Fix: Tesla Model S Not Charging or Stopped Charging

Tesla Model S did introduce the EV (Electric Vehicle) revolution in the car market and now the newly launched 2023 Tesla Model S. It brings longer driving ranges, sedan-like hatchback, top-notch performance, and more. The new model offers a higher price tag which might not be suitable enough for all due to its mid-luxe interior or design. But recently some Tesla Model S EV not been charging or stopped charging issues in some cases which is frustrating.

It becomes a nightmare for every electric car owner to experience the battery charging issue or even not charging the battery issue. Whenever you go out to the nearest charging station and find out that it’s not charging or stopped charging for some unexpected reason. Depending on how much battery charge your EV has left, you might get into trouble while driving or going anywhere else. Well, there might be a couple of possible reasons applicable behind it.

1. Reboot Your Tesla Model S

First of all, you should check out whether your Tesla Model S EV has some technical glitches or not. It’s recommended to restart your EV to fix temporary system issues because sometimes conflicts with the MCU (a digital computing component in the vehicle) can come in handy. To do so, you can follow the steps below.

Park your Tesla Model S EV > Keep your foot on the brake.
Now, press and hold both the scroll wheel buttons on the steering wheel.
Press and hold the button for up to 10 seconds to reboot the center screen.
Wait for the screen to restart and then you can drive or charge again.

2. Check the Tesla Charger

Sometimes conflicts with the Tesla charger at the station might also trigger multiple issues while charging. Fuel-driven vehicles won’t have such issues. Make sure to check the Tesla charger because any kind of connectivity issue or malfunction may trouble you.

3. Insufficient Grounding

Proper wiring or outlet grounding might be helpful to you whenever there is an issue with the insufficient grounding detected in the wall connector. Make sure to get it checked and repaired by an electrician properly whether it’s grounded or not.

4. Wall Connector GFCI Tripped

If in case, there is a ground fault with the wall connector then make sure to disconnect and retry or use different equipment to fix the wall connector GFCI tripped issues. Sometimes the current can leak through an unsafe path which might trigger several issues with the charging. You should try charge again by disconnecting and reconnecting the wall connector from the vehicle.

If the issue persists, ensure to Turn OFF the circuit breaker servicing the wall connector. Then wait for around 10 seconds and turn ON the circuit breaker. Once done, you can try reconnecting the wall connector to the vehicle.

5. Check for Wall Connector

The chances are high that there can be an issue with the wall connector hardware which includes the contactor not working, self-test of an internal ground fault, monitoring circuit failing, thermal sensor disconnected, and more. To fix the issue:

You should try charging by disconnecting the wall connector again from the vehicle and reconnecting it.
If the issue persists, ensure to Turn OFF the circuit breaker for the wall connector > Wait for around 10 seconds > Turn ON the circuit breaker again > Once done, try reconnecting the wall connector to the Tesla Model 2 EV.
If the issue persists, you should call an electrician to check if all wires are properly connected and torqued or not. Make sure to do it according to the user manual.
Once your electrician has completed all work and restored power to the wall connector, try charging the EV again.
If the issue persists, you’ll need to service the wall connector.

6. Input Voltage Too High or Too Low

It might also be possible that somehow the input voltage is too high or too low. So, you should consult an electrician to ensure the required voltage on the circuit breaker.

7. Incorrect Input Wiring to Wall Connector

Sometimes an incorrect input wiring issue to the wall connector might trigger the charging issue in the Tesla Model S EV. It’s also possible that the Line wire and Neutral wire are swapped. In that case, you’ll need to correctly install the wiring in between the wall power and wall connector by consulting your electrician.

8. Wall Connector issue

It’s also quite possible that the wall connector hardware issue somehow triggers the Tesla Model S Not Charging or Stopped Charging issue. Either the contactor not working, the self-test of the internal ground fault monitoring circuit failing, the thermal sensor disconnected, other hardware component issues, etc can be potential reasons behind such an issue. To fix it, you can follow the steps below.

Try charging the EV by disconnecting and reconnecting the wall connector from the vehicle.
If the issue persists, turn OFF the circuit breaker for the wall connector > Wait for around 10 seconds and turn ON the circuit breaker again > Then try reconnecting the wall connector to the EV again.
If the issue still bothers you, call an electrician to check all wires are properly connected and torqued according to the instructions in the wall connector installation manual.
Once your electrician has completed all work and restored power to the wall connector, try charging the vehicle by reconnecting the wall connector to the EV.
Last but not the least, you’ll have to service the wall connector to get it to work.

9. Wall Connector too hot

If in case, the wall connector is too hot due to the over-temperature protection then you might not be able to charge your EV.

