You love your Tesla Model X, but if it won’t charge, it’s little more than a nice place to sit. Don’t worry; you’re in the right place. Let’s get this problem sorted right now.
Top reasons your Tesla Model X won’t charge include the following:
- No power or loss of power
- Schedule set
- Fault in your cable
- Charged to capacity
- Wifi connection issue
This article will examine why your Tesla Model X is not charging and how you can fix the problem today.
No Power or Loss of Power
Charging your Tesla X requires power to the cable. If there is no power or there has been a loss of power, then charging will not have happened. There are a few reasons why the power may have failed.
- Power outage – unscheduled or scheduled
- Circuit overload
Power Outage – Unscheduled
Power outages happen more and more frequently because of our ever-changing climate and the extra draw on the grid.
Storms are part of everyday life in the current climate change, resulting in a power outages for many.
If there has been a storm, there’s a likelihood that your power has gone down and your Tesla Model X hasn’t charged through the night.
I find an easy way to watch power outages is to check the digital clock on my stove. You know the power has been out if it’s flashing the incorrect time. You can figure out how long it’s back, but not how long it was down for. If there is no display, then the power is still down.
So how to fix the charging problem? Suppose your power is back; fantastic. However, you might not have enough juice to reach your destination. You’re going to be late, or you’re working from home today.
We know that storms and power outages are part of our future, and we can be prepared.
An answer to the outage problem is to purchase a gas generator. This kind of flies in the face of the EV ethos as nearly all generators run on gas, but it is a solution to your problem.
You must watch the weather forecast, especially if you live in a storm zone.
You can also consider purchasing a Portable Power Pack. This is a generator but without gas. It’s more work as you must plug it in to keep it fully charged during an outage. They can be charged by a 120V or at a fast charger.
Most generate between 3.5kW and 7kW. Lower versions are available but, in my opinion, they are not worth the money.
Portable Power Packs are pretty expensive, ranging from $2000 to $4000+. It all depends on how badly you need to get your Model X charged.
A 3.5kW is the equivalent of a Wall Charger, and a 7kW+ is like a fast charger.
It will give you enough of a boost to get you to a Supercharger, which, to be fair, is solar-powered and will be unaffected by the outage.
Power Outage – Scheduled
Purchasing a generator, either gas or electric is something you should consider for the future as more and more utility companies run scheduled outages.
This is because of the extra draw on the grid when more people are at home, and usage is at the max. To counter this, utility companies reduce the availability at other times so they have enough when needed.
The good news is that a scheduled outage is at a specific time. You will receive plenty of notice from your Utility company, and having a generator will ease the anxiety.
Circuit Overload
Charging your Tesla X at home can be done in two ways. A standard 120V plug is excellent if
- Your commute is short
- You don’t use your Tesla very often
- You work from home
But most Tesla owners (especially homeowners) will opt for the 240V Wall Connector. This allows for a full charge in 8-9 hours (overnight).
It’s ideal until there’s a problem. A qualified electrician must install a Tesla Wall Connector. A qualified electrician must repair any faults that occur.
Problems occur when something unusual is plugged into the same circuit or zone. For example, a power washer or anything with a heated element. This causes the circuit to overload and break or trip.
This is a good thing. It means your circuit is working correctly. If the circuit doesn’t break, your item can get too hot and cause a fire.
The difference between this and an outage is that you won’t notice until you go to your Tesla X and realize it hasn’t charged overnight.
There are a couple of ways to test:
- Try unplugging items in the area
- Check your circuit board
Unplugging items
Have a look around your charging area for any unusual items. Someone might have plugged something in, clashing with your charger. If you see anything, unplug them.
Check the Circuit Board
When you go to the circuit board, one of the switches should be down. This is the zone where your charger is located. Try resetting it. If it works, then it was the extra items plugged in, and you will have to speak with an electrician to increase the load for that area.
If you try and reset it and it continues to trip, there is an additional problem in your charging area. Most likely a problem with your cable. Let’s look at that next.
Fault in You Charging Cable
If the fault is in your charge cable and not the wall connection, we first need to check the indicator lights.
| Lights | Problem | Solution |
| All Green | Charging | No Problems |
| Top Light Green | Power but not charging | Check car connection |
| No Green – Red Light Flashing | Unsafe Electrics | Press Reset Button |
| No Green – 2 Red Lights Flashing | Self Check Failed | Reset Required |
| No Green – 3 Red Lights Flashing | Contact Failed | Unplug and Replug |
| No Green – 4 Red Lights Flashing | Loss of Ground | Contact Electrician |
| No Green – 5 Red Lights Flashing | Circuit Break | Check Outlet |
| No Green – 6 Red Lights Flashing | Heat Fault | Move Charging to a Cooler Place |
| More than 6 Red Lights Flashing | Faulty Connector | Contact Tesla |
| No Lights | No Power | Check Power |
The two problems you need to watch for are Red Lights and No Lights.
Red Lights
Red lights mean a fault that can usually be fixed.
