Series 1 HPWC issues with 2018 model S

[X Fan]

Bit the bullet and had HPWC Gen2 installed this morning

Now I can charge fine.

Electrician is one of Tesla’s recommended installers here in SW Florida so they said will submit it as a warranty replacement (I had to pay for the new HWPC).

However, I’m not expecting Tesla to do the right thing here (too much bureaucracy + inability to make decisions + charging team is non-responsive....3 days and no response to email nor vm).

Oh well, it works and I can afford it but.....

 

[whitex]

For home charging, this only affects those customers who have previously purchased a Tesla, which is likely a small percentage of new customers.

Destination charging issues are only discovered when someone takes a recently built Tesla out for a road trip (which would also be a small percentage) and then stays at a location with a Gen 1 HPWC (which is only for those locations who were early participants in the destination charger program).

This is why the forums are not swamped with complaints about this issue - because only a relatively small number of customers purchasing recently built vehicles have been affected.

Though for those owners who aren't aware of this issue - and discover it on a road trip at a Gen 1 destination charger, it could be a challenging experience, especially if they aren't close to a supercharger...

Keep in mind the number of 2018 S/X cars is also in the minority. It will get bigger though as they make more cars. Travelers should be able to use Tesla Roadside assistance to flatbed to the nearest supercharger since the car is in fact broken while under warranty (2018 cars) if it can't charge from a Tesla charger.

 

[mknox]

For home charging, this only affects those customers who have previously purchased a Tesla, which is likely a small percentage of new customers.

Destination charging issues are only discovered when someone takes a recently built Tesla out for a road trip (which would also be a small percentage) and then stays at a location with a Gen 1 HPWC (which is only for those locations who were early participants in the destination charger program).

Maybe I'm an anomaly but a) I previously purchased a Tesla and b) I take frequent road trips and use Gen 1 HPWC Destination Chargers.

The strange thing is, I can use some Destination Gen 1 Chargers without any issues.

Same. There is one at a plaza near me that won't work at all. Mine at home works "most" of the time. Others are hit and miss.

 

[chas100d]

First, I will admit my home Gen 1 HPWC charging errors would probably be resolved by installing the Gen 2 Wall Charger. I had planned to replace my Gen 1 HPWC with one of the two Signature Wall Chargers (for two Tesla Referrals) we have been waiting for since January 2018. Unfortunately, we are running into the same "Wall" (pun intended) with receiving our Signature Wall Charger referral awards as we are in getting this Gen 1 HPWC issue addressed by Tesla management.

I had a Tesla Mobility services technician out this morning to perform some additional tests on my home Gen 1 HPWC.
The results were mixed for my home Gen 1 HPWC installed on 100A circuit breaker:

My Newer Model S 100D (72A Max)
1) Model S 100D: HPWC dip switch setting 100A Result: 8 Flashes Red light (typical and unacceptable) (should be 72A)
2) Model S 100D: HPWC dip switch setting 90A Result: Car charges at 23/24A (strange and unacceptable)
3) Model S 100D: HPWC dip switch setting 80A Result: Car charges at 63/64A (can live with temporarily)

Tesla Mobility Services Older Model S ??? (Dual adapters - 80A Max)
1) Model S ????: HPWC dip switch setting 100A Result: Car charges at 80A (normal)
2) Model S ????: HPWC dip switch setting 90A Result: (Did not test)
3) Model S ????: HPWC dip switch setting 80A Result: Car charges at 63/64A (same as S 100D)

Next action for Mobility Services is to obtain a Model S 100D to test on my Gen 1 HPWC for comparison.
Next action for my wife and I is to ramp up the escalation process through Tesla for a response on how Tesla plans to resolve our Gen 1 HPWC and Signature Wall Charger(s) referral award issues.

 

[X Fan]

Bit the bullet and had HPWC Gen2 installed this morning

Now I can charge fine.

Electrician is one of Tesla’s recommended installers here in SW Florida so they said will submit it as a warranty replacement (I had to pay for the new HWPC).

However, I’m not expecting Tesla to do the right thing here (too much bureaucracy + inability to make decisions + charging team is non-responsive....3 days and no response to email nor vm).

Oh well, it works and I can afford it but.....

