Can’t charge at 120v nor 240v but can charge at 200v.

[gmr3]

Just took delivery of my new Model 3 on Friday (March 10th). Tried charging at home with my J1772 - MUSTART Level 2 portable charger (NEMA 14-50 plug). Handshake starts, hear a click or two, the Tesla light at the car’s charge port blinks blue then stays solid blue (”Charging Stopped”). Get a “CP_a058 Unable to AC charge - Unplug and retry” and a “CP-a010 Charging equipment communication error”.

Tried restarting my car with brake + holding down both steering controls (But that only reboots the display, right? - Tesla Support suggested it reboots the whole car.)
Also tried “Power down”(?) button under support menu (If I remember correctly?)

Retried charging a few times making sure to plug adapter and plug are in well.

Always immediately stops charging at home (never see green charge port light)

Puzzling because my car charges OK at my town’s L2 J1772 station. Would that also be A/C charging, like I am trying to do at home?
My town’s charger shows 200 volts / 30 amps (actually my car‘s display shows that) and a green light at the car’s port.
That’s a relief- So no problem with my brand new car, nor the adapter that came with it.
Also successfully used a Supercharger but that’s DC fast charging, so a different “ball game”.

Telsa Support basically says they can see an “unexpected voltage“ error but can offer no suggestions besides using a different charger or scheduling a service appointment to make sure there is nothing wrong with the car. Nearest service location is 65 miles away and doubting they’d drive out for this unless I also has a Tesla mobile or wall charger?

Here is the real puzzler: I also have a 1st generation Level 1 “Voltec” charger that came with the Chevy Volt. It has a button that sets 8 and 12 amp charging. My Model 3 also fails to charge with that too! Both 8 and 12 amp settings give same solid blue light. My outlet shows 121 volts with a multimeter. Tried that same L1 charger at my friend’s home across town and same result.

Any ideas?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post but thought it best to share all details up front.

What could possibly be the difference between my town’s Level 2 and my home’s L2? Kicker is that my 2017 Chevy Volt has zero problems charging at my home for over a year with both chargers.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Clearly something in your home setup isn't cutting the mustard. Maybe you have some loose terminals in your main/sub panel that are causing voltage fluctuations? I'd poke the plug with a voltmeter while starting to charge and see if it drops more than 5-10% and/or behaves erratically when trying to start a charge.

200V is normal from a public level 2 charger since they commonly use 3-phase (208V) power rather than 2-phase (240V). Your car won't care about the voltage and yes, this proves that everything in the car is fine since the charging method is identical to what you have at home.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Just took delivery of my new Model 3 on Friday (March 10th). Tried charging at home with my J1772 - MUSTART Level 2 portable charger (NEMA 14-50 plug). Handshake starts, hear a click or two, the Tesla light at the car’s charge port blinks blue then stays solid blue (”Charging Stopped”). Get a “CP_a058 Unable to AC charge - Unplug and retry” and a “CP-a010 Charging equipment communication error”.

Tried restarting my car with brake + holding down both steering controls (But that only reboots the display, right? - Tesla Support suggested it reboots the whole car.)
Also tried “Power down”(?) button under support menu (If I remember correctly?)

Retried charging a few times making sure to plug adapter and plug are in well.

Always immediately stops charging at home (never see green charge port light)

Puzzling because my car charges OK at my town’s L2 J1772 station. Would that also be A/C charging, like I am trying to do at home?
My town’s charger shows 200 volts / 30 amps (actually my car‘s display shows that) and a green light at the car’s port.
That’s a relief- So no problem with my brand new car, nor the adapter that came with it.
Also successfully used a Supercharger but that’s DC fast charging, so a different “ball game”.

Telsa Support basically says they can see an “unexpected voltage“ error but can offer no suggestions besides using a different charger or scheduling a service appointment to make sure there is nothing wrong with the car. Nearest service location is 65 miles away and doubting they’d drive out for this unless I also has a Tesla mobile or wall charger?

Here is the real puzzler: I also have a 1st generation Level 1 “Voltec” charger that came with the Chevy Volt. It has a button that sets 8 and 12 amp charging. My Model 3 also fails to charge with that too! Both 8 and 12 amp settings give same solid blue light. My outlet shows 121 volts with a multimeter. Tried that same L1 charger at my friend’s home across town and same result.

Any ideas?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post but thought it best to share all details up front.

