Level 2 Home Charger Tripping Circuit Breaker
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I'd start off easy to eliminate any car/EVSE misbehavior. Make sure it is not pulling 48A. You can use the charging screen mph reading to double check it. Outside unlikely possibility that the EVSE is not accepting its 32A settings and the car is requesting 48 Amps.
But, after quickly eliminating the car, I would evaluate how much I knew about the building. It's hard to tell from your comment what the dedicated circuit is.
(I'm going to answer like it is an old dryer receptacle, etc.)
That would be after resolving to always leave the breaker open except when testing things out.
- You could also toggle on the Reduced AC charging selection to have the car request only 8 Amps from the EVSE and watch it for an hour or so to see what happens.
But, after quickly eliminating the car, I would evaluate how much I knew about the building. It's hard to tell from your comment what the dedicated circuit is.
(I'm going to answer like it is an old dryer receptacle, etc.)
- How old is the electrical equipment?
- How long since the wiring was inspected?
- What size wiring was used for a conductor in the 50A circuit?
- Do you know who installed the circuit?
- How warm is the receptacle? the breaker?
- How warm is the wiring itself?
- Is there an old work box somewhere that may have loose wires in it?
That would be after resolving to always leave the breaker open except when testing things out.
It's difficult to trip a breaker with anything other than current overages or a bad breaker. Even if you had a bad, high resistance connection somewhere in your wiring, the breaker wouldn't detect it.
I'd start with replacing the breaker to determine if the fault persists. Breakers are relatively inexpensive and ready to install.
I'd start with replacing the breaker to determine if the fault persists. Breakers are relatively inexpensive and ready to install.
Thanks for the reply. The circuit is dedicated to the ID 4 only and was installed about a month ago. All of the wiring is underground to a detached garage about 120 feet from the main panel. The main panel was installed to code about 4 years ago.
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I don't have a VW ID.4 but have been reading this forum in deciding whether or not I will get a VW. I have a Bolt and have L2 in my garage. I am not sure if you are hardwired or have the charger with a plug in. Anyway, there are plenty of discussions around about tripping if you are plugged into a GFCI circuit breaker as most (if not all ) EVSEs are already GFCI protected and this will lead to tripping. I have JuiceBox 40 and their instruction are to not use a GFCI breaker as it is already protected. Google your problem as their is a bunch of discussions about this on other forums.
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Use current probe and temperature imaging camera.....it will give you idea what is happening with circuit overloading.
12 gauge copper. I had the electrician come back out and check everything and it would appear it was a bad breaker. We will see.
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Is the breaker an Arc Fault type (the one with a neutral white “pigtail” attached)? These have been problematic with many EVSE’s, as reported by installing electricians.
As an EVSE is deemed a “dedicated use” circuit, similar to a dryer, an AF type is not required, at least not in my area. My standard circuit breaker has not been an inadvertent tripping issue.
As an EVSE is deemed a “dedicated use” circuit, similar to a dryer, an AF type is not required, at least not in my area. My standard circuit breaker has not been an inadvertent tripping issue.
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That will be your problem...and if this did certified electrician i would press charges against him....because he just did put your life and life of others in danger because of possible 🔥. and especially 120 feet length run from main panel. This is violation of all electrical codes not to mention house codes.
If I'm you i would stop using it immediately
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GWB just cited he wasn’t sure about the wire size but it was to code, so just a mistaken input.
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Was it just a bad breaker or an Arc Fault type that was replaced for a standard?
btw: The AF breaker on my kitchen stove, which as gas fed only powers a bit of display electronics, had nuisance tripping for about a week so I bought a new one and was ready to replace when it went back to normal for now over a month, so am waiting to see if it again becomes problematic. Although they serve a good safety purpose they are also far more prone to these nuisance trips, as any electrician will tell you. Same with modern smoke/CO integrated alarms. The more complex the system the more opportunity for erratic behavior. Reminds us of ..... 🚙
btw: The AF breaker on my kitchen stove, which as gas fed only powers a bit of display electronics, had nuisance tripping for about a week so I bought a new one and was ready to replace when it went back to normal for now over a month, so am waiting to see if it again becomes problematic. Although they serve a good safety purpose they are also far more prone to these nuisance trips, as any electrician will tell you. Same with modern smoke/CO integrated alarms. The more complex the system the more opportunity for erratic behavior. Reminds us of ..... 🚙
May I just suggest everyone drop the 12 AWG comment as it was tangential to the topic of this post; had 12 AWG actually been installed, it would not longer be a problem because it would have melted and perhaps started a fire within the first two minutes of use at 40 amps. Guaranteed, it wasn't 12 gauge.
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