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Charging equipment fault on the Tesla destination charger

Discussion in 'Model X: Battery & Charging' started by JWM3, Jun 27, 2020.

  1. JWM3

    JWM3 Member

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    I had a wired problem today. Arrived a hotel which has 4 Tesla destination charger, I tried to charge my Model x, but all 4 of Tesla charger showing "Charging equipment fault, see equipment manufacturer's manual". All the charger showing green light before I plug in and turn red right after I attempt to charge. So I thought these chargers are broken.
    Later in the day I see another Model x is charging on one of these destination chargers and it is working fine, so I tried again but still can not get it to work. Anyone had this kind of problem?
     
    • Like x 1
  2. bhorn

    bhorn Member

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    Possibly the chargers are set to an amperage that is too high. If the other X driver set the rate lower in vehicle, then it could possibly charge at the lower rate.

    Do you have problems at other AC chargers?
     
  3. JWM3

    JWM3 Member

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    Thanks for the suggestion.
    I have Tesla wall charger installed at home and charging without issues. If I encounter this problem again I'll lower the amperage see what happens.
     
  4. DCGOO

    DCGOO Active Member

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    Actually, it is likely because the site you are trying to use, is equipped with the version 1 HPWC. The early HPWC are not compatible with newer ModelX (or S). The early gen HPWC do not have the hole in the right side in which to store the charging handle. Many folks that had the early HPWC at home, were swapped out for free when they got a newer X or S. But unlikely that happened for many hotels or restaurants that provided the service for guests.
     
    • Informative x 3
  5. JWM3

    JWM3 Member

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    I did notice the charger handle looks different as the one I installed at home, it must be version 1 HPWC. I already emailed Tesla about this problem, hopefully they will replace these version 1 chargers. I picked that hotel mainly because of the Tesla chargers...
     
  6. DCGOO

    DCGOO Active Member

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    If the site owner removes the older HPWC and returns it to Tesla, it might be replaced. But I suspect the hotel is responsible for the costs of replacing and rewiring. I generally assume I cannot charge at most destination chargers. IIRC this problem came with MCU2 equipped vehicles. 2016 Xs are probably fine.
     
  7. Fiver

    Fiver Active Member

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    #7 Fiver, Jul 10, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2020
    Gen1 HPWC have a bright metallic silver faceplate, as opposed to the grey (or black) Gen2. Gen3 I believe is only available with a white faceplate at this time.
    9292814917_cd9a88e484_k.jpg

    /edit Also the lights on Gen1 units were clearly separated, Gen2 and forward they blend into a single green dot moving down the faceplate when charging. You could tell there were separate lights on Gen1 units.
     
  8. DCGOO

    DCGOO Active Member

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    It depends. My gen2 faceplate was identical to the gen1 it replaced. The unmistakable difference was the gen2 has a large hole in the right side for retaining the handle when not in use. Way better than the separate outboard hanger that came with the gen1.
     
    • Informative x 1
  9. JWM3

    JWM3 Member

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    Just got a reply from Tesla customer service:
    " The Gen 1 wall chargers were designed to charge Model X and Model S. If you have similar issues in the future please let us know we are happy to assist you." :(
     
    • Funny x 1
  10. Rocky_H

    Rocky_H Well-Known Member

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    Wow, that is a pathetic and unhelpful and wrong response. This incompatibility came up on the Model X and S when they started building them with a new MCU in the cars, and the old Gen 1 wall connectors couldn't communicate with them for some reason. It has nothing to do with Model 3 or Y.
     
  11. Sparrow

    Sparrow S105/ Roadster 189

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    I had a gen1 HPWC and for almost a year my 2018 Model X charged perfectly with it. Then all of a sudden it would not charge and the red light started coming on. Fortunately, I found that I could reset the HPWC, with the button on the side of the HPWC, and charging would then start properly. So if you have not tried resetting the HPWC, that could be a work around.

    Eventually, Tesla did send me a replacement Gen 2 HPWC at no cost.
     
  12. Fallenone

    Fallenone Active Member

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    I had the same issue when doing a road trip with my 2020 X when I planned the route with destination chargers in mind. Lowering amp in car, rebooting the car, resetting the charger, resetting the breakers of the chargers, didn't make a difference. The car ended up being towed back to the service center and I was told there's nothing wrong with the car. Before it was towed, I saw a 3, and older X and an early S (old fascia) charged at the destination charger without issue. Really disappointed.
     
  13. SARmommie

    SARmommie New Member

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    I bought a new model S about 6 weeks ago, having owned a 2015 S. I got the same fault when plugging into my home Tesla wall charger (same thing as a destination charger). The charger is 5 years old and presumably Gen 1. After a great deal of struggling with Tesla and a fruitless ranger visit, with discussion of communications issues with new cars and old chargers and talk of replacing the charger, I got referred to the Tesla charger people. They had me check the breaker to the wall unit (100 amp), then walked me through how to open the wall unit and set the dip switches to supply 60 amps rather than 80 to the car. Worked like a charm. The problem now is that anybody with a new S or X can't count on the destination charger network, as I found out at Sun Mountain Lodge a few days ago. Bad news when you are out in the middle of nowhere. It's tough to even call ahead (Hi, what's the input amperage to your destination charger? Can you open it up and tell me what the dip switch settings are? May I bring my tools and fix it for you?) This is basically as design/test flaw in the new cars and Tesla ought to fix it.
     
  14. starbase

    starbase New Member

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    My 2020 Model X (built March 2020) has the same problem with about 50% of the destination chargers I visited in the last few months. I was told by the Telsa technician that the newer Model X/S built in 2020 is not compatible with the older charger and Tesla's solution is to have the resorts/hotel upgrade to the newer charger. I don't think this is acceptable solution.
     
  15. efusco

    efusco Moderator - Model S & X forums

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    This is weird and timely... The 72 amp onboard charger in our 2016 90D Model X had a failure, we were still able to charge at low amperage on our home charger, but not able to supercharge and it would not charge at the designed 72 amps (maxed out at 27 amps actually).

    The charger was replaced by mobile service on Wednesday and when plugged into our home wall charger it charged at 72 amps without any issues for about an hour and stopped at 90%. We had the scheduled charging set for that evening after doing some driving after the charger fix and my wife found that the scheduled charging didn't happen. When she plugged into our home wall charger and tried to start charging, it failed, there was clicking, it showed up to 3 amps, then back to zero twice, then displayed the same error message mentioned. We have a second wall charger at home and tried that on advice of a service agent, but the same thing happened. They wanted to blame our charging equipment, but the wall chargers worked fine prior to the onboard charger replacement and still both work on my Model 3.

    Now here's the really weird part. The mobile charger plugged into a NEMA 14-50, works fine at 40 amps. We did try dialing back the amperage on the wall charger to 40 amps...but it still wouldn't work on the X.

    Just installed a software update this morning, need to see if that made any difference. 50327632841_9459f2059c_4k.jpg
     
  16. efusco

    efusco Moderator - Model S & X forums

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    That's interesting. We have Gen 1 Wall chargers at home, I expect the new onboard charger was a newer model like would be used in the newer Model X. That might be the rub. I do NOT want to have to buy a brand new wall charger in addition to the $2800 onboard charger replacement.
     
  17. efusco

    efusco Moderator - Model S & X forums

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    Also, just tried again after the newest software update--still doesn't work with the wall charger.
     
  18. DCGOO

    DCGOO Active Member

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    You won't have buy one. Tesla will replace your gen1 with gen2 for free, although you have to install it. Open a service ticket on it.
     
    • Helpful x 1

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