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Tesla wall connector gen3 overheating fix

Discussion in 'Supercharging & Charging Infrastructure' started by njhtran, Jun 22, 2020.

  1. RAM482

    RAM482 Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2020
    Messages:
    13
    Location:
    Arizona
    Can we access our car logs?
     
  2. eddy009

    eddy009 Member

    Joined:
    Oct 23, 2017
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    Location:
    91748
    I just had mine dropped from 48 amps to 24. It was a new install last week.

    I called Tesla and after 5 minutes of research on their end I am getting a replacement. Wait time approximately 4 weeks. I am told it's a simple swap of the box and I won't need an electrician.

    It's fine to charge and it's not actually overheating.
     
    • Like x 1
  3. serendipitous

    serendipitous Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2019
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    335
    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Not that I know of. I've checked my car after similar current drop scenarios and there were no codes visible to me (sometimes the car shows an exclamation point and a code).

    I see this as a routine software/firmware/hardware thing that's tough to find before shipment and I'm happy with their response. It's tough being a service provider. I know that holds little water for an end user that just wants something to work but there are certain realities to being in a business like this. Fingers crossed for a few weeks.
     
  4. MRNA

    MRNA Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2020
    Messages:
    18
    Location:
    Houston
    Wow...you are more kind-hearted than me. This thing costs $500 bucks plus installation costs and they obviously haven't done their QC given the multitude of users reporting problems. They are stocked out and don't seem to have any idea when they will get new ones, and some users are already reporting that their replacement ones have the same issue. Not the kind of service one would expect in support of a luxury car. The "realities" of QC are universal.
     
  5. jonboyTMY

    jonboyTMY Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2020
    Messages:
    57
    Location:
    Randolph, NJ
    I am having the exact same issues as all of you as well. Initially no issues but in the last 2-3 weeks starts at 48a then drops to 24a in less than an hour. If I stop charging from the app and restart it only goes to 6amps.

    I also have a lot of issues with my unit reachable on wifi. I did the initial commissioning and took a screen cap of it but now the unit doesn't reply to ping via the IP i created on my DHCP server. Even connecting to the built in wifi, i cant really connect to it and access the page. Can you guys always ping your WC by IP and access its page?
     
    • Like x 1
  6. MRNA

    MRNA Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2020
    Messages:
    18
    Location:
    Houston
    I can help with the wifi thing I think. Per the manual, the wifi only broadcasts for five mins after power on. I think it stays on if you connect to it during this time, but if you don't, then you need to turn off the power and start again to reactivate the wifi. The bigger issue about the power remains very frustrating and I am doubting that the replacement one will work any better when it finally arrives after they replenish their stock.
     
  7. jonboyTMY

    jonboyTMY Member

    Joined:
    May 9, 2020
    Messages:
    57
    Location:
    Randolph, NJ
    I have my unit back on the WiFi now. I use Meraki gear at home (I’m an IT guy). Changed some settings on the Meraki side and even created a dedicated SSID for the WC and the car to connect to. Right now that’s accessible. The power drops and red lights are separate from this and is still outstanding. I’m hoping a software update will get this fixed. I’m on 0.8.58 currently.
     
  8. bhorn

    bhorn Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2020
    Messages:
    152
    Location:
    AL Gulf Coast
    I set the max amps to 36 in the car and that is charging without interruption. It's better then the 24 amp rate when the charger gets interrupted from the max charge.
     
  9. Horktocken

    Horktocken Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2020
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Virginia
    FWIW mine is 18’ too
     
  10. Horktocken

    Horktocken Member

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    Location:
    Virginia
    36A hangs on for multiple hours for you? If so I’ll try it too. 24A is driving me crazy. 36A will only drive me half crazy.
     
  11. bhorn

    bhorn Member

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    Location:
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    Yes, I charged from 30-90% without problems at 36A.
     
    • Like x 1
  12. unctarheels

    unctarheels Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2020
    Messages:
    20
    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Spoke with Tesla Wall Charger support (again!!) this morning. This is my 4th call to them and I have received NOTHING since they said they elevated it to Level 2 (whatever that means). Within an hour after the call today I received an email with a FedEx return label. No instructions, no indication on when a replacement will be sent out. I was originally told by support that they would, "probably send out a replacement and then I would return mine." I am very hesitant to return mine without more info. Do not want to uninstall and return without an idea of what the issue is and when a replacement will be sent. Even though it is not charging at 48A, it is still giving me some level of charge. So far, I would rate Tesla customer service on this issue with a D-minus.
     
  13. Horktocken

    Horktocken Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2020
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    Location:
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    WTF are they thinking? There is ZERO chance I am returning my wall connector without having a replacement in my hands first. I'm going to try the 36A limit tonight and see how it does. If that works, at least it will lessen the pain for a while.

    But I'm also going to call Tesla again tomorrow, as they've gone radio silent since I sent them the photos and screen shots they requested via e-mail (they thanked me, but since then... nothing). They kept saying they need to update my firmware, but it's already 0.8.58, so I don't think that's accurate.

    What would be good is if someone from Tesla could stop by in person and look at it. There is a Tesla service center 15 minutes from my house but I don't think they have anyone who does wall connectors. They should look at it and they can confirm the unit itself is not working.
     
