Charger Issues

[shipkj.fl.us]

I had some issues in recent days. Initially i could not charge from the Nema 14-50 outlet in the garage - the app says ‘Check charger power’ - in recent nights it stopped on and off. After resetting the breaker i got it to work again and it is working ok now. However.... i cannot supercharge. All it says is 'starting to charge'... Remote diagnosis from Tesla -
not a happy day... Just over 3 years old S85 @ 57000 miles: The vehicle’s Charger Assembly will need to be replaced - estimate 2,500 Thoughts?

 

[brkaus]

Try contact cleaner?

 

[steve841]

It cant hurt to take a good quality swap and electric contact cleaner and clean out the ports as suggested above.

 

[scottm]

No sure what "charger assembly" is ... referring to ... the charge port / door assy... or the on-board chargers under the seat?

If you have a dual charger setup on-board (80A) there is a possibility of backing down to a uni charger if you're OK with 40A max.

 

[scottm]

Also, Supercharging bypasses the on-board chargers.. so this makes me question / wonder what the real issue is.
Odds should be better that you CAN supercharge when you CANNOT charge on L2 sources.

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

Try contact cleaner?

Would the contacts in the car be different for a supercharging cable than for the mobile connector i am using at home? Don't they both just have 4 prongs / points of contact and only the power is different?

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

No sure what "charger assembly" is ... referring to ... the charge port / door assy... or the on-board chargers under the seat?

If you have a dual charger setup on-board (80A) there is a possibility of backing down to a uni charger if you're OK with 40A max.

Thanks - i do - let me try this

 

[brkaus]

Would the contacts in the car be different for a supercharging cable than for the mobile connector i am using at home? Don't they both just have 4 prongs / points of contact and only the power is different?

Oops. I misread. I was translating "charger assembly" into "charge port assembly". My bad. I have seen some cases where the charge port contacts can be cleaned. More current through the port when supercharging, so more problems from dirty contacts.

 

[brkaus]

Also, Supercharging bypasses the on-board chargers.. so this makes me question / wonder what the real issue is.
Odds should be better that you CAN supercharge when you CANNOT charge on L2 sources.

I've seen a few of these on TMC recently. All did claim to be resolved after the change. Maybe the charger is taking some of the control steps, even though it is mostly being bypassed.

 

[scottm]

If the charge port cannot detect what's plugged into it.. it will be no-go. So even if a data pin is dirty / bent.. the thing will not start.

There are data pins on each handle you stuff into the car. There are matching pairs for them in the car charge port. Clean these as well as the 2 bigger contacts that carry the current.

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

Thanks - i do - let me try this

This is the part they want to replace - googled it with the part no: 1014963-00

 

[scottm]

So you're out of warranty and this part is on you... so keep the old one if you buy new.

Before you do... if you're at all handy... Sometimes it's just a FUSE ($15) that blows in these chargers... and you're good to go again.

There's a thread on the how-to of someone who has gone in under the seat to open up a charger to get at the fuses. The fuse is size of a AA battery or so with two screw lugs on the ends.

I have such a spare fuse in my glovebox ... in case I'm on the road.. just being prepared.


Here's the strange thing... if it's a blown fuse, I believe you're still able to supercharge. Again, questioning if the problem is indeed the charger you're showing ?

 

[brkaus]

Given you have dual chargers. Ask how much to remove the bad one and configure the car for single charger.

You would be limited to 40a. Supercharging would still be full power.

Used available on eBay, but I believe have to be paired to car with computer. A few here likely offer that service.

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

Given you have dual chargers. Ask how much to remove the bad one and configure the car for single charger.

You would be limited to 40a. Supercharging would still be full power.

Used available on eBay, but I believe have to be paired to car with computer. A few here likely offer that service.

I think it is unlikely to be the dual chargers as they don't appear to be used for Supercharging

 

[brkaus]

I think it is unlikely to be the dual chargers as they don't appear to be used for Supercharging

Correct. Chargers don’t do much for supercharging. Except stay out of the way.

If you sit in the car, with the car unplugged, and go to the charging screen... how high can you turn the amp setting up to?

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

Correct. Chargers don’t do much for supercharging. Except stay out of the way.

If you sit in the car, with the car unplugged, and go to the charging screen... how high can you turn the amp setting up to?

80A

 

[brkaus]

80A

Ok. That means you have two of those chargers, programmed to work together.

Let’s assume for the sake of argument, that their diagnosis is correct...

I believe you have two options -

1). Remove and replace the bad charger

2). Remove the bad charger and program the remaining charger and the car to think there is only one charger.

The second may be considerably less expensive. Of course, charging from an HPWC would be limited to 40a from that point forward.

Just an option. It might even have some resale value, even though broken.

You could also check the fuse in the existing one.

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

While supercharging does still not work I had a chance today to test at an HPWC. I managed to get Amps up to 80 A. I am not an electrician but this would suggest that both dual chargers are working - correct? Here is the question - Tesla wants to replace the charger assembly - see also above - would I have 3 chargers on board (the dual and the apparently defective part)? What does this (defective) part actually do? I thought when supercharging the electrons go straight into the battery. I could obviously ask this question also to Tesla - but at first prefer an unbiased view from the group. Thanks for educating me. I have tried cleaning all contacts but that did not change anything.

 

[ShawnA]

Hi Shipkj,

Some language clarification may help.
I think I have an S85D of similar age...
The model S comes standard with one charger which will charge at up to 40 A.
They offer a second charger for extra money to get another 40 A to total HPWC charging to 80 A.
This setup is called dual chargers because there are two of them.
There is not a single(dual) charger in the car capable of running by itself to give an 80 A charge.
There are two of them that add up to 80 A.

Supercharging enable is another feature.
As others have said it does not actively use either of your two chargers for current.
It may use parts of them for sequencing the application of Supercharger power.

I hope this helps and wish you luck in finding an inexpensive solution.

Shawn

 

[shipkj.fl.us]

Hi Shipkj,

Some language clarification may help.
I think I have an S85D of similar age...
The model S comes standard with one charger which will charge at up to 40 A.
They offer a second charger for extra money to get another 40 A to total HPWC charging to 80 A.
This setup is called dual chargers because there are two of them.
There is not a single(dual) charger in the car capable of running by itself to give an 80 A charge.
There are two of them that add up to 80 A.

Supercharging enable is another feature.
As others have said it does not actively use either of your two chargers for current.
It may use parts of them for sequencing the application of Supercharger power.

I hope this helps and wish you luck in finding an inexpensive solution.

Shawn

Thanks - I understand the concept of the dual chargers - which I have - they appear to work both as I managed to charge upto 80 A at an HPWC.

I obviously have supercharging enabled, done it many times. All I get now is an alternating green flashing and blue static light.

Guess I will confront Tesla SC with my findings and ask them to educate me.