Help Me Confirm the my Tesla Wall Connector is Wired Correctly

[lencap]

Greetings!

I recently purchased the Tesla J1772 Wall Connector. It's mounted in the same spot that my Clipper Creek HDS-40 was located, less than 5 feet from my electric panel. At the time the Clipper Creek was installed, 2014, 40AMPS was considered a powerful EVSE and the electrician used #6 gauge three wire multi-strand for the connection. The wires are two white and one black. The second white wire is capped off in the panel and at the charger, unused.

When the new Tesla connector was installed it was connected to the 40AMP circuit and used the original wiring. A friend, who is a handyman and does electrical work as part of his craft installed the new Wall Connector for me. He is trained, but not a certified electrician, and after checking with SquareD told me that the wiring the powered my old EVSE could safely be used to upgrade to a 60AMP circuit with the Tesla Wall Connector.

The home electric panel is a SquareD box, as are all the circuit breakers. The Wall Connector is torqued to the specified spec, and after going through the registration process on my home WiFi everything is working fine. The car charges at 43-44 miles/hour, pulls 48 Amps, 11KW, and there doesn't seem to be any issue at all. The charging cable remains cool to the touch, and I don't have any concerns. I used the Tesla Authorization process to connect the Wall Connector, and it confirms it's connected to a 60 AMP circuit. When I charge is shows 48AMPs, 11KWh. No errors or problems during or after the authorization process.

A neighbor, a very hand guy, but with no formal electrical certification or training, was chatting with me and suggested that the wiring is incorrect. He said that there are several grades of #6 gauge wire and are rated for either 55/65/75 amp capacity. My original electrician stripped the sheathing during the installation so I can't confirm what AMP rating it may have. He's since retired and I can't reach him, but everything he did originally was to code.

I checked with a friend who services large telephone installations, and is very familiar with wiring and codes and works with electricians nearly every day. He came to my home and said I shouldn't be concerned, and that everything is fine. He checked the torque on all the electrical connections, and they are all to spec (he has the correct tools to do this). He also opened my panel and confirmed that the new 60AMP Square D circuit breaker is the correct model for the panel I own, and also confirmed that SquareD confirms that the panel is capable of accepting a 60AMP circuit breaker and is approved for wire of #6 gauge or heavier. He also confirmed that the actual run from the panel to the Wall Connector is about 6 feet.

Pictures are attached.

So, am I OK?

By the way the Wall Connector is a BIG upgrade from the Clipper Creek in every way, as it should be given the updated design. It charges both my Model Y and my wife's BMW 330e easily and without any issues. Naturally I would have preferred to get the newest Wall Connector announced today with an integrated NACS and J1772 combo connection, but I'm perfectly happy with the one I have. It would have been a nice feature to have the ability to open the Tesla charge port from the connecting plug, but the standard Tesla adapter works fine.

 

[1965Falcon]

Your handy friend is correct that it depends on the kind of 6 awg wire. The only kind that will support 60amps per NEC is THHN wire in conduit. If you used 6awg NM-B wire (the kind that would need to be stripped) then it would be rated at 55 amps. You should also have a ground hooked up to the wall charger.

 

[lencap]

1965Falcon - thanks for the post. The connection is grounded solidly between the panel and the Wall Connector, and the entire house ground has been checked annually by certified electricians as part of our home service contract. Since our wire is stripped, I assume from your post that it is rated for 55 Amp continuous service, which seems adequate for a constant 48AMP load from the Wall Connector, and all should be fine. Am I correct in that assumption?

 

[1965Falcon]

Per NEC, you can only have a constant load at 80% of amperage rating of the wire. That is why your wall connector is only drawing 48 amps of the 60 amp circuit. To be code compliant, you'd need to swap the breaker to 55 amps or 50 and then program the wall connector for a max draw of 80%. Or, swap out the wire with THHN wire in conduit and keep the 60 amp breaker.

 

[Tronguy]

Um. You seem to be hitting all the correct bases, but I seem to discern one, maybe two things that might have been missed. I'm not an electrician, but do have a Wall Connector in the garage, and I'm the maniac who Reads Manuals.