  14. serendipitous

    serendipitous Member

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    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Jeez there's a lot of anger here. They send you a label while they're generating your outbound shipment. Nobody told this guy or you to pack up his charger and send it back and sit on his thumbs for a month. They're just going through their process while dealing with a bunch of returns, and maybe not everyone gets a nice email attached to it. I also got a return label today, but because of an address issue I had an exchange on what's going on. They're just working through the backlog and the return label gets generated when the replacement order is created.

    I've been charging at 38A for the past two days and haven't had an issue yet. It appears to be a limit at the fringes and who knows what reason it got triggered recently. Give the process a chance to work. I'm sure there's plenty more frustration in store over the course of owning a Tesla.
     
    • Like x 1
  15. unctarheels

    unctarheels Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2020
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    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    And you know the details of how their process works because.......... Your explanation seems the more plausible though. I did attempt to limit charging to 36A and it was OK for 10 mins and then dropped to 24A once again.
     
  16. Horktocken

    Horktocken Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2020
    Messages:
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    Location:
    Virginia
    A quick update. I was able to charge via my Gen 3 Wall Connector from 50% to 80% last night at 36A the whole way through, no blinking lights, no throttling. Had I left it at 48A, the wall connector would have switched to 24A after less than an hour, then continued charging at 24A with the red blinking lights going. If I stopped and restarted after it dropped to 24A, the unit would drop to 6A, about as useful as not charging the car at all.

    36A is not what I paid for but it is better than 24A, so I can live with it until Tesla fixes it. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see it fail again, based on unctarheels’s experience above. Interesting you said you've been using 38A? I went to 36A but maybe I should try ratcheting up slowly until I hit the threshold that triggers it.

    But honestly, I just want my 48A back. As for anger? I mean, yeah, I suppose. But it is entirely fair to be angry with Tesla about this. Don’t get me wrong, I knew what to expect when I bought the car, but it’s frustrating when it happens to you. A brand new $500 wall connector and, in my case, a $1200 installation. The unit fails. Tesla “customer service” consists of talking to a few people on the phone and sending pictures on e-mail, then being ghosted and left to figure out what’s going on by reading Internet forums. unctarheels has a similar experience and gets a random return label in the mail with no explanation except, again, some guy on an Internet forum, not Tesla. A reasonable question is: WTF kind of customer service is this?

    It would be helpful if we had clarity on what the problem really is, and if they don’t know, it would be helpful to get direction—from Tesla themselves, not from fans or TSLA investors on an Internet forum—explaining that they don’t know, but this is not an uncommon problem, they are looking into it, and in the meantime use it at 36A, or that they’ll send out a new unit, or whatever. Direction and communication of some kind would be appreciated, rather than leaving it up to me to keep pushing them.
     
    • Like x 4
  17. KGA Tour

    KGA Tour Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2020
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    13
    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Just like many of you, my gen 3 wall charger started overheating 2 weeks ago. I had to drop the amperage to 36A and it seems to go without being interrupted. I'm on 0.8.54 and don't know how I can force a firmware update. Unit is fully ci figured and connected to wifi.
     
  18. serendipitous

    serendipitous Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2019
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    335
    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    I just picked a random number - figured I'd back 10A out, but I haven't tried inching up or down. I've only done two multi-hour charges there but so far so good. As you said it's 100% consistent at 48A that it'll drop within an hour to 24 and then further to 6 if you stop/start. For now I'm OK with 38 knowing a replacement is on the way (even though I still suspect a firmware thing on either the car or charger side of things and that they're just swapping units to appease customers while they debug it).


    As a consumer, I agree. As someone who's been there on the corporate side of things, they're kind of between a rock and a hard place. They've got engineers working a defect, 10 layers of management above them filtering messages, 10 layers of customer support and reverse logistics on the side, and any answer they give will piss off 50% of customers anyway. Those of us on the forum are in the worst spot because we talk to each other, compare notes, care enough about the root cause to ask questions, etc. Not forgiving it, just understanding and glad they're actually doing something (imperfect) as opposed to saying nothing like some of their other engineering debacles (chargegate, batterygate, who knows what else). We'll get through it :)
     
    • Like x 2
  19. MRNA

    MRNA Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2020
    Messages:
    18
    Location:
    Houston
    Same experience...36 Amps is working for me for extended periods without cutback. Expect to get my replacement unit this week but somehow doubting it will work any better at 48 Amps...will post results.
     
  20. Horktocken

    Horktocken Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2020
    Messages:
    36
    Location:
    Virginia
    Agreed. FWIW, I spoke with Tesla again today to make sure my case was still being worked, and I got a really good tech POC. It took forever to get through because the same team also supports the Power Wall, and there's a tropical storm that just rolled through the East Coast, so lots of people with power out.

    This is the first guy who confirmed (to me -- I know others have heard this already) that this is a known problem. He mentioned that Gen 3 wall connectors were the first Tesla-made WCs and that the prior generations were outsourced, so Tesla engineers have to figure this out themselves. He was hoping the next firmware version would fix it, so my fingers are crossed. He said it was good I could charge at 36A for now because some people are not able to do that. He also confirmed that some people have gotten their units replaced only to see the same issue on the new unit. Overall, it was comforting to know that this was a known issue from Tesla, and not just a discussion topic from a few guys on this forum (with the inevitable people chiming in and saying "no, it must be your fault!").

    Having guys like this tech support dude, who are willing to talk and explain, and who clearly understand the issue, really helps my view of Tesla. So I'll wait, and I'll call every few days I guess. Here's hoping I can continue to use 36A until a fix is sent out.
     

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