J1772 charger suddenly giving error, Supercharging still works

[nyxynyx]

My M3 has been charging fine using a ClipperCreek J1772 charger using the Tesla J1772 adapter until one night it just stops charging. Whenever the charger is inserted into the charging port, Tesla's screen will show an error saying "Charging equipment fault" and the charger's "charging fault" LED will light up. I have the same charging error on 4 other ClipperCreek chargers and a Volta charger. However, supercharging at a Tesla Supercharger still works.

I've tried using a brand new J1772 Tesla adapter, soft rebooting (pressing both scroller buttons on the steering wheel), and hard reboots (changing the tire in the configurationn), but still getting the same charging error.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

 

[Sophias_dad]

Have you tried a Tesla L2 charger? Its probably not going to be different.

It sounds like the charging equipment in your 3 has failed. Supercharging is DC and bypasses most of the circuitry in your car as a result.

 

[nyxynyx]

Is there a big difference between how the ClipperCreek L2 32A charger and the Chargepoint L2 30A charger charges the vehicle?

Somehow AC charging still works for my M3 when using Chargepoints, but ClipperCreek and Volta chargers dont work... (these are working on other Teslas)

Successfully charged using 3 Chargepoint chargers, failed charging on 3 Volta and 6 ClipperCreek chargers. Tesla service claims that its a problem with the chargers and not the vehicle, but all these chargers were working for me before this happened.

@Sophias_dad

 

[Sophias_dad]

Is there a big difference between how the ClipperCreek L2 32A charger and the Chargepoint L2 30A charger charges the vehicle?

Somehow AC charging still works for my M3 when using Chargepoints, but ClipperCreek and Volta chargers dont work... (these are working on other Teslas)

Successfully charged using 3 Chargepoint chargers, failed charging on 3 Volta and 6 ClipperCreek chargers. Tesla service claims that its a problem with the chargers and not the vehicle, but all these chargers were working for me before this happened.

@Sophias_dad

From the cars perspective, the same circuitry would be used for ClipperCreek and Chargepoint L2 chargers. I'm sure the J1772a protocol is supposed to be followed by both types and the Tesla as well, and perhaps either Tesla or Chargepoint/Volta are not following the spec. It is indeed strange that only your car seems to be affected, since I'm sure there would be lots of complaints if ClipperCreek just didn't work with Tesla.

 

[Transformer]

Successfully charged using 3 Chargepoint chargers, failed charging on 3 Volta and 6 ClipperCreek chargers. Tesla service claims that its a problem with the chargers and not the vehicle, but all these chargers were working for me before this happened.

It'd be good to test at least one of those Volta and ClipperCreek chargers with another Tesla to rule out the possibility that they all went bad at about the same time.

Then the only hypothesis I can think of is something is broken in your car's charging circuitry or state that ChargePoint is insensitive to (call it "robust" or "fast and loose") that the others aren't.

For that, you might be able to convince the service center to fully test your car's L2 charging signaling. Otherwise you might have to bring them a Volta or ClipperCreek charger to test that it works on their other cars but not yours, and to then test repairs.

Actually it's worth asking them to re-install your current software release OTA since that resets state info in various microcontrollers. (I learned about this technique in forum threads about windshield replacement, where the humidity and temp sensors in the attached rear view mirror don't work right until a software re-install.)

 

[Big Earl]

My next step would be to try a different J-1772 adapter and see if the problem persists.

 

[CarlThompson]

@nyxynyx - If you open your charge port door and look inside do you see anything stuck on the pins? For example, a bit of plastic that may have broken off from a previous adapter. Also look at the adapter itself.

 

[Karen G]

Likely broken ECU. I had same problem. Book service appointment.

 

[nyxynyx]

Yup I did try the above suggestions with no success
- a second brand new adapter
- 4 Volta chargers
- 7 ClipperCreek chargers (successfully charges neighbor's Model 3, Y, S)
- Soft restart, hard restart, factory restart
- No plastic stuck inside the Tesla charging port, J1772 adapter, or J1772 plug

Tested working on 5 Chargepoint chargers.

