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Wall connector keeps tripping breaker

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@PoitNarf did they double they used the correct wire size for 50a?

They used the correct wire size for a 60 amp circuit. Only screw up was the undersized breaker. Everything is working great now, no trips and nothing getting hot. I can get 44 miles into the battery an hour now which is pretty nice!

As for inspection, yes it will get inspected once I get it scheduled with the town. NJ doesn’t usually do inspections until the job is complete.
 
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Wow, I would be pretty upset with the electrician! You're lucky as the mistake could have been far worse as others have said. Just because he worked hard doesn't forgive him. If an airline pilot works hard all day and then falls asleep at landing time and you die are you going to forgive him too? Sorry, to be harsh, but I would be livid and likely demand a discount on the job. I'm really glad it's sorted out though!

Regarding the inspector... Maybe this is all local regulation, but when I had my install done in Ontario the inspector never even went inside to look at the breaker box. Just looked at the wall connector, slapped a sticker on it and left. Was there about 2 mins.
 
Regarding the inspector... Maybe this is all local regulation, but when I had my install done in Ontario the inspector never even went inside to look at the breaker box. Just looked at the wall connector, slapped a sticker on it and left. Was there about 2 mins

Same here in PA. When I installed my outlets myself the inspector never looked at wiring or opened receptacle junction boxes or breaker panel (other then to confirm there was a breaker). When I asked him he said, "You live here. So I assume you did it right since you don't want your house to burn down":eek:
 
Regarding the inspector... Maybe this is all local regulation, but when I had my install done in Ontario the inspector never even went inside to look at the breaker box. Just looked at the wall connector, slapped a sticker on it and left. Was there about 2 mins.

Yeah, same here in NJ. They barely look at the stuff they inspect. If nothing jumps out to them from just a quick glance at whatever work was done then they just slap on the inspection approved sticker and move onto their next inspection.
 
I lived in NJ too and had to deal with inspectors in Bergen county a few times. They did not pay attention to really anything.

I also have a 60amp breaker that tripped the first time I used it. I think it wasn't quite seated in all the way as I pushed on it after and it moved a little bit. Ever since then it has worked great.
 
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I have been charging 2-3 cars for six years and have had lots of issues with a 200A sub panel breaker. I’ve replaced two of them and now I keep my charging below 60A at any time. At 80A my wiring gets warm (not hot). I suspect the high rate of charge breaks down cheap breakers over time. I’ve had a few electricians look at it and I’ve got load monitoring on the house and Sub panels, so I know I’m not drawing anywhere near 200A when they trip. If I put in a fresh breaker I can charge in the 80A+ for a while, but eventually the breaker goes bad. I suspected a bad connection at the block, but my electrician just says there are a lot of crap breakers on the market not designed for sustained draw.
 
Finally got my wall connector up and running on Saturday. It’s connected to a 240v 60 amp circuit. I tried charging at the full 48 amps but my breaker kept tripping. I managed to get a stable charge without tripping the breaker by setting my Model 3 to only draw 38 amps. If I even bump it up to 40 amps it will eventually trip the breaker after about 10 minutes of charging or so. I’ve confirmed that the dial setting inside the wall connector is currently at “9” which according to the install manual should be for when it’s connected to a 60 amp breaker and should allow for charging at up to 48 amps.

Anyone else experience something like this? I’m wondering if maybe the breaker is bad. The House was upgraded from 100 to 200 amp and I’ve got a whole new breaker panel with all new breakers. Luckily my electrician is coming back again later this week to finish up some other work so if it’s some issue with the breaker itself he should be able to resolve it.

I just had an electrician install my home charger and after he left, about 20 minutes into the charge it did not trip the breaker in the fuse box but the main breaker to the house tripped shutting down the entire power to the house. Is this what you guys are referring to when you say the "breaker keeps tripping"?
 
I just had an electrician install my home charger and after he left, about 20 minutes into the charge it did not trip the breaker in the fuse box but the main breaker to the house tripped shutting down the entire power to the house. Is this what you guys are referring to when you say the "breaker keeps tripping"?

