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2018 100d trips breaker - no problem for last three years with 2015 85d

Discussion in 'Model S' started by Smnalex, Jan 19, 2019.

  1. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    My setup is a 50 amp breaker with exterior outlet installed by a qualified electrician. Problem started intermittently upon swapping the cars (and moving from gen 1 to gen2 cable). Neither tesla mobile nor service can figure it out. I've had an electrician back who says the circuit is fine.

    Anyone with similar experience or ideas?
     
  2. kdday

    kdday Active Member

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    Both cars pulling the same amperage off this circuit? You sure the 85 wasn't pulling like 30 amps?
     
  3. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    Don't know about the 85 but I dialed the 100 down to 30 and it still tripped.

    Mobile service brought a 100 out and tried to charge at 32, same result
     
  4. kdday

    kdday Active Member

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    I'm just an armchair electrician, but if two cars trip the same circuit, I'd blame the circuit.

    Try replacing the circuit breaker and/or the wall plug. Very cheap relative to an electrical fire potential.
     
    • Like x 3
  5. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    Electrician changed the breaker and said the plug was fine. Guess I'll have to try again.
     
  6. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    I was principally curious whether others were having the problem - I've seen reports of problems when moving to a 100 with the hpwc setup.
     
  7. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    And the circuit worked fine with another mobile techs 75.
     
  8. swegman

    swegman Active Member

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    I think the 100D has a 72 amp charger, while your 85D likely had a 40 amp charger. Double check this. If it has an 80 amp charger, could the car be trying to pull 80 amps from the 50 amp line, thus tripping the breaker?

    If that’s not the case, I would double check the wire used by the electrican to verify it is the correct size for the load, and that the screws are torqued properly at both the outlet side and the breaker side. Also check that the screws are engaged with the wire and not the insulation on the wire.
     
  9. richrootes

    richrootes Member

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    Are you using a generation 1 HPWC? If so, this is a known issue and the only fix right now is to swap the HPWC for a later generation model

    Mine charges my car fine, but any loaners I have had trip the breaker
     
    • Helpful x 1
  10. TMeister

    TMeister Gearhead

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    Well... an exterior outlet would imply a ground fault breaker. On some breakers you can differentiate a ground fault trip vs an over current trip.

    if you are tripping because of a ground fault then you should replace your GFCI with a regular 2 pole breaker and see how that works. If it does, then you can decide if having GF protection is what you want. Electrical code for an outside receptacle says it should be ground fault protected.

    Just to be clear, you are using a UMC, right? You mentioned HPWC somewhere in the thread.

    GFCI work by allowing only a very small current differential between the two lines. You get 5mA typical. All EVSE equipment is supposed to run a ground test on power up and this could cause your breaker to trip.

    You are connecting the UMC to the outlet first, right?
     
  11. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    Thank you - this is helpful - yes, umc, not an hpwc, and a gfci breaker.

    And yes outlet first then to the vehicle.
     
  12. Kalex

    Kalex Member

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    I had a similar issue a while back when we got the MX100d, the GFCI circuit breaker trip Everytime I switched from charging my MS 75D.
    Problem was 2 GFCI breakers in series, the UMC which has its own GFCI and the main box breaker.
    Electrician replaced the breaker with non GFCI.

    Also the 14-50 outlet was the cheap kind and the socket became loose due to frequent unplugging, creating arching.

    No more issues after that.
     

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  13. brkaus

    brkaus Well-Known Member

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    It is likely the gfci breaker. Double gfci can be problematic

    Is the electrician using a name brand gfci? You mentioned electric replaced it. Was it replaced with a brand new one?
     
  14. ambition

    ambition Member

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    Not sure why you would need a GFCI breaker, but if you just use a regular one you should be OK, I had a problem with my high-powered wall charger with the breaker because they used a used one, change it for a brand new one and it was fine.
     
  15. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    Thank you all - this gives me an area to focus on.
     
  16. Kalex

    Kalex Member

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    This is the recommended 14-50 by Tesla. Can withstand plugging and unplugging.
    I use a dedicated V1 UMC so I don't have to unplugging from the Socket.
     

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  17. Smnalex

    Smnalex Member

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    Closing the loop on this one - electrician moved the breaker from the panel to adjacent to the outlet. Still gfi but the reduced run seems to have fixed the problem (fingers crossed). He also said the panel maker (cutler hammer) was prone to nuisance tripping.
     

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