Help!! NEMA 10-30 Issues

[GlassJAw88]

I currently got my model 3. I have a dryer outlet that I was going to use to charge the car. However after purchasing the adapter from Tesla it didn’t hold the charge for very long. It'll start to charge at 24 for a few minutes than go down to around 12 or so.
At that time the UMC would have the “T” flashing red.
I also get a message saying something about being too hot.

Any work around on this?

 

[MagnusMako]

I have a 10-30 outlet and basically had the same problem with my UMC when I first got my 3. Mine basically just completely stopped working altogether. Went to Tesla SC and they replaced the cable and all is working again as normal. It's possible you just have a bad cable if it's getting too hot like that and something is probably damaged with the internals of the cord. I would just go to the SC or schedule an appt to see about getting it replaced. They should have them in stock.

 

[Petrlol]

Does it charge correctly with the 5-15 adapter it came with?

Is the 10-30 plugged into the umc all the way?

When it starts to ramp down does anything feel hot?

 

[BourneM3]

Yep, either the cable or the UMC itself is bad. They will replace

 

[GlassJAw88]

Does it charge correctly with the 5-15 adapter it came with?

Is the 10-30 plugged into the umc all the way?

When it starts to ramp down does anything feel hot?

Yes it does charge with the 5-15 plug.
While I was using the 10-30 the UMC did feel a bit hot.

I tried it twice using the 10-30 adapter. It seems to charge at the correct kWh. However, once the UMC gets hot it lowers it down.

 

[GlassJAw88]

I have a 10-30 outlet and basically had the same problem with my UMC when I first got my 3. Mine basically just completely stopped working altogether. Went to Tesla SC and they replaced the cable and all is working again as normal. It's possible you just have a bad cable if it's getting too hot like that and something is probably damaged with the internals of the cord. I would just go to the SC or schedule an appt to see about getting it replaced. They should have them in stock.

Could it be the wires inside the outlet?
I was told the wires from the breaker running into that dryer outlet aren’t thick enough. This is was causing it to do that?

If that’s the case I’m going to have to use pubic chargers and rely on some free chargers around me. I am also thinking on using the 5-15 plug over night. At least I’ll get some charge over night.

Not ideal but I can make it work

 

[wws]

Since it is a 10-30, the receptacle is at least 25 years old. It could be bad, heating up, the temp sensor in the UMC plug is detecting the problem, and dropping the charge current accordingly.

When this happens, I’d suggest stopping the charge by unplugging the UMC from the car. Then unplug it from the 10-30 and feel the blades on the plug. If they are hot you’ll know there is a problem with the receptacle. Could be something as simple as tightening the screws that clamp the wires to the receptacle.

 

[M3BlueGeorgia]

Since it is a 10-30, the receptacle is at least 25 years old. It could be bad, heating up, the temp sensor in the UMC plug is detecting the problem, and dropping the charge current accordingly.

When this happens, I’d suggest stopping the charge by unplugging the UMC from the car. Then unplug it from the 10-30 and feel the blades on the plug. If they are hot you’ll know there is a problem with the receptacle. Could be something as simple as tightening the screws that clamp the wires to the receptacle.

As an experiment, set the maximum amperage to 20A and see if the problem goes away.

10-30 was replaced by 14-30 nearly 20 years ago, so it could be internal wiring in the house Drawing less amperage will reduce the load on the wiring, but still test out the adapter.

 

[Saghost]

I currently got my model 3. I have a dryer outlet that I was going to use to charge the car. However after purchasing the adapter from Tesla it didn’t hold the charge for very long. It'll start to charge at 24 for a few minutes than go down to around 12 or so.
At that time the UMC would have the “T” flashing red.
I also get a message saying something about being too hot.

Any work around on this?

This sounds like the car telling you that the outlet isn't safe to charge with and the connection is overheating. This isn't something you want to ignore or work around - the car's technology is preventing a fire you'd likely have otherwise.

(Unless it's a false indication. When you get the error and go to unplug the EVSE from the wall, is the connection hot?)

Most likely the 10-30 outlet either doesn't have an adequate pinch on the adapter end or doesn't have a good connection to the wires behind it. Get a competent electrician to replace the outlet.