I never participated in this original thread from 2018, but I want to make clear that it is very common for a loose connection (to the breaker or on the breaker bus) to heat up and conduct heat into the breaker which can then prematurely trip the breaker due to the bimetallic strip in the breaker bending. This is not really a bad thing since you should not be generating that heat anyway.

So for chuck:

What model of car do you have? What size circuit did the electrician install? What size is your main breaker?

Really two possibilities here: A proper load calculation was not done and when adding that larger an EV charging circuit you have pushed your service past its capacity limit.

The second, is that you have something generating heat (like a lose connection into that main breaker) or you have a bad breaker that is tripping incorrectly (prematurely).

You need to have this checked out.

I do agree though that many residential main breakers may not really be ready for really large continuous loads from EV’s. Most houses use a tiny fraction of their rated capacity so this kind of scenario is not frequently tested. Also, you may have discovered a latent defect in your house that existed for decades, but until installing the EV charger it was never uncovered.

Good luck! And please report back on the resolution!
 
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Yeah, same here in NJ. They barely look at the stuff they inspect. If nothing jumps out to them from just a quick glance at whatever work was done then they just slap on the inspection approved sticker and move onto their next inspection.

Here in Atlanta I had a inspector check a job on the 22nd floor of a high rise without getting out of his truck. Must have used binoculars.
 
Ding ding ding! Electrician is here now finishing up the last bit of stuff he couldn’t get to on Saturday. After I told him about the charging issues I was having he then idenitified the problem. He worked a 12 hour day at my place on Saturday, did an upgrade of my house from 100 to 200 amp, new connections outside (weather head, conduit, meter, main disconnect), new breaker panel and all new breakers. Pretty big job. He ended up finally wiring the wall connector to the breaker panel near the end of that 12 hour day and accidentally put in a 30 amp breaker instead of 60 amp. I don’t blame him at all. Him and his team worked their asses off on Saturday. Luckily it was a simple fix and I’m all good now.

Had I known then that you don’t add the numbers together on a double pole breaker to get the total amps I would have figured that out immediately. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle :D
G.I. Joe!
 
Same here in PA. When I installed my outlets myself the inspector never looked at wiring or opened receptacle junction boxes or breaker panel (other then to confirm there was a breaker). When I asked him he said, "You live here. So I assume you did it right since you don't want your house to burn down":eek:


Lol, the inspectors, power company planners, and whoever has a clipboard near me assume the homeowner is an idiot, the contractor doing the work is shady, and there is a corner being cut. They'll red tag you for all sorts of stuff even if it's not why they're coming out to inspect.

I had an inspector red tag my solar and ESS install because he saw my new AC outdoor condensing unit was within the 36 inch set back distance between the property line which was bounded by a fence. Since an EMT or firefighter couldn't easily fit gear between the AC condenser and the fence they couldn't easily access the back yard. They needed the 36 inches to actually get onto my roof to fight a fire or wheel my dying ass out on a stretcher. I had to add a fence on the other side of my house to comply.

Blarg.
 
I have a line running from my breaker box, which has a 60amp circuit for my Tesla Wall Connector, and after a 30 foot run, right before the wall connector the electrician installed a fuse box, which then runs to the wall connector. In 3 years, it has blown the two fuses in the fuse box twice (once a year ago and once just now). Should I be at all concerned that it's blown the fuses at these two random times, or just go about replacing the fuses whenever that happens? I assume the latter, but can't hurt to ask the hive mind...
 
I have a line running from my breaker box, which has a 60amp circuit for my Tesla Wall Connector, and after a 30 foot run, right before the wall connector the electrician installed a fuse box, which then runs to the wall connector. In 3 years, it has blown the two fuses in the fuse box twice (once a year ago and once just now). Should I be at all concerned that it's blown the fuses at these two random times, or just go about replacing the fuses whenever that happens? I assume the latter, but can't hurt to ask the hive mind...
Fuses?
 
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Yup… I think code here in LA requires a fuse box or something right before the charger?
Code requires a disconnect near the wall connector if it is over 60a. Local jurisdiction can always apply their own rules.

