J1772 broken in charge port!

[Retrospected]

So after classes, I went to unplug the cable from the Chargepoint/J1772 adapter from my 13 Model S, and only half of the adapter came out. I tried pulling the charger out by hand, but there was no grip to hold on. So, I found the metal prongs easy enough to be pulled out of the adapter that was lodged in the charge port, and drove home. Chargepoint or Tesla App never mentioned the vehicles charge being interrupted, but one of the larger prongs looks somewhat bent, in comparison to the others. Pics included. This ever happen to anyone else? Should I stop using that J adapter, or try fixing it myself?

 

[Retrospected]

Pics added!

 

[RyanS]

Wow. That looks bad. I would take it to a local Tesla shop and have them take it out. I am not even sure if it is safe to touch those exposed prongs. You need to get a new adapter.

Do you use your adpter pretty often?

 

[Hornedfrog1]

If it seems bent, not to mention the fact that it’s your adapter, I’d say avoid it like the plague because once that initial seal is compromised anything can get inside the interior of the adapter. I don’t know if it’s possible but you’d hate for it to be compromised and cause a short which then might cause something to blow in your car due to overload. I might be overthinking it and that might not be possible but I’m just thinking worse case scenario.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

It looks like the Tesla J1772 adapter separated into two pieces ... one piece with most of the internal pins is stuck in the car's charge port, and the other piece is stuck inside the J1772 charging cable head.

I think these can probably be pulled out with needle-nose pliers, but you'd have to be sure that the battery port was deenergized prior to doing so.

For the J1772 cable end, that should definitely be deenergized since it isn't plugged into a car ... mechanically unlock the charging cable head by pressing on the lever, then pull out the broken Tesla adapter piece with needle-nose pliers.

For the the car charge port, let Tesla pull it out. They can be sure the port is deenergized prior to pulling it out. Plus, you'll need to go by the Tesla service center to get a new J1772 adapter anyway.

 

[Retrospected]

It looks like the Tesla J1772 adapter separated into two pieces ... one piece with most of the internal pins is stuck in the car's charge port, and the other piece is stuck inside the J1772 charging cable head.

I think these can probably be pulled out with needle-nose pliers, but you'd have to be sure that the battery port was deenergized prior to doing so.

For the J1772 cable end, that should definitely be deenergized since it isn't plugged into a car ... mechanically unlock the charging cable head by pressing on the lever, then pull out the broken Tesla adapter piece with needle-nose pliers.

For the the car charge port, let Tesla pull it out. They can be sure the port is deenergized prior to pulling it out. Plus, you'll need to go by the Tesla service center to get a new J1772 adapter anyway.

Yes, the adapter separated into two pieces. So while I posted this, I went ahead and tried to see what I could do myself. After testing to see if the prongs had live power going to them, which they didn’t, I proceeded to remove them one at a time. After all prongs had been removed, it was just a plastic housing lodged in the charge port, which I used needle nose pliers to remove. Unlocking the charge port, and pulling at the same time released the plastic piece without further damaging it. The car is charging with the regular cable now, and there doesn’t seem to be any error or damage noted. I don’t think I’ll try to use the J adapter again, but It looks like it was a matter of poor manufacturing that held the two “pieces” together.

 

[RyanS]

That should be a recall item.

 

[Retrospected]

That should be a recall item.

Seems like a possible one of a few dozen items that should be a recall item

 

[BrettS]

It was certainly good to double check to make sure that the pins weren’t energized before attempting to remove them, but really there was almost no danger of them being energized once the adapter was separated. The car and the charger communicate continually while the car is charging and as soon as that handshake is broken everything is de-energized. There would need to be a failure greater than a broken adapter to leave exposed pins like that energized.

 

[FlyingCookie]

That should be a recall item.

Yes, every part that ever breaks for anyone should be recalled immediately!

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Yes, every part that ever breaks for anyone should be recalled immediately!

If this were the case, I think my brain, eyes, ears, lower back, knee and perhaps a few other body parts would have to be recalled.

 

[SMAlset]

Yes, the adapter separated into two pieces. So while I posted this, I went ahead and tried to see what I could do myself. After testing to see if the prongs had live power going to them, which they didn’t, I proceeded to remove them one at a time. After all prongs had been removed, it was just a plastic housing lodged in the charge port, which I used needle nose pliers to remove. Unlocking the charge port, and pulling at the same time released the plastic piece without further damaging it. The car is charging with the regular cable now, and there doesn’t seem to be any error or damage noted. I don’t think I’ll try to use the J adapter again, but It looks like it was a matter of poor manufacturing that held the two “pieces” together.

Please give the adapter and parts and a copy of your photos to your local SvC so Tesla can look at what happened to it. Better they look into it now than people just toss them and if there is an issue with production it continues happen to more people and maybe not with the same results of being able to remove it or someone get left high and dry unable to charge. You said your car was a 2013 though, so is this an adapter that came with your UMC from the time the car was originally delivered? Could be that older adapters could start to experience this problem as the part ages.

 

[whitex]

That should be a recall item.

Not every part failure, especially almost 5 years old, is an immediate recall. Parts fail. This may be a warranty claim, or it may not even be under warranty anymore - nothing lasts forever. I would provide the piece to Tesla so they can analyze the mode of failure to make sure if failed safely, without endangering the end-user (if not, that could become a recall).

 

[Retrospected]

Please give the adapter and parts and a copy of your photos to your local SvC so Tesla can look at what happened to it. Better they look into it now than people just toss them and if there is an issue with production it continues happen to more people and maybe not with the same results of being able to remove it or someone get left high and dry unable to charge. You said your car was a 2013 though, so is this an adapter that came with your UMC from the time the car was originally delivered? Could be that older adapters could start to experience this problem as the part ages.

It is the adapter which came with the car almost 5 years ago. Though I am upset it broke; what can you expect out of a piece that’s used fairly often, and is still made of plastic? I’ll bring it with me to the SvC when I go down there, but I’m questioning wether it’s better to make a WTB post for another J adapter

 

[SMAlset]

It is the adapter which came with the car almost 5 years ago. Though I am upset it broke; what can you expect out of a piece that’s used fairly often, and is still made of plastic? I’ll bring it with me to the SvC when I go down there, but I’m questioning wether it’s better to make a WTB post for another J adapter

I'll be curious if they will replace it given how it fell apart like that. Assume the plastic didn't crack anywhere to loosen the fitting? Five years is a decent amount of time for a part like that especially if it gets a lot of use.