 

[srs5694]

Could it be the wires inside the outlet?
I was told the wires from the breaker running into that dryer outlet aren’t thick enough. This is was causing it to do that?

Who told you that the wires from the breaker box are inadequate? Did somebody inspect your wiring, or was this speculation? If it was an inspection, was the person competent (like a licensed electrician)? I wouldn't take this diagnosis as certain unless it was an actual inspection by somebody competent; however, it is a plausible hypothesis, so I wouldn't dismiss it, either.

As others have suggested, the problem could also be a loose connection or even a defective NEMA 10-30 adapter or a defective portable connector. I don't know if Tesla service centers have NEMA 10-30 outlets for testing (I'm guessing not, since they aren't supposed to be installed new any more), but you could certainly take the portable connector to a service center for testing on a NEMA 14-50, which I'm pretty sure they all have.

If that’s the case I’m going to have to use pubic chargers and rely on some free chargers around me. I am also thinking on using the 5-15 plug over night. At least I’ll get some charge over night.

You can try reducing the amperage when using the NEMA 10-30 outlet by using the car's screen. If the wiring under-sized, that might be enough to get it to work better; however, you'd basically be guesstimating a safe amperage, and it might be reset by some random event, so I wouldn't want to rely on this for the long term. Plus which, you'll be charging slower. If the in-the-wall wiring really is not up to the task, it's much safer in the long term to replace it. If you do that, then you might as well upgrade to a NEMA 14-50 outlet (with matching wiring and circuit breaker), which will enable you to charge at 32A using Tesla's Gen2 portable connector, or at 40A with a Gen1 connector or some third-party EVSEs. The cost of such an upgrade will vary depending on how long the run is from the breaker box.

 

[davewill]

... If the wiring under-sized, that might be enough to get it to work better; however, you'd basically be guesstimating a safe amperage, and it might be reset by some random event, so I wouldn't want to rely on this for the long term. Plus which, you'll be charging slower. If the in-the-wall wiring really is not up to the task, it's much safer in the long term to replace it. If you do that, then you might as well upgrade to a NEMA 14-50 outlet (with matching wiring and circuit breaker), which will enable you to charge at 32A using Tesla's Gen2 portable connector, or at 40A with a Gen1 connector or some third-party EVSEs. The cost of such an upgrade will vary depending on how long the run is from the breaker box.

Another option if the wiring is undersized would be to downgrade the outlet to a 6-20. No rewiring and they'd still charge at triple the effective rate of a 5-15.

 

[GlassJAw88]

Another option if the wiring is undersized would be to downgrade the outlet to a 6-20. No rewiring and they'd still charge at triple the effective rate of a 5-15.

What’s the process of downgrading it?

 

[GlassJAw88]

Who told you that the wires from the breaker box are inadequate? Did somebody inspect your wiring, or was this speculation? If it was an inspection, was the person competent (like a licensed electrician)? I wouldn't take this diagnosis as certain unless it was an actual inspection by somebody competent; however, it is a plausible hypothesis, so I wouldn't dismiss it, either.

As others have suggested, the problem could also be a loose connection or even a defective NEMA 10-30 adapter or a defective portable connector. I don't know if Tesla service centers have NEMA 10-30 outlets for testing (I'm guessing not, since they aren't supposed to be installed new any more), but you could certainly take the portable connector to a service center for testing on a NEMA 14-50, which I'm pretty sure they all have.



You can try reducing the amperage when using the NEMA 10-30 outlet by using the car's screen. If the wiring under-sized, that might be enough to get it to work better; however, you'd basically be guesstimating a safe amperage, and it might be reset by some random event, so I wouldn't want to rely on this for the long term. Plus which, you'll be charging slower. If the in-the-wall wiring really is not up to the task, it's much safer in the long term to replace it. If you do that, then you might as well upgrade to a NEMA 14-50 outlet (with matching wiring and circuit breaker), which will enable you to charge at 32A using Tesla's Gen2 portable connector, or at 40A with a Gen1 connector or some third-party EVSEs. The cost of such an upgrade will vary depending on how long the run is from the breaker box.

The last time I plugged it in, I lowered the amps from the 24 to 22. I’m guess I will have to reduce it further to 20 than see what happens.
I will do this later tonight while I detail my car.

