Need some serious help with my charging issue

[integraguy2001]

I am in NJ, I purchased my Model 3 RWD 2023 around Feb of this year. I bought a Juicebox 40 amp plugin charger and had an electrician installed it for me. I am starting to having some issues with it. So at times it will intermittently stop charging, I had to manually going into the Tesla App to start charging again. There's no pattern, sometimes it would charge for 20 mins, other times, it would charge for 5 mins. Very annoying.

First thing I did was to contact JuiceBox support, and their support are amatures, they sent me a replacement, 3 times, first two times, it was a short cable model, I wanted to a 25 ft cable. Finally the 3rd time, I received the right model, plug it in, same issue.... ahh... now was told I can't return it because it's over 30 days, amazon was really good and could refund me but i had to pay 20% restocking fee.

I scheduled a service with Tesla, brought the car in, and was told, everything works fine.. I told them about the intermittent disconnect issue and was told to buy a tesla charger... very arrogant customer service manager.

Now brought the car back home.. dealt with charging issues for couple of weeks, finally bought another model from Amazon. Autel Charger... got it installed yesterday, same issue.. OMG

Does anyone else having this issue? I can't be the only one... do I go get a tesla charger? because they don't have a 25 ft cable model which's needed, because i hate to back in my drivieway to charge.

Also NJ provide some type of Rebate for approved EV Chargers and tesla charger isn't one of them.

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[bfayer62]

I had a similar problem with my tesla mobile connector hooked up to a 14-50 outlet. It turned out to be a loose connection on the back of the outlet. I had the electrician replace the outlet with a commercial Hubbell and properly torque the connections. No problems since.

The Tesla connector was sensing the bad connection and terminating the charge.

Hope that helps.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Do you have more than one EV, to have selected JuiceBox®? Have you tried other L2 chargers to isolate the issue to your location? The WC3 is so competitively priced compared to other brands, that I literally replaced my old Sun Country Highway® wit the Tesla one. Just some thoughts.

 

[integraguy2001]

bfayer62 - Thanks for that info. Is there any tools I can use to test my outlet? calling back electrician will cost me more money.​

 

[integraguy2001]

Do you have more than one EV, to have selected JuiceBox®? Have you tried other L2 chargers to isolate the issue to your location? The WC3 is so competitively priced compared to other brands, that I literally replaced my old Sun Country Highway® wit the Tesla one. Just some thoughts.

Yes, I tried out chargepoint at the mall, no issues at all. so I think it could be the outlet... need to know a good way to test out the outlet.

 

[bfayer62]

bfayer62 - Thanks for that info. Is there any tools I can use to test my outlet? calling back electrician will cost me more money.​

Not really, The connections have to be checked manually (Shut off the breaker, remove the receptacle, tighten the connections with a torque wrench).

Its not a hard DIY, but if you are not comfortable with working on electrical equipment, then it better for an electrician to do it.

I suspect the issue was cause by increasing resistance as the connections heated up while charging. So they test fine with a volt meter when not charging.

Is your outlet a 14-50? or are you hard wired? If its a 14-50, and not commercial grade I would upgrade it. The difference in quality is substantial.

If you have used multiple chargers and had the same result, it's not likely its the charger. EV AC chargers are not really chargers, the charger is in the car, the Juicebox 40 or Tesla mobile connector are just a means of transferring AC power from your breaker box to the charger in the car, with some included safety features.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Also, have you tried turning down the charge amperage on your car?
If that stops the interruptions, or consistently extends the time between interruptions it would suggest that the load is a factor that leads to interruptions.
But that would NOT be a fix. It would be a pointer to something being up in the circuit that needs fixing.

 

[integraguy2001]

wow, thank you.. this is very helpful and more clear to me now, I have texted my electrician and he said he will come check. yes, it's a 14-50 outlet, he probably gave me one of the cheap ones...

Will this be a good tester?

https://www.amazon.com/WELLUCK-Pedestal-Indicator-Receptacle-Certified/dp/B0946WRTN2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[bfayer62]

wow, thank you.. this is very helpful and more clear to me now, I have texted my electrician and he said he will come check. yes, it's a 14-50.

I can't promise you that will fix your issue, but it fixed mine, and I have not had any issues since.

 

[integraguy2001]

outlet was the hardest thing to test because it's at my house. without proper tools. I think it's likely same as your issue... my electrician said not to touch anything and he will take care of it.

 

[davewill]

outlet was the hardest thing to test because it's at my house. without proper tools. I think it's likely same as your issue... my electrician said not to touch anything and he will take care of it.

Be sure to come back with whatever results you get from the visit.

 

[bfayer62]

wow, thank you.. this is very helpful and more clear to me now, I have texted my electrician and he said he will come check. yes, it's a 14-50 outlet, he probably gave me one of the cheap ones...

Will this be a good tester?

https://www.amazon.com/WELLUCK-Pedestal-Indicator-Receptacle-Certified/dp/B0946WRTN2/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

That will tell you if it is wired correctly, it will not tell you how it operates under load.

