. I've read about Tesla's getting reduced charging after a certain number of supercharger sessions, but this car has never supercharged (and rarely even charges to full, typically to 90%). And my 2014 S-60 only has 35K miles after 5+ years.

The car charges at around 20 m/hr vs closer to 30 before. Not a catastrophic reduction but surprising and concerning.

Anyone else had a similar experience or have recommendations? I scheduled a service apt for next week to get it checked out.

View attachment 447708

35k in 5 years??? wowwww...you never drive it much i guess..lol...thats amazing

 

[GHammer]

I would be inclined to believe something is wrong in your charging setup, a 14-50 outlet I assume. The voltage at 232 is low and the car seems to detecting that voltage drop as an excessive voltage drop in your system. I would check the outlet, outlet connections and connections at the breaker for signs of wear or heating.

 

[Saghost]

This has nothing to do with supercharging or with your pack's condition. This is the car's firmware deciding it doesn't like the power source. Tesla has a bunch of programming in the car to try to prevent things melting or catching fire, and it's warning you of what it thinks is a risk.

You typically get this when the car sees high levels of voltage drop or voltage spikes on the line. Check all the wiring connections. Inspect any plugs and outlets for damage. If you remember what the voltage drop used to be, look and see if it is still the same.

Come back to the car 15 or 20 minutes into the charging session and feel all the wiring you can reach, see if any of it is getting hot.

 

[richrootes]

Is this via an HPWC or portable?

If you have the portable, try it with the 15A adaptor and see what it says

 

[ucmndd]

The car reduces max charge current by 25% when it doesn't like the power source. In your case, 232 volts is pretty low for a 240 volt outlet. You should get it checked out.

 

[SSedan]

all the above advise is good.
I would add this could even be dirty connections.
At this point a service center appointment would be wasted time unless you need other things done, if so call them and tell them about that work.
Personally I feel comfortable with this type of electrical work myself but if the 232volts was not a flag to you then call a professional. Not a knock on you we all have different skills.

What is the voltage when the car is plugged in but not pulling a big load yet?
Mine will be 242-245 low load and then if charging at 72amps falls to 236-237 I usually charge at 42amps and see 238 or so.

 

[sorka]

..and if it's a dirty connection it's going to be a very hot connection. What is your wire type and gauge from the breaker to the HWPC? Are you going through a disconnect switch or subpanel? Have you tightened all the connections down? Does your voltage go back up to 240 or more if you charge at say 5 amps instead of 30? If yes, does your voltage drop on a single leg (120 volt) drop to 116 on other circuits in the house or is it unaffected by your 30 amp charge rate? If so, then it's almost certainly a loose connection on the cable between the HWPC and the breaker.

Lastly, the 30 amps you show in the picture is the reduced charge rate. Does it say this immediately when you start charging or does it drop to 30 amps after some amount of time. If the latter, what is the voltage before it drops when it still says 40 amps.

 

[Decibelle]

I am not so sure the low voltage will cause this message as I charge at 198-202v at 40A from my Nema 14-50 and I have yet to see "Charge Rate Reduced". Our building has 208v and with the long run my voltage drops to around 200v when it gets to 40A.

 

[Saghost]

I am not so sure the low voltage will cause this message as I charge at 198-202v at 40A from my Nema 14-50 and I have yet to see "Charge Rate Reduced". Our building has 208v and with the long run my voltage drops to around 200v when it gets to 40A.

It's not the voltage itself - it's the voltage drop. The car sees the open circuit voltage and then the voltage at full charge current.

The difference is energy dissipated as heat somewhere else in the circuit - and if the car decides there's too much of that, it'll cut back the charge current until the drop is acceptable.

That'll happen on 120V, 208V, or 240V (probably also 277V, but I haven't used that.)

 

[MP3Mike]

Yep, this is most likely a loose connection somewhere in your charging circuit. You should track it down before it gets worse and possibly causes a fire.

 

[scottm]

If its HPWC then retorque the power input connections.

 

[dbldwn02]

I'm getting this error at every L2 charger that I go to. Guessing something wrong with my onboard charger. Sucks cause I'm 6 months out of warranty and they're wanting $2.5k+

I have two 60amp ports in the garage. Neither drops more than 3 volts at max amps. Range around 243-246v

 

[dbldwn02]

Finished tearing into my back seat to replace the 50amp fuse, only to find out I have a gen3 charger. No breakdown videos that I can find so I'm going to hold off for now.
My car only charges at 24amps on a 50amp circuit. 240v/50a plug installed.
Going to ride this out until it craps completely and then supercharge for free until a used charger comes in the mail for $500.

Not giving Tesla $2500 for another charger that will break in 4 years.

 

[ucmndd]

Finished tearing into my back seat to replace the 50amp fuse, only to find out I have a gen3 charger. No breakdown videos that I can find so I'm going to hold off for now.
My car only charges at 24amps on a 50amp circuit. 240v/50a plug installed.
Going to ride this out until it craps completely and then supercharge for free until a used charger comes in the mail for $500.

Not giving Tesla $2500 for another charger that will break in 4 years.

View attachment 748078

Your onboard charger has two internal 24 amp charging boards. Looks like one of them is dying. I’d probably do the same thing you’re proposing - just ride it out if you can get by on 24 amps.

 

[dbldwn02]

Your onboard charger has two internal 24 amp charging boards. Looks like one of them is dying. I’d probably do the same thing you’re proposing - just ride it out if you can get by on 24 amps.

Yea, it never goes above 24. It's so dumb that it says to check your charging equipment and never faults the car. It's pretty obvious that it's the charger.
I'm going to see if they'll fix it since it's just a few months out of warranty. If not, I found a lot of used ones for $295 (shipped) on eBay. I'll be teaching myself how to piece this things together.