 

[zeelman]

I've had the same issues with a NEMA 10-30 outlet in a house with 40+ year old wiring. I had to dial down the amperage to 18A. Does the voltage shown on the screen drop significantly below 240V before the error?

 

[javadanno]

Could it be the wires inside the outlet?
I was told the wires from the breaker running into that dryer outlet aren’t thick enough. This is was causing it to do that?

If that’s the case I’m going to have to use pubic chargers and rely on some free chargers around me. I am also thinking on using the 5-15 plug over night. At least I’ll get some charge over night.

Not ideal but I can make it work

It really would be worth it to have an electrician come in and make sure the 10-30 outlet is installed properly just as a precaution and for piece of mind.

If your Tesla charging cable is hot the issue as you stated is mostly likely with the charging cable.

I used an regular wall outlet (5-15) for the first two weeks. I have a 72 mile commute (round-trip) and would use about 23% of range per day (M3 LR AWD). Plugging in as soon as I got home and charging until the next morning I could only recoup about 18%. On the weekend, I had to find a level 2 charger to make up the difference.

Finally, I had a 60 amp branch circuit run to my garage and a Tesla wall connector installed. In Northern Virginia, the cost was 1580 including the wall connector.

I hope this helps.

 

[GlassJAw88]

I've had the same issues with a NEMA 10-30 outlet in a house with 40+ year old wiring. I had to dial down the amperage to 18A. Does the voltage shown on the screen drop significantly below 240V before the error?

I don’t remember
I will try again lowering it to 18A and see what it does

 

[GlassJAw88]

It really would be worth it to have an electrician come in and make sure the 10-30 outlet is installed properly just as a precaution and for piece of mind.

If your Tesla charging cable is hot the issue as you stated is mostly likely with the charging cable.

I used an regular wall outlet (5-15) for the first two weeks. I have a 72 mile commute (round-trip) and would use about 23% of range per day (M3 LR AWD). Plugging in as soon as I got home and charging until the next morning I could only recoup about 18%. On the weekend, I had to find a level 2 charger to make up the difference.

Finally, I had a 60 amp branch circuit run to my garage and a Tesla wall connector installed. In Northern Virginia, the cost was 1580 including the wall connector.

I hope this helps.

The UPMC was hot I remember that.

 

[GlassJAw88]

Since it is a 10-30, the receptacle is at least 25 years old. It could be bad, heating up, the temp sensor in the UMC plug is detecting the problem, and dropping the charge current accordingly.

When this happens, I’d suggest stopping the charge by unplugging the UMC from the car. Then unplug it from the 10-30 and feel the blades on the plug. If they are hot you’ll know there is a problem with the receptacle. Could be something as simple as tightening the screws that clamp the wires to the receptacle.

From what I saw that receptacle is very old.
It hasn’t been in use since we moved into the place a little over a year 1/2 now. I don’t know if the previous tenants used it.

 

[GlassJAw88]

It really would be worth it to have an electrician come in and make sure the 10-30 outlet is installed properly just as a precaution and for piece of mind.

If your Tesla charging cable is hot the issue as you stated is mostly likely with the charging cable.

I used an regular wall outlet (5-15) for the first two weeks. I have a 72 mile commute (round-trip) and would use about 23% of range per day (M3 LR AWD). Plugging in as soon as I got home and charging until the next morning I could only recoup about 18%. On the weekend, I had to find a level 2 charger to make up the difference.

Finally, I had a 60 amp branch circuit run to my garage and a Tesla wall connector installed. In Northern Virginia, the cost was 1580 including the wall connector.

I hope this helps.

I am going to do what you did.
Charge at home with the 5-15 than use level 2 chargers mostly. Unless I am able to dial down the amps to were it doesn’t cause any damage.

 

[javadanno]

I am going to do what you did.
Charge at home with the 5-15 than use level 2 chargers mostly. Unless I am able to dial down the amps to were it doesn’t cause any damage.

I only spent about two hours one evening using a level 2 charger. During that time my wife and I went to dinner and the charge was free.

Northern Viginia has level 2 chargers in a number of locations and 10 Tesla Super Chargers were installed about 4 miles a way at the Village at Leesburg so there are plenty of options here.

Good luck with your charging. If your commute is less than mine you, let's say 40 miles you may be able to get away with charging from a regular wall outlet on a daily basis.