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Charging Cable Stolen While Charging

Discussion in 'Model 3: Battery & Charging' started by Ben W, Jan 23, 2020.

  1. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    #1 Ben W, Jan 23, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2020
    A few days ago my Model 3's mobile charging connector was stolen from my driveway, while plugged in and charging. Sentry Mode was off, but the car was locked (or at least was set to walk-away lock), and my cards/phone were nowhere near it. I got a phone notification that charging was interrupted, and later when I checked my third-party dashcam (onboard dashcam had overwritten itself by the time I checked) I saw this:



    So as far as I can tell, there are three possibilities:

    1. The walk-away lock for some reason failed to engage.
    2. The charging port was locked, but the thief pulled hard enough to break the lock.
    3. The thief had some other method of unlocking the charging port.

    I asked Tesla to pull the logs to find out which of the above is the case, and they said they did but couldn't find any relevant information at the time of the incident. (I'm not sure I believe this.) They asked me to bring the vehicle to a SC to check it more thoroughly, which I will do next week. They also suggested that the charging port might have auto-unlocked due to cold weather, which can't have been the case because (a) I'm in Los Anglees with 55-degree lows, and (b) the car was still charging at the time the cable was removed. (The cold weather auto-unlock only happens after charging is finished.)

    Any thoughts on this, or other possibilities that I'm missing? I've been afraid to plug in again for fear of a repeat incident, pending discovering exactly what happened here.
     
  2. Spacep0d

    Spacep0d Member

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    Man I'm sorry this happened to you. At least you got the likely perp on cam. Can you file a police report? Maybe you already did that.

    I'd be very worried about replacing this and having the thief return for more free eBay merch, assuming they're selling these things.

    I would recommend better lighting for your security cams in case the thief comes back and before you replace the cable.

    Since you have a driveway, do you not also have a garage?
     
  3. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    Driveway but no garage at this location. I'll try to find a padlocking solution, and improve the lighting.
     
    • Like x 1
  4. CrayZ1

    CrayZ1 Banned

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    Park car on cord (yeah I know) then plug in.
    Buy a Blink or Ring security cam (cheap) and you can yell at them. Blink is battery operated. Both will alert through cellphone.
    Vinyl coated stranded wire with a tennis ball on end, attach to EVSE body, put ball inside door.

    Hate to say it, but like tailgate on truck, it's normally an owner who is responsible.
     
    • Like x 3
  5. jsmay311

    jsmay311 Active Member

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    #5 jsmay311, Jan 24, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2020
    Probably a stupid question, but if power is cut to the UMC (for example if the perp unplugged it from the outlet), would the connector remained locked to the car?

    OP: Do you use TeslaFi or anything like that, which could tell you if the car was locked at the time?

    Another possible anti-theft solution -- if there's anything solid in the vicinity (like a post or exposed conduit) -- you could loop the charge cable around it and then lock the cable to the post with a padlock. If such an object exists, that is. Or, similarly, employ a chain or looped cable lock to do the same.

    If not... maybe you could get a gizmo like this and park on top of it...

    [​IMG]

    Or if you don't use the aero covers, something like this (but you'd have to lock/unlock it every time):

    [​IMG]
     
    • Informative x 7
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    • Helpful x 1
  6. dodukes

    dodukes Member

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    Wow, I was waiting for these posts to start appearing, we are in south florida so can totally relate to this. If i had to charge at home, i would be worried about this too. People just can't have nice things without others stealing them. Sorry this happened to you!
     
    • Like x 4
  7. Spacep0d

    Spacep0d Member

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    Lots of good anti-theft ideas here.
     
    • Like x 1
  8. AlanSubie4Life

    AlanSubie4Life Efficiency Obsessed Member

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    I don’t understand why the UMC was not locked to the car in your case. I tried with my phone in range but not close enough to allow car unlock, and I can’t get the UMC out. So it should have been secure other than the adapter. Odd.
     
  9. davewill

    davewill Active Member

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    One other slight possibility. If the plug is not fully seated, the lock will fail, but the car will still charge at a reduced rate. I suppose that's a possibility, although is shows on the screen, and I would have thought that Tesla would have known that from their logs.
     
    • Like x 1
  10. rrolsbe

    rrolsbe Member

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    When the temp is low, the UMC is unlocked after charging is complete. This is the Tesla fix for a freezing lock mechanism. Last time I checked it remains unlocked at temps around 45F and below. I had the charge port redesign installed, the one with a drain hole, but the port still clicks the entire time the car is awake and remains unlocked at temps below 45F after charging is complete.
     
    • Informative x 1
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  11. animorph

    animorph Active Member

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    Dashcam will overwrite after an hour. Sentry Mode, if turned on at home. should save quite a bit without overwriting, if it was triggered. I would have expected Sentry Mode video to have captured this. If it did trigger, the file is likely still there, named by date and UTC(?) time.
     
  12. AlanSubie4Life

    AlanSubie4Life Efficiency Obsessed Member

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    Guess maybe it was colder than the OP thought. We would have to look at historical weather data for his exact location I guess. Could easily get below 45 in a valley at night I suppose.
     
  13. user212_nr

    user212_nr Active Member

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    Two words - flood lights.

    You have just enough security coverage to know that the thief has dreadlocks, but not enough to deter him, not enough to catch him.

    Assuming that it is your house, you probably want to install the HPWC connector. It is energized directly to the house (if you wire it that way) and requires significant skill, time, and effort to remove.
     
    • Like x 4
  14. Uncle Paul

    Uncle Paul Well-Known Member

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    Need some motion activated lights to come on when something like this happens. Usually will cause perps to flee.
     
    • Like x 4
  15. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    #15 Ben W, Jan 24, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2020
    It was near the beach, temps were around 61 degrees at the time of the theft. (Los Angeles, CA Weather History | Weather Underground) Certainly should not have been cold enough to trigger the freeze-prevention unlock.
     
  16. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    In this case I disagree. The normal behavior of the car in this scenario is to lock the charging cable to the port, which should be enough protection. (Assuming the car is locked, which is my responsibility of course.) The fact that it didn't stay locked is still a mystery, which I hope to resolve from the car's logs when I take it to the SC next week.
     
  17. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    It's a rental property and there is no interior garage, so HPWC would be overkill (and/or another target to steal, or be damaged in an attempt to steal). Definitely will see about adding a motion-activated floodlight, and will look at additional methods of securing the cable.
     
    • Like x 1
  18. Ben W

    Ben W P85 #61, Roadster #108

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    Sentry Mode, unfortunately, was not active at this location. (Although it's wasn't at my home, it was saved as a Favorite which inadvertently excluded it from the Sentry Mode list. I've fixed this going forward.)
     
    • Like x 1
  19. WilliamG

    WilliamG Active Member

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    Most cameras these days also have a night-vision mode, too. I’ll be blunt: whatever camera you have right now is completely ineffective for night-time usage.
     
    • Like x 2
  20. CrayZ1

    CrayZ1 Banned

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    You misunderstand. Most tailgate thefts are by owners of trucks missing a tailgate. Most model specific thefts are by other owners. An auto burglar would rifle through the car.
     

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