My Charging Cable Thinks It's Unlatched, But Continues to Charge at a Lower Rate.

[MSPRad]

My Model S is consistently giving me the error message of "charge cable Unlatched", after the first 2 uses (which were fine). It continues to allow charging, but only at a lower rate of 16 Amps, instead of the normal 40 Amps (I have a NEMA 14-50). I checked all of the connections (wall, adaptor to cable, & cable to car) multiple times, and they were fine. Once or twice I was able to get it to go back to the 40 Amp rate after many tries. Anyone else experienced this problem? Any suggestions? Thanks!


P85, blue w/ gray interior and carbon trim, 21" wheels, tech & audio. Delivered 3/24 at factory.

 

[pilotSteve]

Based on my personal experience (had the exact same message) and others posting: the fix is simple! Your plug is not fully inserted into the charge socket. Give it a firm PUSH, or remove it and reinsert. All will be fixed!

 

[MSPRad]

Oops. Just realized that there is already a thread for this problem by Kipernicus: "Charge Cable Unlatched" error (charging at 16A only). Seems to me that Tesla needs to make the cable less finicky, such that even my grandma can make it work consistently.

 

[MSPRad]

Thanks, pilotSteve. I found the other posts and tried all of the suggestion. They are helpful sometimes. But none seem to work consistently.

 

[dtich]

i would take a minute and, with the car unlocked, pull out and firmly push in and seat the connector in the car port several times in a row. that may (probably) wear in a couple rough spots in the plastic molding of the connectors that may keep it from fully seating. just new i'd guess. check to make sure there's no dirt or foreign object in the port as well, although unlikely.

i'd bet it'll be fine soon.

 

[pilotSteve]

Thanks, pilotSteve. I found the other posts and tried all of the suggestion. They are helpful sometimes. But none seem to work consistently.

Sorry @MSPRad. Other have indeed had hardware problems with the charging port and/or wall charger.

Tonight, when I plugged into my HPWC, I again saw charging limited to 16A. I thought I'd fully inserted the plug. Nope, although it felt seated fully a further push resulted in hearing a relay click and the charging amperage rising to full (79 in my case). My latest theory is that one or more of the pins in my car's charge port might be recessed a bit more than in other cars.

So I took my own advice. Serves to remind me and others that the charge plug is a little 'finicky' although its all about (a) technique and (b) checking the charge before leaving the car for the night to ensure everything is copacetic.