Charging the Roadster

[Roadster]

It's all part of the adventure of owning a Roadster!

The combination of the two adapters... Jdapter Stub (Tesla > J1772) + J1772 > Roadster... is almost certainly the issue. The Sharp CAN-SR you ordered should hopefully address this as that single adapter will replace both of them and is much better constructed. Also, you shouldn't charge at 70A unless you need that rapid a fill. Anecdotally, many of us have found the sweet spot for the Roadster under normal conditions to be around 24A.

 

[IslandRoadster]

- I bought the car two weeks ago and moved it on the road. The battery started full in range mode and I was able to drive over 200 km (about 125 miles) before stopping to charge. I charged at a Tesla destination charger and was able to charge for about 45 minutes before I got this error code: "ID 1084 DMC FW: HCS Faulted Warning". I tried another destination charger without more success. I was still able to get the car to its final destination and at that point, I was able to charge the battery using a my Roadster cable (two cables see picture), the first ones plugged into a Tesla Connector finally plugged into a 120v regular outlet.
- Since then, it's been a hit and miss trying the charge the car: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't (always using the Tesla Connector plugged into the 120v regular outlet). When it doesn't, I'm still getting this error code: "ID 1084 DMC FW: HCS Faulted Warning". As I understand that this may be related to an "external charger problem", I ordered a Henry Sharp Can SR (thanks Henry!) to replace the two cables in the picture hoping this will fix the problem

It’s possible you’re seeing a couple of different problems.

With the “faulted” warning, I periodically get a similar warning with my Tesla Wall Connector and the CAN. I have found that if I lower the amperage to a really low setting like 12 - 15 amps and start charging, once it starts charging, I then raise the amperage using the car’s settings. That seems to get less faults. Doesn’t eliminate them, but I get less. I also need to flip the breaker on my wall connector when that happens resetting the charger.

Note that I have never seen the fault with a An actual Roadster charger.

 

[X.l.r.8]

It’s been raining heavily all week in Ottawa, I would think it’s earth arc faulted

 

[gregd]

What @Roadster said about 70A charging... The only times I've had the 1084 alert was when trying to charge (at a Tesla Service Center!) while traveling. They acknowledged that that particular charger was having problems, and after moving to a different one, all was fine. My guess is the contact pins on the handle weren't making a good connection, as it started fine then failed a minute later.

At home, I generally charge at 24 amps, unless I need a quick boost. 24 amps is plenty fast for an overnight charge. I use an OpenEVSE as the "charge station", on a 14-50 outlet.

 

[hcsharp]

Hopefully a mod can move these posts to the right thread Charging the Roadster [ Done... -TEG ]

I agree with @Roadster it's very difficult to troubleshoot anything with those adapters. This could be caused by any number of things.

I'm not sure I agree with the idea of reducing the amps in the Roadster unless you find that helps. I would probably just leave it at 70A unless you have a wall charger putting out that much. In that case you might want to lower it. In this case it's only trying to charge at 32 or 40A, and only 15 if you're plugged into 120v. So it's already limited down to a low rate to start with. I'm in a minority with this opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

I sent your adapter by Express Mail so hopefully you can give us an update fairly soon. Best of luck.

 

[Jodro]

Hopefully a mod can move these posts to the right thread Charging the Roadster [ Done... -TEG ]

I agree with @Roadster it's very difficult to troubleshoot anything with those adapters. This could be caused by any number of things.

I'm not sure I agree with the idea of reducing the amps in the Roadster unless you find that helps. I would probably just leave it at 70A unless you have a wall charger putting out that much. In that case you might want to lower it. In this case it's only trying to charge at 32 or 40A, and only 15 if you're plugged into 120v. So it's already limited down to a low rate to start with. I'm in a minority with this opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

I sent your adapter by Express Mail so hopefully you can give us an update fairly soon. Best of luck.

Thank you Henry and everybody else for all your advice! I haven’t been able to charge the car since last Thursday but my battery is almost full so it gives me a bit of time to figure what the issue is and resolve it.

In everything I’m reading now about charging, it seems most of not all Roadster owners have a home charger. I don’t. I don’t plan to have one as I intend to use the car moderately and do not expect much scenarios where I would need to charge fast at home. All I have is a 12A 120 outlet which I’ve been using exclusively since I bought the car. Is that an issue?

