Model 3 J1772 Unlock Issue

[AllDigital]

I've got a new Model 3 and a ChargePoint home charger at home and office. When you use the J1772 adapter the M3 automatically locks it in place when you insert it in the charge port.

The issue is unlocking. If you start charging and then stop charging the UI allows you to unlock the J1772 properly. But, if you do not start charging or the car has been done charging or there is juice coming from the charger (e.g., the charger has scheduled charging) then you are hosed and cannot unlock the adapter from the car. In that case the unlock icon is still present, but acts as if it is grayed out and unresponsive.

Last night my wife charged the car, but when she came out this morning the charging had already stopped, so there was no way to unlock the J1772 adapter. She was stuck and unable to drive, so she had to take another car. When I came back I figured out that we could raise the charge range and start it charging again, then stop, then unlock. Had the battery range been set to max we would not been able to start charging and unlock again. I can see this stranding people at chargers around the country if not addressed soon.

Any other new owners seeing this issue?

firmware v8.1 - build 48.15

 

[BerTX]

I've got a new Model 3 and a ChargePoint home charger at home and office. When you use the J1772 adapter the M3 automatically locks it in place when you insert it in the charge port.

The issue is unlocking. If you start charging and then stop charging the UI allows you to unlock the J1772 properly. But, if you do not start charging or the car has been done charging or there is juice coming from the charger (e.g., the charger has scheduled charging) then you are hosed and cannot unlock the adapter from the car. In that case the unlock icon is still present, but acts as if it is grayed out and unresponsive.

Last night my wife charged the car, but when she came out this morning the charging had already stopped, so there was no way to unlock the J1772 adapter. She was stuck and unable to drive, so she had to take another car. When I came back I figured out that we could raise the charge range and start it charging again, then stop, then unlock. Had the battery range been set to max we would not been able to start charging and unlock again. I can see this stranding people at chargers around the country if not addressed soon.

Any other new owners seeing this issue?

firmware v8.1 - build 48.15

I'm not familiar with the M3 operations enough to be able to help much with this. Is there an option to unlock the charge port from the app? You might see what that does.

Also be certain the car is unlocked. The charge port remains locked until the car is unlocked.

As a public service, you might figure out and document how to manually unlock the charge port from inside the car. The X/S has a small access hatch inside the trunk area, and you can unlock the port lock by pushing a lever.

 

[kbecks13]

the UI allows you to unlock the J1772 properly

How does that work?

 

[ölbrenner]

Also be certain the car is unlocked. The charge port remains locked until the car is unlocked.

This above, or as an alternative the manual states the car has to recognize an authenticated phone.

 

[RandyS]

I have a Model S and a Model 3, and here is how I successfully unplug a Level 2 charging plug along with the Tesla adapter.

* Starting scenario is with the J1772 cable plugged into the car via the Tesla adapter
* Press the button on the J1772 cord
* You'll hear an "unlocking" sound
* Grab the base of the Tesla adapter while holding the J1772 unlocking button in
* Pull both the Tesla adapter and the J1772 charging cable out of the car at the same time
* Once out of the car, while still holding the button in, separate the J1772 cable from the Tesla adapter

 

[AllDigital]

Randy, thanks for the tip. That works great and should be the SOP for anyone using a J1772, regardless. I did talk to an engineer and they were able to reproduce the software issue with unlock. That said, Randy's "two hand" suggestion is way more efficient, as you don't need to get in your car to unlock the charger.

 

[ölbrenner]

Awesome help thread. I've printed this out to put into my M3 glovebox when I get it.

Not directly related, but if you want to keep a J1772 from being unplugged:
CapturePro Charging Lock for Tesla Model 3

 

[David29]

Awesome help thread. I've printed this out to put into my M3 glovebox when I get it.

Not directly related, but if you want to keep a J1772 from being unplugged:
CapturePro Charging Lock for Tesla Model 3

Interestingly, Tesla provided just such a set of instructions on a card in the glove box when i took delivery of my Model S 2-1/2 years ago. It was the only instructions they deemed necessary to print and supply with the car. (But I still had trouble the first time. Easy enough once you get the hang of it, though.)

