rfmurphy81
Member
This seems like more of a software issue than anything, as I definitely don't remember this happening before. I'm curious if the Service Center can confirm why and when this changed.
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My assumption was that the throbbing green actually reflects the car drawing current for any reason. That could be for charging, but it could be to run climate control too, or various other things. Presumably it's all the same from the point of view of the systems from the wall plug through to the onboard component that converts the AC from the wall to DC for distribution internally (I assume this to be the "charger" even though it's not being used for charging in the example case I chose).
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
rfmurphy81
Member
From https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...Manual_Touchscreen_DAS_NA_R20160317_en_US.pdf, page 132:
Charge Port Light
• WHITE: The charge port door is open and Model S is ready to charge. The connector either hasn't been inserted yet, or the latch is released and the connector is ready to be removed.
• SOLID GREEN: Charging is complete.
• BLINKING GREEN: Charging is in progress. As Model S approaches a full charge, the frequency of the blinking is slower.
• BLUE: Model S detects that a connector has been plugged in, but charging has not started. Either Model S is preparing to charge, or a charging session is scheduled to begin at a specified future time.
• SOLID AMBER: The connector is not fully plugged in. Realign the connector to thecharge port and insert fully.
• BLINKING AMBER: Model S is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).
• RED: A fault is detected and charging has stopped. Check the instrument panel ortouchscreen for a message describing the fault.
Charge Port Light
• WHITE: The charge port door is open and Model S is ready to charge. The connector either hasn't been inserted yet, or the latch is released and the connector is ready to be removed.
• SOLID GREEN: Charging is complete.
• BLINKING GREEN: Charging is in progress. As Model S approaches a full charge, the frequency of the blinking is slower.
• BLUE: Model S detects that a connector has been plugged in, but charging has not started. Either Model S is preparing to charge, or a charging session is scheduled to begin at a specified future time.
• SOLID AMBER: The connector is not fully plugged in. Realign the connector to thecharge port and insert fully.
• BLINKING AMBER: Model S is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).
• RED: A fault is detected and charging has stopped. Check the instrument panel ortouchscreen for a message describing the fault.
[etc]
Yeah, not precisely right, is it? At least for blinking green since as we just discussed upthread, it seems to mean "pulling current" and not necessarily charging per se (though of course charging is the most important application of pulling current).
alexvirital
Member
I thought it was just me - but yes, I have been having this experience as well. Holding down the button reliably allows me to remove the cable. Otherwise it just cycles.
Canuck
Well-Known Member
I had a similar problem but the fob didn't work to unlock it every time. Sometime it did, but it was just like trying to use the screen, HPWC button, SC button, or fob -- it was hit and miss. It ended up that the locking latch was going and had to be replaced. This is from my service invoice:
"Replaced charge port assembly due to inoperative latch. Confirmed that charge port is now operating as expected and vehicle can now charge properly."
That was back in May and there's been no problems since the replacement. What got me before the replacement was twice at the superchargers when it acted up I thought I might have been stranded and I was anxious to get to my cabin, struggling to get the supercharger out of the charge port. I feel so much better now that it is fixed. Before I got it fixed, I used a thin piece of strong plastic (packaging material that I cut out) to stop the locking tab from going in (worried I couldn't get it out again - while at my cabin). This will let you charge at 16 amps only but it does work. I still keep that piece of plastic tab in my car in case I have a re-occurrence of this problem.
Since the fob works for you every time, it seems like a software problem, but I thought I should let you know my experience just in case it actually is a latch problem, or for others here who have a similar problem like mine.
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rfmurphy81
Member
I had always thought that when I plugged in, and the light was a solid green, it was drawing current. That's part of the reason why I am so iffy about leaving my UMC plugged in at time if I'm not actively charging (or have scheduled a charge) as I don't know whether it's using anything. I've had times where the light is solid green when I have scheduled charging going (whether before the scheduled charge or after), so I've always assumed green meant power was coming out of the wall into the car.
My UMC is plugged into a 14-50 off the main panel. I've debated getting a second panel just for EV charging so I can not only be bill that separately by SCE for the EV rates/plan, but also more accurately track usage from this particular line from everything else in my home.