The first thing to try is a reset. Turn on and off your Tesla Wall Connector. Hopefully, this will do the trick, but if the problem persists or reoccurs, you need to contact an electrician or Tesla Customer Service.
Different combinations of Red lights blinking mean different problems, but all require an electrician. I would strongly advise against trying to fix the problem yourself.
Water ingress is one to look out for. Water and electricity don’t mix and can lead to serious injury.
Call an electrician to check everything over.
No Lights
No lights equal no power, as discussed. It can also indicate that your cable has stopped working due to a fault or age.
A crack or a break can cause a fault in your cable.
Charging cables are made from tough plastic, but we must care for them. The biggest culprit for cable damage is our tires. Repeatedly driving across our cable can cause irreparable damage.
First, unplug the cable from the car and the wall. Check the cable for any nicks or cracks. However, the cable could be damaged internally.
Unfortunately, the only solution to a damaged cable is a new cable. Your cable can’t be repaired, leading to a more serious situation, such as fire.
Contact Tesla or go online to order a new one.
Scheduled Charging Set
Another reason your Tesla X didn’t charge because you had a Scheduled Charging Set. Why didn’t my car charge if I had charging set up? Possibly because you were driving the car when the scheduled charge started.
Your car needs to be plugged in for charging to initiate. The vehicle is clever enough to know that the time it takes to charge the car is relevant to the plug-in time. However, as said, it can’t make time, so the vehicle will only charge as much as it can, resulting in you going to your car and not having enough range available.
Hopefully, there has been enough time to charge your car to get you to a Supercharger. This is the only way to finish your charge to capacity if you need your vehicle immediately. Otherwise, you must wait for your TWC to finish its schedule.
Charged to Capacity
This is an unusual circumstance where you are trying to charge your car, and the charging just won’t kick in. The reason could quite possibly be that the car is already at capacity. Tesla encourages owners to charge their cars daily, using a TWC, and to a capacity of 80%.
Is your car set to charge to only 80%? If your car is set to 80% (or a specified %), it will not charge past this amount. This can be checked on the screen.
- Select Charging
- Set limit
- Here you can see what the max charge is set to
If you need to charge past the amount, simply change it to your required percentage.
Recently, Tesla owners have been experiencing an 80% capacity at Superchargers even though their cars are not set to 80%. This reduces wait times at certain Supercharger stations that experience high traffic levels. You can adjust this after you plug in, but initially, Tesla will only offer up to 80%.
It only affects about 17% of all Supercharger locations that are known to be busier than most. Most Tesla owners don’t charge 100% anyway because of the extra time it takes to get to 100% from 80%. I cover this topic in a post I wrote recently, which you may find helpful – Tesla won’t charge 100%
However, if you are on a trip and have Supercharger locations selected, the onboard computers will not route you to one of these busy locations unless it is your last charge location. Even then, some Superchargers are having issues processing payments, too, which I wrote a post about recently – Tesla Superchargers payment failed.
Wifi Connection Issue
The last reason we’ll look at is the connection to Wifi. Your car may have lost connection during an update. This can happen for several reasons, including poor connection, the antenna not fully receiving all the information, or a hard or soft reset needed.
Poor Wifi Connection
Wifi has improved over the last few years, but many owners still face problems because of poor connection. This can be because of weather or distance from a router or mast. You can try resetting your router and reconnecting your car. You might need to look at upgrading your Wifi if the problem persists.
Antenna on Car not Working Properly
Like everything on your Tesla, as they age, they sometimes start working as efficiently as we would like. The antenna on your car is one of these items. The antenna picks up your signal to connect. If it’s not working, you must contact Tesla, as they are the only people who can repair the problem.
Hard or Soft Reset
Tesla sends Over The Air (OTA) updates all the time, but often we need to reset our car after to eliminate any glitches that may have occurred. To do a complete reset, follow the instructions below.
Hard Reset
- Put your Tesla in Park
- Remove any auxiliary items plugged in, i.e., phones and USB drives.
- Press and hold the Brake
- Hold both scroll wheels on your steering wheel for 10-15 seconds
- The touchscreen will go black
- Tesla Logo will appear
- When everything is back fully, your car should be locking without issue
Soft Reset
- Shift into Park
- Remove any devices
- Hold both scroll wheels on the steering wheel for 10-15 seconds
- The touchscreen turns black
- Tesla Logo reappears
- Everything will once again be available
The difference between hard and soft reboots is the holding of the Brake. It is never advised to do a soft reboot while driving. You are, after all, rebooting the screen, and you should not be distracted from controlling your car in any way while driving.
I’ve written a ton on common Tesla issues, which hopefully you won’t ever experience, but if you do, we have you covered with these posts:
- What happens if you can’t charge your Tesla?
- What to do if Tesla battery dies?
- Tesla won’t charge in the cold
Check out the Tesla troubleshooting page for problem Teslas.
Check out the Tesla charging page for common Tesla charging problems.
Check out the Tesla category page for a list of popular Tesla posts.
If you are curious about other EV models, check out the EV FAQ category.
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