Tesla Model Y Owner’s Home Charging Nightmare Analyzed And Fixed

When a Tesla Model Y proprietor named Dylan reached out for assist in a Fb group that I reasonable, I noticed it as an incredible alternative to open up a dialogue on residence charging tools security. 

I reached out to Dylan and requested him if he would permit me to make a video of me diagnosing the difficulty(s) after which correcting them. For his participation, I might make the mandatory repairs to get him again to soundly charging his automotive totally free. Dylan agreed, and I set the wheels in movement with the objective of getting it executed in lower than 10 days. 

Dylan’s Tesla Wall Connector stopped working when the wiring within the disconnect field that provided energy to the charger melted.

I then referred to as Qmerit, the corporate that sponsors my YouTube Channel, State Of Cost, and requested them to contact one in all their community electrical contractors within the San Antonio, Texas, space and schedule them as quickly as attainable to restore Dylan’s system. 

Not solely did they accomplish that, however Qmerit provided to choose up your entire price of the restore, which I used to be grateful for. We had been in a position to arrange the restore to happen on February twelfth, 9 days after Dylan posted the decision for assistance on Fb. 

I flew to San Antonio on the morning of the twelfth and met Matt Trout of Qmerit on the airport. Matt got here out particularly to speak with me on digital camera about the necessity to rent an EV charging tools specialist while you set up your private home charger and to ensure every part was executed to Dylan’s satisfaction. We drove to Dylan’s home and started to examine {the electrical} circuit supplying energy to the Tesla Wall Connector.

We had been joined by the native Qmerit electrical contractor, Charge Pro, who was referred to as upon to do the work. Matt, Ben from Cost Professional, and I had been stunned to seek out not one, however a collection of issues which have brought on three totally different failures at Dylan’s home, which, remarkably, is just two years previous. 

The Cost Professional technicians made certain they torqued all the connections to spec with a torque driver

We discovered three primary points. First, the Tesla Wall Connector’s circuit breaker, which had already been changed a number of months prior as a result of it failed, was displaying indicators of overheating, and the busbar the place it was linked to the service panel was badly charred. Dylan defined that when the breaker failed beforehand, he referred to as an area electrician who merely changed the breaker with out explaining to Dylan that the Busbar was broken as was the circuit breaker on the alternative aspect of the Wall Connector breaker. 

The subsequent subject we discovered was the feed from the panel used #6 aluminum wire and it wrapped 80 ft round the home to a junction field behind the home. Evidently, the earlier proprietor had that for one more use, maybe an outside scorching tub, and when Dylan purchased the home and wanted to put in the Wall Connector, the electrician he employed used that circuit to go one other 60 ft to the storage on the opposite aspect of the home. 

They did use copper wire, however the circuit now had 80 ft of aluminum wire linked to 60 ft of copper wire that led to a disconnect field within the storage subsequent to the Wall Connector. Dylan suggested us that the connection within the junction field failed a number of months in the past, and he had one other electrician come out and easily restore the connection. 

Dylan was in search of solutions within the Tesla Mannequin Y Fb group

Each Ben and Matt agreed they wanted to get rid of the 80-foot aluminum run within the Wall Connector’s circuit, and the easiest way to try this was to put in a wholly new feed on to the storage, as a substitute of working 140 ft of wire across the complete home. The answer was to go up from the service panel, by means of the attic, and again right down to the charger, and that minimize the size of the run by greater than half. 

We then wired the Wall Connector on to the feed as a result of a service disconnect just isn’t required by code, for the reason that circuit wasn’t better than 60 amps. Additionally, Dylan most well-liked to not have it there until it was required as a result of he had a trendy storage arrange and did not need the additional field on the wall. 

After an extended day, Dylan’s Mannequin Y was charging up in his storage and sure, I used to be in a position to get his drawback solved in beneath ten days (barely, as a result of this was day 9!) as I had hoped. 

We had Dylan’s Tesla Mannequin Y charging up earlier than the tip of the day

This is only one instance of why electrical automobile charging tools requires particular therapy. All the pieces in Dylan’s Wall Connector circuit was executed by a licensed electrician, was permitted, inspected, and was to code. 

The issue is that EV charging locations a better pressure on electrical tools than some other gadget in your house. That is why we additionally see plenty of low-quality NEMA 14-50 retailers failing when an EVSE is plugged into them. These retailers work advantageous with different makes use of, like electrical ranges and garments dryers. 

However EV charging requires the utmost quantity of present to attract for a lot of steady hours, many days every week and that responsibility cycle is greater than some disconnect containers, retailers and even circuit breakers can deal with, and over time they soften and fail. 

That is why it’s vital that you simply use an electrician who has plenty of expertise putting in EV charging tools. They may use higher tools, make sure that the connections are torqued correctly and they’re going to by no means use aluminum wire, as a result of it expands and contracts 30% greater than copper wire and that results in connection failures. 

I am contemplating making a collection of those movies, during which I journey to EV proprietor’s houses which can be having issues with their charging tools and fixing it. Let me know within the remark part if that is one thing you would be considering seeing.