Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

[mknox]

Supercharger Connection Problems

Thought I would post here rather than start a new thread.

Took my first Supercharger trip last weekend, hitting the Angola IN, Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL Superchargers. At each location, I had issues getting the car to connect. At my first stop, I kept getting a red ring, so I moved to another stall and continued to get a red ring. After futzing around for a bit, it finally connected and went green, but when I got back in the car and sat down, it disconnected. I realized that I had to very carefully plug the cable in "just so" and not touch the car or cable again, else it would disconnect. This was the case at every Supercharger stop I made.

Just wondering if this is common. I already had my charge port on the car replaced because of UMC connection problems, and since then, UMC, HPWC and J1772 adapter connections have been rock solid.

I'm going to ask Service to look into this at my next visit, but with no Superchargers in Canada, I wonder how they will be able to verify and diagnose?

 

[pete8314]

Thought I would post here rather than start a new thread.

Took my first Supercharger trip last weekend, hitting the Angola IN, Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL Superchargers. At each location, I had issues getting the car to connect. At my first stop, I kept getting a red ring, so I moved to another stall and continued to get a red ring. After futzing around for a bit, it finally connected and went green, but when I got back in the car and sat down, it disconnected. I realized that I had to very carefully plug the cable in "just so" and not touch the car or cable again, else it would disconnect. This was the case at every Supercharger stop I made.

Just wondering if this is common. I already had my charge port on the car replaced because of UMC connection problems, and since then, UMC, HPWC and J1772 adapter connections have been rock solid.

I'm going to ask Service to look into this at my next visit, but with no Superchargers in Canada, I wonder how they will be able to verify and diagnose?

Never had that issue, it doesn't sound normal. Maybe they'll be able to see something in the logs to clue them in?

 

[wycolo]

Aurora, IL: The SpC nearest the RoundHouse was DEAD for me both coming and going on a recent trip. The other one worked fine. These are skid-mounted portable units with cable runs in trenches under loose gravel. The one that doesn't work is labeled '120' rather than the '208? or 440?' on the working one.

Cheyenne, WY: The uphill charger recently kept going bonkers (and killing the session) for me as I opened the driver's door to get back in the car. After several tries figuring this out it settled down for a complete session. I had climbed in the back door and slept like a log until 5am. :smile:

These are the only issues I've had so far with SpChargers out of ~36 sessions.
--

 

[Kalud]

Thought I would post here rather than start a new thread.

Took my first Supercharger trip last weekend, hitting the Angola IN, Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL Superchargers. At each location, I had issues getting the car to connect. At my first stop, I kept getting a red ring, so I moved to another stall and continued to get a red ring. After futzing around for a bit, it finally connected and went green, but when I got back in the car and sat down, it disconnected. I realized that I had to very carefully plug the cable in "just so" and not touch the car or cable again, else it would disconnect. This was the case at every Supercharger stop I made.

Just wondering if this is common. I already had my charge port on the car replaced because of UMC connection problems, and since then, UMC, HPWC and J1772 adapter connections have been rock solid.

I'm going to ask Service to look into this at my next visit, but with no Superchargers in Canada, I wonder how they will be able to verify and diagnose?

Not necessarily your issue but I really start to wonder if Tesla should start shipping cleaning kit for the charge port contact and UMC/HPWC, like contact cleaner and small brushes. I was having similar issues at home and did a good cleaning of both side and it did a HUGE difference, it basically works as new. Talked to a ranger and he said, "when we do 100km to reach a client we cannot just clean the contact and hope it works we swap the cable and/or chargeport, then the owner is 100% satisfied and the issue resolved" but he agreed that when inspecting some chargeport they are extremely dirty. I must say that the contact cleaning also reduced a lot the heat generated while charging, not that its a surprise, but still a good indication that its a good measure.

Most of my issues were with the tiny proximity and pilot signals at the bottom, it any of those have dirty contact you get very inconsistent connections, port clicking, green, white, green, white, red...

 

[shark]

Thought I would post here rather than start a new thread.

Took my first Supercharger trip last weekend, hitting the Angola IN, Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL Superchargers. At each location, I had issues getting the car to connect. At my first stop, I kept getting a red ring, so I moved to another stall and continued to get a red ring. After futzing around for a bit, it finally connected and went green, but when I got back in the car and sat down, it disconnected. I realized that I had to very carefully plug the cable in "just so" and not touch the car or cable again, else it would disconnect. This was the case at every Supercharger stop I made.

Just wondering if this is common. I already had my charge port on the car replaced because of UMC connection problems, and since then, UMC, HPWC and J1772 adapter connections have been rock solid.

I'm going to ask Service to look into this at my next visit, but with no Superchargers in Canada, I wonder how they will be able to verify and diagnose?

mknox,

depending on how long you are staying in Chicago, you might want to contact the Highland Park Service Center as they have a supercharger at that location.

 

[Chipper]

Thought I would post here rather than start a new thread.

