I dropped a note to my service center about this as well. I noted that my plug was getting very hot to the touch this weekend. I suspect I might be one of those "earlier" UMC holders.
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I dropped a note to my service center about this as well. I noted that my plug was getting very hot to the touch this weekend. I suspect I might be one of those "earlier" UMC holders.
NigelM
Recovering Member
I was at Tesla today (getting tires for the Roadster) and they did confirm that certain early UMC's are having the connector plug exchanged. Also asked me to drop by with the UMC at some point so they could inspect the cable.
You can check if there are any issues simply by pulling off the plug adapter and checking the inside for any signs of overheating or melting. Mine looked OK but was on the list to be changed in any case.
You can check if there are any issues simply by pulling off the plug adapter and checking the inside for any signs of overheating or melting. Mine looked OK but was on the list to be changed in any case.
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Vince at the LA service center is going to overnight a replacement UMC to arrive tomorrow to us in Palm Springs. Since we are leaving Wednesday morning back to Seattle it is a very necessary item and very much appreciated!
And thanks very much to FlasherZ and everyone else for all the great advice!
Puyallup Bill
Member
Sorry to go off topic, but that comment raises a question. My car has dual chargers, and I have only used the charge cable with the 14-50 adapter. The charge screen shows 40 Amps available - if I use a Roadster adapter (70 Amps) or a high power wall changer, does the 40 Amp figure change?
mknox
Well-Known Member
Mine is the same, and I believe it's because it senses the NEMA 14-50 adapter and "knows" 40 amps is the max it can draw from that. If I pull in to a public station, my screen shows 80 Amps until I plug in using the adapter, then it seems to adjust down to the capacity of the charger.
The EVSE or "charger" as they're commonly called lets the car know how many amps are available on the pilot signal. Examples of EVSE are the HPWC and the UMC. In the case of the latter, it senses which adapter you have plugged in and lets the car know the amps available from that type of receptacle. It's up to the car when it starts drawing current to make sure it doesn't draw more than the amount of amps that the EVSE said were available as communicated over the pilot signal.
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As FlasherZ and others have pointed out, it's critical that you install any charging system, receptacle, home-made adapter, extension cord, etc using the right size of cable and breaker according to the NEC. One reason is that the UMC will auto-sense the adapter and signal the current accordingly. But if you have a weak link that can't handle the amps, you have a recipe for disaster. Please don't use a sub-standard cable or cord thinking that you will just limit the amps from the screen.
I just looked at my adapter and UMC socket. I have a small amount of melting, and some heat build up when plugged in. I also found out that my adapter doesn't actually latch to the UMC outlet and wasn't 100% seated.
I'll give Atlanata service a call today and see what they want to do.
I'll give Atlanata service a call today and see what they want to do.
Mine has melted. It was always very hot to touch up to the adaptor (not skin sizzling, but not particularly comfortable to hold onto for very long). Charging was always at 40A (via the 6-50 adaptor). Adaptor was still providing a charge to the car, and showing a single green light when not charging. Sent an email to Ownership, so waiting on reply. I'm overseas at the moment, but my wife noticed a burning smell the day I left, so she unplugged it from the car, but didn't notice the outlet had melted, until today when I asked for it to be plugged back in. I assume stuff melting inside the outlet which caused it to pull away from the wall, she's not had a chance to check. Not good.
That's crazy. Don't use a damaged outlet. Shut down the circuit breaker until all the damaged parts are replaced. This is the sort of thing that can burn down your house. And I would imagine, if your house burns down now, your insurance company will deny your claim as the outlet was used after the damage was noticed. (Not that this is the worst thing than happen when a house burns down.)
Edit: I hope I misread that. I occurred to me that my interpretation is off, and you didn't ask her to plug it back in after the problem was noticed.
mknox
Well-Known Member
Those photos look like a loose socket connection and not a UMC connector fault. If the plug blades are loose in the socket, especially with high currents, overheating and results like this are common.
I've seen a number of receptacles lately with loose connections, either on the ground pins or some of the hot pins. This has been especially the case on some Hubbell 14-50's that I've seen installed.
Correct
I try not to deliberately injure my wife, or burn the house down when I'm not there The whole family noticed a bad smell the day I left (car was plugged in), but, of course, we'd bought a couple of packs of rubber floor mats for the other garage, so everyone assumed they were just off-gassing. My wife had previously unplugged the car thinking that was the problem, but didn't even think to look at the outlet (which is a little above eye level, expecially if you have a fringe/bangs!).- - - Updated - - -
I don't think so. It was a very tight fit, it wasn't moving anywhere. The weight of the cable was supported by a cable hanger on the wall, so there was very little downward pull.
If you mean the actual socket/outlet fixed to the wall, then it's possible I guess. It was obviously installed after the house was built, so it's secured to the wall with the little tabs, but still, there wasn't a lot of pull on it, and I think I would have noticed the weakness when unplugging it.
My local Service Manager will be swinging by in the morning to delivery a replacement UMC (go Tesla!), obviously for use with a lowly 110v until I get the 6-50 fixed. He said over the phone (to my wife, so facts might be getting distorted) that it looked like the 'springs' in the outlet had opened up as a result of excessive heat. I've no idea what that means without seeing it myself. I'm sure he'll take a look when he's there.
mknox
Well-Known Member
It sure looks like the heat was coming from the socket side and not the UMC. There could have been a loose connection of the house wiring to the receptacle itself which would also generate heat. This heat then caused the nearest melt-able substance (the UMC plug) to melt. You or your electrician should check the wires behind the receptacle also.
Here's some more photos, I agree, it appears the heat was coming from inside the socket. Jack (Dallas SC Manager) did a great job of dropping by a replacement (with the shiny faceplate!) within a day, he'll be taking the melted unit to the factory today for further analysis to determine whether it's a warranty claim or if I need to pay (and go after the electrician).
From the pics, this *looks* like there was a loose connection from wire-to-receptacle, as if the wire wasn't fully in when tightened, or the connection weren't torqued tight enough (or at all). That said, looks can be deceiving. Good luck.
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