That sounds like there may be a problem with the hole on the adapter that the Tesla pushes a pin into to lock the cable/adapter to the car. (Or it isn't seating all the way into the charge port.)
I agree. In fact, I vaguely recall hearing about a similar problem with a third-party charging adapter some time ago. I think it was a Setec CCS adapter, but it might have been a third-party J1772 adapter. I also recall hearing about a third-party J1772 adapter that was just a tiny bit too wide, so that it took a lot of effort to insert into the Tesla's charge port. That's one of the perils of reverse-engineering these things; measured dimensions can be just a tiny bit off and cause problems.
It didn’t matter how hard I pushed the CCS connector into the adapter and the adapter into the charging port. It seemed they went as far as they could go. The CCS cable clicked in place. Could not push beyond that.
It's possible that the adapter is going in
too far rather than not far enough, in which case pulling out just a millimeter or two, after fully inserting it, would work. Similarly, if the adapter droops at all in the car's plug after you insert it, it's possible that holding it up will enable the latch to engage. (Chevy Bolts have a similar issue with some CCS stations, although that's about electrical contacts, not a mechanical latch.)
You might also try looking for marks around that locking slot on the bottom of the Tesla-plug side of the adapter. If the locking pin is trying to push into the slot and missing, it might leave a mark. This will at least tell you on which side the latch is not engaging.
Also, visually inspect the charge port for debris. If a leaf or something has lodged itself in your charge port, it could be preventing the adapter from fully inserting. I'd expect this to affect all plugs, but given that yours is a third-party plug that's been reverse-engineered, it's conceivable that the tiny difference in its dimensions could cause a bit of debris to affect it but not genuine Tesla parts.
If you know any other Tesla owners in your area, you might try the adapter on their car. It's conceivable that your car's locking pin is just slightly out of alignment itself -- enough to affect the adapter, but not genuine Tesla plugs or adapters. If so, then you might be able to get it adjusted at a Tesla service center; or maybe you could trade adapters with a friend who has one that works with your car, if yours works with your friend's car.
Of course, if the adapter is out of spec, then the best solution is to replace the adapter, rather than rely on positioning it
just so or otherwise working around the problem yourself.
I’ve tried two Electrify America chargers and both fail to connect to my Model 3.
The error message implies that the Tesla-side connection isn't working, since the car can't know much about what's happening on the CCS side of the adapter; it just knows whether there are electrical connections. Nonetheless, you might try another type/brand of CCS1 plug by going to another type of station. There are several manufacturers of CCS1 plugs, but I don't happen to know offhand who supplies whom. My recollection is that ChargePoint's CCS1 plugs are different from those used at EA stations, so you might try a ChargePoint station, if there's one close to you. Others may know more about this subject and be able to offer better suggestions. As I said, though, I think it's unlikely that this would help. I'm suggesting it just to cover all the bases.