It’s recommended to check if the wall connector isn’t covered by anything and if there is no heat source nearby which is troubling you in charging. If the problem persists in normal ambient temperatures (under 100°F or 38°C), you’ll need to call an electrician.

10. The car doesn’t recognize the charger

The Tesla Model S EV may often face charging issues when the charger is connected at the wrong angle or the charging cable has some dirt/moisture on it. While sometimes it can occur if the charging port is physically damaged. You can follow the steps below to recognize the charger.

Remove the charging cable from the charging port.
Now, close the charging hatch > Start your charging process again.
If it doesn’t fix the issue, you can try checking for any dirt/dust that might be entered into the cable or the port.
Remove the cable from the port and try to reconnect it.
Another thing you should do is simply reboot your Tesla Model S EV by pressing & holding the two buttons on the steering wheel and waiting for a few seconds to reboot).
In worst cases, the charging port may be physically damaged or broken. You’ll require a replacement or repair by contacting Tesla customer support.

11. The charging cable is stuck inside the charging port

The charging cable might get stuck inside the charging port in some cases due to an unexpected error. If that happens, you can follow the steps below to fix it.

First of all, ensure that you’ve pressed the ‘Unlock charging port’ inside the Tesla Model S EV car on the screen.
On Tesla’s own chargers, there is a small button on the charging cable that can be pressed to manually open the latch.
You can also use the voice commands by saying ‘open charging port’ or ‘close charging port’ which might come in handy a lot.
If in case, the above methods don’t work, open the trunk > There is a small emergency hatch on the left side > You’ll need to pull the hatch to open the charging port manually and the cable will be released quite easily.

12. Issues with the Fuse Box

Sometimes EVs don’t work due to conflicts with the fuse box. You’ll need to replace a fuse instead of replacing the whole motor. Whenever a surge or spike in power comes through the Tesla Model S EV, it might trigger problems and your EV won’t get charged properly or disconnect.

13. Physically Damaged Battery

Another thing you should do is check out the physically damaged battery inside your Tesla Model S EV which might have trouble charging. If the battery is physically damaged or the liquid runs out, you’ll have to replace the battery.

14. Your Power Went Out

It’s quite possible that the electricity went out at your home which is also known as load shedding. Now, in that unexpected scenario, if you want to charge your EV, it’ll be hard enough. So, if you’re not in your home and plugged in the charger a while ago, make sure to cross-check whether the electricity is available or not.

15. The Circuit Breaker is Tripped

Well, you may also get into an unexpected issue where the circuit breaker of the Tesla Model S EV is tripped for some reason. So, it’ll turn off, and you should check which circuit is feeding from the outlet if you have a Level 1 charger on your EV. Make sure to contact an electrician to check for the wiring and fix the circuit breaker.

16. Pay for the Tesla Supercharger

If you’re using a Tesla Supercharger, you’ve to pay for the service because the supercharger isn’t completely free of cost. Tesla users will have to pay the associated fee for the charger. Otherwise, you won’t be able to start charging.

The highest tier for faster charging is $1.35 per minute. You’ll find out the charging prices around the charging station. So, check properly before charging and pay accordingly.

17. You’re Using Battery Charge Limiter

Plenty of reports are claiming that the battery charge limiter can be a reason behind the EV not charging issue. If you’re charging your Tesla Model S EV a lot, that means there is a chance of killing the battery quite faster. So, to keep the battery health considerable, you might use a battery charge limiter.

Now, if you complete the charging capacity to 100% every day with your Tesla, it’ll limit the charging after you hit 75%-80%. Although there are no specific settings to reset or customize the battery charge limiter on Tesla right now, you can adjust the charging limit with a smart EV charger (if any).

18. The Chip is Burnt Out

There are some rumors floating around that a number of chips burnt out inside the Tesla EVs and your Tesla Model S EV may not be an exception (in the worst cases). So, you should also cross-check the same issue by yourself or by hiring a technician. It might be the flash storage chip that has been integrated with MultiMediaCard (eMMC).

Somehow the chip burns out due to overheating and overworking. Once the chipset is burnt out, the EV will start behaving weirdly and stops charging or don’t allow charging properly.

19. Contact Tesla Technical Support

If none of the workarounds come in handy, ensure to contact Tesla Technical Support to get a better and faster resolution. In most cases, conflicts with the software or the electrical component might also stop charging the EV. You should prefer the phone technical support at 1-888-518-3752. Make a call and talk to a support agent to describe your specific issue.

Otherwise, you can contact Tesla Support via the Tesla Mobile App and schedule an appointment with a technician. This method should help you to fix the battery not charging or the stopped charging issues with your Tesla Model S EV.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For further queries, you can comment below.