Gen 1 HPWC Death - "Charging Stopped - Power lost while charging"

[Dbitter1]

So it looks like my HPWC gave up the ghost. It completed its last charge successfully, no lightning storms/surges that I know of since then, and the mobile charger works like a charm so not thinking it is the car. Tried resetting, cutting power, etc, to no avail. I'm going to guess that last removal from the car snapped the camels back.

I did do a continuity check between the end of the connector (what goes into the car) and the lugs inside the charger... the charging wires and ground are fine, as well as the yellow signaling wire... but the purple signaling is not. This is giving me hope that its a cable issue, not the charger itself.

So.... is there such a thing as a replacement cable? I understand Tesla considers them throwaways, but I really want to keep my 80A charging. The prices on eBay (et al) for Gen1/Gen2 units are all over the board - some "parts" ones that cost more than a new Gen3 charger.

Or... is it not supposed to have continuity, and I'm chasing a ghost and should just give up and replace the whole thing?

 

[davewill]

One of the wires in that cable is 3.3v power for the transmitter in the handle that causes the door to open when you push the button. It would not connect through to the car. One of the connections to the car is the "proximity" wire which tells the car whether the plug is connected and whether the button is depressed. It does not have to connect all the way back to the main unit. I don't know in the case of the wall connector whether it does or not.

 

[smil3193]

So it looks like my HPWC gave up the ghost. It completed its last charge successfully, no lightning storms/surges that I know of since then, and the mobile charger works like a charm so not thinking it is the car. Tried resetting, cutting power, etc, to no avail. I'm going to guess that last removal from the car snapped the camels back.

I did do a continuity check between the end of the connector (what goes into the car) and the lugs inside the charger... the charging wires and ground are fine, as well as the yellow signaling wire... but the purple signaling is not. This is giving me hope that its a cable issue, not the charger itself.

So.... is there such a thing as a replacement cable? I understand Tesla considers them throwaways, but I really want to keep my 80A charging. The prices on eBay (et al) for Gen1/Gen2 units are all over the board - some "parts" ones that cost more than a new Gen3 charger.

Or... is it not supposed to have continuity, and I'm chasing a ghost and should just give up and replace the whole thing?

My HPWC just quit also. I would like to get another 80 amp charger too, so I guess either another Gen 1 or a Gen 2. I’m worried about scams if I try to buy one from a general search. Since we’re basically in the same boat, can you let me know if you have any success finding one? Thank you.

 

[Lasttoy]

U have 2 very tiny wires in the cable. I accidentally cut mine in half with mower. Opened it up to find a lot of wires. I suspect u broke one one the tiny wires. U could take it off the wall and get a meter and check every wire. If all good, box is bad.

 

[Joer293]

Odd, mine also just quit after using it to charge a model 3 loaner. I've had 1 successful charge session for my model X before it stopped half way through the second charge with the same error. Internally the red led on the control board blinks once every second. Curious if anyone else does the same. Does the internal LED indicate any specific issue?

 

[forays]

Same here
Anyone figure out their issue with the red blink lights on HPWC that won't charge?
My relay clicks, flashes green on the car for a second or two, then clicks again and goes red.

Occasionally, I could cycle everything and get it to start charging again.
Doesn't appear to want to do this now.

Problems all started after Tesla replaced my 72W charger in the car.

 

[davewill]

Same here
Anyone figure out their issue with the red blink lights on HPWC that won't charge?
My relay clicks, flashes green on the car for a second or two, then clicks again and goes red.

Occasionally, I could cycle everything and get it to start charging again.
Doesn't appear to want to do this now.

Problems all started after Tesla replaced my 72W charger in the car.

Test with another Tesla connector somewhere (not a Supercharger). See if the problem follows the car. My presumption would be that the car is at fault, and that the new charger is not working right.

 

[forays]

I used my mobile connector with a 14-50 plug 40AMPs, and that initially charged the car fine.
Then the second time I plugged it in, I came out the next day, and it had the red ring and had stopped charging.
So that made me think it was something with the car.
I went to the dealer to have them test (charged me $250), and they said everything was good.
I also tested on my HPWC at the beach, which charged with no problems.

My HPWCs are Gen 1
Last year, I had a problem where the HPWC stopped working after a software update.
I was told units were bad, although other cars would charge fine.
Mysteriously my problem went away after the next software update.

I have an update for my car this weekend, so I will see if that changes anything.

Otherwise, I need to figure out the Gen 1 HPWC charger light flash codes to see if I can get an indication on what may be wrong with the wall charger.

thanks for input

 

[scaesare]

Test with another Tesla connector somewhere (not a Supercharger). See if the problem follows the car. My presumption would be that the car is at fault, and that the new charger is not working right.

