External Charging Equipment Error Detected (Unexpected Input Voltage)

Common Symptoms

• Alert on the touchscreen: "External charging equipment error detected — Try different charging equipment"
• AC charging won't begin
• DC fast charging / Supercharging still works normally
• Driving is unaffected

Probable Causes (Ranked by Likelihood)

• The onboard charger detects input voltage at the charge port when no power was requested — the external equipment isn't switching power on/off as commanded, often a hardware issue in that equipment Likely
• Another condition affecting the external charging equipment Possible
• A condition affecting the vehicle itself (per Tesla, this alert usually points to the external equipment) Unlikely

Step-by-Step Diagnostic Procedure

1. This is the inverse of PCS_a052: instead of no voltage when requested, the vehicle sees voltage when it did NOT request power — a sign the equipment's power switching (contactor/relay) is misbehaving.

2. Per Tesla's official guidance: try charging with multiple, different types of charging equipment. If the vehicle charges on other equipment, the original unit is faulty.

3. Supercharging is unaffected — a Supercharger or Destination Charger is a good fallback.

4. If the alert follows the vehicle across multiple known-good chargers, schedule Tesla service for the onboard charging path.

Frequently Asked Questions