Super Charging while absent. How safe is my car?

[Canuck]

Another tip for new Supercharger users: Don't panic if you can't pull out the Supercharger plug. If you can't pull it out, let go of the button and then push it in firmly, then push the button again and it should pull out.

 

[CBPfromTN]

Another tip tor new Supercharger users: Don't panic if you can't pull out the Supercharger plug. If you can't pull it out, let go of the button and then push it in firmly, then push the button again and it should pull out.

Oh wow.....I am glad you posted that! I could just see myself, no one around and to able to get the charger out of the car! I WOULD panic! Thanks for that tip!

 

[Canuck]

I have a recommendation from the local Tesla dealership so that is who I will be calling.

Beware of the Tesla "surcharge" we hear of -- in that some charge more since Tesla owners can afford it -- but really it's a job any qualified electrician can do, so get a second quote if you feel the one recommended is too high.

 

[CBPfromTN]

Beware of the Tesla "surcharge" we hear of -- in that some charge more since Tesla owners can afford it -- but really it's a job any qualified electrician can do, so get a second quote if you feel the one recommended is too high.

Oh shoot. I have no clue what to expect so I wouldn't know what is unreasonable. Our panel boxes are in the basement on the same side of the house as the garages so it won't be too far from the panel boxes, so hopefully THAT won't be an issue. I suppose my Tesla owner/advisor can give me a ballpark figure. Maybe I ought to call two electricians to be sure I am not being overcharged. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Canuck]

Assuming you're installing a 14-50 outlet with a short run to your panel, I would say approximately $500 for parts and labor is in the ballpark. But of course that varies by location so it can never hurt to get a couple of quotes, even if just buy phone after you measure the run. If you need to upgrade your panel, or there are other issues, then prices can of course increase greatly.

 

[CBPfromTN]

Assuming you're installing a 14-50 outlet with a short run to your panel, I would say approximately $500 for parts and labor is in the ballpark. But of course that varies by location so it can never hurt to get a couple of quotes, even if just buy phone after you measure the run. If you need to upgrade your panel, or there are other issues, then prices can of course increase greatly.

It's not too far to the panels, I just hope both are not full. I would think there is probably at least one space left between the two panels. They are in the basement, side by side and are on the same side of the house as the garages so we should be ok. I will definitely get more than one estimate. I do have two names, one given to me by my contractor who built our home and the other by the Tesla dealership, so I should be okay. I just want to get it done and over with. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Tech_Guy]

Another tip for new Supercharger users: Don't panic if you can't pull out the Supercharger plug. If you can't pull it out, let go of the button and then push it in firmly, then push the button again and it should pull out.

This can also happen if you locked the car on the touch screen while waiting at the supercharger. Later when your done charging you open your door to unplug and forget that the car is still locked. It’s happened to me once or twice and you will not be able to remove the charger until you unlock your car.

 

[bmah]

Another tip for new Supercharger users: Don't panic if you can't pull out the Supercharger plug. If you can't pull it out, let go of the button and then push it in firmly, then push the button again and it should pull out.

I had a similar experience in one or two places (the Seaside, CA Service Center / Supercharger comes to mind). It seemed that somehow the timing between when I pushed the button and when the car unlocked the port was different, so I was pulling on the plug before the port was unlocked. So I had to push the button, wait a beat or two longer than normal, and then pull on the plug.

Bruce.

 

[CBPfromTN]

I had a similar experience in one or two places (the Seaside, CA Service Center / Supercharger comes to mind). It seemed that somehow the timing between when I pushed the button and when the car unlocked the port was different, so I was pulling on the plug before the port was unlocked. So I had to push the button, wait a beat or two longer than normal, and then pull on the plug.

Bruce.

Thank you, Bruce! I am sure I will experience everything mentioned because I am just one of "those people." I can barely contain my excitement in the anticipation of getting my new car. I am learning so much just reading the posts on this forum and to be able to ask questions is just so valuable. There is no better way to get the best advice than from other Tesla owners. This forum is invaluable to me and as I have said in a prior post, will give me something to do while waiting on my car! I am sure I am going to be a regular contributor on this forum!

