Problems charging at home :(

Hello-

I brought home my S85 today and plugged into my Voltec charger that I was using for my Chevy Volt, using the J1772 adapter. The S seemed pretty happy when I initially plugged it in. Watching the screen, the voltage varied between 240-242V and it was pulling 15A/15A, which is the max the Voltec charging station is rated for.

After about 10 minutes, however, the amperage dropped down to zero amps quite rapidly (within a second) and I could hear some heavy duty relays in the S clicking by the plug receptacle area. It then tried to restart the charging, voltage was around 240-242V, and I could see the amperage trying to increase from zero amps, but the amperage would just go to around 1 amp then drop back down to zero. Then I got the error message, "unable to charge/unplug and try again." I did unplug and replug, it would charge normally for about 5 minutes, then the same thing would happen again.

I am almost 100% certain that it is a problem OUTSIDE of the car because it charged fine using J1772 and supercharging today elsewhere.

Any idea what could be causing this? I've got it plugging at 12A/120V for now, but would like to troubleshoot this. For starters, how do I know if this is a problem with my charging station or some other type of electrical problem?

Thanks!

Hodginator said:

I have a Voltec charger as well and have had no problems charging (every night since June). It's possible the Tesla is detecting a problem from the charger. I recommend calling Tesla and they may be able to determine what the car is seeing. I think your suspicion is correct that it is outside of the car (perhaps a bad ground).

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So if I call Tesla, they'll be able to tell me the reason why the S isn't taking a charge?

And if it was a bad ground, would the S start charging in the first place?

ken830 said:

Have you tried to lower the charge current?

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Have not. Trying that now. Lowered amperage to 10A.

santana338 said:

I would guess your charger overheated or somehow faulted. Tesla might be able to give you some idea of why the car stopped charging. Have you tried charging the Volt with the charger to make sure it still works in that situation?

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The Volt is sold

Hodginator said:

Good questions. I'm not sure as I haven't been in this situation, but based on your description it sounds like the car is trying to find a current the charger can handle. If your voltage isn't dropping I would suspect a bad ground or faulty Voltec charger. Tesla may be able to provide more details.

On on a side note. Have you tried setting the amperage low for a while to see what happens? Try manually setting it to 5amps and see if it keeps charging.

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Trying that now.

stevezzzz said:

Recommend you call your local service center and have them pull logs from the car; they'll be able to see what the fault is.

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Steve, thanks. Just got off the phone with Tesla service. They said they are contacting engineering (I think they said engineering) to get the logs, but they said it would take 4 hours. Unfortunately, the service center is closing in an hour so they said they would have them tomorrow.

Todd Burch said:

I also think lowering the current would help. Incidentally, if you can get a NEMA 14-50 installed, you won't regret the extra 25 amps and the reduced hardware!

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Yeah, if I can't figure out what's going on with this Voltec charger, I think I'm going to install the NEMA 14-50 tomorrow evening. Just gotta figure out how to wire the plug as I am not familiar with this type of plug off the top of my head. A topic for the forum tomorrow perhaps

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scaesare said:

Out of curiosity, what is the circuit you have the Voltec charger installed on rated for?

I know nothing about them... but 15A is a little "odd" for a voltage, given that circuits are typically rated for 80% of their peak capacity. This if it were on a 20A circuit, I'd expect it to be rated to supply 16A. If it were on a 15A circuit, I'd expect it to supply 12.

So, perhaps it's installed correctly, but I thought it might be worthwhile confirming it's not set up to try and deliver 15A on a 15A circuit...

-sc

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I put the Voltec on its own 20A circuit, per the instructions that came with the charging station. I realize 80% of 20A is 16A, but for whatever reason, when I plugged the Voltec in, it defaulted to 15A on the S.

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ken830 said:

Have you tried to lower the charge current?

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Through Todd Burch and to everyone who suggested lowering the amperage. No dice. I just got the whole "charge interrupted" thing all over again at 10A, which is way below what the charging station/circuit should be able to handle.

NigelM said:

Please check out this FAQ post before doing any electrical work; it's critically important to get the wire size correct for a NEMA 14-50. If in doubt, call an electrician.

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Thanks. I will check it out. I am NOT an electrician, but have taken some classes at a local community college and am pretty comfortable doing basic/intermediate electrical work. I will definitely read your FAQ post.

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Todd Burch said:

Have you tried unplugging the J1772 adapter, checking it for debris, and reseating it to make sure there's a good electrical connection?

Try this: Set the current to the lowest possible, and observe the voltage when it starts and reaches a steady state. Watch it to see how much the voltage drops. My guess is that you have voltage sag for some reason. How long is the wire run from your panel to the charger, and are you aware of the wire gauge being used? Do you know if it's aluminum or copper?

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Definitely copper. The gauge was the appropriate gauge for a 20A circuit over the length of the (short) run. I don't recall either as it has been a few years since I installed it.

Voltage sag was my first thought, too. I sat and stared at the voltage indicator the whole time. The S did not indicate any noticeable decrease in voltage at any time. I did see the voltage go up briefly to 249V at one point after the S stopped charging.

All through Todd......I'm done troubleshooting for tonight. 12A @ 115V will have to do for now I'll write back with what the Tesla engineers had to say when I get the info tomorrow. Thanks all for your help.

NigelM said:

Please check out this FAQ post before doing any electrical work; it's critically important to get the wire size correct for a NEMA 14-50. If in doubt, call an electrician.

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Reading that FAQ and the posts above, what's the difference between the NEMA 14-50 and the NEMA 14-50R referred to in the FAQ linked?