@Karen G How did you describe the problem to them to get them to fix it? My service guy tries to cancel it over the Tesla app stating its an issue with my ClipperCreek charger.

Also, was the repair covered by warranty, and did you have to leave the car with them?

 

[Big Earl]

Yup I did try the above suggestions with no success
- a second brand new adapter
- 4 Volta chargers
- 7 ClipperCreek chargers (successfully charges neighbor's Model 3, Y, S)
- Soft restart, hard restart, factory restart
- No plastic stuck inside the Tesla charging port, J1772 adapter, or J1772 plug

Tested working on 5 Chargepoint chargers.

@Karen G How did you describe the problem to them to get them to fix it? My service guy tries to cancel it over the Tesla app stating its an issue with my ClipperCreek charger.

Also, was the repair covered by warranty, and did you have to leave the car with them?

Just tell them it won’t AC charge at all. They won’t bother to test it on a ChargePoint station.

 

[Karen G]

Yup I did try the above suggestions with no success
- a second brand new adapter
- 4 Volta chargers
- 7 ClipperCreek chargers (successfully charges neighbor's Model 3, Y, S)
- Soft restart, hard restart, factory restart
- No plastic stuck inside the Tesla charging port, J1772 adapter, or J1772 plug

Tested working on 5 Chargepoint chargers.

@Karen G How did you describe the problem to them to get them to fix it? My service guy tries to cancel it over the Tesla app stating its an issue with my ClipperCreek charger.

Also, was the repair covered by warranty, and did you have to leave the car with them?

I just booked a service appointment. But actually called them in am and they consider this an emergency and told me to come any time. Had enough charge left to get there. They tested the car and fixed it. Left it there. Was Ready in about 4 -5 hours. Covered by warranty. I have 2 electric cars so I knew my chargepoint charger was working fine. And I tried my neighbour's Tesla charger. Still couldn't charge my car but his car would charge. Had to be a problem with my car. Also started after the Dec software update for me. I learned about the problem in another post on the forums. Always ECU needs replacing.

 

[Rocky_H]

Parts failing, I get. But an update killing parts is unusual.

 

[djinmn]

I'm running into the same issue with my Model 3. Clipper Creek charger, just updated, now there is a charging fault.

 

[nyxynyx]

6 weeks later, I am still unable to get the vehicle's charging port fixed. Keeps getting rescheduled, eventually went for a service appointment.

But after leaving the car there, they told me to retrieve my car 5 hours later because they do not have any replacement parts in stock. Next appointment is in another month's time.

Been charging the car at the supercharger near my home, read that regular supercharging is bad for the car.

 

[Big Earl]

6 weeks later, I am still unable to get the vehicle's charging port fixed. Keeps getting rescheduled, eventually went for a service appointment.

But after leaving the car there, they told me to retrieve my car 5 hours later because they do not have any replacement parts in stock. Next appointment is in another month's time.

Been charging the car at the supercharger near my home, read that regular supercharging is bad for the car.

Supercharging for a few weeks while you wait for the part isn’t going to have any meaningful impact on your battery’s long-term health.

 

[Karen G]

6 weeks later, I am still unable to get the vehicle's charging port fixed. Keeps getting rescheduled, eventually went for a service appointment.

But after leaving the car there, they told me to retrieve my car 5 hours later because they do not have any replacement parts in stock. Next appointment is in another month's time.

Been charging the car at the supercharger near my home, read that regular supercharging is bad for the car.

Sorry to hear about all your troubles. It was a quick fix here in Toronto, Canada. Maybe there is another location within driving distance that can help you?
I've seen a bunch more similar posts on this forum. Seems more people had the ECU failure after the software upgrade. Not sure how that works but maybe that's why they are out of the parts.
Good luck!