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Wow....Needed to Replace GFCI for Charger

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Prime Example, May 13, 2017.

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  1. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    Yikes! I have been charging my beloved Prime everyday since I purchased it about 2 1/2 weeks ago. I set up a home charging station using the EVSE that came with the car and plug and unplug it every time I charge . (When I travel, I just look for a charging station in that area. There's no station at work and my office building won't allow me to use its electricity that's on every post in the garage. Said something about the cost and then some really silly reason that if the cord is frayed, it could cause a fire. No worries.) Anyway, I've been plugging and unplugging the cord in the wall receptacle each time I charged the car. The receptacle was a bit loose, so I tightened it down a bit...but, it was still loose every time I unplugged the charger from the wall receptacle so it would rock slightly. Yesterday, when I tried to plug-in the car after a quick trip, the light on the Prime's charging port wouldn't turn green. So I went to the receptacle and the buttons would not reset. So, I removed the outlet and found what's shown in the photos. I guess somehow I caused the two line wires to arc. I can't think of anything else that would cause the damage. I've now replaced the GFCI and am just leaving the EVSE plugged in to the wall. (There's a refrigerator and rechargeable vacuum on the same 15A circuit plugged into different receptacles on the same line, but that shouldn't have caused the wires to fry.) Sometime soon I am having a 240V, dedicated circuit installed and will self-install a ChargePoint Home 12 16 A station. For the time being, I've changed my smoke detector batteries. Any suggestions on why the GFCI fried is appreciated.
     

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    #1 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    it looks like the negative and positive somehow touched from all the wiggling. maybe a piece of plastic insulator broke off inside.
     
    #2 bisco, May 13, 2017
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    Looks mostly like overheating from improper terminal torque. Never underestimate that: I've seen one that stopped working when the end of the wire melted right off.

    Is the box in the wall metal or plastic? And did you find the breaker tripped (before you turned it off yourself to change the receptacle)? If the box is metal, and properly grounded, then there could be something to your rocking hypothesis, but (a) you would definitely have found the breaker tripped in that case, and (b) it would most likely have happened while you were plugging/unplugging and rocking it, and you would have noticed.

    Otherwise, my money's on terminal torque. You were careful about that while installing the new one, right?

    -Chap
     
    #3 ChapmanF, May 13, 2017
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  4. priuscatprimeguy

    priuscatprimeguy Senior Member

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    why the GFCI fried is appreciated.

    not sure what you're asking, throw it away? yup, I see you amended your response Bisco
     
    #4 priuscatprimeguy, May 13, 2017
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  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    good point. i have tightened those down, only to find out they have some play. i think the design may be poor.
     
    #5 bisco, May 13, 2017
  6. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    The box in the wall is plastic. The breaker was not tripped before I went to change the receptacle. Since I wasn't certain which breaker was affected, I turned off all the power to the house first. Now I'm worried I might have overtightened the wires in the new receptacle. I wanted to make certain the wires wouldn't pull out of the box since it was difficult to put it back into the box...they were short since I had to cut off some of the burnt stuff.
     
    #6 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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  7. NR427

    NR427 Member

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    I'm sure that having the fridge and car together are drawing more than the 15 Amps the circuit is rated for. This looks like a fire waiting to happen.
     
    #7 NR427, May 13, 2017
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  8. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    A fire waiting to happen...that give's me great comfort. The refrigerator indicates its 6.5 Amps. I just checked and found that the car draws about 12 Amps. To my lay-person mind, I guess I am overloading the circuit and need to remove the refrigerator while I wait for the dedicated outlet to be installed. Am I right to presume that when both the car is charging and the refrigerator is running I am overloading that circuit. (Why wouldn't have the circuit breaker tripped first...did it have something to do with the fried wires.)

    For reference,the receptacle the EVSE is plugged into presently is a GFCI that controls 3 other outlets in the garage. So I imagine that the total amps used on that line is the sum of everything plugged into the 3 outlets. Sound right?

    Any electricians here?
     
    #8 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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  9. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sorry, i misread it the first time.
     
    #9 bisco, May 13, 2017
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  10. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    yeah, by the time i got to the end of the story, my old brain was frazzled.:p
     
    #10 bisco, May 13, 2017
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  11. priuscatprimeguy

    priuscatprimeguy Senior Member

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    #11 priuscatprimeguy, May 13, 2017
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  12. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    Oh great, my house is a fire hazard and people on here giving me advice have Alzheimer disease. Man, I love you guys :)
     
    #12 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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  13. priuscatprimeguy

    priuscatprimeguy Senior Member

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    :ROFLMAO::p:LOL:
     
    #13 priuscatprimeguy, May 13, 2017
  14. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    best to know these things before you have alzheimers and your house is a fire hazard.:oops:
     
    #14 bisco, May 13, 2017
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  15. I'mJp

    I'mJp Senior Member

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    Each entry point on the gfci you've shown has three ways to connect. One is by screw, and the other two ways are by wire insertion.

    The wire insertion portion is what caused the melt down. That type of connection should never be used by heavy load, or be used to add wire to go to another outlet ( a relay ).
     
    #15 I'mJp, May 13, 2017
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  16. NR427

    NR427 Member

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    Can you set the prime to charge at 8 amps until you get the charging station put in? anyway you should have an electrician see why the breaker didn't trip. Some older breaker panels are unreliable and dangerous.
     
    #16 NR427, May 13, 2017
  17. I'mJp

    I'mJp Senior Member

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    The breaker probably did not trip because no excess current was drawn.
    A breaker cannot detect a week connection that overheats.
     
    #17 I'mJp, May 13, 2017
  18. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    Maybe that is why one of our members was having trouble getting car/home insurance when he bought his Prime. Insurance company thought he might burn his house down.

    Now I am freaked out. Going to have to sit in my garage for 5 hours each day and watch my car charge. Maybe I can hire someone to do that for me.
     
    #18 huskers, May 13, 2017
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  19. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    You all have given me a great idea for when I retire, which might be soon for my new business. For a fee, I will drive a purchased Prime from the dealer to the purchaser so those in the middle states can enjoy the plentiful Prime bounty in the coastal states. The other division will be where we set up a chair in your garage or in front of your house (with a fire extinguisher) and watch your Prime charge for 5 hours.

    (Disclaimer: I need the fire extinguisher for user error overloading circuits or faulty wiring, I no way meant to imply the car has issues; all is well. The car is perfect. No problems. Very safe. JEEEEEZ, I hope no Toyota lawyers read this forum.)
     
    #19 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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  20. Prime Example

    Prime Example Junior Member

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    But seriously....thanks for all the comments. I had an electrician stop by and he said the wires that were fried are the neutral wires, which was most likely caused by overheating. Apparently, I had way too much "stuff" on the line with car charging, refrigerator, rechargeable vacuum and garage lights. He is installing the right receptacle for me so down-the-road I can install a ChargePoint unit. He is also adding a new dedicated 20 Amp circuit and receptacle for the Prime so I can use that for now and he is rewiring the damaged GFI. All is well. Thanks to all for your information and thoughts.
     
    #20 Prime Example, May 13, 2017
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