First: There's this thing called, "Load Analysis". You want to, say, put in a 60A circuit? Then there's this thing electricians do, where they take the amperage coming into the house, work out the various loads (air conditioning, lighting, appliances, etc.) and verify, with the additional new load, that you're not going to pop the mains breaker.

My place is relatively new construction, we have 200A service (and the mains breaker to prove it). I sent the electrician pictures of the panel and a bit of a close-up of the writing on the two sides. The electrician did his bit and gave the panel the magic wand blessing that stated that adding a 60A circuit wouldn't be a issue.

Your breaker panel looks much fuller than mine and is physically smaller. Um.

There have been cases bruited around this forum where homeowners have been told that they need a higher amperage service and a different/bigger breaker panel. Also, since I'm sort of aware of this kind of thing, I spotted the announcement, early this year, where the State of New Jersey will fund the cost of a heavier drop from the power pole for those homeowners who are getting BEVs. So.. your not mentioning the Load Analysis, and the use of people who.. may not know how to do it, or are unaware of the requirement, is a red flag.

By the by: In my municipality, the addition of a Wall Connector to the breaker box would trigger both an electrical permit application and a visit from the local building inspector. In my experience, these guys aren't adverse to homeowners and/or tyros doing things, but they do look over the results with an eagle eye. The better to keep houses from burning down, don't-cha know.

Second thing: We around here know that a Tesla Wall Connector needs two hots and a ground in order to operate correctly. This is somewhat different than, say, a NEMA14-50 socket, which wants two hots, a ground, and a neutral, for a total of four wires.

Now, in the main breaker panel in a house, the neutral (coming from the pole) and the ground (coming from a 6' copper stake pounded into the physical ground so that only 2" sticks out, next to the power entry to the house) are physically bonded together.

So: I get it: Two hots. One ground. That's three wires. But you said you've got two white wires and a single black wire, and one of the two white wires is capped off. Um. That's two wires? That might work for L1 charging (at 120 VAC) with no ground wire, but Something Sounds Wrong. Um. It's can't be too wrong, what with your 48A and the Tesla Wall Connector not throwing errors left, right, and center, but.. what?

 

[dafish]

Len:

While I did install #6 THHN, if I had 6/3 Romex, or didn't know what #6 I had, I would not be overly worried about the difference. Yes, technically you might be limited to 44 amps instead of 48, but I would not get too concerned myself. A wire roughly similar (but NOT THE SAME) used in canada is also allowed to be used at 60 amp.

On the other hand my own testing does show that 48 amps has some mild efficiency loss relative to 40 amps. In fact, 36 amps has been, in my testing, more efficient. Variances are almost insignificant, but the point is that if you elect to provision at 50 amps (40 amp charging) you're only a tad slower.

There are posts around that cover total load analysis, and it's not a bad idea. On the other hand that's a pretty small panel so if you're on a 200 amp service it's almost certainly a non-issue.

 

[lencap]

Thanks for all of the comments - they are much appreciated.

I may not have been clear in earlier posts. As an overriding perspective I want to have a fully code compliant charging solution regardless of how I decide to configure the Wall Connector. I want no risk of having something go wrong due to my negligence or lack of knowledge.

My Clipper Creek HDS-40 EVSE became unreliable due to a problem with the pilot wire sporadically losing continuity, as diagnosed by their tech team. That's why I bought the Tesla Wall Connector, opting for the J1772 connector since it will charge both of my cars using the fully approved Tesla NACS to J1772 adapter. If the Clipper Creek didn't have a problem I'd continue using it as is, without upgrading to the Wall Connector.

Since I had to change to the new Connector I decided that it would great if I could increase my home charging speed, which wasn't an option on the Clipper Creek. So I upgraded the circuit breaker to a 60AMP unit. At the time my friend seemed to believe that this would require no new permit since I was merely upgrading the breaker, not installing any new wiring, and he believed the existing wiring was sufficient.

