Tesla charger home surge issue

[herohonda777]

Hey all,

So the latest Tesla wall charger installed at home with a Matt:e 230V EV Voltage Monitoring and Protection Unit with Type A RCBO IP65 unit
has been working fine for the last 6 months but in the last two weeks I have suffered two power trips charging starts at midnight and then cut off around 1 am and checking the Matt:e it's cut the supply. I have the charging set at 32A not sure if its something to do with the heat or do you think its a Tesla charger issue totally confused!

 

[Adopado]

Hey all,

So the latest Tesla wall charger installed at home with a Matt:e 230V EV Voltage Monitoring and Protection Unit with Type A RCBO IP65 unit
has been working fine for the last 6 months but in the last two weeks I have suffered two power trips charging starts at midnight and then cut off around 1 am and checking the Matt:e it's cut the supply. I have the charging set at 32A not sure if its something to do with the heat or do you think its a Tesla charger issue totally confused!

In my own (limited) understanding the Matt:e responds to issues with the supply rather than with your charging equipment or car. Worth checking with an electrician for an informed opinion.

 

[MrBadger]

Surge or fault? Surge is overcurrent and will trip over current device, eg MCB, fault will trip leakage detector, eg RCD. Not sure how you know which part triggered in a combined device such as an RCBO.

 

[Fursty Ferret]

In general PEN fault detection works by monitoring the supply voltage. If this falls out of range it assumes there’s a fault with the neutral and isolates the charger.

So if the grid voltage drops as the charger ramps up then the protection device will activate. Not sure what the range is but the voltage doesn’t have to drop that much.

 

[herohonda777]

I might pop the 32a to 16a tonight and see if that makes a difference and I will give a call to the installer as I am totally baffled by this.

Its the blue switch that is down when there is a cutoff

, supply to home is fine.

 

[Adopado]

.... supply to home is fine.

I don't think that necessarily precludes there being problem detected on the supply. You may well have normal functionality even though there is technically a fault ... the only reason you know is because you have the Matt:e ...

 

[spook]

Looks like the Matte hasn't been installed in an enclosure. It has exposed live terminals.

 

[MrT3]

In general PEN fault detection works by monitoring the supply voltage. If this falls out of range it assumes there’s a fault with the neutral and isolates the charger.

So if the grid voltage drops as the charger ramps up then the protection device will activate. Not sure what the range is but the voltage doesn’t have to drop that much.

In this case I don't think it is PEN fault detection as it is the RCBO that is tripping which indicates either over current, earth leakage over 30 mA or a faulty RCBO.

 

[MrT3]

Looks like the Matte hasn't been installed in an enclosure. It has exposed live terminals.

There is a perspex cover protecting all the terminals. I think the angle of the photo makes it look like there is a gap under the RCBO.

 

[spook]

Jeeze, must get my eyes tested!

 

[NewbieT]

Drawing 32A on an over current protection device rated at 32A - you’re at the edge. It’s been really hot and electrical parameters might change slightly and depending on voltage you might exceed 32A. Wind the car down to 30A and see how you go.

 

[qwickshot]

There is a perspex cover protecting all the terminals. I think the angle of the photo makes it look like there is a gap under the RCBO.

As far as I am aware, it’s the breaker that trips when a fault condition is observed on the supply also.

 

[qwickshot]

Drawing 32A on an over current protection device rated at 32A - you’re at the edge. It’s been really hot and electrical parameters might change slightly and depending on voltage you might exceed 32A. Wind the car down to 30A and see how you go.

32A breaker is rated to run at 32A 24/7 365 days a year, it’s not close to the edge at all. You need to draw well above 32A to cause it to trip and that isn’t possible in normal operations. If there was a short on the circuit, the trip would activate instantaneously. It should be well within spec if functioning correctly.

Don’t forget it’s tripping overnight, there is no direct sun and it’s about 16c at the moment.

Can we please stop suggesting 32A breakers are problematic for EV chargers, they are not. The Garo units have 40A breakers and they are very problematic for tripping as well.

In terms of troubleshooting, it’s either the supply voltages getting out of whack, faulty breaker or some earth leakage happening on the circuit. The latter is very easy to diagnose for any spark with a basic clamp meter.

 

[MrT3]

As far as I am aware, it’s the breaker that trips when a fault condition is observed on the supply also.

My understanding is it's the electronics on the left hand side that does the voltage monitoring (as well as whole house current monitoring via the clamp) and controls the contactor in the middle. The device on the right is just a standard Type A RCBO, so unless the electronics are also purposely creating an imbalance to trigger the earth leakage detection of the RCBO then it won't trip.

 

[qwickshot]

That’s correct but I’m pretty sure the whole point of them is that when a fault condition is realised, the contractor operates which causes the RCBO to trip to isolate the device that it is protecting from the fault condition.

Earth rods are so much simpler than these devices, you don’t get any of these issues, they are also cheaper and easier to install. I’d wholeheartedly recommend that approach if you can accommodate one.

 

[MrT3]

That’s correct but I’m pretty sure the whole point of them is that when a fault condition is realised, the contractor operates which causes the RCBO to trip to isolate the device that it is protecting from the fault condition.

There are different matt-e products but for this one, looking at the installation manual it self resets after 3 mins which wouldn't be possible if it tripped the RCBO. All the isolation is performed with the contactor.


"In the event the SP-EVCP unit detects a fault condition on the monitored supply for a period of 4 seconds, the electronic control circuit will de-energise the contactor coil which will open the contactor disconnecting Line, Neutral and CPC from the load.

The contactor will remain de-energised until the monitored supply has returned to the correct level and remained stable for a period of 3 minutes."