First time(s) using Tesla Superchargers didn't work

[infinihertz]

Hi everyone,

My 2021 Job 1 isn't EA, but seems to consistently have been among the earliest non-EA cars to get software updates over the past 3+ years. I got the update to enable Supercharger access in February. My most recent update was in mid-June for the easier door entry update. I believe I have every update except BC 1.3 (still on 1.0).

I got my Supercharger adapter around the end of June, and was finally on a road trip last weekend where I wanted to try it out. I used the Public Charging map in the FordPass app on my phone (not in the car) to find an exit about 200 miles in the direction I was going that had 12 Superchargers that it said were compatible, and also at the same exit 2 CCS fast chargers, in case anything went wrong. I went to the Superchargers, and only one Tesla was there, and seemed to be charging fine. I followed the very minimal instructions that came with the adapter, plugging the Supercharger cable into the adapter, into the car, and after a while (maybe 30 seconds), I'd get the error in the car "Charging station fault. See manual." The lights by the charger would then turn orange. I pressed the release button, removed the adapter, the plug from the adapter, put the plug back in the charging dock, etc. and tried again. I tried restarting the car in-between, I tried leaving the car on, I tried leaving accessories on but not the car, etc. I did it 5 or 6 times, and it always failed. I then moved to a different charger since there were 12, tried another 5-6 times and they all failed. I tried on a third, and they all failed. I started to worry that something was wrong with my car's fast charging in general. But then I drove down the street to the other CCS fast chargers (they're rated at up to 320 kW, way more than I can use), and they worked fine. They didn't do plug and charge, which I hoped they might since they were in FordPass, but otherwise no issues.

I had the HVJB recall in May, but never had battery or charging issues before or after the recall. I've only fast charged about 5 times ever. I've used L2 charging at a bunch of places, and of course at home daily.

Is it possible that there are more updates I'm missing beyond the one that explicitly told me months ago I could use Superchargers? Or is it likely something else? I'm out of the normal 3 year warranty, and I know the battery and related components have a much longer warranty, but I don't know if it's a waste of time to go to the dealer for this.

Thanks!

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[bshaw]

If you are looking for Tesla Superchargers, just use the Tesla app to find them.
Tesla app works great, configure the app for MachE with adapter and it will only show you locations that work for MachE.

You can still pay thru Ford plug and charge, since you got that update in Feb.

 

[hybrid2bev]

Hi everyone,

My 2021 Job 1 isn't EA, but seems to consistently have been among the earliest non-EA cars to get software updates over the past 3+ years. I got the update to enable Supercharger access in February. My most recent update was in mid-June for the easier door entry update. I believe I have every update except BC 1.3 (still on 1.0).

I got my Supercharger adapter around the end of June, and was finally on a road trip last weekend where I wanted to try it out. I used the Public Charging map in the FordPass app on my phone (not in the car) to find an exit about 200 miles in the direction I was going that had 12 Superchargers that it said were compatible, and also at the same exit 2 CCS fast chargers, in case anything went wrong. I went to the Superchargers, and only one Tesla was there, and seemed to be charging fine. I followed the very minimal instructions that came with the adapter, plugging the Supercharger cable into the adapter, into the car, and after a while (maybe 30 seconds), I'd get the error in the car "Charging station fault. See manual." The lights by the charger would then turn orange. I pressed the release button, removed the adapter, the plug from the adapter, put the plug back in the charging dock, etc. and tried again. I tried restarting the car in-between, I tried leaving the car on, I tried leaving accessories on but not the car, etc. I did it 5 or 6 times, and it always failed. I then moved to a different charger since there were 12, tried another 5-6 times and they all failed. I tried on a third, and they all failed. I started to worry that something was wrong with my car's fast charging in general. But then I drove down the street to the other CCS fast chargers (they're rated at up to 320 kW, way more than I can use), and they worked fine. They didn't do plug and charge, which I hoped they might since they were in FordPass, but otherwise no issues.

I had the HVJB recall in May, but never had battery or charging issues before or after the recall. I've only fast charged about 5 times ever. I've used L2 charging at a bunch of places, and of course at home daily.

Is it possible that there are more updates I'm missing beyond the one that explicitly told me months ago I could use Superchargers? Or is it likely something else? I'm out of the normal 3 year warranty, and I know the battery and related components have a much longer warranty, but I don't know if it's a waste of time to go to the dealer for this.

Thanks!

Do you have Plug and Charge enabled in FordPass (it shows Tesla as eligible too)?

Did you try to activate the charger before plugging in (bypass Plug and Charge)?

Did you try activating the charger via the Tesla app before plugging in?

 

[infinihertz]

Do you have Plug and Charge enabled in FordPass (it shows Tesla as eligible too)?

Did you try to activate the charger before plugging in (bypass Plug and Charge)?

Did you try activating the charger via the Tesla app before plugging in?