Tech_Guy
ALWAYS IN LUDICROUS MODE! P90D>P100D Upgrade
I have a situation with my UMC now... pressing the button will not pop the port door open.
So I open the door by other means... and plug in.
While charging, I can press the button on UMC and the charging is interrupted, ring goes white, plug lock unlatches, and I can pull out the cable.
Anybody had just the RF door pop portion of the UMC go bad? I don't want to lose this UMC... it's one of the originals that actually pulls 40A down from a 14-50 socket. The newer ones only do 32A I believe, at least in Canada.
So I open the door by other means... and plug in.
While charging, I can press the button on UMC and the charging is interrupted, ring goes white, plug lock unlatches, and I can pull out the cable.
Anybody had just the RF door pop portion of the UMC go bad? I don't want to lose this UMC... it's one of the originals that actually pulls 40A down from a 14-50 socket. The newer ones only do 32A I believe, at least in Canada.
Adding my experience to this thread as it seems my UMC gen 2 button has failed. Everything else works.
Will Tesla ship a new one under warranty?
I noticed pressing the button would occasionally not work a few weeks ago, but as it was cold and done charging, the port was unlatched and I could just pull it out. Pressing the door would suffice for when it did not work to open.
Things got worse somewhere in the past week. I could NOT get the cable released when I would leave each morning, even after waking the car by opening the rear door. I would have to use the display or app to unlock charge port.
Looking back, this is because temps have warmed up and the car was now keeping the cable latched.
But I had written this all off in my head to buggy beta early access firmware. I had problems with the last version where I had to hold the button down. But that does nothing either now.
Only today did I get fed up and reboot the car computer. That didn't seem to help. I also pulled AC power from the UMC to try to reset it. No go. I finally dug out my second UMC and plugged that in instead...everything works perfection with the second unit.
I get no error lights, charging works perfectly fine, it's simply as if the button is not getting pressed, both when plugged and unplugged.
I searched for more info on this and how it actually works (not easy), and no surprise @Ingineer wins the internet with the valuable tech info...
So now it all makes a bit more sense. I bet my physical button died (I always think these kind of pressure buttons in plastic are junk!). I emailed Tesla support, but I'm open to any other troubleshooting suggestions, or maybe I just tear open the handle and swap in a nice sealed pushbutton.
Will Tesla ship a new one under warranty?
I noticed pressing the button would occasionally not work a few weeks ago, but as it was cold and done charging, the port was unlatched and I could just pull it out. Pressing the door would suffice for when it did not work to open.
Things got worse somewhere in the past week. I could NOT get the cable released when I would leave each morning, even after waking the car by opening the rear door. I would have to use the display or app to unlock charge port.
Looking back, this is because temps have warmed up and the car was now keeping the cable latched.
But I had written this all off in my head to buggy beta early access firmware. I had problems with the last version where I had to hold the button down. But that does nothing either now.
Only today did I get fed up and reboot the car computer. That didn't seem to help. I also pulled AC power from the UMC to try to reset it. No go. I finally dug out my second UMC and plugged that in instead...everything works perfection with the second unit.
I get no error lights, charging works perfectly fine, it's simply as if the button is not getting pressed, both when plugged and unplugged.
I searched for more info on this and how it actually works (not easy), and no surprise @Ingineer wins the internet with the valuable tech info...
So now it all makes a bit more sense. I bet my physical button died (I always think these kind of pressure buttons in plastic are junk!). I emailed Tesla support, but I'm open to any other troubleshooting suggestions, or maybe I just tear open the handle and swap in a nice sealed pushbutton.
I have the opposite case with my UMC, the other switch in it failed.
Under the button thing you press are 2 switches side by side that depress and release in unison as you press and release the button.
Mine has the RF switch failing, so it will not pop the door.
But the latch release switch is fine, so I can still pull the handle out.
I am using other methods to pop the door.
The UMC that was delivered with the car is considered by Tesla as car equipment covered by the car warranty. When I purchased the car I also bought a HPWC with it, which was also covered by the car warranty - good thing too because the handle burnt and I got a new unit.
You should get a new UMC from Tesla under warranty.
I don't want a new one, because they have lowered the power delivery of new UMC in Canada to 32A, whereas my older one does 40A. I wish these units had serviceable handles but they don't. I would have to destroy the handle to open it up to get at the switches.