What could possibly be the difference between my town’s Level 2 and my home’s L2? Kicker is that my 2017 Chevy Volt has zero problems charging at my home for over a year with both chargers.

Look for a Tesla destination charger and test there first:
Find Us | Tesla

That will make sure if it is a problem with your onboard charger or handshake (although theoretically your town's L2 station may be a valid test of that already).

It could be there are compatibility issues with your Voltec or MUSTART chargers. A quick search found this example, although the error was different (suggests perhaps wiggling J1772 adapter might change things). If your third party chargers have their own status/error lights, I would check also if they show anything.
Charging with VOLTEC L2 Inconsistent

You may want to check if your J1772 adapter (and the ports on your other chargers) have anything stuck in the contacts or if the contacts are dirty. If you have a multimeter you might be able to check continuity/resistance if perhaps there is a high resistance connection or if there is a pin that is disconnected or have a intermittent connection.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Why are you seeing just 121 volts from a 14-50 receptacle? What voltage do you see from the two hot blades?

 

[mongo]

Why are you seeing just 121 volts from a 14-50 receptacle? What voltage do you see from the two hot blades?

I read it as 121 is the L1 Voltec cord, 8 or 12 A for a 120V, 15 or 20 amp plug, not the 14-50.

 

[dafish]

My firs thought was 208 3p as well.

Please tell us this:

Are you in a home, appt complext, or?
What is leg one to neutral voltage?
What is leg two to neutreal volrate?
What is leg one to leg two voltage?
Finally, how have you tested the Mustart to confirm it's OK?
Are you using a j1772 adapter to get to the Tesla, and if so how has it been tested?

 

[davewill]

It's fairly rare, but sometimes the Tesla will have compatibility problems with old J1772 EVSEs. The fact that you struck out twice kind of argues against that, but the only thing that really leaves, considering your troubleshooting steps, is something with the house wiring.

I also think the voltage is not an issue.

The test I would want to make is testing with a Tesla mobile connector at your house. I don't suppose you know anyone who has one?

Edit: Testing with your EVSEs at another location could also be useful.

 

[stopcrazypp]

It's fairly rare, but sometimes the Tesla will have compatibility problems with old J1772 EVSEs. The fact that you struck out twice kind of argues against that, but the only thing that really leaves, considering your troubleshooting steps, is something with the house wiring.

I also think the voltage is not an issue.

The test I would want to make is testing with a Tesla mobile connector at your house. I don't suppose you know anyone who has one?

Edit: Testing with your EVSEs at another location could also be useful.

They tested at a friend's already:
"Tried that same L1 charger at my friend’s home across town and same result."

 

[DrChaos]

What could possibly be the difference between my town’s Level 2 and my home’s L2? Kicker is that my 2017 Chevy Volt has zero problems charging at my home for over a year with both chargers.

It still could be either the J1772 adapter or your home L2. The car said something about a communications error. Perhaps the pins for the communication part of either your charging cable or the adapter don't quite make contact properly, but it worked ok with the 208V cable as its pins were a little different.

The best diagnostic is a Tesla charger with no adapter. If that works consistently then its not the car's problem.

 

[gmr3]

I read it as 121 is the L1 Voltec cord, 8 or 12 A for a 120V, 15 or 20 amp plug, not the 14-50

That’s correct. My regular household 110/120v outlet showed 121 volts. The 14-50 plug shows roughly 245 volts with each “side” around 120 volts but I’ll confirm later today.

 

[Rocky_H]

It sounds like all of these tries so far are using J1772 plugs with the adapter. I would like to see a test with that adapter variable eliminated, so finding a Tesla plug level 2 would be a good check.

 

[KenC]

Just took delivery of my new Model 3 on Friday (March 10th). Tried charging at home with my J1772 - MUSTART Level 2 portable charger (NEMA 14-50 plug). Handshake starts, hear a click or two, the Tesla light at the car’s charge port blinks blue then stays solid blue (”Charging Stopped”). Get a “CP_a058 Unable to AC charge - Unplug and retry” and a “CP-a010 Charging equipment communication error”.

Tried restarting my car with brake + holding down both steering controls (But that only reboots the display, right? - Tesla Support suggested it reboots the whole car.)
Also tried “Power down”(?) button under support menu (If I remember correctly?)

Retried charging a few times making sure to plug adapter and plug are in well.