I asked our local power company if there are any rebates/credits for installing new EV charging equipment, and they said "possibly yes", but since I already have an EVSE installed they weren't sure if I would qualify. They suggested contacting their installation team. While doing that I also contacted a local company specializing in EV installation. They provided a tentative quote of nearly $1,400 to remove my old EVSE, mount the Wall Connector and run a new line from the service connection to my home to the panel in my garage (the picture I posted earlier) to fully comply with local code and inspection requirements. I didn't expect such a high quote, and decided to consult my friend, who removed the EVSE, installed the Wall Connector and wired it with the existing #6 wiring and 40AMP circuit breaker.

Following that, he installed the higher 60AMP breaker today, removing the 40AMP breaker and continued to use the existing wiring. To answer an earlier post the current #6 wire cable contains three wires, two white, one black and a copper ground wire. The second white wire isn't connected to the circuit breaker or to the Wall Connector. The black and white wires are connected to the breaker, and the ground wire is grounded in the panel and all of the wires runs directly to the Wall Connector, and are connected as indicated in the Owner manual describing wiring options.

In the original electrician quote the price of dismounting the EVSE and installing the Wall connector was over $800, including $175 for the permit, the rest for the removal/install using the existing wiring/breaker, which seemed excessive to me. I tried to avoid these costs, and did not believe a new permit was needed since the current wiring met code when installed by a licensed electrician.

Now, reading all of your comments, I'm trying to reconsider my initial thoughts and do this correctly. I believe my choices are:

• Use the newly mounted Wall Connector, reinstall the 40AMP breaker, re-initialize it at 40AMPs and be content to charge at 30miles/hour.
• If I upgrade to a 60AMP service it's likely that the existing wiring will not meet code. To replace it will be expensive since the wall will have to be opened, old wire removed, new wire installed.
• Keep the existing wiring, downgrade the breaker to 50AMPs, which appears to meet code, and have about 25% faster charging.

Frankly, I don't need the faster charging, it's merely a convenience and could be useful. My model Y is a 2023 SR AWD, 279 mile range, which meets 95% of my daily travel needs. For longer trips I SuperCharge on the road. At home I normally charge from 20-80%, varying it to 10-90 on occasion, and infrequently below 10-100% to rebalance the battery pack. The faster charging speeds are welcome, but not madatory.

Just to be clear, regardless of the solution I want to be fully complaint will all codes, rules, etc. Saving money is nice, but doing so while violating code/rules is foolish. My initial addition of the 60AMP circuit wasn't meant to avoid code, or create a potentially unsafe condition, it was merely my misunderstanding of the wiring capacity limits. I also don't want to spend nearly $1,000 if it isn't necessary, and that's why I didn't use an electrician initially.

The above is what I should have written initially, but I was in "adrenaline" mode after connecting the 60AMP service, reinitializing the Setup Process, and seeing the car charge at 48AMPS, so my post was inaccurate and not very clear - sorry for the confusion.

There may indeed be some potential rebate for installing an upgraded EV service, but the rules are complex and not very clear about what is required and what the rebate may be. Clearly an electrician would have more information, but surprisingly I've gotten conflicting information from two firms, both recommended by the local power company.

Until I resolve the wiring issues I'm limiting the charging power on the In Car Charge Menu to 40AMPS, to avoid any potential problems.

So, given all that, what is the best path forward?

 

[kpanda17]

Not sure if anyone stated, but all of the electrical screw downs need to be to a specific torque amount
Read rhe WC install guide, cover to cover
Make sure everything was done to spec
MaKe sure the wire tightening was done to the torque amounts stated

 

[lencap]

All are torqued to spec 50inch/pounds, if I recall correctly, when initially installed. Everything else followed as instructed. Also beware that the Wall Connector only accesses WiFi through 2.4Ghz connection, not 5G. All wiring mounts comply with guide locations as well.

 

[dafish]

Provision to 50 amp is safest and surest. There is a mild arguement to move to a 50 breaker…

next option? You tell us the wire is black/black/white + ground. every 6/3 Romex I’ve seem has been red/black/white. It’s still a guess, but the odds are it’s THHN. if the panel was opened you should, just before it exits the panel, see if it’s got a covering outer insulation. If so it’s Romex.

or find the wire as it passes in an attic or…. The first electrician found a route somehow…

what amp service to you have?

