Low Quality Grid detected while sitting in car after it's charged

[DornierGP]

Hi everyone,

When I get home and plug in the mobile connector to my M3 (using a 14-50 outlet) , I always watch the screen from the outside or app and the amps ramp up to 32A and it charges perfectly. However, I got in the car the other day after charging to 90% was completed a message, "Low Quality Grid Detected" message displayed on the screen. The car had completed charging when the message displayed. Now I'm seeing the message anytime I get into the car during or after it's charging at 32A and 32-33 miles per hour. The miles per hour charge drops and the also the amps. Any ideas?

Thanks,

George

 

[BozieBeMe2]

Hi everyone,

When I get home and plug in the mobile connector to my M3 (using a 14-50 outlet) , I always watch the screen from the outside or app and the amps ramp up to 32A and it charges perfectly. However, I got in the car the other day after charging to 90% was completed a message, "Low Quality Grid Detected" message displayed on the screen. The car had completed charging when the message displayed. Now I'm seeing the message anytime I get into the car during or after it's charging at 32A and 32-33 miles per hour. The miles per hour charge drops and the also the amps. Any ideas?

Thanks,

George

Out of curiosity, while the car is charging, feel the plug head, where it is plugged into the wall receptacle.
See if it feels abnormally warm. If you think it is warmer than it should be, remove the charging cord plug head and observe the prongs. Look for discoloration that would indicate a over heating / resistance issue. We had a wall receptacle that had become loose on the female receiving prongs. This caused a 'cooking' of the cord, plug head.
We ended up having to replace the wall unit and the cord, plug head.

 

[DornierGP]

I'll check it tonight, thanks for the reply.

>>Out of curiosity, while the car is charging, feel the plug head, where it is plugged into the wall receptacle.
See if it feels abnormally warm. If you think it is warmer than it should be, remove the charging cord plug head and observe the prongs. Look for discoloration that would indicate a over heating / resistance issue. We had a wall receptacle that had become loose on the female receiving prongs. This caused a 'cooking' of the cord, plug head.
We ended up having to replace the wall unit and the cord, plug head.

 

[csshih]

yup, that means it is detecting a lot of abnormal voltage drop for the current drawn.

 

[BozieBeMe2]

I'll check it tonight, thanks for the reply.

>>Out of curiosity, while the car is charging, feel the plug head, where it is plugged into the wall receptacle.
See if it feels abnormally warm. If you think it is warmer than it should be, remove the charging cord plug head and observe the prongs. Look for discoloration that would indicate a over heating / resistance issue. We had a wall receptacle that had become loose on the female receiving prongs. This caused a 'cooking' of the cord, plug head.
We ended up having to replace the wall unit and the cord, plug head.

Off hand, I'm not an expert but it would seem the charging systems seems to think it is not receiving enough amps, a resistance issue or supply problem from the provider. Either way, you can look at the systems parts on your end, then if all seems well, contact your provider because they could be having a supply issue. Not totally out of the norm

 

[DornierGP]

Out of curiosity, while the car is charging, feel the plug head, where it is plugged into the wall receptacle.
See if it feels abnormally warm. If you think it is warmer than it should be, remove the charging cord plug head and observe the prongs. Look for discoloration that would indicate a over heating / resistance issue. We had a wall receptacle that had become loose on the female receiving prongs. This caused a 'cooking' of the cord, plug head.
We ended up having to replace the wall unit and the cord, plug head.

Hi, just checked the plug and no discoloration or any warmth or heat around the plug or box that the mobile connector plugs into. Granted, charging is complete. I'll check it tomorrow while it's charging at 32 amps.

Thanks again.

 

[DornierGP]

yup, that means it is detecting a lot of abnormal voltage drop for the current drawn.

What's weird is that it only occurs when I get into the car while it's charging or completed charging. By the way, the mobile connector status lights don't indicate any faults. Thanks again.

 

[BozieBeMe2]

What's weird is that it only occurs when I get into the car while it's charging or completed charging. By the way, the mobile connector status lights don't indicate any faults. Thanks again.

Not sure but that could be just the system handing out the notice of an issue, because the seat sensor was showing some one in the drivers seat. Normally, no notices are shown until the screen is awakened by a driver setting down

 

[Big Earl]

Hi everyone,

When I get home and plug in the mobile connector to my M3 (using a 14-50 outlet) , I always watch the screen from the outside or app and the amps ramp up to 32A and it charges perfectly. However, I got in the car the other day after charging to 90% was completed a message, "Low Quality Grid Detected" message displayed on the screen. The car had completed charging when the message displayed. Now I'm seeing the message anytime I get into the car during or after it's charging at 32A and 32-33 miles per hour. The miles per hour charge drops and the also the amps. Any ideas?