I have the same thing, but it’s not fused.

Can you find a straight 60a fuse? Not time delayed that is typical for air conditioning unit? A quick search calls the fuse for non-motor loads a “NON” fuse.

I’m speculating that the motor type fuse that handles quick peaks may not like the continuous load.
 
Code requires a disconnect near the wall connector if it is over 60a. Local jurisdiction can always apply their own rules.

I have the same thing, but it’s not fused.

Can you find a straight 60a fuse? Not time delayed that is typical for air conditioning unit? A quick search calls the fuse for non-motor loads a “NON” fuse.

I’m speculating that the motor type fuse that handles quick peaks may not like the continuous load.
GE 60 Amp 240-Volt Non-Fuse Metallic AC Disconnect-TFN60RCP - The Home Depot solves the problem for $12.20.

You could also install 100 amp fuses the next time your current set fails, since it hopefully is being fed by a circuit breaker. (Thats probably a bad idea, so I wouldn't actually do it.) You might have a marginal connection in the fuse box thats allowing the fuses to overheat.

I assume that HPWC is set to deliver a max of 48 amps
 
GE 60 Amp 240-Volt Non-Fuse Metallic AC Disconnect-TFN60RCP - The Home Depot solves the problem for $12.20.

You could also install 100 amp fuses the next time your current set fails, since it hopefully is being fed by a circuit breaker. (Thats probably a bad idea, so I wouldn't actually do it.) You might have a marginal connection in the fuse box thats allowing the fuses to overheat.

I assume that HPWC is set to deliver a max of 48 amps

That's the one they installed at my house.

Good call on the 48a max check. Also to check for heat around the area near the end of a long charging session.

I'd still bet a standard 60a fuse would solve it.
 
GE 60 Amp 240-Volt Non-Fuse Metallic AC Disconnect-TFN60RCP - The Home Depot solves the problem for $12.20.

You could also install 100 amp fuses the next time your current set fails, since it hopefully is being fed by a circuit breaker. (Thats probably a bad idea, so I wouldn't actually do it.) You might have a marginal connection in the fuse box thats allowing the fuses to overheat.

I assume that HPWC is set to deliver a max of 48 amps
AH I see, just a disconnect and not necessarily a fuse. I may install that instead next time the new fuses I bought blow. As long as it doesn't sound concerning and fairly normal, then I'm good with the occasional fuse replacement. And yes, I'm set to 48A on a 60a breaker at the box and a pair of 60a fuses at the disconnect box. Actually seems like a good thing to have that second safety net of fuse at the disconnect come to think of it.
Forgive me, I'm not sure what you mean by "marginal connection in the fuse box"?
 
AH I see, just a disconnect and not necessarily a fuse. I may install that instead next time the new fuses I bought blow. As long as it doesn't sound concerning and fairly normal, then I'm good with the occasional fuse replacement. And yes, I'm set to 48A on a 60a breaker at the box and a pair of 60a fuses at the disconnect box. Actually seems like a good thing to have that second safety net of fuse at the disconnect come to think of it.
Forgive me, I'm not sure what you mean by "marginal connection in the fuse box"?
There are undoubtedly four(probably six, with ground included) screw-based connections in that fuse/disconnect box. If they are not properly tightened, or if some strands of the wires didn't get caught by the screw, those would be not-so-good connections, and heat would be generated at them. That heat would flow to the fuses, and when the fuses get hot they will blow at lower currents than they are designed for. There's also a tiny chance the spades that the fuse-block slides into aren't making a good connection, and that would also cause unwanted heat.

A simple test would be to charge for a half hour or something, stop charging and immediately pull the fuse block and check the temperatures(by hand or otherwise) of the ends of the fuses. If you find one particularly hot, its a fair bet that the connection for that end is bad. Be careful if you check by hand, If there really is a bad connection, the fuses could potentially be hot enough to burn skin, although its very unlikely. The reason to stop charging and THEN pull the fuse block is that if there are 48 amps flowing when the fuse block is pulled, there will undoubtedly be arcing on the slides for the fuse block and that will potentially make their connections worse forever.
 
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