My 14-50 pigtailed HPWC started developing the "Check power source. Unable to charge" message requiring a reset, then it would trip again after 1-2 miles. So I opened it up and found this (see image below). This pigtailed HPWC has been in use for over a year without issues at 40A charging current. It doesn't look like the board is fried because it was still charging for 1-2 miles. What do you guys think? Obviously wire got too hot. Should I get another pigtail but dial it down to say 30A? My fear is that the contact is charcoal now and a new pigtail would only cause more heat due to more resistance at the contact.
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HPWC fried wire. Still usable?
- Thread starter teethdood
- Start date
Puddles
Member
That’s ugly!
I’m going to leapfrog past the “what can I do with this” and get straight to the “who can we blame.”
Are we sure that black cable (and maybe the red too, hard to see around the corner) was stripped back far enough? It’s a common enough issue to see insulation caught between the cable and the clamp, which is bad for obvious reasons.
I’m going to leapfrog past the “what can I do with this” and get straight to the “who can we blame.”
Are we sure that black cable (and maybe the red too, hard to see around the corner) was stripped back far enough? It’s a common enough issue to see insulation caught between the cable and the clamp, which is bad for obvious reasons.
Replace the line for sure, and clean out any char.
This is my input...
I'm going to guess that the set screw was either not tight enough, or the cable wasn't inserted fully.
I had a miserable time making sure my install was perfect. Even going the end crimped end route.
I used 2 gauge all the way on my install, from the sub panel to the HPWC. I spent so much time resetting the connection to insure the crimped ends were a) All the way in and B) Tight tight tight. Even when I thought I had B covered, A wasn't good enough.... spent maybe an hour triple checking to insure the cable and the necessary bends were going to stay in place to satisfy A and B. Huge pain for 2 AWG, but worth it so I could charge at 17kW.
Would like to hear a follow up if you can continue using your HPWC. From what I see... you may still be in luck but have to work with it to clean it up.
-TechVP
This is my input...
I'm going to guess that the set screw was either not tight enough, or the cable wasn't inserted fully.
I had a miserable time making sure my install was perfect. Even going the end crimped end route.
I used 2 gauge all the way on my install, from the sub panel to the HPWC. I spent so much time resetting the connection to insure the crimped ends were a) All the way in and B) Tight tight tight. Even when I thought I had B covered, A wasn't good enough.... spent maybe an hour triple checking to insure the cable and the necessary bends were going to stay in place to satisfy A and B. Huge pain for 2 AWG, but worth it so I could charge at 17kW.
Would like to hear a follow up if you can continue using your HPWC. From what I see... you may still be in luck but have to work with it to clean it up.
-TechVP
this occurs when your wires are attached loose. the attachment must be very tight since the cables expand when in use. The connection needs to be replaced. there is a guy in Southern California who has repaired them. So I know its possible to find an electrical engineer that can do the fix. Good Luck
Replace the wall charger. Really. The termination block is trash and I see blistering on the comm connector PCB to the left, there will undoubtedly be damage on the main PCB below the termination block.
This can be caused by an improperly terminated wire as mentioned above by others. It can also be caused by a surge or other problems. I would check your breaker for damage, probably replace it too, especially if it didn’t trip when the charger cooked itself. Check your 14-50 outlet connections and make sure everything looks good in there too.
Running a pigtail / dryer cable from your 14-50 outlet into your wall charger adds another point of potential failure — especially if your pigtail is long. But it can and does work just fine. I have my gen-1 HPWC on a pigtail plugged into a 14-50 outlet.
This is my current solution since my gen-1 UMC died last year and new UMCs were out of stock. I kept this setup and leave my new UMC in the trunk of the car with the adapters since I don’t like charging at 32A when this charges at 40A. Bought the wall charger when I bought the car, but never properly installed as intended since it turned out I needed a service and panel upgrade and a huge run for a new sub panel in the garage to do what I wanted. I already had a 14-50 in the garage, not in the most convenient place, but plenty usable so we’ve ran with it for the last 4 years.
This can be caused by an improperly terminated wire as mentioned above by others. It can also be caused by a surge or other problems. I would check your breaker for damage, probably replace it too, especially if it didn’t trip when the charger cooked itself. Check your 14-50 outlet connections and make sure everything looks good in there too.
Running a pigtail / dryer cable from your 14-50 outlet into your wall charger adds another point of potential failure — especially if your pigtail is long. But it can and does work just fine. I have my gen-1 HPWC on a pigtail plugged into a 14-50 outlet.
This is my current solution since my gen-1 UMC died last year and new UMCs were out of stock. I kept this setup and leave my new UMC in the trunk of the car with the adapters since I don’t like charging at 32A when this charges at 40A. Bought the wall charger when I bought the car, but never properly installed as intended since it turned out I needed a service and panel upgrade and a huge run for a new sub panel in the garage to do what I wanted. I already had a 14-50 in the garage, not in the most convenient place, but plenty usable so we’ve ran with it for the last 4 years.
Did it come from Tesla as a pigtailed HPWC or is that something that you did to it?
Tesla does not sell them with a pigtail. You have to do it yourself. Uses a 4-wire [50A] dryer hook-up cable.
richrootes
Member
They did/do sell them with a 14-50 pigtail - there was a part number and everything
I guess I missed that and/or they must not have offered that for very long. They still offer the mobile charger (UMC) with the fixed 14-50 pigtail that will charge up to 40A. Is that what you’re talking about? Or did they actually offer a full HPWC already wired with the 14-50 cable?
Present tense--correct.
"did" - correct
"do" - incorrect
It was a real product that Tesla sold officially for a while. But it went in and out of stock a few times, and the last time they had it, back in September of 2019, they announced that it would be for the last time and was being discontinued.
"Note: Limited inventory available. Once current stock is sold, this product will no longer be available."
Here's where someone noticed that note on the product listing at that time.
What happened to the Tesla Wall Connector with the NEMA 14-50 plug?
I finally got around to calling Tesla a couple of weeks ago to see what they can do. It turns out HPWCs (even the referral reward ones) have a 4-year warranty. I got a new HPWC (non-Elon Musk) from the sales department because the referral reward department was away. I simply removed the Elon Musk signature fascia from the old and popped it into the new and voila! The charging handle is shiny instead of matte but I'm not complaining. Happy times!
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