nest 3rd generation with power connector

[jamesim2]

i installed the power connector to my two nest 3rd generation thermostats

How can I tell if they are working correctly or are wired in the system.

do  the voltage change?

thanks

james

[David_K]

As long as your Thermostat's battery level is good, you're good. To check your battery level:

Nest Thermostat

The Nest Thermostat will let you know when the battery level is getting low, but you can manually check it any time. To check the battery level, bring up the Menu view >  Settings cog > Battery. The icon will change depending on charge level. If the status says "Very low," replace the batteries with new ones. Then, check if your thermostat reconnects. It may take a few moments. If low battery is a recurring issue, or if you think there may be an issue with wiring, go to Troubleshoot power issues for your thermostat article for more help.

Nest Thermostat E or Nest Learning Thermostat

To check the battery level, bring up the Quick View menu > Settings cog > Technical Info > Power. Look for the number labelled Battery.

• If it’s 3.8V or higher, your thermostat is not disconnected because of a low battery.
• If it’s below 3.6V, there might be a power issue that’s causing your thermostat to disconnect. Go to Troubleshoot power issues for your thermostat for more help.

[Jake]

Hey jamesim2,

I wanted to follow up and ensure you are good to go, and everything is working properly. Please let me know if you are still having trouble, as I will be locking the thread in 24 hours due to inactivity. 

Thanks so much davidking for the helpful information as well.

Best regards,
Jake

[jamesim2]

Hi

i did not get a satisfatory answer.

what I want to know is how to tell or find out if the Power connect i bought from google is working?

there has to be a sign or sensor that acknowelges that the power connect is connected as opposed to no power connect in the the system.

thanks

james

[Obtotherescue]

Ecobee is better and they wont charge extra either for the adapter upgaded pro version gives a room sensor with it as well nest pisses off everyone homeowner and technician 

[Candyman1369]

Obtotherescue, you are so correct!! I have two 3rd gen nest thermostats and both are working correctly for several weeks, then I get emails about needing to call and get replacements. I've done it 3 times now. On the 4th time the phone got disconnected and the rep broke every promise, not to mention she failed to call me back. After waiting for the 4th set of replacements. I finally called nest. They then told me to take the thermostats back to HD and tell them nest said to exchange them for a different model. Unfortunately I got screwed as nest sent me refurbished units the last time with missing parts. So now I'm out almost 300.00.

I also had a nest pro come and he could not find any issues. As far as I'm concerned, I already uninstalled them, I'm taking all google products out of my house, and my phone contracts are now up and I'm switching from pixel to Apple. I will not support an organization that craps on it's customers!

[BobW52]

This question seems to have gone unanswered for over a year and appears on many threads. How can we get an answer? Does the Power Connector provide some sort of visible indication (like a light) that it is functioning?

[BOBR0210]

If your NEST 3RD GENERATION IS SHOWING INDICATION of a low battery and if you have Heat and Air Conditioning you can use on the heating side of base plate (check with Volt meter )for voltage of more than 3.8 or higher THEN CALL THE NEST HELP LINE THE TECH SUPPORT WILL GUIDE YOU TO SATISFACTION!!!!

[Pitsos00]

I’m looking for the same information as James. How do we ensure the power connector is installed properly? Other nest thermostats have a page that displays if the connector is installed properly. 

[Deihmos]

I am trying to figure out the same thing. I never had power issues until the last update. I purchased the power connector and can't tell if it works or not. It doesn't seem to charge while heating. 

[JBM2010]

I too have this question. I have 3 zones in my house, 1 with a 3rd generation nest learning thermostat and the other two with nest thermostats. I have the nest power connector hooked up and only the learning thermostat can operate properly but it could do so prior to the power connector installation. I can't tell if the power connector isn't working or the two nest thermostats aren't working properly.

[Deihmos]

The power connector does not provide power while heating so it is pretty much useless. 

[Obtotherescue]

Have to check compatibility 3 gen or newer if not pull a 5 wire if ya can most idiot installers wrap the darn wire on a nail before it comes out of the drywall ugh!

[pdespres]

From what I understand, Nest thermostats will detect and report the presence of a Power Connector. 3rd gen learning and thermostat E will not report this presence. Google staff would be kind to confirm this.

[Obtotherescue]

Correct its in the manual step 9 or something also was loking if wiring at the stat changes apparently it does not unlike ecobee with the pek and honeywell lyric setup the info is very vauge at best for nest they need to update their install info vids

[ao2ice]

I would like to know this as well.  I connected it to my system and have the Nest Learning Thermostat, but would like to know for sure that it is working as directed, as my battery (I didn't know that I had to charge it as I don't recall seeing this instruction when installing it), so I would like to know that the connector is working as planned.

