Locked Charge Port Adapter

[israndy]

I normally charge at home, but with a mostly empty car I noticed that the Volta free charging near me was open, so I parked there and filled up. When it was ready to go I walked back and there was already someone wanting to charge. I pulled the J1772 and hung it up but when I tried to remove the adapter it was locked. I know, now, I should have stopped the charge BEFORE unplugging.

I tried unlocking it with the touchscreen but the only control was Close Charge Port.

I tried to plug the charger back in and pull the adapter with it, but I could see the other EV driver gesticulating at me and I gave up and drove off with my cover closing over the adapter and giving an error.

Not any better at home. I thought I would just use my charger, but, heh heh, it's not a J1772... d-oi

So I looked on the Interwebs and found that on a Model S you simply press the Unlock Charger button on the touchscreen. Searching the Model 3 manual I could not find that function. So I gave up and called Tesla. The guy suggested plugging the J1772 in again, but I don't have access to it as the other driver is now charging. He suggested taking it to the Service Center (45 minutes each way) but I told him they don't have J1772 chargers at my SC.

So he told me there is a RELEASE under the carpet, and that is why I am posting today:

The guy at Tesla told us to decorate our adapter so we don't leave it on the J1772 and drive away, I wanted a Remove Before Flight tag, but my wife wanted something more Michael Jackson.

In the Trunk right behind the charge port you will see some orange plastic behind a grill in the trunk fabric.

Right above the trunk light there is a plastic button holding the fabric in place, just pull the center button out and the whole pin will come out. Fold the fabric down and you will see...

the pull tab to release the charge adapter. Gingerly now. The guy on the phone warned me about pulling it thru would require bringing the car in for service.

The hardest part was putting the button holding the fabric back in, I had a dickens of a time lining it up, but it went back w/o ANY damage, like new.

-Randy

 

[Runt8]

Is this the EV version of

 

[TT97]

Thanks for the info. I'm a little surprised they first offered you drive 90-minutes round trip to the SC before letting you know you can fix it on your own in under two minutes!

 

[AcuraDude]

Awesome. Thanks for posting the pics! I always wondered if there was a manual unlock behind the port. How far did you pull the tab before the adpater unlocked? Did the tab move back to its original position after unlocking?

 

[israndy]

And I just realized that the Tesla Rangers work out of Berkeley, which is like 20 minutes from my house. I wonder why he didn't just send me a Ranger to pop the adapter off instead of having me take my car apart...

-Randy

 

[T-Will]

What is the appropriate way to remove the adapter (other than taking apart your trunk)?

 

[iluvmacs]

I go through this all the time. The trick is to unlock your doors first, before removing the plug & adapter. There's basically a software bug that it won't unlock just the adapter if you unplug the J1772 first, and a second bug that the button on the screen doesn't work. The only way I've found to correct from this situation is to plug J1772 back in, unlock the doors, and then unplug it again.

The fact that it tries to close the door on the adapter is the icing on the cake... such a derpy thing for such an advanced car to do ;-).

 

[smicker]

Your unlock button is here:

 

[Mateo7]

In addition, you do NOT need to detach the fabric paneling inside the trunk if you want to get to the charge port manual release. There is already a square cut-out in the fabric. (Tesla thinks of everything). Just reach inside and you'll feel the little rubber pull tab. Give it a gentle tug and <click> the charge port unlocks.

 

[israndy]

Wow guys! Thanks! Need to get the folks at Tesla support this info. Glad I sent so much info so this board could see what I did. This is very informative.

-Randy

 

[skadax]

Can also use the Tesla app on your phone. Under the charging menu:

 

[ebmcs03]

Good helpful info. Thanks

I didn’t realize the adaptor is now just a circle thing. It use to be a long 2-3 feet adaptor where you have to put on the ground.

 

[Snow Drift]

Good helpful info. Thanks

I didn’t realize the adaptor is now just a circle thing. It use to be a long 2-3 feet adaptor where you have to put on the ground.

I think you are confusing this adapter for a public charger with the UMC that allows you to plug the car into an outlet. That is still a device with long cord.

