Unable to charge using NEMA 14-50 outlet in garage and Mobile Connector

[pete_shaw]

I have now received my order of NEMA 14-50 adapter to use my Tesla Mobile Connector with the recently installed NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage for Tasla Model 3. Last night I tried using it but the car won;t charge. There are two flashing red lights on the Mobile Connector and the console in the car indicates a message along the lines of "inadequate grounding at the outlet", "unable to charge".

I had the outlet installed by a professional electrician before I got the car and he tested everything was OK at the end. Now when I called him for this, on the phone he says he didn't see anything wrong with his work. He checked his work and he doesn't see a reason for the problem to be with the outlet. The Tesla support says it is something do with the outlet and they can't help.

What to do now? Has anyone else experienced this issue? I have been relying on nearby Supercharger but it is not practical and need this to work at home.

Thanks in advance for your help folks.

 

[Federico]

It looks like there is a problem with the ground, can you remove the screw and take a photo of the back of the outlet? just make sure to flip the breaker lever to the "off" position on the main panel.

PS: did he come to your house to check if everything was good?

 

[KJD]

Try a different 14-50 outlet. Take a look on plugshare.com or stop by any RV park. (RV's also use NEMA 14-50 outlets).

My bet is the electrician screwed up and this would just confirm that.

 

[hcdavis3]

I have now received my order of NEMA 14-50 adapter to use my Tesla Mobile Connector with the recently installed NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage for Tasla Model 3. Last night I tried using it but the car won;t charge. There are two flashing red lights on the Mobile Connector and the console in the car indicates a message along the lines of "inadequate grounding at the outlet", "unable to charge".

I had the outlet installed by a professional electrician before I got the car and he tested everything was OK at the end. Now when I called him for this, on the phone he says he didn't see anything wrong with his work. He checked his work and he doesn't see a reason for the problem to be with the outlet. The Tesla support says it is something do with the outlet and they can't help.

What to do now? Has anyone else experienced this issue? I have been relying on nearby Supercharger but it is not practical and need this to work at home.

Thanks in advance for your help folks.

Make sure the adapter is completely plugged into the UMC. I tried that the first time and had to completely plug it in.

 

[TiggerTime]

Well sounds like your electrician didn't ground it properly based on the message you are getting.

This link https://www.tesla.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/installation-guides/nema-14-50-installation-guide.pdf is to Tesla info on installing NEMA 14-50 and wiring for it to be used for charging. You might want to provide this to the electrician and have him make sure it is wired as Tesla indicates.

 

[pete_shaw]

The electrician checked things when he finished the installation but hasn't come out to help (yet) after I told him about the charger issue. On the phone, he sounded like he shouldn't have to come since his work was "all good". It has got to be something to do with Tesla charging equipment according to him. Its a little uncomfortable to press him for this based on his pushback on my call today.

 

[Webeevdrivers]

The electrician checked things when he finished the installation but hasn't come out to help (yet) after I told him about the charger issue. On the phone, he sounded like he shouldn't have to come since his work was "all good". It has got to be something to do with Tesla charging equipment according to him. Its a little uncomfortable to press him for this based on his pushback on my call today.

Try the EVSE at a different receptacle. Do you have a campground in your area with 50 amp sites?

 

[Feathermerchan]

Or a neighbor with a welder.

 

[Lloyd]

I'll bet he wired the ground to the neutral, or did not terminate the ground.

 

[ewoodrick]

Maybe time to get his apprentice to fix his work.

 

[SMAlset]

I have now received my order of NEMA 14-50 adapter to use my Tesla Mobile Connector with the recently installed NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage for Tasla Model 3. Last night I tried using it but the car won;t charge. There are two flashing red lights on the Mobile Connector and the console in the car indicates a message along the lines of "inadequate grounding at the outlet", "unable to charge".

I had the outlet installed by a professional electrician before I got the car and he tested everything was OK at the end. Now when I called him for this, on the phone he says he didn't see anything wrong with his work. He checked his work and he doesn't see a reason for the problem to be with the outlet. The Tesla support says it is something do with the outlet and they can't help.

What to do now? Has anyone else experienced this issue? I have been relying on nearby Supercharger but it is not practical and need this to work at home.

Thanks in advance for your help folks.

Wow that's shocking to hear that he wouldn't even offer to come out to check that it's working right with an appliance plugged into it. You said he is a licensed electrician? I would say a reputuable licensed electrican would stand by his work and come check it out for you whether he thought it was the product or his work. Leaving you hanging like that without having the outlet checked out (and it could be a defective outlet part too, not just something he connected) is pretty unconscionable. If he came out and had a more professional attitude about this I bet you would be happy to recommend him in the future. He should look at it as ensuring future business. Hopefully he wasn't one on Tesla's referral list.

