HARDWARE FIX for hot phone charging issue! New wireless charger has a built-in heatsink

[Shygar]

I just tested charging on my hour drive home and for the first time I noticed my phone never actually increased in percentage. Started at 45 and ended an hour drive at 43. Temp gun shows my phone and pad at like 112 F, but what surprised me more is it didn't actually charge. And I had reset my phone just before starting this drive.

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[nevetsyad]

Just had mine updated...no change. Didn't charge on the way home, super hot still.

 

[Mal]

Just had mine updated...no change. Didn't charge on the way home, super hot still.

Well, that sucks. What kind of phone do you have? (I've got a pixel 8 pro, which charges fine but also gets very hot. Same with my wife's iPhone 15)

 

[mtfang]

I found the inductive coil design for the new part in a eBay listing, and it looks interesting to say the least.

 

[mtfang]

Here are the service instructions to replace the part.

 

[mtfang]

The coil design for the old part is the same. So presumably the only difference is the heat sink.

I now realize in the new part image above that the PCB part number still says iteration A despite the heat sink part marked iteration C.

 

[NSCyber]

For those that have done the switch is it even worth it?

 

[nevetsyad]

For those that have done the switch is it even worth it?

In the middle of the heat dome, but my phone hasn't charged at all since the swap. Nothing massive, if any differences.

 

[AO-Pete]

Well this thread took a disappointing turn ? I guess I can now be less bothered when the SC ignored my ask.

 

[Beetlebug62]

I'm sure it is phone model dependent because both of our Samsung phones have always charged quickly and with no more heat that we see at home with our wireless chargers (just warm, not hot). I have a case on my Samsung, but it is relatively thin. I'm sure the thickness of any phone case being used is a factor too.

I was under the impression the heat was being generated in the iPhone, not in the charger, so I'm not sure how heatsink fins on the charger is going to fix a phone that gets hot! I think it has more to do with the alignment and distance of the inductive coils.

Our home wireless chargers are "puck" style, and they are smaller than the phones they charge so the phone can be centered on the puck. Vehicles move so they must hold the phone captive (but not all phones are the same dimensions). I think this is where the alignment problem comes from.

Maybe the new charger has multiple coils inside, with different positioning, so the charger can sense the best coil position to use, ie, the coil with the best alignment to the phone being used. The phone industry should have standardized coil positioning with respect to the bottom and side of the phone, instead they required users to center their phones on the pads manually.

Apple developed a MagSafe centering solution, unfortunately they made it a proprietary solution requiring royalties instead of donating the MagSafe standard to the industry at no charge like Tesla did with the North American Charging Standard (NACS). Walled gardens are only good for the "King" who owns the walled garden, not the customers who buy the products.

 

[ActiveArch]

I literally took a screenshot of Lamar’s post that was uploaded to this thread initially and submitted that to SC requesting for the part to be changed due to experiencing the same heat. It immediately got accepted. Today’s the day, supposed to show up to my house within the next hour. I’ll update after the repair and giving it a test. Are some of you suggesting that the repair was completed and there was no difference?

 

[Macgreiner]

Update:

- Tesla Service messaged me saying there was nothing that could be done about the overheating issue and they closed the ticket
- I messaged back, mentioned that I’d heard there was a substantially revised part that addressed the overheating issue
- They messaged back, acknowledged there was a new part, and reopened the ticket.
- Cost Estimate: $0.00

Terrible comms - having customers tell them what new parts are out in circulation. Unfortunate.

 

[ActiveArch]

I literally took a screenshot of Lamar’s post that was uploaded to this thread initially and submitted that to SC requesting for the part to be changed due to experiencing the same heat. It immediately got accepted. Today’s the day, supposed to show up to my house within the next hour. I’ll update after the repair and giving it a test. Are some of you suggesting that the repair was completed and there was no difference?

Update - part was replaced, entire think took maybe 20 minutes. I went out and asked the guy about the part and he showed me the old part he had removed, new part was already installed so I was unable to see the difference, however, the old part DID have a large heat sink underneath it, unlike Lamar’s original post. SC guy did mention they know about the overheating issue though.

Sorry for those of you having trouble, definitely some inconsistency with Teslas different SC’s which should not be the case. I have yet to fully test it out, will update on that as well.

 

[NSCyber]

They insisted on bringing in to service to check the issue. I cancelled my mobile service request since they refused to accommodate it.

 

[The Tesla Guy]

I had this replaced yesterday with the latest version and I can also confirm that there is absolutely no difference that I can see.
Hot phone and rarely more than one or 2% increase in charge level on fairly long drives

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