20 Amp GFCI trips with mobile connector.

[stopcrazypp]

No other EV, except Teslas, was meant to say that for that same 20amp GFCI outlet, only the Tesla mobile chargers are tripping the outlet. No other EV brand is tripping the outlet, and that includes hybrid plug ins as well. I do not know how much those EV's are drawing. I have personally tried multiple amperages, such as 8,10,12 and 16amps, and all tripped the outlets. However, there is a section of "older" power outlets that don't trip (kind of in the opposite side of the garage). I can't tell if it's because the power outlet is old, it may not be as sensitive as the new outlets (Both old and new are GFCI's). I've heard claims that Teslas will leak a bit of power through the ground wire, in order to verify the integrity of the ground connection, but I'm not sure if that is a fact or not. My question is. Is that in fact the case for Teslas? Is there a way to mitigate the issue? Any suggestion? Thanks everyone.

Ok, so you mean the Tesla mobile connector is tripping the outlet. Have you tried charging the other EVs with your mobile connector (they may need an adapter) and vice versa (you should have a J1772 adapter that allows you to use their EVSE).

How long does it take to trip it? If it takes a long time, it may have to do with heat and the amount of time the Tesla is charging (which may be different than other EVs with smaller batteries).

Yes, Tesla does a ground fault and loss test and will throw an error if it detects a ground fault or ground loss. You can see this in the manual.
https://www.tesla.com/sites/default...bile_connector_owners_manual_32_amp_en_US.pdf

Generally the Mobile Connector should not trip a properly working GFCI outlet (I have personally used it just fine) and I have read cases where when it does so, replacing the outlet with a new one is what fixes things (there was something defective in the outlet).

In some cases, it is the GFCI outlet being overloaded/overheated, which causes it to trip (technically a GFCI is not designed to trip in this condition, but when it is overloaded/overheated the trip conditions may change).

 

[gnuarm]

I think eliminating the shared neutral makes sense from a troubleshooting perspective. Another thing to check is to make sure that pigtail wire nut on the neutral is properly tightened. Its hard to tell just from the picture, but I've seem 'em where you can pull out a wire because it wasn't properly tightened. A loose neutral in the wire nut logically would seem to be capable of causing GFCI issues.

While we are dissing the backstab connector, maybe we should point out that the wire twist with wire nut is not the best arrangement either. Many people who are not professional electricians make them work ok, but unless they are done just so, they can become faulty.

There are little clamping widgets (yes, the professional term) that are designed for doing this job without uncertainty of the gas tightness (a real professional term, gas tight means it won't oxidize). That's the real problem, because oxidation results in higher resistance, higher temperatures and potential fire.

Fire bad!