Wall charger suddenly tripping breaker after 5 months of use

[CWBigfoot]

I've owned my Model 3 for 5-6 months now and since then the wall charger has been working flawlessly, now suddenly it's causing the breaker to trip. Admittedly the breaker we have is definitely make shift and older, but it still works regardless and has the capacity to power my car. At first me and my dad thought this was probably due to the pool pump being turned on and working overnight alongside my car charging, which would make sense, so we restarted the breaker, tried charging again without the pool pump running just to make sure and after about 1 hour of charging, the breaker tripped again!

To add some context, the wall charger unit has been running at 48 amps for the past 5 months, after it tripped and we thought it was due to us needing to run the pool pump, I put the amp limit to 25 amps just to be safe, obviously didn't change anything. Any ideas as to why this could be happening?

 

[mongo]

I've owned my Model 3 for 5-6 months now and since then the wall charger has been working flawlessly, now suddenly it's causing the breaker to trip. Admittedly the breaker we have is definitely make shift and older, but it still works regardless and has the capacity to power my car. At first me and my dad thought this was probably due to the pool pump being turned on and working overnight alongside my car charging, which would make sense, so we restarted the breaker, tried charging again without the pool pump running just to make sure and after about 1 hour of charging, the breaker tripped again!

To add some context, the wall charger unit has been running at 48 amps for the past 5 months, after it tripped and we thought it was due to us needing to run the pool pump, I put the amp limit to 25 amps just to be safe, obviously didn't change anything. Any ideas as to why this could be happening?

Is the breaker panel in a garage or other place that is warmer now that summer is here?
Is this a basic, GFCI, or AFCI breaker?
Is it a 60 Amp breaker?

 

[golferguy]

If you are able, touch the breaker after it has been on for an hour or two, or right after it trips. Is it hot? Slightly warm is OK, hot is not.

If you are comfortable with 240v, if breaker is hot, check wire contacts on the breakers. Very tight? No longer shiny? Could be bad connections.
You did state breaker is "make shift and older". Have you tried a new one?

 

[CWBigfoot]

Is the breaker panel in a garage or other place that is warmer now that summer is here?
Is this a basic, GFCI, or AFCI breaker?
Is it a 60 Amp breaker?

This breaker panel is in an old barn, no A/C and it definitely gets warm in the barn.

I would call it basic, i'm not at all experienced with electrical components but to me it seems like there were parts installed as time went on when there was a need for more power output

It is indeed a 60 amp breaker

 

[CWBigfoot]

If you are able, touch the breaker after it has been on for an hour or two, or right after it trips. Is it hot? Slightly warm is OK, hot is not.

If you are comfortable with 240v, if breaker is hot, check wire contacts on the breakers. Very tight? No longer shiny? Could be bad connections.
You did state breaker is "make shift and older". Have you tried a new one?

My dad checked out the panel first time it tripped, all the wires still had good contact, but he didn't mention if they were shiny or not. We also cant comment if the breaker was hot to the touch or not cause it would happen in the middle of the night, so by the time we find out and check it, it's been down for hours.

 

[CWBigfoot]

Just to add some more info on this topic, I checked my tessie web app to see exactly what was happening leading up to the moment it tripped. The first time it happened, the charger was set to output 48 amps, so when it started charging, it instantly tripped, the entire session lasted 1 minute or so. The second time is when I set it to 25 amps, and it was charging for roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes before it tripped again. the voltage was consistent and didn't fluctuate, and the amps never went beyond 25 amps, still tripped the breaker.

 

[mongo]

This breaker panel is in an old barn, no A/C and it definitely gets warm in the barn.

I would call it basic, i'm not at all experienced with electrical components but to me it seems like there were parts installed as time went on when there was a need for more power output

It is indeed a 60 amp breaker

Could be corrosion from the uncontrolled environment or just worn. Could try reseating it and checking the terminal tightness. Otherwise, probably needs replaced (panel or position may also).

Just to add some more info on this topic, I checked my tessie web app to see exactly what was happening leading up to the moment it tripped. The first time it happened, the charger was set to output 48 amps, so when it started charging, it instantly tripped, the entire session lasted 1 minute or so. The second time is when I set it to 25 amps, and it was charging for roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes before it tripped again. the voltage was consistent and didn't fluctuate, and the amps never went beyond 25 amps, still tripped the breaker.

There will be some voltage drop due to wire resistance. What are the values when not charging versus charging at 25A?

 

[zoomer0056]

It could be a bad breaker. Don't cheap out, get the best one (I don't know which brand is best). The connections need to be torqued to specifications (I also don't know what the spec is). If it not torqued there will be heat generated. One other thing, it's good to retorque as the screws and wires could become loose over time. Torque all connections including breaker and the "wall connector ". A nit: it's not a wall charger, the charger is in the car. Also pull out the breaker and check the bus bar. If it tripping, you may see signs of burning. But, as I write this, the 60 amp breaker is doing its job by tripping. Clean and torque all connections and get the best 60 amp breaker.

 

[CWBigfoot]

Could be corrosion from the uncontrolled environment or just worn. Could try reseating it and checking the terminal tightness. Otherwise, probably needs replaced (panel or position may also).


There will be some voltage drop due to wire resistance. What are the values when not charging versus charging at 25A?

These were the typical figures before the wall charger started causing the panel to trip

 

[CWBigfoot]

Here are the 2 charging sessions that caused the trips

 

[mongo]

Here are the 2 charging sessions that caused the trips View attachment 949456View attachment 949458

Yeah, voltage is nice and flat. A 9V drop at 25A over the full circuit.
I'm leaning toward a worn breaker or bad breaker connection.
Sometimes it's an adjacent breaker, but you ruled that out.

 

[CWBigfoot]

Yeah, voltage is nice and flat. A 9V drop at 25A over the full circuit.
I'm leaning toward a worn breaker or bad breaker connection.
Sometimes it's an adjacent breaker, but you ruled that out.

So does that mean I should double check the connection my wall charger has with the breaker?

 

[ATPMSD]

The first thing I would check is the Wall Connector (not charger, BTW.) Over time, especially as the seasons change, it is not uncommon for the connections in the unit to loosen - happened to me. Trip the breaker, open the wall connector and torque all three connections. If you happen to have a torque wrench they should be torqued to 50 lbf . in (5.6 Nm).

Tighten all the connections in the breaker box as well.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Just buy a new breaker since you mention it being older. I bought an older barn site a while back and thought the 70A breaker it had in there feeding a bunch of downstream barns looked dodgy, so I replaced it. It literally fell apart in my hands when I took it out.

 

[davewill]

If it's tripping at 25a, then something is way wrong. I wouldn't use it until I had found the problem. Get yourself an IR thermometer and check temperatures everywhere you can after it's been charging for a while. Check every connection and, yeah, probably replace the breaker whether it's getting hot or not. I'm guessing you and your dad installed this? What wire is being used?

 

[kpanda17]

Amazing how this 4-8 hour high current draw can have an impact the circuit components
Illustrates the importance of using quality breakers and outlets

 

[kpanda17]

Also, for the house and gen electric, some data USBC outlets, i liked Leviton
For high power electric, skip Leviton

 

[Unclepaul]

Time to get a new breaker. If you are not familiar with replacing breakers, get someone to help you.

 

[UncleCreepy]

You mentioned the pool pump starting might be the issue. Could you confirm that this is a dedicated breaker for the HPWC and nothing else?

 

[fholbert]

The breaker is weak, just replace it.

I had the same issue with my outdoor lighting GFI. Replaced it, no more problems.