Ready to charge. Unable to charge ... no power at station.

[Mechsmoto]

Hi guys/gals!

I have a 22 model 3 performance with 37,000 miles. 85% charged at home via gen 3 wall charger.

Went to help a friend late night .. 2 nights ago. Needed to use supercharger to make it home.

Plugged in, took dog for a pee. Came back. Car wasn't charging. Checked again... unplugged/plugged. Still no dice.

Panic settles in... Dual scroll button reset. No dice. Power off from screen .. nope.

Leave Melbourne station. Go to Cocoa I think it was. Same. Tried several stalls. All same.

Drove to Titusville... Same. Repeat all of the above. Same.

I know it has no issue charging at home. So go to hotel with destination charger. Wait 3-4 hours. Head for home.

Contact Tesla for service appointment. Waiting to hear back. Went to last working station juuuust for kicks.. nope.

Has anyone else already been there and done that with this? I'm scouring the net for clues... and can't find anything.

I fix everything, I can't stand it when something isn't working.. so this is definitely giving me a whole barrel full of joy!!

Really just want to know what's wrong, and why... So I can not drive around for the rest of days wondering when my charger will just randomly go to on me.

 

[fholbert]

Could it be an expired credit card issue?

 

[davewill]

Could it be an expired credit card issue?

I would think he would see that as an error instead of the no power error. I'd guess the HV junction box, which connects the inlet to the battery for DC charging, is not working right.

 

[Mechsmoto]

I would think he would see that as an error instead of the no power error. I'd guess the HV junction box, which connects the inlet to the battery for DC charging, is not working right.

Thank you guys for chiming in to help! Definitely not an expired card issue!

I did, actually try changing the method of payment that night juuuust in case. But it made no difference.

When I plug the supercharger in.. there is one blue light at the charge port. That light goes out a moment later... and nothing else happens.

My biggest concern is nothing at all has changed with the car. I had last supercharged without any issue on Sept 9th.

Since then, literally nothing has changed. I've plugged in and out to my home charger.
Whenever I'm running the scenario down to troubleshoot it.. the ONLY thing I can think of is the pins themselves somehow not making proper contact?

It's stating there is no power from the station/source..

This to me means there is something going on between the charge port itself and the charger. But again, I have a limited understanding of these things.

If the junction box you're mentioning above works similar to a relay... that makes sense to me that it's no longer making the "switch" to activate power.

 

[Mechsmoto]

I'm used to fixing everything myself. So it's killing me to have to take it to the repair center and "trust" whatever technician gets to work on it. I have 30 years experience in my field. Thinking of the new guy being on his second week, tearing up my car... gives me all kinds of vibes.

So much so, id rather pay for the part and fix it myself inspire of it being under warranty if at all possible.

 

[davewill]

This to me means there is something going on between the charge port itself and the charger. But again, I have a limited understanding of these things.

If the junction box you're mentioning above works similar to a relay... that makes sense to me that it's no longer making the "switch" to activate power.

That's exactly what it is. For normal AC charging, the power pins go to the PCS (the charger) which converts wall AC to the high voltage DC the battery needs to charge. When using a Supercharger, the HV junction box connects the power pins directly to the battery so the external charger can deliver the high voltage DC to charge the battery.

If you're that interested in the workings of the car, you should purchase the service manual. At least you'll be able to look at the service invoice and find those parts in the service manual, and hopefully understand the repair.

 

[Mechsmoto]

Thanks again for your reply and help! I was just in the service manual. Which mentioned the service mode, and explained how to enter it. I checked and found 2 codes. Photos attached.

 

[jjrandorin]

I'm used to fixing everything myself. So it's killing me to have to take it to the repair center and "trust" whatever technician gets to work on it. I have 30 years experience in my field. Thinking of the new guy being on his second week, tearing up my car... gives me all kinds of vibes.

So much so, id rather pay for the part and fix it myself inspire of it being under warranty if at all possible.

The problem with this is, you run the very real risk of getting in there, and either messing up something yourself (since you say you dont have a lot of experience with this) or finding something that actually needs to be replaced under warranty.... and Tesla refusing to cover it because they say you damaged it.

Even the "new guy on his second week" has a team of people at the service center backing him / her up, just like whatever field you are in, you likely back up less experienced workers.