 

[E90alex]

Thanks for all of the comments - they are much appreciated.

I may not have been clear in earlier posts. As an overriding perspective I want to have a fully code compliant charging solution regardless of how I decide to configure the Wall Connector. I want no risk of having something go wrong due to my negligence or lack of knowledge.

My Clipper Creek HDS-40 EVSE became unreliable due to a problem with the pilot wire sporadically losing continuity, as diagnosed by their tech team. That's why I bought the Tesla Wall Connector, opting for the J1772 connector since it will charge both of my cars using the fully approved Tesla NACS to J1772 adapter. If the Clipper Creek didn't have a problem I'd continue using it as is, without upgrading to the Wall Connector.

Since I had to change to the new Connector I decided that it would great if I could increase my home charging speed, which wasn't an option on the Clipper Creek. So I upgraded the circuit breaker to a 60AMP unit. At the time my friend seemed to believe that this would require no new permit since I was merely upgrading the breaker, not installing any new wiring, and he believed the existing wiring was sufficient.

I asked our local power company if there are any rebates/credits for installing new EV charging equipment, and they said "possibly yes", but since I already have an EVSE installed they weren't sure if I would qualify. They suggested contacting their installation team. While doing that I also contacted a local company specializing in EV installation. They provided a tentative quote of nearly $1,400 to remove my old EVSE, mount the Wall Connector and run a new line from the service connection to my home to the panel in my garage (the picture I posted earlier) to fully comply with local code and inspection requirements. I didn't expect such a high quote, and decided to consult my friend, who removed the EVSE, installed the Wall Connector and wired it with the existing #6 wiring and 40AMP circuit breaker.

Following that, he installed the higher 60AMP breaker today, removing the 40AMP breaker and continued to use the existing wiring. To answer an earlier post the current #6 wire cable contains three wires, two white, one black and a copper ground wire. The second white wire isn't connected to the circuit breaker or to the Wall Connector. The black and white wires are connected to the breaker, and the ground wire is grounded in the panel and all of the wires runs directly to the Wall Connector, and are connected as indicated in the Owner manual describing wiring options.

In the original electrician quote the price of dismounting the EVSE and installing the Wall connector was over $800, including $175 for the permit, the rest for the removal/install using the existing wiring/breaker, which seemed excessive to me. I tried to avoid these costs, and did not believe a new permit was needed since the current wiring met code when installed by a licensed electrician.

Now, reading all of your comments, I'm trying to reconsider my initial thoughts and do this correctly. I believe my choices are:

• Use the newly mounted Wall Connector, reinstall the 40AMP breaker, re-initialize it at 40AMPs and be content to charge at 30miles/hour.
• If I upgrade to a 60AMP service it's likely that the existing wiring will not meet code. To replace it will be expensive since the wall will have to be opened, old wire removed, new wire installed.
• Keep the existing wiring, downgrade the breaker to 50AMPs, which appears to meet code, and have about 25% faster charging.

Frankly, I don't need the faster charging, it's merely a convenience and could be useful. My model Y is a 2023 SR AWD, 279 mile range, which meets 95% of my daily travel needs. For longer trips I SuperCharge on the road. At home I normally charge from 20-80%, varying it to 10-90 on occasion, and infrequently below 10-100% to rebalance the battery pack. The faster charging speeds are welcome, but not madatory.

Just to be clear, regardless of the solution I want to be fully complaint will all codes, rules, etc. Saving money is nice, but doing so while violating code/rules is foolish. My initial addition of the 60AMP circuit wasn't meant to avoid code, or create a potentially unsafe condition, it was merely my misunderstanding of the wiring capacity limits. I also don't want to spend nearly $1,000 if it isn't necessary, and that's why I didn't use an electrician initially.

The above is what I should have written initially, but I was in "adrenaline" mode after connecting the 60AMP service, reinitializing the Setup Process, and seeing the car charge at 48AMPS, so my post was inaccurate and not very clear - sorry for the confusion.

