Charging Noise (Loud Humming) and Charging Settings

[snowthewitch]

Recently picked up my Model 3 LR. Everything has been checking out but curious about the charging noise. It seems quite loud when I initially plug it in and then seems to reduce after awhile. It's still noticeable. Is this normal? I can post a video too. Almost a loud humming sound like a plane about to take off.

Second for the app there is a setting for charge limit. I saw recommendation of 80/90. Any benefit to either?
And below is an amount that you can increase. It's at 47 A right now but can increase or decrease. What's the deal here?

Using the official Tesla Wall Connector.

Keep in mind it's currently quite cold temps.

 

[Sophias_dad]

The charging noise is not normal. Where is it coming from?

In theory if you don't need the range, the battery will wear out (reduce its capacity) slower if you charge to 80 instead of 90.

The amount below that is amps of charging speed. 48 Amps is all the 3 can take, it won't let you set it any higher. It can be set as low as 5 amps, but don't expect much charging to go on at that level. 48 amps will get you around 42 miles more range per hour of charging. There isn't much reason to set it lower than the maximum.

 

[snowthewitch]

Hood of the car I think? Here is a quick clip. I trimmed it down so only a few seconds.

 

[Sophias_dad]

Ya.... time to call for a service appointment.

Returning for a moment to the 'Why would I set it to less than the maximum charge rate?' question. It would typically be done if you are using the UMC on a circuit you know can't take the maximum, because of other loads on the line(usually shouldn't be) or a crappy outlet/wiring installation, or you know you've used an adapter so the UMC thinks its plugged into a different outlet than it truly is.

For instance, a standard dryer outlet these days is a 14-30 which is expected to be on a 30 amp breaker, and if you use the right UMC adapter the car will try to charge at 24 amps(80% of 32, because its considered a 'continuous' load. In the early days, Tesla would supply a 14-50 adapter with the UMC kit that came with the car, so someone might get an aftermarket adapter to change that 14-30 into a 14-50 and use the 14-50 adapter. If they did that the UMC would think it had 50 amps to work with and take its maximum(32 in this case, because that's the limit of the UMC itself), and since the actual circuit maximum is 30, the breaker should trip, although because its such a minor overload it might take tens of minutes before it did so. By turning down the maximum to 24 in the car, charging would proceed normally.

 

[snowthewitch]

Ya.... time to call for a service appointment.

Returning for a moment to the 'Why would I set it to less than the maximum charge rate?' question. It would typically be done if you are using the UMC on a circuit you know can't take the maximum, because of other loads on the line(usually shouldn't be) or a crappy outlet/wiring installation, or you know you've used an adapter so the UMC thinks its plugged into a different outlet than it truly is.

For instance, a standard dryer outlet these days is a 14-30 which is expected to be on a 30 amp breaker, and if you use the right UMC adapter the car will try to charge at 24 amps(80% of 32, because its considered a 'continuous' load. In the early days, Tesla would supply a 14-50 adapter with the UMC kit that came with the car, so someone might get an aftermarket adapter to change that 14-30 into a 14-50 and use the 14-50 adapter. If they did that the UMC would think it had 50 amps to work with and take its maximum(32 in this case, because that's the limit of the UMC itself), and since the actual circuit maximum is 30, the breaker should trip, although because its such a minor overload it might take tens of minutes before it did so. By turning down the maximum to 24 in the car, charging would proceed normally.

Man, super bummed about that. They don't come out to my location I'll have to drive up to a service appointment during the work week. It seems to be charging fine? But yeah, quite loud as you could hear.

Hopefully this is something they will take care of.

Thanks for the detail about that, I had it professionally installed next to the breaker in the garage so it definitely should be able to handle the 48A.

 

[snowthewitch]

Sent a longer video to service center. They said it's normal because it's cold?

 

[Sophias_dad]

Sent a longer video to service center. They said it's normal because it's cold?

Never heard that noise in three years of ownership in New England.

 

[snowthewitch]

Ugh, I'm not sure what the deal is. I'm still schedule for Tuesday to bring it in.

 

[57nevets]

You live in Minnesota, I assume its quite cold. That noise may be the heat pump warming up the car. When I precondition my SR+ by turning on the heat, I come outside and can hear noise near the windshield which I assume is the heat pump doing its job. It quiets down after a while.

 

[snowthewitch]

You live in Minnesota, I assume its quite cold. That noise may be the heat pump warming up the car. When I precondition my SR+ by turning on the heat, I come outside and can hear noise near the windshield which I assume is the heat pump doing its job. It quiets down after a while.

That sounds like exactly what it is and what the service team said but I'm still having someone come out.

I also might hear some wind when I'm driving like the window is down? This is unrelated but I've tried to put my hand around the entire area and can't feel anything. Unsure if it's just natural wind noise or a gap somewhere that's small enough for sound but can't feel it.

 

[joshuaspinks63]

I have the same sound in my 2021 Model 3. I know it's the pump warming and cooling the car, cqbin and battery. But the sounds is suppose to be on when you supper charge and have the AC or heat at full blast. But mine has been doing this for way to long. It's hot here in Louisiana but I have been fine until I hit a small fox on away to another state. The damage isn't nothing done visually. But since we got there and back. The car is acting like it's over heating now. I lost 10% of charge with is 2 hours because it will not stop fully blasting that pump. It will shut up near night but it will still randomly activate in the night but not as loud. When I super charge it's at it's loudest.

 

[Tezzie]

Sent a longer video to service center. They said it's normal because it's cold?

This exact thing happened to me but only during Supercharging at 4% battery left! Mine sounded even louder and I'm in SoCal where it's is NOT cold. It was 110º outside and I had been running the AC, and they said it was completely normal. Here's a video I found on YouTube from a guy charging in colder climates. Sounds just like yours.

Mine never makes a sound charging at home.