J1772 melting?

[gazepdapi]

Hey guys I've been using the J1772 adapter almost daily since I got the car, 8k miles currently and today when I removed the adapter it smelled like melted plastic and I noticed this. The inside of one of the connectors is starting to melt.

What could be causing this? I charge in the same spot every time. Would this be covered under warranty?

 

[brkaus]

It’s caused by a worn plug providing resistance in the circuit. The resistance creates heat.

It’s could be either side. Your adapter or the j1772. Dirty, worn/loose.

Check the other side of your adapter too? Heat will travel.

 

[gazepdapi]

Ok thanks... The other side looks just fine. Am I ok to keep using it or should I get a new one? I'll try another charger next time.

 

[DCGOO]

Ok thanks... The other side looks just fine. Am I ok to keep using it or should I get a new one? I'll try another charger next time.

Since it is already damaged, I would get one on order immediately and hope it does not fail completely before you receive it.

 

[davewill]

Ok thanks... The other side looks just fine. Am I ok to keep using it or should I get a new one? I'll try another charger next time.

I wouldn't. If it happened again, it could ruin the inlet on your car or worse. I also would look real hard at the J1772 plug that was involved. If it's damaged, then it'll need replacement, too.

 

[ewoodrick]

Also check the car to see if there are any issues there. Heat generally means a bad connection, something isn't the way it should be.

 

[MP3Mike]

Here is a thread where someone had a problem with a JuiceBox melting his J1772 adapters: Tesla J1772 Adapter Melting on a JuiceBox 40

 

[MP3Mike]

Hey guys I've been using the J1772 adapter almost daily since I got the car

@gazepdapi What brand/model of J1772 EVSE did this happen with?

 

[gazepdapi]

@gazepdapi What brand/model of J1772 EVSE did this happen with?

The one that came with the Car. I ordered another one. Didn't want to risk it

 

[MP3Mike]

The one that came with the Car. I ordered another one. Didn't want to risk it

I wasn't asking about the adapter, but what brand/model of charger are you putting the adapter on? (Is it a JuiceBox 40?)

 

[gazepdapi]

I wasn't asking about the adapter, but what brand/model of charger are you putting the adapter on? (Is it a JuiceBox 40?)

oh sorry. It's a delta EV charger. 30 AMP

 

[timothyK]

I just had the same thing happen to me for the second time at a public charger. The first time about 2 months ago the adapter was melted stuck to the J1772 handle and took a lot of force to remove. Tesla replaced it under warranty for me but didn't explain what could cause it. I assumed it was a faulty adapter. Now, at the same charger, the same thing happened again yesterday. This time it wasn't stuck because it hadn't cooled enough but it was certainly melted. I won't be using that charging station again. I've used many stations all over and this is the only one that it has happened at.

 

[davewill]

I just had the same thing happen to me for the second time at a public charger. The first time about 2 months ago the adapter was melted stuck to the J1772 handle and took a lot of force to remove. Tesla replaced it under warranty for me but didn't explain what could cause it. I assumed it was a faulty adapter. Now, at the same charger, the same thing happened again yesterday. This time it wasn't stuck because it hadn't cooled enough but it was certainly melted. I won't be using that charging station again. I've used many stations all over and this is the only one that it has happened at.

Whichever part was at fault the first time. It's a pretty good bet that the plug was damaged along with your first adapter. Until it's replaced, It's a danger to any car that uses it. Have you reported your experience to the owners?

 

[Sparrow]

Not going to help you with this issue now and maybe has nothing to do with the current problem, but for the future. When charging at home, I throttle back to at least 50% of the rated capacity of the charging equipment and/or outlet. When at home there are lots of hours to charge so lower charging rates would work just as well. The lower charging rates mean less heat and less heat means less stress on all the components. Just a thought.

 

[posity]

Your EV may have caught the equivalent of an STD from that public charger. This is a sticky problem: the provider of the charger doesn't have any good way to check the quality of their plug, so a bad public charger plug could go on to 'infect' a lot of cars. All it would take is a loose pin or connection in the public charger plug, or a pin contaminated with some substance, or a pin that has been mechanically damaged, or simply a pin whose mechanical tolerances are out of spec. About all you can do is to innoculate your bad adapter (buy a new one) and avoid any further contact with the possibly 'infected' charger. Will certainly be a bummer for all the customers of that public charger.

 

[MP3Mike]

Will certainly be a bummer for all the customers of that public charger.

It is even a bigger bummer to people with a native J1772 port that can't just replace an adapter. It might require replacing the actual charge port on the car...

 

[timothyK]

Whichever part was at fault the first time. It's a pretty good bet that the plug was damaged along with your first adapter. Until it's replaced, It's a danger to any car that uses it. Have you reported your experience to the owners?

The next day I saw someone else’s adapter stuck to the charger plug, so it was happening to more than just me. I took the adapter to a Tesla service center and before I even said a word they asked me if I was charging at a particular station. I did report it and eventually with all that evidence they posted signs to warn Tesla owners about the melting adapters. They claim they are working with the manufacturer to determine the problem. Other EV owners are still charging at this charger though. That’s risky in my opinion.