M3 LR granny charger not charging

[mmackay911]

Our Nissan LEAF 40 is charging on our home 7Kw charger, so I thought I'd try the granny charger for the 1st time on the M3 LR. The charging light blinks blue and then goes red and the screen says charging stopped. I tried it plugged into the garage and also a socket in the house, but it was the same (failed to start a charge). I then tried our LEAF granny charger and it's charging the M3 just fine at 10A.

Before I contact Tesla, has anyone else experienced this with the Tesla granny charger? Wondering if it's a faulty one. Our house electrics are modern and with good earthing.

 

[MrMassTransit]

Take a look at the light on the UMC (the name for the charger you are using) - what is it doing? See the troubleshooting information starting on page 11 of this document:

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...bile_connector_owners_manual_32_amp_en_US.pdf

This is the US version but I would assume the error codes should be the same.

Hopefully that will give you a clue as to what the issue is. It very well may be a bad charger.

 

[Rocky_H]

Yes, check the blinking error codes, but I wouldn't be shocked if it is a bad cable. I've seen a surprisingly high number of failure reports on those here on the forum.

 

[user212_nr]

I'm not familiar with this term "granny charger". I think I figured out what it is, but is this a real term?

 

[yuhong]

I'm not familiar with this term "granny charger". I think I figured out what it is, but is this a real term?

It is a EVSE that plugs into a standard BS 1363 or BS 546 socket-outlet.

 

[smatthew]

Why is it called a granny charger? My grandmother would have had a wall connector installed.

 

[mmackay911]

Take a look at the light on the UMC (the name for the charger you are using) - what is it doing? See the troubleshooting information starting on page 11 of this document:

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...bile_connector_owners_manual_32_amp_en_US.pdf

This is the US version but I would assume the error codes should be the same.

Hopefully that will give you a clue as to what the issue is. It very well may be a bad charger.

Many thanks for this. Okay, so I get a streaming green logo for about 30 seconds and then the EVSE clicks and goes to steady green and there is no red light. This isn't a combination mentioned in the pdf. The M3 screen says 3V and charging stopped.
But there's more. The Tesla EVSE charges the LEAF without a problem and the LEAF EVSE charges the TESLA without a problem )
Any other thoughts before I go to Tesla? Don't suppose they'll be able to help until the UK Coronavirus lockdown is lifted, or they just post me another EVSE.

 

[MrMassTransit]

I highly doubt you will be able to resolve this without Tesla's assistance, one way or another. Something is not right here and your test with the UMC and the Leaf seems to point to an issue with the car, although not definitively, since the UMC will be using a J1772 charging protocol with the Leaf but a Tesla proprietary protocol (I believe) with the Tesla (at least that is how it is in the US).

If you could get another UMC, or find a HPWC somewhere (here in the US, some public locations have them, not sure about the UK where I know the configuration of charging points is a bit different), then that would be a true test. If the charging fails with another Tesla supplied charger, then the issue is with the car, which would seem to be fine with a J1772 protocol session but not a Tesla proprietary charging session. If the other UMC/HPWC works, then your UMC is an issue. My money is still on the UMC being the issue, that's the most obvious point of failure.

Obviously the most convenient place to do this test would be a Tesla location, but given current restrictions you may just need to wait things out. Please let us know what the root cause ended up being once this is figured out!

 

[mmackay911]

I highly doubt you will be able to resolve this without Tesla's assistance, one way or another. Something is not right here and your test with the UMC and the Leaf seems to point to an issue with the car, although not definitively, since the UMC will be using a J1772 charging protocol with the Leaf but a Tesla proprietary protocol (I believe) with the Tesla (at least that is how it is in the US).

If you could get another UMC, or find a HPWC somewhere (here in the US, some public locations have them, not sure about the UK where I know the configuration of charging points is a bit different), then that would be a true test. If the charging fails with another Tesla supplied charger, then the issue is with the car, which would seem to be fine with a J1772 protocol session but not a Tesla proprietary charging session. If the other UMC/HPWC works, then your UMC is an issue. My money is still on the UMC being the issue, that's the most obvious point of failure.

Obviously the most convenient place to do this test would be a Tesla location, but given current restrictions you may just need to wait things out. Please let us know what the root cause ended up being once this is figured out!

I could probably find an HPWC within a reasonably short distance from me, but we are currently on lockdown in the UK and are not permitted to do such trips.
I have made an online service appointment with Tesla and they can do touchless ranger appointments, so I've booked one, but it's not for a couple of weeks. In the meantime I can still charge the car at home on our 7kW non-Tesla charger or indeed the LEAF EVSE.
I'll let you know how it goes and thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[user212_nr]

I could probably find an HPWC within a reasonably short distance from me, but we are currently on lockdown in the UK and are not permitted to do such trips.
I have made an online service appointment with Tesla and they can do touchless ranger appointments, so I've booked one, but it's not for a couple of weeks.

Just call them. They do actually have a phone number somewhere, but not for sales and orders. I had some red lights and they sent me another unit.

 

[mmackay911]

My ranger appointment was yesterday. No messing. He brought a replacement 3-pin UMC charger with him and of course it worked. Didn't even bother trying the original one supplied with the car. Stuck it in a plastic bag and took it away. Said they occasionally get failures. All this while observing social distancing due to the current Coronavirus lockdown in the UK.