Tesla Wall Connector Gen 3 and Wall Monitor Readings Questions

[MYPWR]

Hi I am new to Tesla cars and this forum. First EV and home charging experience (unless you count a golf cart

I have 2023 Model Y and a Tesla Wall Connector wired for full 48 amps. I have been using the Wall Monitor app for 3 months to monitor the charger during charging sessions. Love the technical info even if I don't understand it all yet. My questions are around the temp readings. What are the temp levels that will throw an error? I am not able to find a listing for the max safe temps. Also to be clear I am not experiencing any charging errors. My temps have been around the listed below.

162f PCBA
109f Handle
146f MCU
154f average

This week as a test I added a small blower fan to the bottom of the charger. The new air flow has changed the temp readings as follows.

142f PCBA
118f Handle
135f MCU

The fan did lower the temps for PCBA and MCU but increased the handle temperature and the charging cable temp was noticeable hotter. I think the cooler temps are pushing more amps through the charging cable and I am seeing it in higher handle temps.

 

[fiehlsport]

Just to be clear, are all of those readings taken during a charge session after "x" minutes? My temps are way lower, but it's been sitting in the garage unused all night. 80/75/90F

Might be a case where too much data isn't always a good thing. If it's working, enjoy it.

 

[dafish]

Rhetorical question: Are you seeing foldbacks?

 

[thefisch]

@MYPWR I have the v2 WC, not the v3 like you so I don't get the data to help you compare. But I have been taking temp readings using a cheap infrared thermometer. And I live the Tampa area also - so we are both dealing with similar ambient temps even if we have different equipment.

I have my gen2 WC and surface mounted breaker panel in an enclosed garage on the same wall. Here are the initial pre-charging temps and peak temps I observed during a warm afternoon a few weeks ago charging at 48amps for 2 hours with garage door down the whole time:

Component - initial/peak temp
Garage - 88/90
Breaker - 93/129
Conduit - 91/108
Charger - 97/127
Cable - 92/111
Handle -91/112

I hit my max temps after about 1 hour. These are higher than the reading I took back in April and May when it was easily 10 degrees cooler, but I wasn't tracking the initial temps back then.

As you observed, airflow does make a difference. Back in May during a long charging session in between road trips, I opened the garage for 30 minutes after 5 hours straight charging at 48amps and temps were 10 degrees lower for all components even the breaker. So lack of airflow plays a factor when garage door is closed.

 

[MYPWR]

The temps were checked after an hour of charging. Don't see much temp change after that. I am happy to see the fan is lowering the temps inside the charger. Pic of the setup below. $20 fan with adjustable speeds. I did adjust the fan speed from 1/4 to 1/2 speed and the PCBA and MCU temps did drop 3 degrees lower but the handle temp went up about 3 degrees. Looks like the slower 1/4 fan speed is good enough a 20 degree temp drop. I too have opened the garage while charging to lower ambient temps but I think the fan will now allow me to keep the garage door shut with lower temps.

 

[GData]

I wouldn't run that fan setup. It will accumulate a lot of dust inside the WC, which can make it run hotter ironically. Have you ever looked inside the case of a 4-year old computer? It's filthy. And that's while it was operating inside your house. Imagine operating in the garage... it'd be even filthier

 

[MYPWR]

@GData thanks for the feedback I did think about the dust issue. Only using the fan for charging during high temp days. I'll pull the cover in a few months to see if any dust has accumulated.

 

[Tronguy]

Um. My crowd, in telecom, uses fans. We also really, really, use filters. Which get cleaned/replaced on a regular basis.

I'm very definitely not one of the people who does the engineering when setting one of these up. How many area for a given amount of air flow, how much back pressure, etc., etc. Doesn't sound impossible for your setup with a bit of basic wood carpentry and possibly some duct tape, though. And a trip to Home Depot to get some filter material.

 

[fiehlsport]

And to be that guy:

These are outdoor rated units that can charge a car at full speed in 100F weather... for years on end. The fan, for garage usage, really is overkill.