Bureaucracy came through this evening after I sent a second email.

They will pay for charger; I’m responsible for labor ($150). Although one can argue we shouldn’t pay anything due to their change, I let it go and am happy with the charger credit.

 

[bob_p]

I suspect the difference with Gen 1 HPWC's in the wild could be based on the Amp setting. As indicated with the Tesla Mobility testing above, the HPWC may work at some lower Amp settings.

We were able to get some charging on a destination charger Gen 1 HPWC - car would start charging and then after a while, we'd get a charging fault, requiring us to do a reset of the HPWC before it would resume charging again. As I recall, the HPWC was providing 30 or 40A.

At home, our Gen 1 HPWC was on a 100A circuit, set to provide 80A charging - and it failed immediately, every time. Because we also have a 14-50 outlet (that was tapering down to lower amps when using Tesla's 14-50 connector), I didn't go through the steps to take off the HPWC cover and try dialing down the amps to see if I could find a level that would charge.

Having Tesla Mobility come out and do extensive testing shouldn't be needed to verify there is a problem - the problem exists, Tesla's charging team knows this - and they should be able to do even more thorough testing of this incompatibility, so whatever Tesla Mobility is doing is essentially a waste of everyone's time...

We're taking our first longer 200+ mile (one way) road trip this weekend, and have verified our destination has a 14-50 outlet ( 32A charging with our Gen 2 UMC) that we'll be using for overnight charging, though we also plan to "top off" at the nearest supercharger to our destination, just in case we run into problems...

 

[BioTech]

Does anyone who talked to the charging team have any sort of ticket or case number? I am taking mine in Saturday for new parts to try and correct my problems. I want to make sure I am not wasting my time. I know I am but want to let them do what they think needs fixed first. Want SC to look at the case info first before tearing my car apart. Also will be picking up my wife's Model 3 the same time. Anyone know of any issues with them? I know they only max out at 48 amps so thinking it may not be an issue.

 

[P85_DA]

Lol ranger just came ...this was my fix didn’t even bother looking at car

 

[whitex]

We're taking our first longer 200+ mile (one way) road trip this weekend, and have verified our destination has a 14-50 outlet ( 32A charging with our Gen 2 UMC) that we'll be using for overnight charging, though we also plan to "top off" at the nearest supercharger to our destination, just in case we run into problems...

From experience, if you're staying near a supercharger, it takes less time to supercharge first, then top off at destination rather than the other way around. Besides the fact that supercharging is faster when battery is emptier, supercharging a cold battery can add 15-20 mins to warm it up first if the car was parked in the cold overnight.

 

[BioTech]

UPDATE: Took my car into the shop Saturday. Loaner is a brand new S 100D built June 2018 (new dark brushed aluminum trim, I wish I had that). I am charging successfully at the max rate of the Destination charger at the same location I was last week. My car is still in the shop. They replaced the charger port and called to tell me they still have supercharging issues and are replacing more parts. I did get a supercharger error on the same stall I did in the past yesterday on my way up to Dallas. So maybe it was my car in this situation. Will try once its fixed.

 

[BioTech]

Well the latest loaner they gave me started to get the same error as mine didn't yesterday. Back to the starting point. They have finished my car and pushed the latest update they say is suppose to correct the problem 2018.26 . We will see next week when I get my car back and test in Dallas again.

 

[bob_p]

Our X has the 2018.26 update. We no longer have a Gen 1 HPWC to test against, but I will move the X back to the Gen 1 14-50 connector and see if the charging will stay at 40A (we were seeing the charging automatically ramping down to lower amps).

 

[whitex]

Installed 2018.26 tonight. It DOES NOT fix the problem with the Gen1 HPWC (just tested it, same problem as before). From prior experience, the service centers are told latest software should fix problems, but they really don't know for sure. Sometimes the software actually does have a fix in it, it just doesn't work (I'm reminded of the folding mirror fiasco back in Dec 2016, it took a number of software attempts to fix before Tesla finally acknowledged in March or April 2017 that hardware fix is required - the problem was that the SC techs were in the dark on that and they were being told software fix is coming "in the next release" for months).

 

[mknox]

Installed 2018.26 tonight... It From prior experience, the service centers are told latest software should fix problems, but they really don't know for sure.