Always immediately stops charging at home (never see green charge port light)

Puzzling because my car charges OK at my town’s L2 J1772 station. Would that also be A/C charging, like I am trying to do at home?
My town’s charger shows 200 volts / 30 amps (actually my car‘s display shows that) and a green light at the car’s port.
That’s a relief- So no problem with my brand new car, nor the adapter that came with it.
Also successfully used a Supercharger but that’s DC fast charging, so a different “ball game”.

Telsa Support basically says they can see an “unexpected voltage“ error but can offer no suggestions besides using a different charger or scheduling a service appointment to make sure there is nothing wrong with the car. Nearest service location is 65 miles away and doubting they’d drive out for this unless I also has a Tesla mobile or wall charger?

Here is the real puzzler: I also have a 1st generation Level 1 “Voltec” charger that came with the Chevy Volt. It has a button that sets 8 and 12 amp charging. My Model 3 also fails to charge with that too! Both 8 and 12 amp settings give same solid blue light. My outlet shows 121 volts with a multimeter. Tried that same L1 charger at my friend’s home across town and same result.

Any ideas?
Any advice is greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post but thought it best to share all details up front.

What could possibly be the difference between my town’s Level 2 and my home’s L2? Kicker is that my 2017 Chevy Volt has zero problems charging at my home for over a year with both chargers.

A 1st gen Voltec charger is quite old. Your Mustart portable uses NEMA 14-50, so why don't you use the Tesla portable EVSE? Or did you not get one? Incompatibilities are always possible.

 

[gmr3]

My firs thought was 208 3p as well.

Please tell us this:

Are you in a home, appt complext, or?
What is leg one to neutral voltage?
What is leg two to neutreal volrate?
What is leg one to leg two voltage?
Finally, how have you tested the Mustart to confirm it's OK?
Are you using a j1772 adapter to get to the Tesla, and if so how has it been tested?

Answers:
I’m at a home (residential suburb).
I am assuming you’re asking about the 14-50 wall plug voltages?:
- leg one to neutral = 120.7v
- leg two to neutral = 120.8v
- leg one to leg two = 243v
Mustart still works fine giving 16 amps to my 2017 Chevy Volt.
Yes, using the same Tesla J1772 adapter with both the Mustart & Voltec chargers - and also at my Town’s public charger. Since it works OK at my town’s public charge station, I figure that means the adapter is likely OK. As @stopcrazypp suggested, I examined the J1772 plug & adapter for debris. Found a little bit of fuzz which was easily cleaned out. Still no success. I even tried some gentle twisting (“torquing“) of the charger handle after it plugs in (along the lines of the wiggling that the link @stopcrazypp found) but that didn’t result in any change: Always ends with same solid blue light.

Will try some of the other suggestions this weekend, like finding a Tesla destination charger & check for loose connections from the electrical panel to the plug.
Thanks All.

 

[wws]

That 8/12 amp charge cable is from a 2011-2012 Volt. It may not fully conform to the J1772 spec. Can you try the one that came with your 2017 Volt? The latter is a much better design. I've tried the one that came with our 2016 Volt with my Model 3 and it works fine.

 

[gmr3]

That 8/12 amp charge cable is from a 2011-2012 Volt. It may not fully conform to the J1772 spec. Can you try the one that came with your 2017 Volt? The latter is a much better design. I've tried the one that came with our 2016 Volt with my Model 3 and it works fine.

Good to know the newer Chevy Volt charger works but, unfortunately I bought my 2017 Volt used and it oddly came with the 1st generation Volt charger.

 

[gmr3]

It sounds like all of these tries so far are using J1772 plugs with the adapter. I would like to see a test with that adapter variable eliminated, so finding a Tesla plug level 2 would be a good check.

As @Rocky_H, @DrChaos, and others recommended, I went to the only Tesla Destination Charger in about a 25 mile radius (hard to believe that’s the case here on the Connecticut - Massachusetts border!?) and my TM3 charged with no problems. So that means odds are very high my problem is either house wiring and/or compatibility problem with both EVSEs, right? I’m going to check the wiring and connections in the 14-50 outlet. Actually, going to change out the outlet from a Leviton brand to Bryant (owned by Hubbell), so there is less chance of a meltdown that others have sometimes seen (if I’m able to get charging working at all).
After all this troubleshooting, if improved wiring & outlet doesn’t help, I am hoping buying a Tesla mobile charger will be a last resort fix! Other than that, I‘m out of ideas.