 

[hcsharp]

In everything I’m reading now about charging, it seems most of not all Roadster owners have a home charger. I don’t. I don’t plan to have one as I intend to use the car moderately and do not expect much scenarios where I would need to charge fast at home. All I have is a 12A 120 outlet which I’ve been using exclusively since I bought the car. Is that an issue?

In my opinion, yes, that's an issue. There are a few threads about why 240v charging is better. A quick summary of the benefits includes more efficient charging (less energy per mile), much better thermal control of the battery at both ends of the temperature extremes, less wear and tear of the PEM charging electronics, and more reliable charging.

It's not a big enough deal to turn around and put your Roadster up for sale if you don't have 240v. But if you can install 240v without too much trouble, I would recommend it.

 

[Roadrunner13]

In my opinion, yes, that's an issue. There are a few threads about why 240v charging is better. A quick summary of the benefits includes more efficient charging (less energy per mile), much better thermal control of the battery at both ends of the temperature extremes, less wear and tear of the PEM charging electronics, and more reliable charging.

It's not a big enough deal to turn around and put your Roadster up for sale if you don't have 240v. But if you can install 240v without too much trouble, I would recommend it.

...240V will also allow the battery to balance when reaching the top end of the charge.
I don't believe this happens on 120V.
You don't need a 70A circuit, just 30A will do just fine to achieve all the proper benefits.

 

[Jodro]

...240V will also allow the battery to balance when reaching the top end of the charge.
I don't believe this happens on 120V.
You don't need a 70A circuit, just 30A will do just fine to achieve all the proper benefits.

Thank you for the advice. I already have a 30 Amp 125/250 volts Hubbell outlet in the garage that I was planning to convert or buy an adaptor for a bit later on... I’ll call an electrician for the conversion ASAP

 

[gregd]

Thank you for the advice. I already have a 30 Amp 125/250 volts Hubbell outlet in the garage that I was planning to convert or buy an adaptor for a bit later on... I’ll call an electrician for the conversion ASAP

Ok, good. But "Hubbell" is the brand, not the connector type or voltage. Is it a "14-30" by any chance? That would be a dryer outlet, which is perfect for 240v / 24 amp charging. If so, leave the outlet alone and get one of the readily available "charging stations" that will plug into it, and provide a J1772 plug that's commonly used for charging EVs at home.

However, you still need to figure out how to get the car to charge reliably. Ideally, it wants to do a top-off charge daily, as the car will lose about a mile or so of range per day just sitting there. Do you have the yellow charging cable? That into a standard 120v outlet should work. Be sure to dial the amps down to 8 or 12, or you could pop a home breaker.

 

[Jodro]

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give an update since the last time I posted: I believe that my charging cable was the issue. I bought a Henry Sharp Can Sr and I haven’t had an error message since I started using it. I also had an electrician install a Nema 14-50 plug, which seems to work as well as the regular 120 volt 15 amps outlet I was using until then.

 

[Lou B]

After taking #619 out for a hot run, and recharging. I got the highest Standard Range Charge of 164 Miles. When I first got the Roadster it would charge in the 150’s
Now I’m consistently around 162. When ever I drive the car hard , it seems to charge
To a higher number of miles. I can top off and sometimes get 1 or 2 more miles
Any reason why it seems to be getting
Better and why does topping off sometimes
Help?

 

[jason.tv]

After taking #619 out for a hot run, and recharging. I got the highest Standard Range Charge of 164 Miles. When I first got the Roadster it would charge in the 150’s
Now I’m consistently around 162. When ever I drive the car hard , it seems to charge
To a higher number of miles. I can top off and sometimes get 1 or 2 more miles
Any reason why it seems to be getting
Better and why does topping off sometimes
Help?

cooler weather increased 1-2 miles charge for me

 

[im4uttx]

After taking #619 out for a hot run, and recharging. I got the highest Standard Range Charge of 164 Miles. When I first got the Roadster it would charge in the 150’s
Now I’m consistently around 162. When ever I drive the car hard , it seems to charge
To a higher number of miles. I can top off and sometimes get 1 or 2 more miles
Any reason why it seems to be getting
Better and why does topping off sometimes
Help?

