I had my J1772 adapter melt on Tuesday. I was working at a Panera while my car was charging and time flew by. 3 hours later I come up to my car and using the app I told it to stop charging and unlock the port. I then put some stuff in the trunk before pulling the cable and adapter out. I reached for the adapter to remove it from the cable and realized it was hot. Then I suddenly realized it was VERY hot when my hand started hurting. I had scalded my hand like I had picked up a too hot mug of coffee.
When I separated the plug and adapter a string of melted plastic connected the two. I stood there dumbfounded for a bit before putting the adapter in my car and walking into the local ATT store to ask for some paper and tape to mark the charging stall out of order (Volta spot #8 at the Veranda shopping center in Concord, CA). I then reported the stall as damaged through the Volta app w/picture and called them shortly after. Left a message because no one picked up and told them I would be speaking with Tesla about it. I then tried calling Tesla. Got their roadside assistance and was sorely disappointed in the conversation. The person on the phone didn't seem to understand and then warned me to "put my hand close to the charger" in the future to detect if it is hot, for my 'security'. It was a very odd conversation.
Fast toward to today and Volta connects with me. They replaced the charging cable on the charging stall and wanted to discuss everything I stated above. I had scheduled a service appointment when I couldn't get anyone live on the phone with an ounce of sense. They wanted to know if I had spoken with Tesla yet and, if so, what they said. I was frustrated with not being able to charge on the chargers at work without the adapter so I was headed to my local Tesla service center when I was on the phone with them.
The interactions with the staff at the Tesla Service center was disappointing. I spoke with one person, who would barely make eye contact with me, who insisted that this was not a warranty issue and that I had to pay for a new adapter. After some back and forth she said that I could pay for the adapter and leave the old one with her for her technician to open up. If he found a short they would refund me the cost as a warranty replacement. She still would barely make eye contact with me so I was feeling off about the entire situation. I paid for the replacement against my better judgment and took the melted adapter with me. I'm not deciding what to do about it. This thing was severely melted and smelled less like melting plastic and more like ash after a fire. I'm lucky my car didn't go up in flames given the smell of this thing.
The Volta rep was very interested in which model of J1772 adapter I had. An A series or a B series (The letter at the end of the part number, I guess - P/N: 1067348-00-A). The melted one is an A series. The replacement I just had to purchase was a B series.
Any thoughts or advice? There wasn't anything in apparent disrepair with the Volta charger. Everything seemed fine when I left the car.
Mine was a Volta charger as well.. I just don’t use them anymore. I feel as if their connectors are cheap and faulty. I’ve come across many Volta chargers that when plugged in, the connectors are sometimes so loose that it won’t even charge.
