Charging issue

[David99]

Wanted to update with something I found on Tesla forums:

When you insert the charger, push down on the handle gently in a way that the tip of the charger tilts up slightly inside the charge port. I don’t know if that’s normal but this is the only way my HPWC charges with green light.

I think it may have to do with the fact that the cable is heavy and it is naturally supposed to come down under its own weight and push the tip of the charger up. But since mine is wall mounted and the cable actually lays on the tool chest it doesn’t have any weight pulling the handle down.

Interesting. Looking at the pins inside the connector they are definitely designed to be straight and connect without any push or pull in any directions. I'm guessing something is not properly aligned in your charge port that requires this extra pull.

 

[Kuhz]

Perhaps, but that makes it work

 

[brucet999]

Perhaps, but that makes it work

I think @David99 may have been suggesting that with further wear, your work-around may not continue to work, and so should be corrected.

I would caution you that poor electrical connections - as yours clearly is - may result in arcing, especially under the large loads while charging a Tesla. Continued arcing leads to corrosion, loss of strength in the metal parts and, of course, risk of damage due to overheating or even fire. Please schedule a service appointment to get your charge port and/or charging plug checked out.

 

[Kuhz]

I’ll definitely be speaking to service center about this now. I just figured from my research some people posted that they have the same issue and I didn’t think it was a big deal

 

[Kuhz]

So just spoke to the service center about this. They said it is normal if the car is that new (got I last week). It continues on beyond a week or two to give them a call and have it checked out.

 

[David99]

So just spoke to the service center about this. They said it is normal if the car is that new (got I last week). It continues on beyond a week or two to give them a call and have it checked out.

LOL that statement is hilarious. It is definitely not normal and not how it should be. They just want to buy time hoping it will go away by itself or you get used to it and don't come back. The pins are designed to make a solid connection that has very little electrical resistance. There is almost 10 times the power goring through compared to a normal outlet. Even more so at a Supercharger (100 times the power). When plugged in and it doesn't connect (won't charge) a pulldown on the handle can only do a small change thus the connection can't be solid/good. That's when the things happening that brucet999 wrote about. I have seen many cases of poor connections that lead to overheating and melting plastic around contacts.

 

[Kuhz]

Hmm.... perhaps you have a point. I’m a brand sparkling new owner and everyone seems to praise the service departments.

It will charge with a yellow ring, just at a reduced rate, about 10 mi/hour. When the green light comes on if pushed on the handle, it’ll charge at the normal 35 mi/hour off my HPWC. I have not supercharged the car yet. Also worth noting this happens about 70-80% of the time.

The service rep said they have heard of this before especially on new cars as they changed something in the charge port recently. Another runaround?

 

[brucet999]

Hmm.... perhaps you have a point. I’m a brand sparkling new owner and everyone seems to praise the service departments.

It will charge with a yellow ring, just at a reduced rate, about 10 mi/hour. When the green light comes on if pushed on the handle, it’ll charge at the normal 35 mi/hour off my HPWC. I have not supercharged the car yet. Also worth noting this happens about 70-80% of the time.

The service rep said they have heard of this before especially on new cars as they changed something in the charge port recently. Another runaround?

Yep. There's nothing normal about having to shift the position of the charging probe to get a good connection. Normal is a good tight connection without having to fiddle with it.

 

[Kuhz]

Looks like I need an appt at the SC

 

[Rocky_H]

It will charge with a yellow ring, just at a reduced rate, about 10 mi/hour. When the green light comes on if pushed on the handle, it’ll charge at the normal 35 mi/hour off my HPWC. I have not supercharged the car yet. Also worth noting this happens about 70-80% of the time.

The service rep said they have heard of this before especially on new cars as they changed something in the charge port recently. Another runaround?

Not necessarily with new cars, but with new owners. I've seen this come up a few times on both forums, with people getting orange or yellow rings and not having the plug seat all the way in and latch properly, and it's usually because new owners are worried about hurting the car and are being too delicate with pushing the charge handle in, so it sticks a little or has a little resistance, and they stop, and then it won't latch properly. Get it partway in, and then finish it off with a hard shove. That should get it past any tightness of the port opening, and it should be able to latch on and charge properly. That thing of having to push up or down on the handle to make a good connection is generally just because it's not quite in all the way.

 

[AZ Desert Driver]

All really good suggestions about making a firm connection. Additionaly, I start my charge late at night too, and at a planned low amperage (20a) because I see no good reason to cram a bunch of electrons in quickly as I have all night to do the task. Once he has established a good connection - why not crank it back? Heating up the contacts, wires and breakers - they are designed to handle the load - but why stress them?

 

[David99]

I've seen this come up a few times on both forums, with people getting orange or yellow rings and not having the plug seat all the way in and latch properly, and it's usually because new owners are worried about hurting the car and are being too delicate with pushing the charge handle in, ...

My wife does it almost every time. She is careful when plugging in and often it's only half way. I see it on the app as a lower charge rate and when I go down to the car I just give it an extra push and all is good

 

[Bill25cycle]

Your initial post indicating 215v is telling! Check your electrical supply!

IF he is in NYC thats all he can expect. As a matter of fact, 215 there is high. Voltage to the homes is 120V/208 nominal but 125V/216 is what the Network voltage operates at. So 215 is excellent. The question is, what voltage range does the Universal Connector allow? With my Roadster, while I never purchased one for myself, choosing to use the J1772 adapter 100% of the time, the $1500 Universal Mobile Connector (UMC) would 'warn' at 208, but if the voltage dropped to 200 the thing would fail. When, in NYC, 200 volts is perfectly acceptible.

Suggestions at this point? Install a HPC, or else have the electrician install a BOOST TRANSFORMER for this outlet to bring the voltage up to 230-240.