Assuming that is "estimated" and not "ideal" range. I took mine (with a group of roadsters) for a ~100 mile round trip a couple weeks ago, 55-60 mph, generally "soft" driving trying to keep the group in contact at all times. My normal standard charge has been 140-160 estimated with 186 ideal. After this drive it finished at 200 mile standard range (estimate). Still shows about 186 ideal range, so the battery absolutely LOVED that drive. That estimated mile range is variable based on how the car thinks you are driving...could be related to weather/temp or other factor.

As for the topping off, others have reported lower amp charge allows the battery to softly ramp down the charging that allows it to get a couple extra miles range. Might be something to that, and could be related to you topping off sometimes. I think it's all just noise in the full charge miles and nothing to worry about...unless you see a drastic reduction in ideal range, which could mean a battery cell is failing...

 

[FS_Ottawa]

Hi all, hope all is well. Dating back to 2011, I bought a 2.5 Roadster and it came with a TS-70 wall charger. I used to live in Canada back then.

Fast forward to now and I've moved to San Jose, CA, had two kids, and ended up selling the Roadster because my wife insisted the roadster is not a family car. I finally got around to clearing up the garage and found a brand new (in the box), never used, TS-70 wall charger.

Just wondering, is this something someone will be interested in buying, or should I just chuck it in the garbage? It's still freaking shinny, and I'd hate to waste it.

 

[TEG]

Hi all, hope all is well. Dating back to 2011, I bought a 2.5 Roadster and it came with a TS-70 wall charger. I used to live in Canada back then.
Fast forward to now and I've moved to San Jose, CA, had two kids, and ended up selling the Roadster because my wife insisted the roadster is not a family car. I finally got around to clearing up the garage and found a brand new (in the box), never used, TS-70 wall charger.
Just wondering, is this something someone will be interested in buying, or should I just chuck it in the garbage? It's still freaking shinny, and I'd hate to waste it.

I live in your area and would be more than happy to come pick it up if you really don't want it.

But, to be honest, you could probably get some $ for it on ebay...

 

[Roadster]

@TEG did you secretly pick up a Roadster?! Or are you going to set it up as a destination charger... basically Roadster mecca?

[TEG response : sadly, no... But it would be handy when I get to borrow ones from friends... ]

@FS_Ottawa we have a Roadster parts for sale thread in case TEG passes: Roadster Parts for Sale Listings

 

[hcsharp]

Hi all, hope all is well. Dating back to 2011, I bought a 2.5 Roadster and it came with a TS-70 wall charger. I used to live in Canada back then.

Fast forward to now and I've moved to San Jose, CA, had two kids, and ended up selling the Roadster because my wife insisted the roadster is not a family car. I finally got around to clearing up the garage and found a brand new (in the box), never used, TS-70 wall charger.

Just wondering, is this something someone will be interested in buying, or should I just chuck it in the garbage? It's still freaking shinny, and I'd hate to waste it.

One that's never been used like yours will sell for $700 - $1,000 on ebay. Used ones usually sell for $500 - 700.

 

[unixphone]

Hi all, hope all is

Hi all, hope all is well. Dating back to 2011, I bought a 2.5 Roadster and it came with a TS-70 wall charger. I used to live in Canada back then.

Fast forward to now and I've moved to San Jose, CA, had two kids, and ended up selling the Roadster because my wife insisted the roadster is not a family car. I finally got around to clearing up the garage and found a brand new (in the box), never used, TS-70 wall charger.

Just wondering, is this something someone will be interested in buying, or should I just chuck it in the garbage? It's still freaking shinny, and I'd hate to waste it.

i live in san jose and im interested. Pm sent.

 

[dhrivnak]

...240V will also allow the battery to balance when reaching the top end of the charge.
I don't believe this happens on 120V.
You don't need a 70A circuit, just 30A will do just fine to achieve all the proper benefits.

I am quite certain that balancing has nothing to do with 120/240. The only factor is you charge above 83% and ideally above 90 a few times a year with some time spent at the high end. You can watch the VDS to see what sheets and or bricks are balancing