 

[smorgasbord]

Not directly related, but if you want to keep a J1772 from being unplugged:
CapturePro Charging Lock for Tesla Model 3

It's far cheaper just to use a luggage lock in the hole that the vast majority of J1772 plugs have. Matter of fact, in the demo video for that $60 piece of plastic, the J1172 handle appears to have such a locking hole:

 

[Skidmark]

* Press the button on the J1772 cord
* You'll hear an "unlocking" sound

Can you please elaborate on where this J1772 cord button is?

 

[Skidmark]

Just watched a youtube video on this, tested on my S and it did not work.

Plugged in the J1772/Adapter combination, green charging lights on the S was flashing to indicate charging.
Pressed the release button on the J1772 handle, charging light turned blue...kept the release button held but the charging light never turned white to indicate unlocked.

 

[hacer]

Just watched a youtube video on this, tested on my S and it did not work.

Plugged in the J1772/Adapter combination, green charging lights on the S was flashing to indicate charging.
Pressed the release button on the J1772 handle, charging light turned blue...kept the release button held but the charging light never turned white to indicate unlocked.

Was the car unlocked? It needs to be.

 

[Skidmark]

Was the car unlocked? It needs to be.

I thought it was since the key was in my hand, but it could have been in the mode where it re-locked itself. I tested again making sure the handles were out and it worked this time.

 

[Petra]

I have a Model S and a Model 3, and here is how I successfully unplug a Level 2 charging plug along with the Tesla adapter.

* Starting scenario is with the J1772 cable plugged into the car via the Tesla adapter
* Press the button on the J1772 cord
* You'll hear an "unlocking" sound
* Grab the base of the Tesla adapter while holding the J1772 unlocking button in
* Pull both the Tesla adapter and the J1772 charging cable out of the car at the same time
* Once out of the car, while still holding the button in, separate the J1772 cable from the Tesla adapter

It can also be done one-handed:

1) Unlock car and wake the charge port (simply opening your driver's door will do this)
2) Press and release the release button on the charge handle while applying light pressure toward the car to prevent the adapter and handle from separating (this is where leaving the adapter on the handle to prevent pop-off is key for quick one-handed use if you're using this as a home charging setup... still workable for public charging stations, though)
3) Remove the J-Plug and adapter assembly from the car when the charge port ring goes white
Note: If the car is actively pulling power, you'll likely have to hold the release button on the J-plug for a bit before the car's charge ring goes white.

 

[silentsnow31802]

There is also a manual release for the charge cable in the trunk. Small hole behind the charge port with a small cable inside of it. I fall else fails...

 

[ölbrenner]

There is also a manual release for the charge cable in the trunk. Small hole behind the charge port with a small cable inside of it. I fall else fails...

They should put that in the owners manual.

 

[ölbrenner]

It's far cheaper just to use a luggage lock in the hole that the vast majority of J1772 plugs have. Matter of fact, in the demo video for that $60 piece of plastic, the J1172 handle appears to have such a locking hole:

So I came across this video, on J1772 charging, and it sure didn't look like it had a luggage lock hole. So I checked all my chargers at work (also Chargepoint, and as an aside only $0.15/kWh almost half the price of my residential rate), and NONE of them had a luggage lock hole. Guess I will be spending the $60 for the adapter.

 

[apacheguy]

Having this issue where the adapter stays locked to the charge port. I even opened a door, but the adapter remained locked. The UI only shows the option to close the charge port but not to unlock it. Eventually, I opened the mobile app and waited for it to connect, and then I was able to select “unlock charge port.” Very annoying.

 

[oliman06]

Help! My issue is a bit different. My adapter keeps getting stuck on a VOLTA handle - 3x it has happened in the last 2 weeks on 3 different VOLTA stations. VOLTA customer support says their handles have been updated but it should not have issues with a Tesla adapter - I find it odd that it happened all of a sudden. I now have to forcefully wiggle the adapter out of the handle and it's probably damaging my adapter now. Has this happened to anyone?

 

[smatthew]

Help! My issue is a bit different. My adapter keeps getting stuck on a VOLTA handle - 3x it has happened in the last 2 weeks on 3 different VOLTA stations. VOLTA customer support says their handles have been updated but it should not have issues with a Tesla adapter - I find it odd that it happened all of a sudden. I now have to forcefully wiggle the adapter out of the handle and it's probably damaging my adapter now. Has this happened to anyone?

I had trouble at a Volta station yesterday. I clicked "stop charging" then clicked unlock on the display, but by the time I got back to the charge port it had re-locked. When I removed the Volta handle from the adapter, the adapter finally unlocked.