Under the button thing you press are 2 switches side by side that depress and release in unison as you press and release the button.
Mine has the RF switch failing, so it will not pop the door.
But the latch release switch is fine, so I can still pull the handle out.
I am using other methods to pop the door.
The UMC that was delivered with the car is considered by Tesla as car equipment covered by the car warranty. When I purchased the car I also bought a HPWC with it, which was also covered by the car warranty - good thing too because the handle burnt and I got a new unit.
You should get a new UMC from Tesla under warranty.
I don't want a new one, because they have lowered the power delivery of new UMC in Canada to 32A, whereas my older one does 40A. I wish these units had serviceable handles but they don't. I would have to destroy the handle to open it up to get at the switches.
If true I have a harder time believing both buttons failed simultaneously. Is there a picture of inside the handle somewhere showing the buttons?
This UMC was purchased from the website separately, but it's still well less than a year old.
It's true, there are pictures of a torn apart UMC handle in this forum somewhere. Someone got curious.
In your case, maybe it's not the switches themselves but a wire or trace on the PCB inside the handle that is common to both but has broken (say, a ground line) which is taking out both switches at the same time.
Or something physical inside the handle that is preventing the button from depressing correctly or mis-alignment of the two plastic "fingers" inside that actually meet the switch... are not meeting. If the PCB shifted both could be missing the mark.
If you get a new one, crack open the old and show your story.
In your case, maybe it's not the switches themselves but a wire or trace on the PCB inside the handle that is common to both but has broken (say, a ground line) which is taking out both switches at the same time.
Or something physical inside the handle that is preventing the button from depressing correctly or mis-alignment of the two plastic "fingers" inside that actually meet the switch... are not meeting. If the PCB shifted both could be missing the mark.
If you get a new one, crack open the old and show your story.
My UMC went further downhill tonight.
Got charging interrupted notification several hours into the charge.
Walked out, not charging, had to unlock with app.
Cycle UMC power, plug in again. Still nothing.
Press unlock and this time the latch quickly opens then closes. Except the car thinks it is unlatched!
And now I have RED charge light!
Can't unlock port.
Jump in and press brake as Im about to do a reboot. Car goes nuts, two second cycle between moving between driver and easy access profiles, trying to drive, but canceling because it is plugged in, but not plugged in! Something is very sick!
Hard rebooted...lights continued to turn on and off every two seconds.
Had several charge port errors on display. Still count not unlock latch!
Had no choice but to open the trunk and pull the manual port release cable.
Then everything was happy. Was able to drive.
Tried plugging back in, but it did not latch at all. Still says disconnected.
Tried cleaning contacts in handle and port with alcohol and q-tip. No help.
Finally gave up and switched to my second UMC, and it's happily charging.
So the next question is how to make Tesla respond to my support request from yesterday...
PS Nothing but green lights on the UMC. Something is strange here. I will definitely be cracking it open if I get a replacement.
Got charging interrupted notification several hours into the charge.
Walked out, not charging, had to unlock with app.
Cycle UMC power, plug in again. Still nothing.
Press unlock and this time the latch quickly opens then closes. Except the car thinks it is unlatched!
And now I have RED charge light!
Can't unlock port.
Jump in and press brake as Im about to do a reboot. Car goes nuts, two second cycle between moving between driver and easy access profiles, trying to drive, but canceling because it is plugged in, but not plugged in! Something is very sick!
Hard rebooted...lights continued to turn on and off every two seconds.
Had several charge port errors on display. Still count not unlock latch!
Had no choice but to open the trunk and pull the manual port release cable.
Then everything was happy. Was able to drive.
Tried plugging back in, but it did not latch at all. Still says disconnected.
Tried cleaning contacts in handle and port with alcohol and q-tip. No help.
Finally gave up and switched to my second UMC, and it's happily charging.
So the next question is how to make Tesla respond to my support request from yesterday...
PS Nothing but green lights on the UMC. Something is strange here. I will definitely be cracking it open if I get a replacement.
You might be able to just go to the service center and get the replacement UMC there. They love car count, and it would be easy to check. Just let them know that your other UMC cable works, so all you need is a replacement. Unless, you're out of warranty lol.
Some updates and developments today...