 

[MorrisonHiker]

So bottom line, avoid parking directly next to another car when possible in order to get the best rate of charge.

Paired chargers are not always adjacent to each other so that tip doesn't always apply. Some locations have stalls laid out as 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B. Other locations might have 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B, 3B. In other locations, they may not be in any logical order at all! A better tip to follow would be to look for numbered chargers where both are A and B stalls are empty. If both A and B stalls for the same number (1, 2, 3, etc.) are empty then the Supercharger is not paired and your charging speed won't be affected by another car that is already charging.

Also, there are new Urban Superchargers which look totally different (and are still quite rare). At Urban Superchargers, there is no sharing so you'd never need to consider other cars when selecting a stall to charge at.

 

[CBPfromTN]

Paired chargers are not always adjacent to each other so that tip doesn't always apply. Some locations have stalls laid out as 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B. Other locations might have 1A, 2A, 3A, 1B, 2B, 3B. In other locations, they may not be in any logical order at all! A better tip to follow would be to look for numbered chargers where both are A and B stalls are empty. If both A and B stalls for the same number (1, 2, 3, etc.) are empty then the Supercharger is not paired and your charging speed won't be affected by another car that is already charging.

Also, there are new Urban Superchargers which look totally different (and are still quite rare). At Urban Superchargers, there is no sharing so you'd never need to consider other cars when selecting a stall to charge at.

Good to know! Definitely easy enough to remember this tip! Thank you so much!

 

[jelloslug]

You should also note that it's perfectly normal for the charging rate to ramp up and down as the car Supercharges. At the extreme ends of the battery capacity, the car will charge slower than it will in the middle of the range. Battery temperature (both hot and cold) can also have an effect on charging speed.

 

[Chopr147]

They are completely secure and no one will be able to unlock your car from the Super Charger unless you leave your keys inside.

The Tesla key fob is small and yet I still take it out of my pocket on longer rides. Then I supercharge and forget until I come back to the car and realize the FOB is still in there. While I have never had an issue , this can be problematic. Fortunately here in NY most people do not have the faintest idea how to open the car. This too will change as they become more prevalent.

So short answer: Keep the fob in ya pocket

 

[Rocky_H]

Just to clarify: There's no reduction at all to the first car plugged into either A or B (all superchargers are in pairs). The first car to connect to either A or B gets priority, and it gets whatever it can take. Then the subsequent cars to connect will get whatever is left but never to the detriment of the first car. However, if the first car unplugs, even for a split second, it'll drop in priority, if another car is connected to A/B.

That's not true, but the idea is close. There is a primary and secondary kind of priority, but the first (primary) car can be slowed down some by the second car. That is because the secondary car will start off with a minimum of 30kW so they don't get a totally awful charging rate. So if it's a 120kW total capacity Supercharger and a very empty first car plugs in, it would normally be pulling about 115-120kW, almost the full capacity of the equipment. But if a second car plugs in right after, it will get about 30kW to start, so the primary car will be slowed down a little to about 90kW. In practical use, it's not going to make much difference for the first car, because the rate would have been tapering down from 120kW to 90kW anyway within the first 5-10 minutes, so it doesn't change their charging time much.

 

[IT Geek]

So I stick by my earlier statement that I was giving the condensed answer... Obviously there are several nuances and caveats to using a Supercharger. Fortunately there aren't many that those of us in the middle part of the country have to worry about on a regular basis. I've only had to wait for charging once. Most of our SC's in and around Michigan are at least 8 stalls and I've only seen more than 4 cars at one a handful of times. Travel to CA and I'm sure it's a different world. Of course as more Model 3's get delivered all these tips in this thread will certainly become more meaningful, even for those of us in the less-traveled states.