Took my first Supercharger trip last weekend, hitting the Angola IN, Mishawaka IN and Aurora IL Superchargers. At each location, I had issues getting the car to connect. At my first stop, I kept getting a red ring, so I moved to another stall and continued to get a red ring. After futzing around for a bit, it finally connected and went green, but when I got back in the car and sat down, it disconnected. I realized that I had to very carefully plug the cable in "just so" and not touch the car or cable again, else it would disconnect. This was the case at every Supercharger stop I made.

Just wondering if this is common. I already had my charge port on the car replaced because of UMC connection problems, and since then, UMC, HPWC and J1772 adapter connections have been rock solid.

I'm going to ask Service to look into this at my next visit, but with no Superchargers in Canada, I wonder how they will be able to verify and diagnose?

I had that problem but I noted that I just needed to push a little harder on the plug to get it farther into the socket. Then I heard the familiar loud CLICK! and the green flickers and system powered up.

 

[mknox]

I had that problem but I noted that I just needed to push a little harder on the plug to get it farther into the socket. Then I heard the familiar loud CLICK! and the green flickers and system powered up.

Well, I got the click, the ring turned from white to blue, then a second or two later it would turn red. On a couple of occasions, just getting in to the car or touching the cable ever so slightly would cause the charging to halt as well. Thankfully, after several attempts at each Supercharger I was able to get it to work. My port and the cable ends both looked very clean to my eye, and my UMC and J1772 adapter work perfectly. Kalud's suggestion of a cleaning kit is a good idea.

- - - Updated - - -

Aurora, IL: The SpC nearest the RoundHouse was DEAD for me both coming and going on a recent trip. The other one worked fine. These are skid-mounted portable units with cable runs in trenches under loose gravel. The one that doesn't work is labeled '120' rather than the '208? or 440?' on the working one.

That's the one I used while there, and after a couple of red rings, it finally did connect and work for me. I was the only car at the one closest to the Roundhouse, and there was one at the other "pair" as well. It looks like they've filled the trenches with "cold patch" asphalt now. It stuck to my tires and splattered out into my wheel wells as I drove away!

 

[Eggplant]

@Mr. KNox

I had a similar issue early on with my car. Turned out to be a bad connection from the charger unit inside the car. Some path only used when charging >40 Amps. (It happened when super charging and on HPWC, but not NEMA 14-50). The replaced a simple connector and resolved the issue.

 

[mknox]

I had a similar issue early on with my car. Turned out to be a bad connection from the charger unit inside the car. Some path only used when charging >40 Amps. (It happened when super charging and on HPWC, but not NEMA 14-50). The replaced a simple connector and resolved the issue.

Thanks. I'll mention that at my next service. Not a burning issue as we don't have Superchargers anywhere near me yet, and the other charger connections (including HPWC in my case) all seem to be working perfectly.

 

[Jeff Miller]

Thanks. I'll mention that at my next service. Not a burning issue as we don't have Superchargers anywhere near me yet, and the other charger connections (including HPWC in my case) all seem to be working perfectly.

It's unfortunate that you are having this problem especially on your first supercharger trip. Have you used any non-superchargers along the way?

Coincidentally, When I left for work yesterday, I noticed the same red ring when I went to unplug the car. The car had only partially charged. I'd never seen that before. So after reading about your experience, I just went down to the garage and looked and I see the same problem today - red ring and only a partial charge. Yesterday I was careful to make sure I had a good connection (flashing green) and the car did start charging, but it stopped. I just downloaded the latest software so am wondering if this might be related.

 

[mibaro2]

Not necessarily your issue but I really start to wonder if Tesla should start shipping cleaning kit for the charge port contact and UMC/HPWC, like contact cleaner and small brushes. I was having similar issues at home and did a good cleaning of both side and it did a HUGE difference, it basically works as new. Talked to a ranger and he said, "when we do 100km to reach a client we cannot just clean the contact and hope it works we swap the cable and/or chargeport, then the owner is 100% satisfied and the issue resolved" but he agreed that when inspecting some chargeport they are extremely dirty. I must say that the contact cleaning also reduced a lot the heat generated while charging, not that its a surprise, but still a good indication that its a good measure.

Most of my issues were with the tiny proximity and pilot signals at the bottom, it any of those have dirty contact you get very inconsistent connections, port clicking, green, white, green, white, red...

Good to know. I've only had a flashing red, white circle one or two times. Sounds like cleaning it can't hurt, and made it work like new for you.

 

[mknox]

It's unfortunate that you are having this problem especially on your first supercharger trip. Have you used any non-superchargers along the way?

The UMC, J1772 adapter and HPWC all work perfectly every time. It was only with Superchargers that I had the issue.

 

[Jeff Miller]

The UMC, J1772 adapter and HPWC all work perfectly every time. It was only with Superchargers that I had the issue.

Glad to hear that. I guess my issue must be unrelated.