There may indeed be some potential rebate for installing an upgraded EV service, but the rules are complex and not very clear about what is required and what the rebate may be. Clearly an electrician would have more information, but surprisingly I've gotten conflicting information from two firms, both recommended by the local power company.

Until I resolve the wiring issues I'm limiting the charging power on the In Car Charge Menu to 40AMPS, to avoid any potential problems.

So, given all that, what is the best path forward?

Swapping to a 50 amp breaker and reconfiguring the wall connector as such is the cheapest and easiest solution that would meet code.

You can also reconfigure the wall connector to 50 amp and leave the 60 amp breaker. That wouldn’t meet code but the wall connector won’t pull more than 40 amps in that setting which is within the limits of the 6 gauge wire.

Some licensed electricians will even use a 60 amp breaker and 6/3 romex for a 48 amp EVSE and say it’s fine. There are various posts on here stating as such and lots of debate back and forth since it’s technically against code going by the book but in actual practice it works fine.

 

[lencap]

House has 200 amp service. The current wire is stranded copper three wire - white, white, black and copper ground. Only one white and black are used. If changing the breaker to 50 amp meets code, that’s likely the easiest upgrade. While not taking full advantage of the Wall Connector’s 60amp capability it is 25% faster than what I originally had. During the Setup procedure the WiFi connection was “iffy” and didn’t read the circuit’s power automatically (2.4Ghz signal was slow and weak) so I had to manually enter the amperage. The choices were 40 or 60, I chose 60 and am limiting the power to 40 Amps through the in car charging selector. It charged fine overnight with that setting.

From Falcon’s comments the wire appears to match the description for 6awg NM-B wire, with a 55amp max capacity by code. Running higher amp wire would be expensive and require carpenter/painter repair of the wallboard, a cost I’d like to avoid.

I’ll likely contact an electrician approved by my utility company today and get his opinion.

 

[E90alex]

House has 200 amp service. The current wire is stranded copper three wire - white, white, black and copper ground. Only one white and black are used. If changing the breaker to 50 amp meets code, that’s likely the easiest upgrade. While not taking full advantage of the Wall Connector’s 60amp capability it is 25% faster than what I originally had. During the Setup procedure the WiFi connection was “iffy” and didn’t read the circuit’s power automatically (2.4Ghz signal was slow and weak) so I had to manually enter the amperage. The choices were 40 or 60, I chose 60 and am limiting the power to 40 Amps through the in car charging selector. It charged fine overnight with that setting.

From Falcon’s comments the wire appears to match the description for 6awg NM-B wire, with a 55amp max capacity by code. Running higher amp wire would be expensive and require carpenter/painter repair of the wallboard, a cost I’d like to avoid.

I’ll likely contact an electrician approved by my utility company today and get his opinion.

There is no way for the wall connector to “read” or otherwise detect what is the amp rating of the circuit is installed on. It has to be manually specified.

 

[Tronguy]

House has 200 amp service. The current wire is stranded copper three wire - white, white, black and copper ground. Only one white and black are used. If changing the breaker to 50 amp meets code, that’s likely the easiest upgrade. While not taking full advantage of the Wall Connector’s 60amp capability it is 25% faster than what I originally had. During the Setup procedure the WiFi connection was “iffy” and didn’t read the circuit’s power automatically (2.4Ghz signal was slow and weak) so I had to manually enter the amperage. The choices were 40 or 60, I chose 60 and am limiting the power to 40 Amps through the in car charging selector. It charged fine overnight with that setting.

From Falcon’s comments the wire appears to match the description for 6awg NM-B wire, with a 55amp max capacity by code. Running higher amp wire would be expensive and require carpenter/painter repair of the wallboard, a cost I’d like to avoid.

I’ll likely contact an electrician approved by my utility company today and get his opinion.

A few things.

First: I've got 200A service as well; and the number of actual breakers on your panel is fairly close to mine, mine just happens to have more slots. So, I suspect that if a load calculations gets done, you'll pass.