I do have Plug and Charge enabled in FordPass.

I don't have the Tesla app installed. Since the adapter instructions didn't mention it and the stations showed up in Public Charging (and it flagged ones that weren't compatible), I didn't think I needed to.

When you say "activate the charger before plugging in" is that also via the Tesla app? I didn't do anything other than what Ford's instructions said to do.

There's a set of Superchargers about 8 miles away from me, so I may try again in the coming days there once I know what to do.

Thanks!

 

[Mach-Lee]

When you say "activate the charger before plugging in" is that also via the Tesla app? I didn't do anything other than what Ford's instructions said to do.

Tesla app or Ford app. This is what that looks like:

 

[Mach-Lee]

I followed the very minimal instructions that came with the adapter, plugging the Supercharger cable into the adapter, into the car, and after a while (maybe 30 seconds), I'd get the error in the car "Charging station fault. See manual." The lights by the charger would then turn orange. I pressed the release button, removed the adapter, the plug from the adapter, put the plug back in the charging dock, etc. and tried again. I tried restarting the car in-between, I tried leaving the car on, I tried leaving accessories on but not the car, etc. I did it 5 or 6 times, and it always failed. I then moved to a different charger since there were 12, tried another 5-6 times and they all failed.

And FYI if you get a lock actuator error (it won't tell you that), all DC charging is disabled until the car has been completely shut down for at least 5 minutes. Every single DC charger you try after that will fail until the car has had a chance to go to sleep. So if you run into that situation again, try this.

 

[infinihertz]

And FYI if you get a lock actuator error (it won't tell you that), all DC charging is disabled until the car has been completely shut down for at least 5 minutes. Every single DC charger you try after that will fail until the car has had a chance to go to sleep. So if you run into that situation again, try this.

Thanks for both of these posts. I picked the location in the app and hit the arrow to send navigation to Apple Maps, but didn’t know I could tap the name to activate a charger. That isn’t a very intuitive UI to me.

I’ll try that and (if applicable) dealing with the lock actuator error sometime soon and see if that fixes it.

I guess I shouldn’t have expected it to literally just “plug and charge,” given how haphazard everything else has been. But I was hoping. Thanks!

 

[Mach-Lee]

I guess I shouldn’t have expected it to literally just “plug and charge,” given how haphazard everything else has been. But I was hoping. Thanks!

It *SHOULD* work provided you got the Supercharger OTA and your credit card on file is not expired. Otherwise you will have to manually activate it. FWIW, Plug & Charge worked just fine on the first Supercharger I ever tried back in March.

 

[infinihertz]

It *SHOULD* work provided you got the Supercharger OTA and your credit card on file is not expired. Otherwise you will have to manually activate it. FWIW, Plug & Charge worked just fine on the first Supercharger I ever tried back in March.

Thanks, that’s good to know. I’ll try to just plug and charge at the one near me, then fall back to the other approach if it doesn’t work.

 

[zvez]

Thanks, that’s good to know. I’ll try to just plug and charge at the one near me, then fall back to the other approach if it doesn’t work.

I never public charge but I really need to try out the adapter locally so if I do need it on the road, I'll have some idea what to do.

 

[Billyk24]

Was the OP using the A2Z adaptor? Might have that common issue of the lock latch not engaged. 2021 Job1? Mine was buult in November 2020 and I have no issue using Tesla stations.

 

[ack154]

Thanks, that’s good to know. I’ll try to just plug and charge at the one near me, then fall back to the other approach if it doesn’t work.

Has plug and charge worked with any other chargers (like EA)? If not, or you're not sure, you may want to disable and then enable P&C again in the app. I had to do that the other day before testing my adapter. It has never actually worked for me on other chargers and it worked fine on the Tesla charger after that.

Energy -> Access & Permissions -> Plug & Charge

 

[infinihertz]

Was the OP using the A2Z adaptor? Might have that common issue of the lock latch not engaged. 2021 Job1? Mine was buult in November 2020 and I have no issue using Tesla stations.

It’s the official Tesla adapter I got from Ford. Order number was around 1000 and I got it in late June. The car was built December 2020.

 

[infinihertz]

Has plug and charge worked with any other chargers (like EA)? If not, or you're not sure, you may want to disable and then enable P&C again in the app. I had to do that the other day before testing my adapter. It has never actually worked for me on other chargers and it worked fine on the Tesla charger after that.

Energy -> Access & Permissions -> Plug & Charge

No, Plug & Charge has never worked. Though to be fair, I’m not sure if my attempts before this past weekend were with chargers that were in the network. The last time I fast charged was before the Public Charging feature existed. I had gone in and changed the linked credit card before this attempt, but I didn’t fully disable and reenable it. I’ll try that too. Thanks.

 

[YeOldeTraveller]

Doesn't help your issue directly, but P&C worked first time with the adapter and the Magic Dock I tried before my first road trip.

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