[pdespres]

no way to know if wiring is right with the learning or the E models

[BOBR0210]

GO TO TECHNICAL INFORMATION AND LOOK 👀 FOR BATTERY VOLTAGE IF ITS MORE THAN 3.8 VOLTS(THE PROBLEM ISNT A CHARGING ISSUE!!!!(CALL NEST HELP)!!!

[Obtotherescue]

As a tech naturally i hate nest but have to take care of my customers i have installed power connectors to the newest mirrored style nest tstats and it will acknowledge its there, the 3rd gen don't which is frustrating as hell as i want to know im good to leave and feel confident its working, its a more expensive stat also.  but the battery error will go away and so does the low level indicator which will let you know after a few days 

[RKP]

I too want to know if my Nest Learning T-Stat is charging. I also would like to know what the proper battery voltage should be when charged on the wall. HOW DO I VERIFY IT'S CHARGING AND THE CHARGING VOLTAGE?

I installed a C wire adaptor 5 months ago and all seemed well until this morning. I noticed the T-stat would not "light up" as I approached it. I checked and saw the Nest was OFFLINE as of approx 1 am. There was no WIFI or power outage. All other devices were still connected to Wi-Fi.
Nest display showed OFFLINE and that battery voltage was 3.62. Charged Nest via USB port about 1.5 hours. Put Nest back on wall, voltage showed 3.85 and it was connected to WIFI. I am suspecting low battery voltage caused Nest to go OFFLINE.

I'd like to know what the voltage should be when Nest is fully charged on wall?
Should it be charging continuosly?
Using a VOM, how can I measure voltage on the backplate 3 wires and what should I see?
When I check NEST Tech Info in the Android app, what should nominal voltage be?

I've searched the Internet and only see docs showing battery voltage should be at least 3.6V. That info is pretty much useless! Nest showed 3.62V and T-stat went offline so minimum of 3.6V is not accurate.
I need to verify I am getting correct voltage to T-stat and it's charging.
WHY is this information so hard to obtain Google?

[jamesim2]

 so far, no one knows.. 

i think the power connectors are not meant to be used for the nest 3rd generation.

its very frustrating, my nest 3rd gen went off line last week, i have been charging with ubs, last only few days..

i am contemplating moving away from google products.

very disappointed with google tech.

[bballstuffer]

Same problem, my nest 3rd gen learning stat will occasionally loose power so much that wifi is disconnected etc even with the power connector. I have reached out to technical support but they bring you in circles, going through the basic steps which is a waste of time.

[Shanshan]

I also have the exact same a question. I installed the power connector a few hours ago and the battery still says low and will not connect to Wi-Fi atm. I’m not sure how long it would take for it to charge up and there is no way to tell if it is detected. I checked the equipment settings and it just say equipment detected but idk which equipment that it is. Super frustrating! 

[Candyman1369]

I have gone through most of the same issues as everyone in this thread. After getting replacements for brand new out of the box nest smart E thermostats, that were bad, the new ones arrived with bad batteries. I purchased multiple sets of rechargeable batteries. Unfortunately they all read anywhere from 2.7v to 3.0 after putting on a regular battery charger. When calling google, they told me "good luck finding batteries myself"! Pretty rude I thought... I had technician come out and confirm everything was good and that it was indeed bad thermostats. I have an Hydrolevel smart hydrostat with outdoor sensor. Mounted on a Thermodynamics oil fired furnace.  I had to purchase a separate plug in transformer, hook up one wire to the black wire going to common on thermostat and the second wire to the red wire on the T terminal in the hydrostat. The white wire also goes to the second terminal on the hydrostat. Because the hydrostat only puts out 28v, Nest kept killing batteries. So doubling up the volt to 41v satisfied the thermostat. I now read 650 mohm's battery. 2.793v battery. 8.8v- 10v vin, Lin 385. Ps. C-385, None of this makes sense. When numbers change slightly I get power error or w wire disconnected. Other times all read true. Google needs to adjust thresholds to not be so sensitive. 250.00 per thermostat is a little much for such rubbish. Today I received email to replace the unit again, yet no code or issues none. Just voltage showing is not what it should be. Hopefully this helps everyone.  

Also Settings>Equipment>Power Connector for those trying to figure out if thier connector is working properly. 

[armchair]

That menu doesn't exist on the Nest 3rd generation as the OP post indicates. There is no way to tell on the learning thermostat only on the regular model. It's just dumb.