 

[Modelxvin1365]

I'm not quite sure where this is coming from. I am very concerned about any safety issues, as is Elon and Tesla.
I dug back a number of pages and could only find one person (TeslaGuy) whos car was apparently delivered damaged and had the car shut off on him after the car registered both accelerator and brake being hit at one time.
If both pedals are hit at once, especially for more than a moment, the car should shut off. Although brake and steering assist should still be available if possible. This is a safety feature so if a 'stuck pedal incident' occurs, hitting the brake will stop the car. If turning it off is the only way to do this, so be it.
FlasherZ had an error regarding the cruise control, but not the car turning off that I could see. Is this a single event, or were there other reports?

TeslaGuy, did you get information about what happened to your tire and underside of your car? What were they able to tell you from the logs?

Ckessel, I don't think safety issues should be taken lightly. But likewise, no vehicle, or device for that matter, has ever worked perfectly for every single operator. Just because of a single report of an issue doesn't mean the issue is present in every car (it doesn't even mean it is present in 2).
I would go test this myself once it is dry and snow free where I am at. Has anyone else tested hitting both pedals?

I Find it interesting that the Model s exhibits that style of behavior shutting off when both peddles are depressed. Wouldn't it be safe to say that a more conventional approach to this situation would be a regular audible warning as currently implemented without powering off the car? The reason i propose this solution is because i for one have depressed Both peddles atleast 6 or so times within the past 7 years not because of laziness but due to Certain Footwear (Construction boots vs flip flops,Snow boots,Sneaker) and frequently driving vehicles that are not primarily my own. On occasion there you may have needed to move your foot 2 extra centimeters or not depending on the brand of car. Imagine if a family member who is not a tesla "Expert" borrowed you vehicle and due to depressing both peddles the car automatically shut off? There immediate reaction would be a frantic phone call to you stating "your call just turned off i dont know what happened" Fruit for thought

 

[ggr]

I Find it interesting that the Model s exhibits that style of behavior shutting off when both peddles are depressed. Wouldn't it be safe to say that a more conventional approach to this situation would be a regular audible warning as currently implemented without powering off the car? The reason i propose this solution is because i for one have depressed Both peddles atleast 6 or so times within the past 7 years not because of laziness but due to Certain Footwear (Construction boots vs flip flops,Snow boots,Sneaker) and frequently driving vehicles that are not primarily my own. On occasion there you may have needed to move your foot 2 extra centimeters or not depending on the brand of car. Imagine if a family member who is not a tesla "Expert" borrowed you vehicle and due to depressing both peddles the car automatically shut off? There immediate reaction would be a frantic phone call to you stating "your call just turned off i dont know what happened" Fruit for thought

This is silly. The car doesn't shut off. It just beeps at you, and the brakes override the accelerator.

 

[skn]

Just had the door handle not extending issue and got it fixed at SC (NL/AMS) in about 10 minutes. They told me there was a bug and they have "sorted it out." I wonder if sorted = bug fix or sorted = reset (and pray)?!

 

[AmpedRealtor]

Looks like I need a new battery coolant pump! Car threw up a service warning this morning. SC says it's okay to drive, but that supercharging rate will be limited until the pump is replaced.

I had all three coolant pumps replaced a few months ago. Um...

 

[Berkut]

Looks like I need a new battery coolant pump! Car threw up a service warning this morning. SC says it's okay to drive, but that supercharging rate will be limited until the pump is replaced.

I had all three coolant pumps replaced a few months ago. Um...

Same thing happened to me. They came out to the house and replaced it.
Hopefully this trend doesn't continue. Particularly for cars operating 100 deg F weather.

 

[Bardlebee]

So 1600 Miles in and loving this car that is more then I would ever pay for anything else in my life. But I have a problem.

I have a 14-50 plug and recently I came back from a 2 week trip where I set the charge limit to 50 percent. Everything was fine for two weeks while I was out and I missed my car.

When I came back, I set it to my normal 90 percent, I have done 90 percent since day one and haven't seen mileage drop yet, anyway when my car charges now sometimes it stops!!

Here are the symptoms:

A) Car will have the error "Unable to charge, unplug and replug"
B) Another error is "Check cable or power source"
C) The cable has a green light and the port on the car is blue when it stops charging
D) When I attempt to unplug and replug it in I get a charging green light
E) The amperage will go quickly up to 40 Amps (which is normal, its always done 40 Amps) and then all of a sudden drop to ZERO
F) After dropping to zero it sets it to max of 30 Amps and then climbs back up and hovers around 16-30 Amps consistently
G) All the while I have the errors showing up from A) and B)

I am not sure what is causing this as it still charges, albeit a hell of a lot slower and even sometimes it stops charging which catches me by surprise when I have to wake up to that. I am going to call Tesla on Monday but I figured I would ask what you guys think it may be. Sounds like the cable to me because if the Amperage can get up to 40 but then crashes, it sounds like maybe the cable is unable to handle that Amperage for whatever reason.

 

[bsd]

When I came back, I set it to my normal 90 percent, I have done 90 percent since day one and haven't seen mileage drop yet, anyway when my car charges now sometimes it stops!!

Sounds like the same problem I (and others) had: it's a bad UMC.

Edit: the relevant thread.