My 10-yr-old Gen1 HPWC died a bit back as well. (I wrongly assumed it was the in-car charger fuses... 4 hours wasted). Used my UMC in a pinch.. haven't dug in to what's wrong with the HPWC other than checking the fuses...

 

[forays]

Yeah - that is where I am now.
Called charging support to get assistance on the light codes - they said it is out of warranty.
I said I was just looking for support. They said they won't support as out of warranty.
Tesla appears to have the position that once something is out of warranty you should replace it as they won't support it and it can't be repaired.
I guess scrapping our cars after warranty expires will be next response

 

[davewill]

Yeah - that is where I am now.
Called charging support to get assistance on the light codes - they said it is out of warranty.
I said I was just looking for support. They said they won't support as out of warranty.
Tesla appears to have the position that once something is out of warranty you should replace it as they won't support it and it can't be repaired.
I guess scrapping our cars after warranty expires will be next response

The manual for the HPWC has a troubleshooting section that explains the flashing light patterns.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/downloads/high-power-wall-connector-installation-installation-a-b.pdf

 

[forays]

Dave,
Thanks for the link. Red blink count is inconsistent.
Yesterday after turning the HPWC on and trying to charge it went from Green and appears to be 1 red blink. Red flash followed by lights being off for a longer duration. Then red flash again.

Reset the unit and tried charging again. Unit is green, plug into car, relay on HPWC clicks, car shows green flashing for a second, then goes to red.
Unit was just flashing red. No real count from what I could tell.

I called Tesla charger support and go the out of warrantee, get a new charger response.

Are you aware of any detailed troubleshooting steps where I can try and isolate what the issue may be?

Anyone know of anyone who repairs the HPWC? I have 72W charger in car and I believe that only Gen 1 chargers can charge at 72W at home.

Pretty sad how Tesla charges you for a feature and then takes it away.

-Al

 

[Rocky_H]

and I believe that only Gen 1 chargers can charge at 72W at home.

Gen1 and Gen2 both offered the 80A output capacity. They look similar visually. The Gen2 added circuit sharing and changed the amp configuration options to some that were more common and sensible.

Pretty sad how Tesla charges you for a feature and then takes it away.

Heh. That's not what happened. Your car's onboard charger, which can charge at 72A can STILL charge at 72A. They did not "take it away". There are other brands of wall connectors that can provide 80A.

CS-100 | Enphase

enphase.com

 

[davewill]

I'm confused. You said you started having problems after Tesla replaced your on-board 72a charger. What have you done to troubleshoot whether it's the car or the HPWC? If it's just using a mobile connector successfully, I'd suggest finding another 80a wall connector someplace and test again. Plugshare would be the place to search for one. Also, have another car try your wall connector if at all possible.

When was the on-board charger replaced?

 

[forays]

The problem with my HPWC started when Tesal replaced the charger in my car.
The car charges successfully with different HPWCs
Something is not working correctly between this particular HPWC and the car.
I don't have another Tesla available to see if it works with my HPWC.

There are known problems with Gen1 HPWC and not charging Teslas.
I had a prior issue with this HPWC not wanting to charge that disappeared when the car's software was updated.

I'm looking for what steps I can take to try and diagnose the HPWC fault codes to see what may be causing the error.

Thanks
-Al

 

[davewill]

The problem with my HPWC started when Tesal replaced the charger in my car.
The car charges successfully with different HPWCs
Something is not working correctly between this particular HPWC and the car.
I don't have another Tesla available to see if it works with my HPWC.

There are known problems with Gen1 HPWC and not charging Teslas.
I had a prior issue with this HPWC not wanting to charge that disappeared when the car's software was updated.

I'm looking for what steps I can take to try and diagnose the HPWC fault codes to see what may be causing the error.

Thanks
-Al

I have one other suggestion for you to try. Reconfigure your HPWC for a 90a or 80a breaker. It might not do anything, or it might make a difference.

 

[forays]

So here is where things stand.
P100D will no longer charge at my house (no matter what AMPs from 30 to 72). Red ring of death.
Model 3 will charge fine at my house indicating that the charger is fine.
P100D will charge with other HPWCs at Tesla service center (not sure of what generation they tested with)
P100D will charge at my beach house which is a GEN1

Similar problem occurred a few years ago and went away with software update.
This started with a car charger replacement and software update.

Any ideas as impossible to get Tesla to respond.
Currently using the mobile connector with a 14-50 outlet (50AMP) I have daisy chained of the same circuit. That charges fine.

Any ideas?