Solid RED light after partial charging with portable charger...

[Ceejay]

If you're using the portable charger and it will allow all night at 110V, another possible failure point is the 240v pigtail. If you're not mounting the portable charger and instead letting it hang, the pigtail connection will gradually loosen. If the 110v is fine, it is because you rarely use that pigtail and it has a more solid connection.

thanks for the idea, cheers

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[Ceejay]

I've seen this happen when the power coming into the vehicle is interrupted or very unclean due to a contactor with weak springs and it gets bumped.

thanks for the idea, cheers

 

[HaveBlue]

I have routinely tried to dial back current, though always after plugging in. I will see if I can do prior to plugging in, perhaps through the scheduling feature.

Please explain your first suggestion of not plugging in vehicle until portable charger has completed its boot diag (diagnostic?). My procedure is to have the portable charger plugged in.... it has a white light at this point, and then i plug the charger into the vehicle, and then the vehicle will pulse white for a short period (perhaps 30 secs) and then the vehicle light will turn red.

And what is the "egc"? Did you mean to write EG4?

Thank you

When you first plug in the mobile charger it does a brief boot and you'll see it cycle through several colors. If you plug in the car before it finishes, it can go into an error state. Doesn't sound like this is your scenario.

EGC (Equipment Grounding Conductor) A weak ground will cause an error in the GFCI.

 

[Ceejay]

When you first plug in the mobile charger it does a brief boot and you'll see it cycle through several colors. If you plug in the car before it finishes, it can go into an error state. Doesn't sound like this is your scenario.

EGC (Equipment Grounding Conductor) A weak ground will cause an error in the GFCI.

Thanks for the explanations.
I found I could charge on the 240v plug at low current, but now not even at the lowest current.
I have been charging on the 110v plug since yesterday.
A couple days ago I tested a public level 2 charger, as well as a tesla DC charger, and all worked fine.
Today I plan to open up my 240v plug and breaker box and check, tighten, etc
Cheers

 

[HaveBlue]

Check all your neutrals grounds and lines not just the EV circuit. Make sure neutrals aren't shared on the bar. Check the receptacle

 

[Ceejay]

thanks, will attempt to do all that

 

[Ceejay]

Check all your neutrals grounds and lines not just the EV circuit. Make sure neutrals aren't shared on the bar. Check the receptacle

Thanks for your help...
Today even charging off the 120v outlet stopped working.

So I turned the power off, and I got to work opening things up and having a look.

I checked neutral bars and no sharing of holes. I actually only have two circuits on the panel: the 120v and 240v circuits for vehicle charging. The rest of my house runs on a separate offgrid electricity system.
I made a change to receptacles - neither were grounded to the plastic box, and so with pigtails I did that.
I may have a grounding issue or two in the service panel. The panel has a connection between the neutral and ground bars, which I'm not sure is right - a friend who does this sort of thing did the wiring of this part - and there is no direct grounding to the house grounding rod (instead, the service panel is indirectly grounded to the house grounding rod via the inverter's grounding to the rod).
I've now tested my portable cable to a friend's NEMA 14-50, and it worked, suggesting the problem is not my portable charger cable.
I've gotten a friend's Rivian portable charger cable, and plugged it in at home and it worked (16A on the 240v receptacle), and so then I switched to my Rivian portable charger cable and it is currently working (16A on the 240v receptacle).
We'll see what happens, but I'm starting to wonder if it is heating-related... most sensitive at high currents, but when having been used for a while even 120v won't work... we'll see by morning if it has continued to work.
Cheers

Photos of the charging kiosk with the two receptables, the service panel, and the two receptacles, in case that is helpful.

 

[Proxy]

It looks like you have a 60 amp breaker for the NEMA 14-50 socket. I’m not sure if that is a good idea. Also, the wires connected to the 60 amp breaker look undersized in the picture. It’s hard to tell, but letting the forum know what the markings are would be helpful.

 

[VSG]

If you're using the portable charger and it will allow all night at 110V, another possible failure point is the 240v pigtail. If you're not mounting the portable charger and instead letting it hang, the pigtail connection will gradually loosen. If the 110v is fine, it is because you rarely use that pigtail and it has a more solid connection.

@Ceejay - Did you read the above comment and understand it?
Your image shows exactly the problem this was warning you about. Your portable charger is hanging from the pigtail. That heavy charger body pulls down on the pigtail, and the connection between the pigtail and the charger body gradually over time separates and causes charging errors.

