New Wall Charger Notification?

[Diana Anderson]

Hi -

just got my Wall Charger installed today and used it for the first time tonight on my new M3P.
Been using the mobile charger until now with no issue.

When I plugged in the wall charger it seemed fully seated but got this message on my phone. Think when I then checked it was charging at 28 amps.

I unplugged and plugged back in and it was fine. Couple of questions:

1: it says adjust for "improved charging". Isn't an electrical connection either on or off, and not half on?
2: if I hadn't noticed my phone notification, could this have caused any harm or damaged something if it was not seated or not charging fully for an extended period?
4: Why does it take a few seconds for the Amps to build up to 48amps vs instantly registering that as soon as it's plugged in?
3: Kind of unrelated, but does the cable get warm while charging?

Thank you!

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I get this message often when using janky 1772 chargers and have to jiggle the handle like an old toilet or lick the terminals like an old Atari cartridge to fix it. But Tesla chargers are much more correctly designed than 1772's so I'm surprised you have this error. Perhaps you connected it slowly this one time and it had started charging before you were done moving it?

1: No, it can be poorly connected
2: No, it's pretty careful
4: Because it's careful. The current ramps up slowly and cautiously with very careful monitoring in order to detect marginal connections.
3: Yes, the cable gets quite warm, like a garden hose in the sun.

 

[RayK]

@Diana Anderson To expand on @Gauss Guzzler answer for 1: a little bit more....

An electrical connection can have the possibility of a "high" resistance; i.e., poorly connected. How high depends on many factors (dirty electrical contacts, bad solder joint(s), frayed wiring, etc.). I don't know for a fact that the Wall Connector can or does check for something like this. However, it must do something in order for it to throw that warning message at you.

@Gauss Guzzler Really? Lick an Atari cartridge? Ewwww! I used to use a pencil eraser to clean contacts like those.

 

[Rocky_H]

1: it says adjust for "improved charging". Isn't an electrical connection either on or off, and not half on?

I've seen several reports of things like this with people's brand new cars when they are first using them. The plug from the charging station has a little notch in the bottom of it. The charging port in the car has a little plastic pin that can raise up to lock into that notch when you plug it in. Just from slight manufacturing differences in those tolerances (or people not pushing the plug in hard enough), sometimes the locking pin is catching the edge of that notch and can't get fully in to lock it in place. So then the car detects that the locking pin didn't fully engage and reduces the amps as a safety measure and tells you it should be adjusted to correct that.

 

[davewill]

4: Why does it take a few seconds for the Amps to build up to 48amps vs instantly registering that as soon as it's plugged in?
3: Kind of unrelated, but does the cable get warm while charging?

On number 4, there's a few reasons, the car is waking up different systems and waiting for them to be ready. I also think the on-board charger ramps up slowly to gauge the voltage drop to detect poor electrical connections. In addition to the loose plug problem you experienced, sometimes people's wiring is is not up to snuff. HIgh amperage car charging can even overtax the transformer feeding a group of houses. When this happens, the voltage will sag as the amperage goes up. In truth it virtually ALWAYS sags, it's both the amount of the sag and exactly how it changes vs amperage, that can cause the car to decide there's a potential problem and slow the charging rate down in response.

On number 3, it's normal enough for the cable to get warm, but it should not get HOT. If the handle or any part of the cable gets too hot to hold comfortably, or you ever see signs of melting or scorching, you have a problem.