Yeah, it still doesn't fix the FM radio problem that I've had since Day 1 with my MCU 2 Model X even thought they keep saying "the next firmware release will address it".

 

[BioTech]

Yes the parts have been replaced and still have the issue. I have submitted an executive support review questions. Not sure if it will go far but this must be fixed and fixed fast. I also pointed them to this forum.

 

[bob_p]

When I talked with the charging team when we first detected this issue, they believed it would take several months to get a software fix distributed - and recommended we replace our home Gen 1 HPWC with a Gen 2 (which has been done).

We usually charge our new X on the side of the garage with the 14-50 outlet, using Tesla's 14-50 connector (Gen 1?). Initially when we used that connector, the charging rates would start at 40A and ramp down to lower amps. When I tested this over the weekend, it appears we're now getting a steady 40A with that connector - so perhaps they have done something in the software that provides some improvement, though evidently still not completely fixed.

Until we've confirmed this issue has been fixed - the next time we take a road trip and will be staying at a hotel with an HPWC - I will check with the hotel to determine if they have Gen 1 or 2 - and also talk to the charging team to get a status update on the Gen 1 charging with the newer vehicles, rather than risk getting surprised at the hotel and not able to charge...

 

[BioTech]

Happend to me again at another location, Called and complained. Got a call from the local SC and they looked into it. I keep explaining its not my car its the Gen 1 Chargers. Again pushed off saying it was the local charger and they sent the info to the team to have it looked at. Told them again this does not help me at all if I need to travel. Getting tired of the run around.

 

[disillusioned]

I'm running into this problem. New 2018 P100D throws a "charge cable fault" error when charging ends, which, at least it charges? But this causes it to not stay topped off, and to require me to manually reset every time, and if the charge starts and is interrupted for some reason, it obviously won't resume. I'm on an 80A circuit with a gen 1 HPWC.

I've called and got my local service center, who wants to send a ranger out to explore, having not heard that this is apparently a known issue. We'll see what happens...

 

[whitex]

I'm running into this problem. New 2018 P100D throws a "charge cable fault" error when charging ends, which, at least it charges? But this causes it to not stay topped off, and to require me to manually reset every time, and if the charge starts and is interrupted for some reason, it obviously won't resume. I'm on an 80A circuit with a gen 1 HPWC.

I've called and got my local service center, who wants to send a ranger out to explore, having not heard that this is apparently a known issue. We'll see what happens...

Read earlier in this thread, we had the exact same problem with out newest Model S (2018, new MCU), then found out it's not always at the end - when it was hot outside and/or the car was hot, it would stop earlier, on really hot days not even start. Silver lining is if you keep it plugged in, it does restart sometimes, but no guarantees. This is a well known issue (seems to be a compatibility problem between new MCU and Gen1 chargers), I don't get how people at the SC don't know about it by now. Our SC checked out our car, then provided a replacement HPWC to replace the Gen1 one (which worked perfectly fine with 2015 Model S and 2017 Model S). After replacing the HPWC, no problems charging new or old car.

Maybe someone should tweet Elon how wasteful they are if they have to send out a ranger each time a new car mates with a Gen1 HWPC and throws an error.

 

[bob_p]

Tesla's charging support team is aware of this issue. We encountered in in June when our X 100D was delivered, and quickly had the HPWC replaced.

At that time, the charging team thought the problem would be addressed in an upcoming software update, though if anyone is still having the problem today, then that update evidently hasn't been released yet.

While this problem can be corrected at home by getting a Gen 1 HPWC replaced with a Gen 2, this does not fix the problem with destination chargers. When you're on a road trip, and plan to use a destination charger, you may discover it is a Gen 1 HPWC, and you will have problems when you try to charge. We encountered that in June at Moody Gardens in Galveston - when our X 100D wouldn't sustain charging on their Gen 1 HPWCs.

For anyone encountering this issue, instead of contacting your local Service Center, first call Tesla, and ask to talk with the charging team, and get them to help you. This probably mostly affects repeat Tesla customers who installed a Gen 1 HPWC for previous Tesla vehicles. So far, haven't seen many complaints online about MCU2 vehicles with Gen 1 HPWC destination charging problems.