New Jersey NEMA 14-50 Verification

[malciv]

I'm having a NEMA 14-50 plug installed in my garage today. Since there is no ETA on my replacement VIN (long story for a different thread), and the contractor has this weird 30-day worry-free clause, I'd like to have someone swing by and test out my plug sooner rather than later. I'm in East Brunswick, NJ. If you are close by and want to do me a favor please PM me so we can work out a time. Thanks!

 

[gfunkdave]

Why not just go to Home Depot and buy a multimeter for $20, then test that

1. Neutral and ground have zero voltage between them
2. The two hots have 240 volts between them
3. Each hot has 120 volts to neutral or ground

 

[MorrisonHiker]

When we got ours installed, a friendly owner who lived a couple miles away came by to help test both outlets. Hopefully someone sees your post. You might try putting the word out with a local Tesla owners club.

 

[Vines]

Why not just go to Home Depot and buy a multimeter for $20, then test that

1. Neutral and ground have zero voltage between them
2. The two hots have 240 volts between them
3. Each hot has 120 volts to neutral or ground

Your method sill not detect a high resistance (loose) connection. Checking the resistance might do that but I would rather physically be able to feel the outlet and perhaps wiring, looking for excess heat.

Hopefully someone local will help you out and charge up for a couple hours and put your hand on the outlet. It might be warm but should not be hot to the touch.

 

[malciv]

Someone was nice enough to swing by this afternoon. We couldn't even get his mobile connector into the outlet. Haha!?!?! Not sure if I got a defective outlet or if we didn't push hard enough. I've read that it can take a lot of force to install, but that seemed excessive. I didn't want to risk breaking this guy's mobile connector on his 2nd day of owning a Model 3.

I'm thinking about buying a dummy plug on Amazon for $10 to see if that fits. If that doesn't work then I'd call the electrician back to swap out the outlet. If it does work then I guess I just need to push harder next time a Tesla is around.

 

[DanL3]

Call the Electrician and have him bring a plug. Then If he says its OK, you push his plug in and ask him if it is OK to push twice that hard? I expect it is just tight from being new, but you are right, you do not want to break it.

You might even be able to set an appointment when your Tesla friend can bring his car back and have the electrician push it in to see how hard it is.