Wall Connector issue with my VW ID.4

[joeb316]

I have a Tesla Gen 3 Wall Connector which I've been using for over 2 years now. I've been using it over a year using a Lectron Tesla to J1772 adapter. I started having an issue with it about a month ago. It was the 40A version, and I was thinking that it had finally gone kaput because I was using it with a 48A setup. I replaced it with a newer "max 48A" version. Anyway, that does not appear to have fixed the issue. Here's what I'm seeing -
- When I charge my 2017 Model S, I have absolutely no issues using my wall connector. I get 48A and it "happily" charges my Tesla without any issues.
- When I plug in my 2021 Volkswagen ID.4, using the new Lectron adapter described above, the wall connector starts charging for a couple of seconds (cool green lights cycle), then clicks loudly, flashes a blue light for a second, then starts charging (green lights cycle) for a few more seconds. Then, the cycle repeats...over and over again if I let it. My car does charge, but VERY SLOWLY. Like, what used to take 2-3 hours to get charged, now takes 12 hrs plus.

Any ideas? Could this be the ID.4, or has something gone wrong with the charger? What would allow the Tesla to charge fine and the ID.4 only to have this issue?

 

[brkaus]

what if you plug the adapter into the cable, wait 15 seconds and then plug in the car?

 

[joeb316]

what if you plug the adapter into the cable, wait 15 seconds and then plug in the car?

I've tried this and I get the same result.

 

[brkaus]

I know on the gen2 there is a compatibility switch in the WC. I don't have the manual in front of me to see if the same is in WC Gen3.

The Tesla is using a different protocol to talk to the WC. Some of the adaptors are playing games to get the WC to switch to J1772 communications.

 

[AnselmDante]

As far as I know the charger monitors current and has built in fault protection. This sounds like the ID.4 is tripping fault protection over and over again. Maybe look to see what the blinking blue light represents.

EDIT: Per the user manual for the charger, a blue light indicates waiting/communicating with the vehicle. Since the charger works with Tesla, you may have to reach out to VW to see if there is a known communication issue that can be resolved with a patch.

 

[DerbyDave]

The Gen 3 wall connector is set up by connecting WiFI direct to it and "commissioning" it. In the configuration, you set whether the connector will charge only Teslas, or any car -- and the amp set up. You can set it up for the max 48Amps in the setup. It also is updated about once a year over the WiFi connection to your "home" WiFi configured in the commissioning, or you can download to a local device and config using a WiFI direct connection. You must have the password of the connector that is on the quick setup and box cover of the wall connector. It shows the steps. The attached wall connector quick setup was for my old connector. Don't use the password in it.

 

[joeb316]

The Gen 3 wall connector is set up by connecting WiFI direct to it and "commissioning" it. In the configuration, you set whether the connector will charge only Teslas, or any car -- and the amp set up. You can set it up for the max 48Amps in the setup. It also is updated about once a year over the WiFi connection to your "home" WiFi configured in the commissioning, or you can download to a local device and config using a WiFI direct connection. You must have the password of the connector that is on the quick setup and box cover of the wall connector. It shows the steps. The attached wall connector quick setup was for my old connector. Don't use the password in it.

Thanks, I’ll give this a shot. You don’t happen to work in imports/exports do you?

 

[DerbyDave]

You don’t happen to work in imports/exports do you?

No.

 

[joeb316]

Update - I called Tesla Wall Connector support and asked them about this issue. When I mentioned that I've been seeing this issue for about a month, the woman responded very quickly to ask if it possibly started after January 3rd. There was a firmware update that happened on January 3rd that possibly caused this issue. She rolled back my firmware to the previous version. I will be checking to see if this resolved the issue this evening. Fingers crossed!

 

[joeb316]

As far as I know the charger monitors current and has built in fault protection. This sounds like the ID.4 is tripping fault protection over and over again. Maybe look to see what the blinking blue light represents.

EDIT: Per the user manual for the charger, a blue light indicates waiting/communicating with the vehicle. Since the charger works with Tesla, you may have to reach out to VW to see if there is a known communication issue that can be resolved with a patch.

Called Tesla, and there was a firmware update pushed to my WC on Jan 3. It is very likely this is the root cause of the problem. Tesla rolled back my WC to the previous firmware and I will test it out this evening. Seems pretty likely that Tesla did something that "broke" the compatibility to my ID.4.

 

[Jeff-4]

Hello, joeb316! Was your VW issue resolved? I just installed a Tesla Universal Wall Connector (Gen 3) and am having issues with it charging my VW e-Golf. While the car charges when immediately plugging into the Wall Connector, it does not respond to a timed charging event after plugging in. Tesla acknowledges that something weird is happening, but they've asked me to confirm whether there are any fixes on the VW side (Ha, ha, ha, what issues with VW software?...).

 

[DerbyDave]

When you commissioned the wall connector, did you leave it to only charge Teslas, or did you change that value to Charge Any Car?

 

[Jeff-4]

It is set to "Charge Any Car." VW told me that there have been no software updates for the vehicle, which strongly points to Tesla software. This has happened before. When the Universal Wall Connector first came out, it would not correctly speak to Rivian, and a firmware fix had to be quickly pushed out.

 

[DerbyDave]

Make sure the wall connector has the latest firmware. Firmware 23.8.2

https://www.tesla.com/support/charging/wall-connector/troubleshooting#:~:text=Wall%20Connectors%20automatically%20receive%20firmware,best%20performance%20and%20latest%20features.

 

[Jeff-4]