Charge port red light at Hawthorne SC

Some supercharger nozzles need some added force to properly click. Put your weight into it by leaning into the charge port as you push it in. I've had this issue as well, always resolved by a good, hard push.

thepianocian said:

New Model S owner here for 3 weeks now. Attempted to use the Supercharger stations for the first time this past week. I used the Buellton and the Hawthorne ones.

Buellton one gave me no issues whatsoever, awesome charge, was going around 310 miles/hr for a little bit.

Hawthorne has a 5 stations, in which I tried two of them and they both plugged into my car port with a red ring light. I removed and re-adjusted, still had red light. 3rd station I tried worked, but after I readjusted the plug a little bit.

Anyone heard of this issue? Is this something wrong with my port, or just the specific charge stations? Kind of paranoid because if my port is faulty... kinda SOL, especially that my Model S is my only mode of transport right now.

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I've seen on some other threads at TM that Hawthorne has had some supercharger failures recently. If in doubt, call TM and ask if they see a fault with the supercharger you are trying to plug into.

Mod Note: thread title amended for clarity.

had an issue @ Hawthorne last week as well. Initially it wouldn't charge and I had to get out of the car twice to unplug and re-plug. When it finally started charging, it was only at a rate of 80A, so I switched bays and worked fine from there. I hope the SC charging system does not become unreliable as overcrowding and inability to charge at "supercharged" rate, would mean a very long road trip.

lloyds said:

had an issue @ Hawthorne last week as well. Initially it wouldn't charge and I had to get out of the car twice to unplug and re-plug. When it finally started charging, it was only at a rate of 80A, so I switched bays and worked fine from there. I hope the SC charging system does not become unreliable as overcrowding and inability to charge at "supercharged" rate, would mean a very long road trip.

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Lloyds, wee you sharing a charger with another car? Typically the bays are numbered 1A; 1B; 2A; 2B, etc. Or, 1A, 2A, 3A...1B, 2B, 3B...If someone is on 1A and you hop on 1B since they were on first, they get the majority of the charging amps until they hit the tapering point. You will get the "leftover" amps until they finish.

thepianocian said:

3rd station I tried worked, but after I readjusted the plug a little bit.

Anyone heard of this issue? Is this something wrong with my port, or just the specific charge stations? Kind of paranoid because if my port is faulty... kinda SOL, especially that my Model S is my only mode of transport right now.

Click to expand...

I have trouble getting the plug to seat just so in the outlet. If not all the way in, on both main sides of the plug, it will show red. I am tall, and I think I plug in at a tall angle. My little weef does not have this problem.

The other fun thing was that I found that if you are touching the button (while plugging in) that flips open the outlet cover, it will not charge right. I have learned to keep my hand away from the button.

There is so much to know, that we are all learning, things like learning about a gas car which are almost legend and took years to know (like the old timers who tried to look in the tank with a candle, only now it's answering a cell phone while filling). These legends will slowly be replaced with group knowledge about electrics.