 

[integraguy2001]

bfyer62 - I thought so, thanks.

 

[davewill]

That will tell you if it is wired correctly, it will not tell you how it operates under load.

It may be useful to let the electrician see the volts and amps display in the car as charging starts up. He will see if there's a large voltage drop, and may understand the issue better.

 

[drdumont]

bfayer62 - Thanks for that info. Is there any tools I can use to test my outlet? calling back electrician will cost me more money.​

It's relatively simple.

If you can get the unit to charge, watch it until it shuts off. Immediately feel the plug, socket and housing. If it's more than just warm to the touch you are on to something. Got one of them thar infrared temp guns? Take a look. Anything 10 degrees above the temp of the adjoining wall, you might have an issue.

Turn the breaker off, then give the outlet a sniff. If you smell "hot metal" or any burning, you're getting warmer (!).

CHECK THAT THE BREAKER IS STILL OFF!

Unscrew the over plate and the outlet. If it doesn't have "HUBBELL" as a brand name, immediately purchase the same size/type outlet specifying
a HUBBELL brand outlet.

Check the connections. (screws). See if you can tighten them. If yes, Replace connector. Wires show evidence of heating? Replace connector.

Once all this is done, check the wires at the breaker panel. If you are not up to this, call an electrical contractor. You really need to ensure the
breaker is properly seated, and the terminals (likely screws) are properly tightened. If you are so inclined and equipped, there are torque
specifications for the breaker terminals as well as the HUBBELL connector. If you are not really comfortable with this kind of work, I betcha you
have a neighbor/co worker/buddy who is.

Don't let anyone tell you the Home Dept of Lowe's or ACE Hardware connectors are just the same. They are NOT. They are having sport with you.
Verbum Dei.

And, really - no snark intended - Get yourself a Tesla Charging Adapter. Check on EBAY. And the set of plugs. Keep the plugs in the car and take
the adapter with you. Like a gun, you might not need it. But when you DO need it, you usually need it badly. I installed a Wall Charging Adapter
when I got the first Good Ship Venus. Yeah, it was expensive, but I needed a full can on a moment's notice 24/7. I lucked out, it shares the existing
40 A circuit of a window air conditioner seldom used. It ran right by. I built a relay to give the A/C unit priority. That may be a little advanced
for some, but it's one solution. I believe someone sells the switching device online. I built mine for about $50.

Let us know how you get on. Things like this should not be allowed to mar your enjoyment of a Tesla.

 

[integraguy2001]

drdumont - Thank you, I will test out the temperture, you said to check the temp on the outlet correct?​

I bet the electrician gave me some crappy outlet... which outlet do you recommend? it's a 14-50 amp I have currently.

Will this work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0137HMGGS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks

 

[drdumont]

drdumont - Thank you, I will test out the temperture, you said to check the temp on the outlet correct?​

I bet the electrician gave me some crappy outlet... which outlet do you recommend? it's a 14-50 amp I have currently.

Thanks

A little rise in temperature is normal in medium to high current applications. Loose connections (socket pins, wire connections, too small wire conductors) cause local heating. (I won't bore you with an Ohm's Law dissertation). Loose connections or small conductor = heat. If you can zap the connector with a laser heat gun (the one for the kitchen works well) before starting charging and when the system kicks off, a rise in temp of more than 10-15 degrees is a red flag. While you are at it, log the socket, the plug, the cable, even the face of the breaker. Then compare.

The 14-50 specification is just that, a model number or specification. They are manufactured by a number of people. Some are Chinesium, some are good. In my 60 years as a Broadcast engineer, any time I spec'ed an electrical project, I specified HUBBELL Brand Named connectors. RBYANT is another name, I believe they are manufactured by Hubbell, but I seem to see Bryant more on residential installs. Never compared them, Like the fat girl said, "I'm gonna dance with the one whut brung me".

The connectors you see in the big box stores are of inferior manufacture. You can compare and see. Some Commercial electrical distributors will sell to the public, give 'em a call.

After rereading your info, I am betting you have an overheating issue at the contacts of the plug, the connections to the plug, or terminals on the breaker.

Just occurred to me - have you a friend who will let you use his car as a guinea pig, and charge from your setup at your place?

 

[integraguy2001]

drdumont - my friend who bought the identical Tesla Model 3 2 weeks after me, came to my house and charged his car, twice, didn't have any issues. that's why i brought the car back to tesla. who tested with three level 2 chargers and no issues found.​

My friend lives 100 miles away so it's not easy to call him back to charge again.

 

[integraguy2001]

just purchased a tesla mobile connector as well. going to test that out. I might ended up keeping the mobile connector since it can also charge 30 amps, while i wait for the electrician to come back, I will test the temp.

 

[bfayer62]

drdumont - Thank you, I will test out the temperture, you said to check the temp on the outlet correct?​

I bet the electrician gave me some crappy outlet... which outlet do you recommend? it's a 14-50 amp I have currently.

Will this work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0137HMGGS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks

That is one of the best. Hubbell HBL9450A