After making a support request for the bad UMC 13 days ago, I *FINALLY* got someone from ranger service on the phone to schedule an appointment...first available is in YET ANOTHER TWO WEEKS. Wow, Tesla. Just ship me a new one!
After swapping my UMCs for two days as mentioned a few weeks ago, I swapped back and the original charged again without issues aside from the never working button. For ten days. Strange.
Then I saw charging interrupted last night on Teslafi (no notification), but after two hours started again on its own.
Stranger.
I came home and plugged in, an hour later I got the charging interrupted alert, went out and could not get it to work again.
I noticed this time that the display had Charge Equipment Failure alert. The alert comes up immediately when plugging in the UMC.
I left it unplugged and then attempted to charge again.
The time it worked, then interrupted again after 15 minutes.
Again, no error lights on the UMC. Always an error on the car display.
It's like my charger is going on vacation.
I submitted a bug report with the error, maybe support can look at that and just maybe mail me a new one.
After making a support request for the bad UMC 13 days ago, I *FINALLY* got someone from ranger service on the phone to schedule an appointment...first available is in YET ANOTHER TWO WEEKS. Wow, Tesla. Just ship me a new one!
After swapping my UMCs for two days as mentioned a few weeks ago, I swapped back and the original charged again without issues aside from the never working button. For ten days. Strange.
Then I saw charging interrupted last night on Teslafi (no notification), but after two hours started again on its own.
Stranger.
I came home and plugged in, an hour later I got the charging interrupted alert, went out and could not get it to work again.
I noticed this time that the display had Charge Equipment Failure alert. The alert comes up immediately when plugging in the UMC.
I left it unplugged and then attempted to charge again.
The time it worked, then interrupted again after 15 minutes.
Again, no error lights on the UMC. Always an error on the car display.
It's like my charger is going on vacation.
I submitted a bug report with the error, maybe support can look at that and just maybe mail me a new one.
It is worth mentioning... dirty pins can also cause problems that are intermittent in nature.
I clean the pins on my chargers and charge port once or twice a year. Using contact cleaner and Q-tips. You have to de-fluff some of the fuzz off the tip, leaving about half... then several repeated wipes until no more black. To clean the smaller pins, I cut the Q-tip stick on a long diagonal to get into those holes.
I have restored a flaky UMC charge situation back to perfect results a couple of times doing this.
I clean the pins on my chargers and charge port once or twice a year. Using contact cleaner and Q-tips. You have to de-fluff some of the fuzz off the tip, leaving about half... then several repeated wipes until no more black. To clean the smaller pins, I cut the Q-tip stick on a long diagonal to get into those holes.
I have restored a flaky UMC charge situation back to perfect results a couple of times doing this.
Oh, I wanted to share this .. just happened to me today at a destination charger (Tesla specific).
I was sequentially trying the different chargers there (3 of them) to find out if they all had the same charge power, they did.
But one of the Tesla handle buttons did not release the charge handle the way it should.. pressing the button caused the green ring to change dark blue... but not the light blue ("white"?) and therefore no lock release - I could not pull the handle. Tried a few times.
Soooo... I reached for my fob and, while holding the handle button down (dark blue ring) I did a long-press on the fob hatch which caused a latch unlock and then I did get the light blue ring.. and out the handle came when tugged.
Who knew?! It worked. Could come in useful for others to know about this trick if you find yourself a charger locked hostage.
Otherwise I'm not sure what I would have done next, and was recalling this thread, and the fact that I had a latch release cable inside - getting ready to dig into the car.. but tried this first.
I was sequentially trying the different chargers there (3 of them) to find out if they all had the same charge power, they did.
But one of the Tesla handle buttons did not release the charge handle the way it should.. pressing the button caused the green ring to change dark blue... but not the light blue ("white"?) and therefore no lock release - I could not pull the handle. Tried a few times.
Soooo... I reached for my fob and, while holding the handle button down (dark blue ring) I did a long-press on the fob hatch which caused a latch unlock and then I did get the light blue ring.. and out the handle came when tugged.
Who knew?! It worked. Could come in useful for others to know about this trick if you find yourself a charger locked hostage.
Otherwise I'm not sure what I would have done next, and was recalling this thread, and the fact that I had a latch release cable inside - getting ready to dig into the car.. but tried this first.
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