My original charger stopped functioning after 4.5 years. For last year or so it seemed like it had a loose connection somewhere and once I folded the cable near the socket and taped it, it worked. Now it completely stopped, IIRC, it costs quite a bit to replace it. I was wondering if I could just open it and fix (assuming that some wire is coming loose). So, while I tried to see how I can open, I hit a road block, the screw head (drive) it has doesnt seem to match any tool I have or what ever I could see in Lowes. I searched the List of screw drives - Wikipedia, no luck. Can any of you tell me what kind of screw head it is and is it a reasonable thing to try to open and fix it? Here is the picture of the screw Thanks in advance.
It's a "penta-lobe" screw, much like the ones apple uses on its laptops. You can get drivers at ifixit.com. 64 Bit Driver Kit New - iFixit
You might also find the cable "strain relief" clamps hard to figure out. I gave up on trying to release the cables on mine, since the charger was covered by my extended warranty.
I'm sorry, but what made you think that it was okay from a safety perspective to keep using it if you "folded the cable near the socket and taped it"? That's a fire hazard waiting to happen. Don't use it until it's fixed or replaced.
i would rip her open and see if you can make repairs. then put it all back together in a safe manner. no reason why it can't be fixed, evseupgrade does it all the time.
Agreed, I dont know what I was thinking . I also remember that it was around the same time I discovered that the inner washer (within the socket) also had come loose and coming in the way of properly latching it. So, I removed the misaligned washer and things worked. I thought folding may not have been required. But, anyway... yeah I should've tried to fix it right then.
Most of the things I seem to find are for iphone and macbook. I am not sure if those are too small for the charger unit. I am bit hesitent to order from internet and finding it that it doesn't work. I am going ahead and ordering this from amazon. Let me see if that works.
Do you know what caused the tear? Did you drive over it or anything? I don't take care of my EVSE but it seems to have held up pretty well. A good portion of the time it is out doors where I charge at work.
It seems to twist and wrangle a lot, my guess is that it may have caused it. I haven't driven over it or anything. It may have been dropped few times, but no crack or any damage on the unit apart from this seemingly loose connection.
I've never heard of a cord failing because it dangled. Even if this is the case with this one, we have no proof.