 

[DrChaos]

As @Rocky_H, @DrChaos, and others recommended, I went to the only Tesla Destination Charger in about a 25 mile radius (hard to believe that’s the case here on the Connecticut - Massachusetts border!?) and my TM3 charged with no problems. So that means odds are very high my problem is either house wiring and/or compatibility problem with both EVSEs, right? I’m going to check the wiring and connections in the 14-50 outlet. Actually, going to change out the outlet from a Leviton brand to Bryant (owned by Hubbell), so there is less chance of a meltdown that others have sometimes seen (if I’m able to get charging working at all).
After all this troubleshooting, if improved wiring & outlet doesn’t help, I am hoping buying a Tesla mobile charger will be a last resort fix! Other than that, I‘m out of ideas.

I think the problem is less likely to be your house wiring than poor connections or incompatibility with your L2 EVSE or the adapter. Did you ever use a different adapter. Though upgrading the outlet is always a good idea.

 

[DrChaos]

Answers:
I’m at a home (residential suburb).
after it plugs in (along the lines of the wiggling that the link @stopcrazypp found) but that didn’t result in any change: Always ends with same solid blue light.

If you're getting a solid blue light then that means it should be good to charge. Check on your app that you don't have any scheduled or deferred charging schedule for at home, or 'charge on off peak hours' set. In a Tesla these settings are location specific (usually a good idea) so when you went to the destination charger they wouldn't be set and it would charge immediately.

 

[gmr3]

If you're getting a solid blue light then that means it should be good to charge. Check on your app that you don't have any scheduled or deferred charging schedule for at home, or 'charge on off peak hours' set. In a Tesla these settings are location specific (usually a good idea) so when you went to the destination charger they wouldn't be set and it would charge immediately.

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll double check that the solid blue Tesla light might actually be a slow pulsing blue. Sorry, I’ll double check.
The app has both scheduled & ‘charge on off peak hours’ not selected.
I didn’t try a different J1772 to Tesla adapter but used it successfully at two different public chargers (different brands of charging stations: A brand new IntegraENERGY station at a Nissan dealership and as I mentioned at my town hall which had an older charger. Don‘t recall the brand exactly - name started maybe with a “Wee” or “Bee”?)
I guess the really old Voltec EVSE that also does not work at my home (fails at both the 8 amp & 12 amp settings plugged into two different standard wall outlets - even tried it at two other houses!) would suggest the problem is not the wiring specific to my NEMA 14-50 outlet. However, as @wws said, being so old the Voltec “may not fully conform to the J1772 spec”. Too bad 14-50 outlets aren’t more common or I could try at another location.

 

[stopcrazypp]

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll double check that the solid blue Tesla light might actually be a slow pulsing blue. Sorry, I’ll double check.
The app has both scheduled & ‘charge on off peak hours’ not selected.
I didn’t try a different J1772 to Tesla adapter but used it successfully at two different public chargers (different brands of charging stations: A brand new IntegraENERGY station at a Nissan dealership and as I mentioned at my town hall which had an older charger. Don‘t recall the brand exactly - name started maybe with a “Wee” or “Bee”?)
I guess the really old Voltec EVSE that also does not work at my home (fails at both the 8 amp & 12 amp settings plugged into two different standard wall outlets - even tried it at two other houses!) would suggest the problem is not the wiring specific to my NEMA 14-50 outlet. However, as @wws said, being so old the Voltec “may not fully conform to the J1772 spec”. Too bad 14-50 outlets aren’t more common or I could try at another location.

In case it helps, here's the car status lights from the manual:

• BLUE: Model 3 detects that a connector has been plugged in.
• BLINKING BLUE: Model 3 is communicating with the connector. Either Model 3 is preparing to charge, or a charging session is scheduled to begin at a specified future time.
• BLINKING GREEN: Charging is in progress. As Model 3 approaches a full charge, the frequency of the blinking slows.
• SOLID GREEN: Charging is complete.
• SOLID AMBER: The connector is not fully plugged in. Realign the connector to the charge port and insert fully.
• BLINKING AMBER: Model 3 is charging at a reduced current (AC charging only).
• RED: A fault is detected and charging has stopped. Check the touchscreen for an alert.

Model 3 Owner's Manual | Tesla