Im not against people doing things themselves, far from it, but with that being said, they also should be prepared to accept responsibility for it. If your car is under warranty, but you dont want to let them fix it, thats up to you, but they likely are not going to hand you a bunch of parts for free for you to fix it, so you will be paying for fixing something you might not have to pay to fix.

If thats not a concern, or if you take it to them and they cant find it, then thats another story altogether.

In any case, hope you get it sorted out.

 

[Mechsmoto]

Yes sir! I'm on that same page. Im confident I can subscribe to diagnostics for a day for the $165 they charge... plug in an Ethernet cable... and get the repair code.

At that point, I may be able to see what's wrong... but Tesla will only warranty the parts, if a certified tech does the install.

Id rather not pay, for something that Tesla is ultimately responsible for.

I'm all over the place on it. I think when I have a clear understanding as to what is wrong, and why... I'll feel a whole lot better about it.

I love the car, wouldn't want to have to drive anything else. Just a bit worried that I'll be on all my future road trips wondering when my car will randomly decide it's not going to Supercharge... or charge at all for that matter.

Wife has a Leaf SL plus... that's honestly a great little around town car... just because of the chademo and not being able to reliably DC charge.

My comfort in having only EVs for our vehicles was in knowing the Tesla Superchargers are readily available, and most importantly reliable. Sure doesn't help much if my car itself isn't. I got sold on the performance, fuel savings, and the "built like a commercial truck... and should last a million miles", lines.

This has my whole head spinning... add in how they chopped prices... smh.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Could it be an expired credit card issue?

If that were the case, you would get a big flashing message across your screen, saying, no charging for you until you’ve paid your bill! Or something like that. I say this because I had experience this, by inadvertently using the wrong credit card, while travelling in the states. I think it might be something else entirely different. Good luck with that, please let us know how it turns out.

 

[gsmith123]

Im confident I can subscribe to diagnostics for a day for the $165 they charge... plug in an Ethernet cable... and get the repair code.

Are there a lot of faults where doing this would give you more info than is already shown in the service mode faults screen?

I guess I'm just surprised that the car has more info about such a critical feature (HV charging hardware) and isn't showing a more helpful fault.

 

[Unclepaul]

It is not unusual for Tesla to be able to remotely troubleshoot issues like this. Give them a call and see if they can remotely diagnose your issue and offer a way you can repair it yourself, or indicate what they would need to do in their shop to repair it.

They see lots of issues, so yours might be something they have seen before and can offer you advice.

 

[Mechsmoto]

Thanks so much to all of you for wanting to help!!!

It's my understanding if I pay for the diagnostics subscription... I'd be able to plug in an Ethernet cable to a laptop.. and it will run a check and show me the repair code.

I could then use that repair code to look up how to repair it via the service manual.

I should hear something back from service tomorrow. Technical team is supposed to reach out.

As soon as I have any updates I'll be sure to post!

Definitely hoping to help others moving forward who may end up with similar codes, and a similar situation.

 

[Mechsmoto]

I found a new code this evening. PCS_a023.

When I looked it up I found two different posts. One stated it's a known software issue with latest update... but I think that was a model Y.

I also found another post that stated the chart port ecu was replaced... and a third thread that mentioned chart port and another item I can't recall off the top of my head. Posting pics as notes.

 

[Mechsmoto]

Wanted to post an update today if what Tesla "technical team" found out. It's crickets though... Not a word all day out of them.

 

[Mechsmoto]

Still nothing from Tesla. I noticed today that my low voltage battery stays around 78-79%... is this by design? Anyone else with a lithium LV battery seeing the same. You can find it in service mode under LV battery.

 

[Gasaraki]

Yes sir! I'm on that same page. Im confident I can subscribe to diagnostics for a day for the $165 they charge... plug in an Ethernet cable... and get the repair code.

At that point, I may be able to see what's wrong... but Tesla will only warranty the parts, if a certified tech does the install.

Id rather not pay, for something that Tesla is ultimately responsible for.

I'm all over the place on it. I think when I have a clear understanding as to what is wrong, and why... I'll feel a whole lot better about it.

I love the car, wouldn't want to have to drive anything else. Just a bit worried that I'll be on all my future road trips wondering when my car will randomly decide it's not going to Supercharge... or charge at all for that matter.