Second: Just joking here, but one should start counting on one's fingers . The current wire is "Stranded copper three wire - white, white, black, and copper ground." Um. That's four wires, including the ground, and it's that miscounting that accounted for my previous confusion.

I just did a little reading. Interesting. The NEC has had varying requirements over time, but, if one is running a straight 240 VAC load, it's apparently OK to use a white wire (which is normally for neutral) as one hot wire and the black wire as the other hot wire. In the TWC's case, the ground wire (copper) would be used as the third wire, ground. I think. Any real electricians out there?

Finally, I'll just make this micro lecture that I do from time to time.

Say you've got some gauge wire. It has a resistance. You run 48A through it. Power dissipated in that wire goes as P=48*48*Resistance_of_Wire.

Fine and dandy. Now, welcome to thermodynamics. There's this concept of Thermal Resistance. For those of us who muck with it, it's usually marked with the Greek letter Phi. Since there's no Greek on this site, let's use "P". The units of P are C/Watt; that is, temperature (in Celsius) per Watt.

The temperature rise above ambient is Trise = P*Wattage - Tambient.

So, consider that hank of wire in the wall. When the length of that wire is dissipating power, the copper gets warm, thermal energy passes through the electrical insulation, some gets conducted down the length of the wire. Of the energy that warms up the insulation, that energy ends up in the wall, and the wall passes energy on to the environment, and so on. P(wire_to_ambient) is a vaguely complex function of several different paths to the outside world. It's the job of standards setters and the like to Make Absolutely Sure that, when the maximum amount of current that a wire is rated for is passing through said wire, said wire never gets hot enough to start singing or degrading the actual plastic insulation. (Notice that word, "degrade". It means that it might take more than one temperature excursion to start doing damage. So, using 55A wire that should be rated for 60A means that, say, it might last, instead of 50 years, ten years.)

So, people with lots of thermocouples, examples of house construction, environmental chambers, vertical runs, different types of insulation, and all that do their studies and out pops tables like these. Which electricians really know about, or should. I should mention that in that link, not only do they mention what type of insulation ("Phi", again) but what the ambient temperature is. And what kind of construction. And how long the wire is (for voltage drop purposes.) Stuff put into a house isn't the same as what's used in commercial environments.

In the end, it's all about the heat and temperature. And the general idea of not burning down one's house.

So, when you hear somebody saying, "Well, it's only OK for 55A, but people use it as a 60A circuit anyway without trouble.", well.. Don't Do That Thing. Unless you got real blessings from the Electrician who knows what they're doing. (Remember that bit that copper conducts heat down its length, never mind electrons? If some electrician pops in here and says, "Sure, it's safe to sink some of that heat into the breaker panel!", I'm not going to argue with him/her. But if that's not the case... stick to the correct gauge wire.)

It's a little confusing, but the NEC says that, "For a steady, continuous load, a circuit rated at X amps should be carrying no more than 80% of X." Again, the NEC is talking about getting rid of the heat. So, a 55A rated wire, if that's what you're running, should never be carrying more than 44A. Since you're not going to find a 55A breaker, you'd be much safer running with a 50A breaker. Do that, tell the TWC that you're on a 50A circuit, and the TWC and car will keep you at 40A, max.

And we'll all go away happy.

Finally: Your TWC is blinking Right Next To The Breaker Panel. That's like, what, maybe five feet of wire, six on the outside? In which case, why not just stuff the gauge wire and type that's good for more than 60A (see that table) into the wall, get your maximum current, and stop people nattering at you?

 

[Rocky_H]

@lencap I still don't think I've seen a solid description or picture of what type your wire is exactly. If it's a bundle of wires together in a black plastic sheath, then that is NM-B. But if it's individual loose wires sitting in conduit, then that would be THHN. And the answer of whether this is code compliant for a 60A circuit depends on that. Since you said the insulation colors had two that were white, that makes me think it's just separate wires in conduit, since NM-B would have different premade colors included (white, black, red, and bare copper)

 

[lencap]

Again, thanks for the help. Tronguy, you have a point about how to count wires, sorry I wasn’t more clear, but you are correct - three wires for connections, one solid copper for ground. Despite being close to the Wall Connector the space between it and the panel is very tight. The original electrician ran the wire directly below the panel about two feet, then horizontally across toward the box, then upward to enter the EVSE from below into the Clipper Creek.