At this point I would make sure the Mobile charger is fully plugged into the outlet and that the adapter is fully connected to the mobile unit so you know it's a solid connection on both items. If you still have the alert, then I would take both items somewhere to check them out using another source as others have said, even to a Tesla service center if near you. If somethings defective with what you've been given (and it has happened) then they can take care of getting you a replacement. There has been an occasional adapter that's been an issue or mobile unit. If the unit and adapter work fine then I'd call the guy back and let him know you checked the parts out and that they are working elsewhere so the problem is in the line or the recepticle and you would expect him to resolve this.

Good luck. A grounding issue is super important and you don't want a fire that could burn your wiring and your house down. This would also be a good time if your Mobile kit came with the 120v adapter trying that one with the mobile unit and plug into a regular house outlet which hopefully you have in your garage. If you have a J-1772 adapter for Level 2 charging, try that out with your mobile unit at a free Level 2 charging station nearby (or a ChargePoint/EVgo/etc Level 2 station -- smart to probably sign up for one or more of their services in case you need to use in the future). At least that way you've eliminated the mobile unit and checked out the other adapters should you need them in the future. Let us know what the issue ends up being.

 

[pete_shaw]

Thank you all, I am now looking to find another 14-50 outlet nearby for troubleshooting as most of you suggested. I hired the electrician from Angie's list recommendation. Good thing I haven't put in the review yet (although paid cash and in full). I have left him another message and hope he will come out and check.

 

[pete_shaw]

Due to lack of skill I am a little hesitant to open any electrical connection for obvious risk to property and possible injury but if the electrician doesn't show up by late tomorrow, I am also going to open the outlet cover myself as Frederico suggested and I will post the picture here. Thanks again all of you who take the time and help out someone like me.

 

[pete_shaw]

Wow that's shocking to hear that he wouldn't even offer to come out to check that it's working right with an appliance plugged into it. You said he is a licensed electrician? I would say a reputuable licensed electrican would stand by his work and come check it out for you whether he thought it was the product or his work. Leaving you hanging like that without having the outlet checked out (and it could be a defective outlet part too, not just something he connected) is pretty unconscionable. If came out and had a more professional attitude about this I bet you would be happy to recommend him in the future. He should look at it as ensuring future business. Hopefully he wasn't one on Tesla's referral list.

At this point I would make sure the Mobile charger is fully plugged in to the outlet and that the adapter fully to the mobile unit so you know it's a solid connection on both. If you still have the alert, then I would take both items somewhere to check them out using another source as others have said, even to a Tesla service center if near you. If somethings defective with what you've been given (and it has happened) then they can take care of getting you a replacement. There have been an occasional adapter that's been an issue or mobile unit. If the unit and adapter work fine then I'd call the guy back and let him know you checked the parts out and that they are working elsewhere so the problem is in the line or the recepticle and you would expect him to resolve this.

Good luck. A grounding issue is super important and you don't want a fire that could burn your wiring and your house down. This would also be a good time if your Mobile kit came with the 120v adapter trying that one with the mobile unit and plug into a regular house outlet which hopefully you have in your garage. If you have a J-1772 adapter for Level 2 charging, try that out with your mobile unit at a free Level 2 charging station nearby (or a ChargePoint/EVgo/etc Level 2 station -- smart to probably sign up for one or more of their services in case you need to use in the future). Let us know what the issue ends up being.

Good points. I had triple checked that the both ends of the adapter were firmly inserted (to the outlet and to the mobile connector). The problem persisted. I also tested a separate regular 110v outlet in the garage with included adapter with mobile connector and that worked as expected. Extremely slow for my needs but certainly in working order.

As for free level 2 charging station, I didn't know there would be any free ones. I haven't tried but I had assumed that they would charge for every use. Definitely going to look into that. Learning new things every day since I got into this Tesla/EV thingy. LOL.
Thanks.

 

[SMAlset]

Good points. I had triple checked that the both ends of the adapter were firmly inserted (to the outlet and to the mobile connector). The problem persisted. I also tested a separate regular 110v outlet in the garage with included adapter with mobile connector and that worked as expected. Extremely slow for my needs but certainly in working order.

As for free level 2 charging station, I didn't know there would be any free ones. I haven't tried but I had assumed that they would charge for every use. Definitely going to look into that. Learning new things every day since I got into this Tesla/EV thingy. LOL.
Thanks.