This is not theoretical. It happened to me many years ago, I figured out what happened and fixed the issue by hanging the charger body on a screw (as designed and as recommended in the manual). I haven't had the problem since. I have called out this exact problem for years. For example:

The portable charger comes with two short adapter cables - one for NEMA 5-15 and one for NEMA 14-50. These short cables plug into the portable charger body. And because they plug in, they can also pull out of the body.

If you suspend the portable charger body from the outlet with no strain relief, then the short adapter cable WILL become separated over time. DON'T MOUNT IT THIS WAY, just dangling from the outlet.

The fit is tight enough that it will work for a while if it's just dangling there, but if it's hot out, the rubber softens, and it may be that it becomes easier to separate. Regardless, the weight of the portable charger body pulling down will eventually cause the body and the cable to separate just slightly, enough to trip the GFCI.

The portable charger body is designed to hang from a screw. Make sure you mount it properly and don't just let it dangle from the outlet. And if you're using the portable charger on the road, say at a campground with a hookup, then bring a bungee of some other method of providing strain relief for that junction between the adapter cable and the charger body.

Is this definitely the problem? I don't know. But @Mellowyellow gave you excellent advice, please heed it.

 

[Ceejay]

@Ceejay - Did you read the above comment and understand it?
Your image shows exactly the problem this was warning you about. Your portable charger is hanging from the pigtail. That heavy charger body pulls down on the pigtail, and the connection between the pigtail and the charger body gradually over time separates and causes charging errors.

This is not theoretical. It happened to me many years ago, I figured out what happened and fixed the issue by hanging the charger body on a screw (as designed and as recommended in the manual). I haven't had the problem since. I have called out this exact problem for years. For example:

Is this definitely the problem? I don't know. But @Mellowyellow gave you excellent advice, please heed it.

yes thank you, I have played around with suspending the 'body', and I don't think this is my issue, but I will be mounting the 'body' on a screw

 

[Ceejay]

It looks like you have a 60 amp breaker for the NEMA 14-50 socket. I’m not sure if that is a good idea. Also, the wires connected to the 60 amp breaker look undersized in the picture. It’s hard to tell, but letting the forum know what the markings are would be helpful.

hi thanks, yes that is a 60A breaker for the 240v circuit.
The wire to the 240v breaker is Teck 6/3.
Thanks for your interest.
I am able to charge again this morning on the 240v set at a low current (16A). We'll see how it goes, but I am planning on reaching out to an electrician today to get a look over.
cheers

 

[Proxy]

@Ceejay Thanks for the reply. Hopefully an electrician can figure out the problem. They will probably at least recommend you replace the 60 amp breaker with a 50 amp. If it is replaced with a GFCI breaker you may run into new problems.

 

[HaveBlue]

Remove the Green #10 wire. Do not bond the neutral bar to the ground bar in that sub panel. That is electrifying the box, the car and everything else along the way with return current. Less safe than without the bond wire. Things may work differently after that. Possibly better if the rest of the grounding is proper.

Technically the sub panel should also have a ground rod or two, as well as the return ground lead to the main panel. Don't underestimate how effective/important grounding is.

A heat rated 60A breaker works with heat rated #6 though the outlet isn't rated for that even though it's an "EV rated" one. You likely won't ever go beyond 32A. I know why people do this, in case they add a hardwired unit later. There are other issues like it's not GFI and using damp boxes where wet should be but they aren't adding to your current issue.

 

[Ceejay]

Remove the Green #10 wire. Do not bond the neutral bar to the ground bar in that sub panel. That is electrifying the box, the car and everything else along the way with return current. Less safe than without the bond wire. Things may work differently after that. Possibly better if the rest of the grounding is proper.

Technically the sub panel should also have a ground rod or two, as well as the return ground lead to the main panel. Don't underestimate how effective/important grounding is.

A heat rated 60A breaker works with heat rated #6 though the outlet isn't rated for that even though it's an "EV rated" one. You likely won't ever go beyond 32A. I know why people do this, in case they add a hardwired unit later. There are other issues like it's not GFI and using damp boxes where wet should be but they aren't adding to your current issue.

Thank you. Have asked an electrician with a similar set up at his house to pop by in the next day or two. I'll raise your ideas with him.

 

[Ceejay]

@Ceejay Thanks for the reply. Hopefully an electrician can figure out the problem. They will probably at least recommend you replace the 60 amp breaker with a 50 amp. If it is replaced with a GFCI breaker you may run into new problems.

Thanks for your suggestions.
By the way, I am only able to charge on my friend's rivian portable charger since last night. Mine won't work, so it may simply be my portable charger..
It's like it's worn out from regular use since last fall when I got this system set up.
Cheers

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