Thanks,

George

What is the voltage when the car is pulling 32 amps?

 

[eprosenx]

This is an interesting message. I think it is new verbiage (but the error is not new).

It may throw the error any time voltage does weird things even when not charging (like if you are plugged in but not charging it still has the contactor engaged and your hvac is running off shore power).

Generally we only see this when there is a legit electrical issue. I would run your battery down a ways so it will try to charge at full rate. Then plug in and watch the screen. Note what the voltage is when it first shows the voltage. Then watch it drop as the charge speed ramps and as the wires heat up. Please post those here (pictures are good ways to document).

My guess is you have a loose wire or connector somewhere between the car and your main panel. It could also be between your main panel and the utility transformer, or even further back into the utility system (less likely).

When the Tesla sees too much loss between the starting voltage and full load voltage it scales back the charge rate and if it still sees too much loss it will give up. The goal here is to avoid things catching fire.

I personally would go check all the connections myself for tightness and troubleshoot with a multimeter, but that is only for folks with significant experience. Most should call an electrician.

 

[DornierGP]

Just an update, if I turn off the AC, I get no messages about the grid.

 

[youngmcdonald]

Same here. Nothing is unusually warm or hot. No issues charging. I get full 240V / 32A in my garage. I’m using the mobile charger that came with the car. I get the Low Quality Grid Detected message only after the charging is completed but A/C is on. As soon as I switch off the A/C the message goes away. I’m running 12.1.2 firmware.

 

[Dp7-81]

Same here. Nothing is unusually warm or hot. No issues charging. I get full 240V / 32A in my garage. I’m using the mobile charger that came with the car. I get the Low Quality Grid Detected message only after the charging is completed but A/C is on. As soon as I switch off the A/C the message goes away. I’m running 12.1.2 firmware.

I am having the same issue as you except when heating the car. (still cold in the mornings) Used a destination charger no issues. Used a another owners Gen 1 UMC no issues.

Checking with our utility company as they are monitoring power going into our house. Wondering if is a glitch with the car? Mid Range Model 3.

 

[GRNN_Coco]

Check if “ keep climate on” is off - climate will turn off after you leave the car. And recheck after charging finish.

 

[Dp7-81]

Same here. Nothing is unusually warm or hot. No issues charging. I get full 240V / 32A in my garage. I’m using the mobile charger that came with the car. I get the Low Quality Grid Detected message only after the charging is completed but A/C is on. As soon as I switch off the A/C the message goes away. I’m running 12.1.2 firmware.

Did you figure out what the issue is?

 

[youngmcdonald]

Did you figure out what the issue is?

No. My guess is that when charging and A/C are both on, it is trying to draw additional current (and the circuit only supports a draw of 32A)? Wild guess.

 

[electracity]

Just an update, if I turn off the AC, I get no messages about the grid.

It might be worth calling the power company and tell them that your car charger is complaining about voltage regulation. They will check if its their issue and you may get some free consulting.

I would keep it super simple so that they can write up an approriate ticket. Forget "low quality grid"," Tesla", and "only turn on AC". Details will hurt, not help. Unless the car is broken the voltage should not drop enough with the AC cutting in and out for the charger to notice.

 

[Dp7-81]

I have my utilities company looking into it. They tried several things and still get that issue. It's just weird it doesn't happen everytime we pre-heat either. Waiting to hear back from looking into the monitoring unit they put on our meter. If it turns out they don't find anything contacting electrician I used for our new service install.

 

[GarthG]

What's weird is that it only occurs when I get into the car while it's charging or completed charging. By the way, the mobile connector status lights don't indicate any faults. Thanks again.

Hi, did you ever get a resolution to this problem? I'm having a similar situation up here in Canada now that the cold weather has hit.

 

[Big Earl]

Hi, did you ever get a resolution to this problem? I'm having a similar situation up here in Canada now that the cold weather has hit.

Likely due to voltage drop caused by high electrical consumption in your house or on the local grid. A lot of electric heat in your house could be the culprit, or if you're on a shared transformer with your neighbors, one of them could be pulling a lot of power, causing you all to exceed the transformer's capacity.