Super strange - New UMC

[stevesark]

So I decided to order a spare UMC, keep one in car and one at home. I went to use it for the first time, and charging indicator went from blue to flashing amber and the charging port sounded like some servo was going crazy in there. Pulled it out, plugged in old UMC setup, went from blue to green straight away.

Went through this several times, old one always worked, new one behaved same way. Decided to try with 110V adapter instead on new one; same servo noise, no lights after blue that time.

Is this defective or user error?

 

[bedoig]

Is the plug adapter fully seated in the UMC? That's about the only thing I can think of as far as user error. The manual documents what fault the number of flashes corresponds to.

https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...bile_connector_owners_manual_32_amp_en_US.pdf

Edit - Oh, you're talking about the charge indicator on the car though, correct? Should still be documented in the vehicle owner manual I would think.

 

[stevesark]

@bedoig Yep, the plug adapter (14-50) is fully seated, and the UMC letters are lit green.

 

[bedoig]

After posting I realized you were talking about the charge indicator on the car. Per the manual, blinking amber is "Model 3 is charging at a reduced current." Any obvious obstructions to the pins in the charging wand when you compare one to the other?

 

[stevesark]

Let me clarify a bit. The UMC lights are all green, the illuminated tesla symbol at the car charging point was flashing amber.

I do not see any visual obstructions on the new charger receptacle albeit I haven't looked with a flashlight. I'm assuming car charging port has no obstruction, as old charger works fine.

 

[DavidB]

Flashing amber means that the plug isn't seated in all the way. It could be a defective plug that prevents proper seating, or it could be user error.

 

[stevesark]

I read somewhere to put full weight on plug to seat it. If that doesn't work, finding a way to send back.

 

[met97]

Let me clarify a bit. The UMC lights are all green, the illuminated tesla symbol at the car charging point was flashing amber.

I do not see any visual obstructions on the new charger receptacle albeit I haven't looked with a flashlight. I'm assuming car charging port has no obstruction, as old charger works fine.

Are you getting any errors showing up on the screen (such as "“Charge port latch not engaged. Fully insert charge cable or check for obstruction.”) ? I recently went through something similar when I ordered a spare UMC. Turned out that a female connector/receptacle was not properly aligned with one of the plastic holes in the UMC connector, so the latch pins from the car's charging port were unable to properly seat.

 

[TX_M3P+]

I had a mobile service tech out about a week ago to fix an issue with my seat and a window, and while he was here he replaced the guide pins inside the charging port on the car, said it was a bulletin item and they replace them for every service call they go on. Apparently the pins in the charging port on the car are plastic and can break off in various charging units. He replaced them with metal pins, which he said would not break off. Have you checked in the charging unit that flashed amber to make sure nothing is stuck in the adapter? Could be that a plastic guide pin broke off in there and is now preventing it from seating properly.

 

[bedoig]

I had a mobile service tech out about a week ago to fix an issue with my seat and a window, and while he was here he replaced the guide pins inside the charging port on the car, said it was a bulletin item and they replace them for every service call they go on. Apparently the pins in the charging port on the car are plastic and can break off in various charging units. He replaced them with metal pins, which he said would not break off. Have you checked in the charging unit that flashed amber to make sure nothing is stuck in the adapter? Could be that a plastic guide pin broke off in there and is now preventing it from seating properly.

Ya, that's what I was getting at too. If it broke off in the old one it might still seat ok when connecting to the car, while the new one wouldn't. Seen similar issues where somebody else's plastic guide pin got stuck in the supercharger plug and nobody else could charge until they knocked out the plastic pin.

 

[stevesark]

First, I was so busy fiddling with the charger, I never though to check the car's screen; doooh!

The plastic breaking off inside would make sense, as the original UMC would match for the most part and the new one may not. I'm thinking I'll compare plugs from old and new for differences and shine a light inside the car's charging port.

I guess I could also drivee down the street to the local destination charger and see if that plug went in or not.

 

[stevesark]

Figured this one out with a flashlight and canned air. Seems like there was the tiniest curly plastic shaving wedged in the base of the charger receptacle. Probably a remnant of manufacturing. Blew it out with canned air, and it worked well.