Carefully Charging at Free Volta Stations!

[Rippin1Gear]

Careful on these Volta free units. Been using them for the last year without issues. Unit overheated here in Seattle today, charged for about hour and unplugged unit. Went to grab my 1067348-00-B adapter and was hot as hell. Couldn’t unplug to adapter from the handle. After yanking super hard, and looking in the plastic housing melted/fused together. Thankfully yanked while the plastic was soft still, if it cooled down I don’t think I would have got my adapter back.

 

[srs5694]

I wouldn't try to use that adapter again. Take it to the nearest Tesla store. If you're lucky, you can get a replacement under warranty. (Most people with similar issues get free replacements, but some have reported problems.)

This issue has been reported elsewhere on this forum, although I don't happen to have links handy. Most (all?) Volta Level 2 units provide up to 48A, and my hypothesis is that dirt or damage to the J1772 connectors are causing them to overheat and cause these problems. Most public Level 2 EVSEs provide a maximum of 30A or 32A, and so are less likely to have this problem, even if they get a bit dirty or suffer minor damage. I suggest checking both the adapter and the J1772 handle for dirt or other problems before plugging in when using any public EVSE. Reducing the charge rate to 32A might be a worthwhile precaution, too; but of course that'll reduce the benefit of using these stations.

 

[csherman1590]

This is good info about the dirt/debris being a potential issue. This issue has happened to me three times, all with Volta chargers.

 

[cwerdna]

Unclear if this has been posted already. A version of

showed up via a Daily Mail post that ended up in FB my feed. IIRC, that post talked about a "Tesla" charger. It really was from Volta Charging - The most utilized EV Charging Stations. You can see the markings at 0:19. Charge carefully indeed.

I've used them before and they typically look like Del Amo Fashion Center - Macy's | Torrance, CA | EV Station.