Or the Chademo adapter, which is huge.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Good helpful info. Thanks

I didn’t realize the adaptor is now just a circle thing. It use to be a long 2-3 feet adaptor where you have to put on the ground.

The J1772 adapter has always been just a little thing and is supplied with the car. You might be thinking of the large Chademo DCFC adapter, which is quite expensive and doesn't work on a Model 3, last I heard.

Edit: Snow Drift beat me to it!

 

[TexasEV]

Or maybe he’s confusing it with the CHAdeMO adapter? The J1772 adapter has been supplied with every car and is unchanged since the first Model S.

Edit- sorry, we posted that thought at the same time

 

[joeracer]

Actually, there is an extremely simple alternative to this (took a while to figure out):

1) make sure the car is unlocked

2) press the release lever on the non-Tesla standard charger (the one needing the adaptor) without pulling it out of the vehicle. You will hear a *click* which is the port unlocking.

3) release the release lever (let it grab the adapter again), and pull the plug out.

It really is that simple. I had the exact same problem and beat my head against the wall with all the things posted in this thread - and was quite surprised when I realized there was such a simple solution.

 

[dwolvin]

Good to know, and thank you all for the idea of decorating it to prevent leaving it behind!

 

[Wagsmod3]

I normally charge at home, but with a mostly empty car I noticed that the Volta free charging near me was open, so I parked there and filled up. When it was ready to go I walked back and there was already someone wanting to charge. I pulled the J1772 and hung it up but when I tried to remove the adapter it was locked. I know, now, I should have stopped the charge BEFORE unplugging.

I tried unlocking it with the touchscreen but the only control was Close Charge Port.

View attachment 291774

I tried to plug the charger back in and pull the adapter with it, but I could see the other EV driver gesticulating at me and I gave up and drove off with my cover closing over the adapter and giving an error.

Not any better at home. I thought I would just use my charger, but, heh heh, it's not a J1772... d-oi

So I looked on the Interwebs and found that on a Model S you simply press the Unlock Charger button on the touchscreen. Searching the Model 3 manual I could not find that function. So I gave up and called Tesla. The guy suggested plugging the J1772 in again, but I don't have access to it as the other driver is now charging. He suggested taking it to the Service Center (45 minutes each way) but I told him they don't have J1772 chargers at my SC.

So he told me there is a RELEASE under the carpet, and that is why I am posting today:

View attachment 291775

The guy at Tesla told us to decorate our adapter so we don't leave it on the J1772 and drive away, I wanted a Remove Before Flight tag, but my wife wanted something more Michael Jackson.

View attachment 291776

In the Trunk right behind the charge port you will see some orange plastic behind a grill in the trunk fabric.

View attachment 291777

Right above the trunk light there is a plastic button holding the fabric in place, just pull the center button out and the whole pin will come out. Fold the fabric down and you will see...

View attachment 291778

the pull tab to release the charge adapter. Gingerly now. The guy on the phone warned me about pulling it thru would require bringing the car in for service.

View attachment 291779

The hardest part was putting the button holding the fabric back in, I had a dickens of a time lining it up, but it went back w/o ANY damage, like new.

-Randy

That is great as I am getting mine in 3 to 6 weeks and will be using one near my house at the beach when doing walks with my dog.

 

[akhafagi]

On the model S, I press the trunk button and hold. This unlocks the port.

 

[Skidmark]

On the model S, I press the trunk button and hold. This unlocks the port.

There is no fob on the 3 - did you mean press the release button on the actual trunk as if you're opening the trunk?

Actually, there is an extremely simple alternative to this (took a while to figure out):

1) make sure the car is unlocked

2) press the release lever on the non-Tesla standard charger (the one needing the adaptor) without pulling it out of the vehicle. You will hear a *click* which is the port unlocking.

3) release the release lever (let it grab the adapter again), and pull the plug out.

It really is that simple. I had the exact same problem and beat my head against the wall with all the things posted in this thread - and was quite surprised when I realized there was such a simple solution.

If you don't pull fast enough on #3, you risk the port locking if the charge starts up again by letting the lever/button go. I find it simpler to keep the release button/lever held and use my other hand to pull out the adapter while the j1772 plug is still connected to the adapter.