Rocky - When we removed the old EVSE and mounted the Wall Connector there was not very much extra wire, and what there was had no sheathing. It is hard to see the color of the sheathing clearly - it’s either gray or black, and even in the panel the electrician removed all the sheathing making it hard to know for sure what wire it is. I’m assuming it’s NM-B, 55AMP capable. When he installed the connecting wire he cut out wallboard below the panel, across to it, and also upward to connect it. Despite being a short distance it cost nearly $300 to repair the wall and repaint it. That’s the primary reason for not upgrading the wiring to 60amp capacity. I’m also a senior, have several medical issues and no longer can do simple repairs with the kind of quality I’d like, something that is VERY frustrating. But, I am fortunate to have friends with lots of skills, which is how I got this far connecting the Wall Connector.

My WiFi is a combined Spectrum 5G & 2.4Ghz router, but I cannot select what frequency is broadcast. When I attempted to commission the connector the router kept reverting to 5G, preventing it from connecting. I have to call Spectrum mobile, get routed to service, then transferred to mobile service, then again routed to WiFi to change my mobile phone to 2.4Ghz WiFi. That works, but it’s at least a 30 minute phone call, and when it does connect all I have is my iPhone 14 Pro to select the various options to complete the installation. The last two times I tried it the connection eventually worked, but the maximum charging rate the drop down menu had 40 and 60 amp choices, no 50, which is why I picked 60 during setup. To limit power to 40amps I manually select 40 amps on the Tesla’s charging screen, otherwise it defaults to 48amps, which exceeds code.

i tried to call the electrician today, but he’s on a job, Not sure when he’ll call back. To complicate matters further, our electric company has some rebates for new EV wiring installs, but it’s not clear if I’ll qualify. Regardless, they won’t issue any rebate without a permit and certified electrician doing the work. And, as someone mentioned in another post, it’s possible that failing to have an inspected EV hookup may be grounds for voiding fire insurance, despite that being a remote possibility the impact is too large to ignore.

I really hate the idea that I may have to pay $1,000 for an electrician to install 60amp capable wiring, file a permit and complete the install when I can either reinstall the 40amp breaker, and return to the same charging level I had originally. I can also take out the 60amp breaker, install a 50 amp with the current wire and for $25 I’ll have 25% faster charging than I did before with 40amp throughput. Paying an extra $1,000 to upgrade from 50 to 60 amps doesn’t seem worth it. The bigger issue, it seems to me, is having the Wall Connector inspected and confirmed to be in compliance with local code. That will likely require an electrician, even though the prior EVSE operated for 8 years without incident on the existing circuit. The question is Do I have to permit and inspect the new Wall Connector? Tesla will say yes, and frankly it seems like the right thing to do, but I hate having to pay the added costs.

 

[Tronguy]

So, you've got wire good for 50A. Put in a 50A breaker, tell the Wall Connector it's a 50A circuit, you'll get 40A out of it, and you're DONE.

The extra 8A isn't worth the extra hassle.

Now, running 48A on a 55A circuit, that's a hassle, when one considers the downsides. Like burning/singing stuff, now or later.

 

[lencap]

Agreed. The only remaining issue is the permit. I know all is to code, but the Wall Connector as installed now doesn't have a permit, and isn't inspected. I know the risk is low for potential fire or other hazards, but it's not zero. As a senior if I decide to sell I'm pretty sure whoever inspects the house for the buyer will ask if the Wall Connector has the proper permits. That may be a bigger hassle than pulling a permit now, but it's not clear if it's required since it's replacing an existing EVSE connection.

