Solid Red Light of Death Tesla HPWC wall charger [and how I DIY'ed a fix]

[007Bond]

I could not find a thread for just charging so posting here in hopes this info helps someone.

My 2.5 year old wall charger started to give me the solid red light a few weeks back.

At first the reset button did the trick but only for a few days. Then it required that I power off the breaker and that worked again only a few times. I opened it up double checked all the connections all were good. Then it went to just the solid red light right away nothing worked.

I bought it off eBay new sealed in the box it was a time when they were not in stock at Tesla. So as many have found out there is no 4 year warranty for you if you are not the original purchaser with the receipt. I tried to speak with service, parts, charger support no luck.

I am a person that does not like to fill up landfills I think things should be able to be repaired if you want. But Tesla does not sell parts or service these units.

I felt I did not want to toss or sell on eBay I would repair it.

So I found this place OpenEVSE and bought the parts needed and now I have an even better Tesla HPWC with a display and Wifi.

I did 3 videos of the repair and I hope this help people out if they want to fix their unit.

 

[CHARLIEVET]

Super job! You, no doubt, have greater electrical/electronic skills than most here, but for those that either are capable of learning or have the ability...great information! I have the "Gen 2 Mobile Connector (MC) Bundle" that came with my 3 and some extra adaptor plugs. Do you know if the kit you installed in your wall charger will fit into the Gen 2 MC? I would like to upgrade my MC when it's off warranty, or possibly before, to use the full capacity of my NEMA 14-50 receptacle. I'm guessing many others would like to upgrade their MC, too. Thank you! Charlie

 

[007Bond]

Wanted to post links to the other follow up videos.

 

[007Bond]

Super job! You, no doubt, have greater electrical/electronic skills than most here, but for those that either are capable of learning or have the ability...great information! I have the "Gen 2 Mobile Connector (MC) Bundle" that came with my 3 and some extra adaptor plugs. Do you know if the kit you installed in your wall charger will fit into the Gen 2 MC? I would like to upgrade my MC when it's off warranty, or possibly before, to use the full capacity of my NEMA 14-50 receptacle. I'm guessing many others would like to upgrade their MC, too. Thank you! Charlie

No this would not fit in a mobile connector BUT that should not be an issue. Just buy the kit that included the housing it's a few more dollars but comes with all the gromits and needed hardware.

Advanced Series - Kit

Now Includes new enclosure and 3.5" Color Display 2-3 Week lead-time The OpenEVSE Advanced kit contains the components required to assemble a Level 2 Charging Station designed for flexible use worldwide or while on the road. The new kit is ideal for portable charging at any voltage from 208 -...

store.openevse.com

Note I have nothing to do with the seller of openevse it's just a place I found to buy the parts at a good price.

So what you would do is cut the cables right at the MC box strip them back and install in the kit.

The only thing I would caution you about is the gauge of the wires in the MC cable. You would need to check the gauge and set the board not to exceed the wires limit.

Maybe you can pick up a broken MC on ebay use that for your project and keep the MC in the car since it is working from what you are saying.

 

[CHARLIEVET]

The only thing I would caution you about is the gauge of the wires in the MC cable. You would need to check the gauge and set the board not to exceed the wires limit.

Maybe you can pick up a broken MC on ebay use that for your project and keep the MC in the car since it is working from what you are saying.

I've found an 80A Tesla cable on eBay, but am not willing to pay $150 for a beat-up old cable/plug that looks like garbage and new ones are $350! Your kit and an old cable would go for over $400, so I'll hold-off and purchase a new wall connector from Tesla and get their four year warranty. I cannot believe the prices of used and new wall connectors on eBay and Amazon...all without warranties. Your fix is great for those with inoperative wall units and it's almost half the price of a new wall connector. Thanks!

 

[007Bond]

I've found an 80A Tesla cable on eBay, but am not willing to pay $150 for a beat-up old cable/plug that looks like garbage and new ones are $350! Your kit and an old cable would go for over $400, so I'll hold-off and purchase a new wall connector from Tesla and get their four year warranty. I cannot believe the prices of used and new wall connectors on eBay and Amazon...all without warranties. Your fix is great for those with inoperative wall units and it's almost half the price of a new wall connector. Thanks!

You know what is insane when they are selling just the Empty Box of the Tesla Wall Connector for $50!!!

I agree there is no point to pay to much for a used especially not in good shape cable. My charger and cable was like new and I already owned it so for sure worth it. But no way would I pay to buy junk cables or unit just to rebuild agreed.

 

[wwu123]

Thanks for the writeup! It's good to know the innards can be replaced without issue if they fail. In fact it seems like the most valuable parts of the Tesla wall connectors are the rest of it:
-the proprietary Tesla plug that mates with the car. First it's not a widely available part since it's not sold at retail, and what can be found is about $100-130, with 25' cable maybe $50 more (I realize copper is expensive these days, but the cable cost is dwarfed by the plug itself...).
-the shiny cover plate. I have a Gen 1 working fine, but have a sharp dent in the cover, so have looked for one from I'm sure units that have failed. Every cover plate I've found is more scuffed or scratched up than what I have, yet still goes for $100+ !

 

[Darmie]

One of my Gen 2 received the solid red light of death. It was working fine at the old house. When our electrician installed it at the new house we didn't get a chance to test it with the garage full of boxes. I later found out that the solid red light was glowing. I tripped the breaker and it went green, then back to red. Our electrician came back to verify grounding and all lugs were tight to specs. Reached out to wall connector email address and they mentioned to use the reset button. That did not work. Then I came across one of Rich's video where his small wires came loose. Turned off the breaker, open the panel and there it was, two of the 4 small wires were not in place. They were actually behind the far board as if they were mounted there. I removed the small ferrules, cleaned up the wires and tighten them down. I was greeted with a solid green when I came back from turning the breaker back on. Tested it and it charged the vehicle just fine. From the video, it looks like somehow these small wires can get loose.
From the video the blue and black were loose. On mine, the purple and black came loose. i guess anything can happen but wanted to pass this along incase someone comes across this thread. Take a look at these 4 small wires first, but only after you turn off the power that feeds the connector.