 

[Canuck]

That's not true, but the idea is close. There is a primary and secondary kind of priority, but the first (primary) car can be slowed down some by the second car. That is because the secondary car will start off with a minimum of 30kW so they don't get a totally awful charging rate. So if it's a 120kW total capacity Supercharger and a very empty first car plugs in, it would normally be pulling about 115-120kW, almost the full capacity of the equipment. But if a second car plugs in right after, it will get about 30kW to start, so the primary car will be slowed down a little to about 90kW. In practical use, it's not going to make much difference for the first car, because the rate would have been tapering down from 120kW to 90kW anyway within the first 5-10 minutes, so it doesn't change their charging time much.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[cpa]

Another note to unplugging--this is what I generally do. I stop the Supercharging session from the touchscreen. This will also unlock the charge port. I wait until the the charging has reduced to zero, and I remove the charging handle from the charge port. The car allows about 20 seconds (guessing here, never timed it) for me to get out of the car and remove the plug.

When I Supercharge on trips, I generally dial my next charging stop or destination into the navigation. The navigation will then display the estimated range remaining upon arrival. Initially it will be below zero, but then it will slowly climb into the red between 1-7% remaining, then to yellow 7+% to 20%, and then green for 20% or more. The energy graph also has a trip tab that will reflect the loss of charge as you drive as as a line that slowly slopes downward to the final estimate. This is handy to keep open your first few drives in order to see how you drive as it compares to an algorithm that is a best guess given speed and elevation gains or losses. You may experience severe weather conditions or run the cabin heater or drive at a different speed--these will affect the usage and remaining charge at your destination.

You do not need to charge to full each time. Just charge enough to reach your next destination plus a reasonable buffer. We each have our own comfort levels for buffers--some folks are comfortable with <10%. Others prefer slightly more, while there are a few who won't leave unless it is 20%. Entirely up to you!

Enjoy your ride!

 

[IT Geek]

I stop the Supercharging session from the touchscreen

I've never done this, nor have I ever heard this as something which was advised. What's the benefit to this rather than just pushing the button on the charge cable and pulling it out? Do you do this same thing at home?

You do not need to charge to full each time. Just charge enough to reach your next destination plus a reasonable buffer.

This is excellent advise and what I do as well. Although on really long road trips I actually do more of a skip-hop-hop-skip method. So at the beginning of the day you start out with a full charge (either from home or a destination charger) then you can usually skip a SC or two as you have enough range. Then when you do have to stop you just charge up so that you have enough buffer to get to the next SC and hop to it then hop to the one after that. Then if you break for lunch at a SC you can usually skip a SC again as you'll have charged up enough. Hop-hop-hop till dinner break, etc. My longest trip in one day was going from Denver, CO to St. Louis, MO and that's what I did. Worked out very well.

 

[RichardL]

Also, worth noting - when you start charging the ring around the port will flash green. The flashing is roughly based on the rate of charge. If there is a problem, like you haven't pushed the cable in correctly, you might get an orange color.
When you lock the car and walk away the ring goes dark - so there is no flashing light to draw attention to the car, even though it is still charging

 

[bnsfengineer]

I am planning to get an electrician out here sometime after the holidays to install my home charger. Hopefully it won't be too difficult of a job, and won't take too long and will be done correctly. I have a recommendation from the local Tesla dealership so that is who I will be calling. I am anxious to get it done! Thanks again for your responses!

I read your post about new ownership and you described myself to a TEEEE! If you have a SC close by go over and talk to people as what I did prior to ordering and even after I gave my deposit. Actually had a little buyer's remorse.. never spent that much on a car before. It soon went away after talking to more owners. I knew very little about the car and even as you describe the charging...not knowing even how to use the SC. Heres what I have found over the past 3 months of ownership.... Owners know much more than some of the service centers and phone support that can give you insight to there personal experience with features and issues they have had. When you first start charging you go to the little charging icon on top of your screen and can set up how much you want to charge at that particular time or set it and forget it, seems like everyone has opinion on what to charge to but I have mine at about 85%. Also on the electrician I waited to have mine installed only because he was busy but if your close to a SC don't worry about it. Any qualified certified electrician can install the plug or wall charger so don't get stuck with having to pay more than you have to. My electrician charged me $175. granted it was very close to my service panel in the garage so not like it was a huge wiring run. Have fun with your new toy and come back to update how much you "SMILE" every time you get in it!!