Charger - blinking red T

[rosahas]

My charging was usually 25-32 mph consistently. All of a sudden, last few days it went down to 7 mph. I tried moving it, removing and putting it back. Then I noticed that the Adapter's T, was blinking red, rest of the letters were still green.

I finally figured out that even with the cable organizer, the adapter and the plug itself, starts to slip away slowly over time as it's always hanging in the air. Once I pushed the adapter in firmly, no more blinking T and now charging is back to 32 mph.

This may be a design issue or perhaps I need a better cable organizer that will hold the adapter instead of hanging in the air.

 

[Derek Kessler]

Yeah, just hanging like that puts too much unnecessary weight and thus stress on the adapter plug and the wall plug. A simple utility hook to hold the adapter's weight will do you a lot of long-term good.

 

[GregRF]

I used a large piece of velcro to support the UMC.

 

[Swampgator]

That was my plan as well. SO the UMC does not get hot?

 

[JasJ]

Or you can buy a slightly overpriced 'hook' from Amazon.

http://a.co/d/didF04K

Or cheaper one here: Tesla UMC wall mount - Tesla Model S - Wall Charger Mount - Universal Mobile Charger - Tesla Super Charger - 3D Printed - Tesla Charger via @Etsy

 

[Kermee]

I wonder how much further it has to slip out before the letter "E" goes red too? (TESLA)

Joking aside, several previous replies have good suggestions on how to do "strain relief" on the dongle portion of the adapter. Another more "permanent" solution would be to zip-tie it, vertically, across the UMC2 also so it cannot slip out.

These types of "friction" based adapters for AC are the bane of desktop AC power-supplies and AC cords.

 

[eprosenx]

Nice troubleshooting and good suggestions all!

I personally am becoming more and more of a fan of the Wall Connector every day. Just a whole class of problems are eliminated (of course it is not a trivial cost).

I like having my UMC in my car all the times personally (but that is personal preference and depends on your needs).

 

[Neted]

Does the 3D printed one fit the Model 3 charger?

Or cheaper one here: Tesla UMC wall mount - Tesla Model S - Wall Charger Mount - Universal Mobile Charger - Tesla Super Charger - 3D Printed - Tesla Charger via @Etsy

 

[drawfour]

I like having my UMC in my car all the times personally (but that is personal preference and depends on your needs).

You can just buy another UMC so you have one in your car and one plugged into the wall... Still cheaper than the HPWC, though you only get 32 amps vs 48.

 

[eprosenx]

You can just buy another UMC so you have one in your car and one plugged into the wall... Still cheaper than the HPWC, though you only get 32 amps vs 48.

So if you want to actually comply with 2017 NEC Article 625 (EV charging) you have to have GFCI protection (which on higher amperage circuits pretty much always means needing a GFCI breaker). This adds about $100 (maybe more) to the install cost for a 14-50.

The Wall Connector does not require that GFCI breaker since it is hard wired.

So my logic is that this puts a second UMC vs. a Wall Connector at about a $100 difference, at which point the higher charging rates and other benefits of a Wall Connector makes it nearly always worth it.

 

[SeminoleFSU]

I ran into the blinking T tonight for the first time. I can honestly say I am not a fan of the new mobile connector. The old style gen1 connectors were much better because:
1) the adapters CLICKED into place and wouldn't slip off unless you pressed the release
2) the gen2 charger adapter is a dongle that is only held in by friction.
3) and it hangs by the adapter?? Held by friction?
4) and you have a top that is facing up where moisture can get into the area where the adapter plugs into the charger??
5) cable to the car is thinner and cheaper feeling than the gen1 mobile connector
6) even though it's thinner and cheaper lower guage wire it is somehow less pliable and easy to wrap especially in cold temps...


Yeah not a fan of gen2 mobile connector... They're so bad I actually wonder if Tesla is trying to push more sales of their HWPC..

 

[matosa]

My charging was usually 25-32 mph consistently. All of a sudden, last few days it went down to 7 mph. I tried moving it, removing and putting it back. Then I noticed that the Adapter's T, was blinking red, rest of the letters were still green.

I finally figured out that even with the cable organizer, the adapter and the plug itself, starts to slip away slowly over time as it's always hanging in the air. Once I pushed the adapter in firmly, no more blinking T and now charging is back to 32 mph.

This may be a design issue or perhaps I need a better cable organizer that will hold the adapter instead of hanging in the air.View attachment 334012 View attachment 334013

Just corrected the same symptom by ensuring the wiring inside the 14-50 receptacle are making good contact and verifying the ground connection. Turns out one of my hot leads was not making proper contact. I had done 3 charges before the problem appeared. Just started charging again successfully at ~ 29miles/hr. Hope this helps!!

 

[duanra]

The wall connector is not going to charge faster than the umc unless you have a LR though.