Wife has a Leaf SL plus... that's honestly a great little around town car... just because of the chademo and not being able to reliably DC charge.

My comfort in having only EVs for our vehicles was in knowing the Tesla Superchargers are readily available, and most importantly reliable. Sure doesn't help much if my car itself isn't. I got sold on the performance, fuel savings, and the "built like a commercial truck... and should last a million miles", lines.

This has my whole head spinning... add in how they chopped prices... smh.

You have an issue that's covered under Tesla yet you don't want to take it to them because you don't trust them. You want to fix stuff yourself yet don't know how EVs and Teslas work. You don't want to pay for parts when you really don't have to if you let them fix it, and there's no warranty if you fix it yourself.

I like fixing stuff myself too but only for stuff I know I can do a good job. There are lots of professionals that know their field better than me. I can paint walls but a professional painter can do it a lot faster and better than me.

The diagnose is free if there is an issue, which looks like you do.

 

[Max Spaghetti]

I noticed today that my low voltage battery stays around 78-79%... is this by design?

I assume so.

It will last a lot longer that way.

 

[Mechsmoto]

You have an issue that's covered under Tesla yet you don't want to take it to them because you don't trust them. You want to fix stuff yourself yet don't know how EVs and Teslas work. You don't want to pay for parts when you really don't have to if you let them fix it, and there's no warranty if you fix it yourself.

I like fixing stuff myself too but only for stuff I know I can do a good job. There are lots of professionals that know their field better than me. I can paint walls but a professional painter can do it a lot faster and better than me.

The diagnose is free if there is an issue, which looks like you do.

I hear you. I didn't say I make sense.

I stated I do everything myself, and if I don't know how to do it... I figure out a way.

Nothing I do is done halfway or lackluster or whatever it is you might be thinking.

I'm not a contractor, but I learned how to install a septic system myself for example. Didn't use a fancy laser level or even a back hoe. Just a 4 ft level, shovel, and a rake.

When I told the inspector I was doing it myself... in a similar way to your comment... he told me there was no way id pass inspection on firt try.

When he came to do the inspection, I did pass on the first try. The ONLY difference between us, and a professional... is they've already done the same job many times over.

Some take great pride in their work, others just want to get things done as quickly as possible.

For me, it's not that I don't trust Tesla. I don't trust mechanics... which is why I do my own work.

Let me give you an example of how my mind works.

Your right I know nothing about EVs. But I have extensive knowledge in troubleshooting.

So while waiting for Tesla to tell me what's wrong with my car. I still haven't gotten anything from them by the way.

I've been able to learn I could get access to the service manual... which literally gives step by step instructions how to do the repairs.

I've used that manual to learn about service mode. I then used service mode to see a working diagram of my car charging properly off of a wall charger.

Next I used service mode to confirm what's wrong when I'm connected to a supercharger. What I found out, is I'm missing the pilot signal. I'll attach photos for your reference.

Now knowing it works off a wall charger... but not off the supercharger. I need to figure out what changes. The charge port ECU is able to process a pilot signal and complete charging via Wall Charger. So the charge port ECU should more than likely be ok.

Now think to yourself... what is the ONKy thing that physically changes between wall charging and supercharger?

If you realize it's the handle... then it's fairly safe to believe that the charge port is the issue?

The car is always charged at home, but it's also always plugged in. It's been plugged and unplugged 100's and 100's of times.

Does any of what I'm saying here make sense?

Do you still believe I would just randomly start tearing into my car? Or does it make slightly more sense that I would ONLY do the repair after I've done all my research and made sure I'm more than capable of doing all steps needed to complete the repair?

 

[Mechsmoto]

I would say at this point... even with my limited knowledge of the technical workings of EV's

I'm feeling very confident it's the Charge port itself that is the core issue. Would a loose connection at the pilot pin arc out... and possibly burn up contacts in charge port ECU? That I'm not sure? But as soon as I can get Tesla to give me a few moments of their time and troubleshoot it from their end... I will be sure to post here for anyone who runs into this issue moving forward.

Even iffff your not comfortable doing the work yourself... there is never any harm in learning, knowing, and understanding how the different systems in any vehicle or machine work. Well, at least for me, and in my humble opinion.