Go to PlugShare.com and you can find free public charging stations there. Very helpful site especially when traveling. You can set the filters for Public, Level 2, NEMA 14-50. They'll also list sites by companies like Charge Point, EVgo, etc. that you can filter by. Those will charge a fee, but no there are Public Level 2 chargers out there sometimes sponsored by cities. BTW you can also click on the charging site and see what comments PlugShare members have left (along with photos sometimes) as to whether their is broken equipment.

 

[SMAlset]

Thank you all, I am now looking to find another 14-50 outlet nearby for troubleshooting as most of you suggested. I hired the electrician from Angie's list recommendation. Good thing I haven't put in the review yet (although paid cash and in full). I have left him another message and hope he will come out and check.

@pete_shaw Found one for you using PlugShare:

A search of NEMA 14-50s for your area revealed this at Tesla Short Hills Store: "To clarify, these are not for public use. They are meant for the Tesla store test drive vehicles. Two 14-50s, 201V at 40A. One Model S HPC 195V at 80A. Parking lot is a maze (with crazy one way stuff!), but basically it's in the lowest level of the garage outside Legal Seafoods. Underground orange level." I would think you'd have no problem testing out your NEMA 14-50 adapter and Mobile unit there and might be your best bet and not far from Scotch Plains. If none are looking available with Teslas parked there, go into the Tesla store and I bet they can easily move one of the vehicles for you.


I also searched PlugShare for Scotch Plains, NJ for you and filtered for J-1772. I see the Watchung Boro Municipal Building has one free J-1772 charger there. If you go to the PlugShre Legend you'll see Public listed with a green marker but sometimes these are in dealerships which might not allow general charging, especially if you are not driving their brand.

The Embassy Suites in Berkeley Heights is showing several chargers in that area around Starbucks vicinity: "1 Tesla Connector, non-networked, and 4 EV (J1772) connectors ChargePoint. 30A reduced from 40A. In front of Starbucks. Two additional Tesla Connectors southwest of these near Grain & Cane Restaurant although unfortunately these are also only 6kW (30A)". The Best Western Plus Murray Hill Hotel & Suites shows up with 2 (4 charging spots) J-1772 non-networked Clipper Creek brand chargers and 2 Tesla HPWCs.

Sometimes the hotels will be restricted to only paying customers so you'd want to check that out ahead of time but both listed above said parking free. It really helps others if people are PlugShare members and they post comments.

It's always a good idea to make sure your adapters work before you really need to rely on them.

 

[pete_shaw]

Here are the images from the back of the outlet (as much as I could pull the outlet after opening the 2 holding screws). I also checked the voltage ...it is 250v for slots on sides and 120v from each of two sides to the bottom slot).

Hope this gives you all some insight into what I am facing.

 

[pete_shaw]

@pete_shaw Found one for you using PlugShare:

A search of NEMA 14-50s for your area revealed this at Tesla Short Hills Store: "To clarify, these are not for public use. They are meant for the Tesla store test drive vehicles. Two 14-50s, 201V at 40A. One Model S HPC 195V at 80A. Parking lot is a maze (with crazy one way stuff!), but basically it's in the lowest level of the garage outside Legal Seafoods. Underground orange level." I would think you'd have no problem testing out your NEMA 14-50 adapter and Mobile unit there and might be your best bet and not far from Scotch Plains. If none are looking available with Teslas parked there, go into the Tesla store and I bet they can easily move one of the vehicles for you.


I also searched PlugShare for Scotch Plains, NJ for you and filtered for J-1772. I see the Watchung Boro Municipal Building has one free J-1772 charger there. If you go to the PlugShre Legend you'll see Public listed with a green marker but sometimes these are in dealerships which might not allow general charging, especially if you are not driving their brand.

The Embassy Suites in Berkeley Heights is showing several chargers in that area around Starbucks vicinity: "1 Tesla Connector, non-networked, and 4 EV (J1772) connectors ChargePoint. 30A reduced from 40A. In front of Starbucks. Two additional Tesla Connectors southwest of these near Grain & Cane Restaurant although unfortunately these are also only 6kW (30A)". The Best Western Plus Murray Hill Hotel & Suites shows up with 2 (4 charging spots) J-1772 non-networked Clipper Creek brand chargers and 2 Tesla HPWCs.

Sometimes the hotels will be restricted to only paying customers so you'd want to check that out ahead of time but both listed above said parking free. It really helps others if people are PlugShare members and they post comments.

It's always a good idea to make sure your adapters work before you really need to rely on them.

Awesome. Thanks a bunch! I will start using plug share and at least explore some of these options.

 

[Lloyd]

Looks connected properly on that end. Next check the ground in the panel it is connected to and see if it is terminated properly.

 

[COrocket]

Does the car charge using the 5-15 regular wall outlet? If it doesn’t work then you could have a Tesla cord issue.