 

[lencap]

I've decided the easiest route isn't always the best one. I've contacted my local electric utility and applied for a EV installation inspection and possible rebate. Whether I get the rebate or not, I'll feel better knowing that it will be inspected by an approved electrician, and if needed a permit will be pulled, and the inspector will certify that all is well. I'll install the 50AMP breaker, and hopefully all the electrician will have to do is check the install and pull the permit. If more expense is needed, so be it, but peace of mind is worth something too.

Thanks again for all the help. If never fails to amaze me how knowledgeable the forum members are about all things EV related - much appreciated.

 

[Tronguy]

Agreed. The only remaining issue is the permit. I know all is to code, but the Wall Connector as installed now doesn't have a permit, and isn't inspected. I know the risk is low for potential fire or other hazards, but it's not zero. As a senior if I decide to sell I'm pretty sure whoever inspects the house for the buyer will ask if the Wall Connector has the proper permits. That may be a bigger hassle than pulling a permit now, but it's not clear if it's required since it's replacing an existing EVSE connection.

Don't know how it is in your area, but, over here, getting a permit for an after-the-fact inspection isn't considered a big deal. The main thing is that an electrical inspector with knowledge chops is going to take a look-see about what was done.

If he says, "Good!", you're good.

If he says, "Bad", then you get whatever-the-heck-it-is fixed, thank your lucky stars he found it, and then have him/her come in and stamp it.

That's it.

And paying for it, of course. But what you're paying for, really, is peace of mind.

Saying this cautiously: If one is doing a home reno where serious amounts of drywall are being removed, new outlets are going in, junction boxes might be involved, and so on, there's typically a rough-in inspection before the dry wall goes back up, then a final inspection after the drywall goes in with the inspector weilding his/her stamp. For something like a Wall Connector, most of that goes out the window. The most that'll need to be done would be to remove the front cover of the breaker panel so the inspector can See Inside and, possibly, remove the cover of the Wall Connector, likewise. You'll need a basic screwdriver for the first, whatever tool it is that came with the WC for the second. And be careful with your hands and where they go in both cases.

Funny stories:

• Back when I lived in another town, the SO and I commissioned a kitchen reno. We had a good friend/neighbor across the street who happened to be a Master Electrician. We politely offered the electrical portion of the job to him, promising full pay. I mean, we liked the guy. There was quite a bit wrong with the electrical in and around the kitchen, not to mention the new stuff to get it up to code, and I played Electrician's Helper, seeing as I knew one end of a pair of dykes from another. At the rough-in inspection, the neighbor couldn't be in that day, so I hung out and pointed at this and that to the inspector. Who was giving me the shifty eye.. A homeowner, doing all this? After five minutes or so I mentioned, naturally as part of the conversation, that <NEIGHBOR'S FIRST NAME> had said this-and-that when fixing a junction box that had been left hanging by the previous owner. At which point, the inspector wheeled on me and said, "Who's doing this work?" "Um. <NEIGHBOR>, is that OK?" The guy ripped his hat off his head, jumped on it once or twice, and said, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT! I'VE BEEN WASTING MY TIME!", stamped the piece of paper, grabbed his hat, and blew out the door.

Guess certain electricians get a rep with the local inspectors .​

• Back in 2008 had solar installed. The installers.. kind of short-circuited this whole rough-in, final inspection stuff, and, in fact, didn't apply for the permits until a couple of days after the panels and inverters were installed and the city power meter was running backwards. As it happens, they did a Very Good Job (looks neat, clean, and, yup, it's still running up there.) I got to be the lucky one to shepherd the electrical inspector around, no installers in evidence. Being of electronic training, I was fully aware of what all the whizz-bang stuff on the wall was there for, so this wasn't a big problem, I guess. Except that I'm not really an electrician and, well, if there was Something Wrong there was likely to be Trouble.

I needn't have worried. This was the first solar installation this guy had ever seen and he looked like it was his first time in Times Square. I showed him where all the wires came to and from, how the panels were wired in series and parallel, where the DC distribution box was, the four (!) different Frankenstein-Monster cutoffs, breakers, and so on. I offered to take the panels off of this-and-that so he could see details, but he demurred. After ten minutes or so, he shook his head, stamped the bit of paper, and was on his way.​