Problem with electrical panel and charging tonight

If you heard sizzling sounds from your electrical panel, then that's where your problem lies. Don't use that circuit again (the 240V circuit that you usually use to charge your car) until an electrician opens the panel and checks it out.

The sizzling sound indicates a fault somewhere in that circuit (and it could impact other circuits in the house), so this is a potentially dangerous situation and should be checked out as soon as possible. Kinda sucks that it happened on a Saturday night, but see if there is a 24 hour electrician that can come on a Sunday.

As far as the slow charge is concerned, this is yet another reason why I bought my NEMA 5-20 adapter so that I could charge at about 43% faster charge from a household plug (at least a household plug that is on a 20A circuit and has the horizontal blade for the 5-20) in emergency situations.

Please get "Sparky" back ASAP! Don't want you having an electrical fire most importantly and secondly - don't need more sensationalist media fodder about supposed Tesla fires.

Cosmacelf said:

If you heard sizzling sounds from your electrical panel, then that's where your problem lies. Don't use that circuit again (the 240V circuit that you usually use to charge your car) until an electrician opens the panel and checks it out.

The sizzling sound indicates a fault somewhere in that circuit (and it could impact other circuits in the house), so this is a potentially dangerous situation and should be checked out as soon as possible.

Click to expand...

Yep.

OP, you wouldn't happen to have a panel from either Zinsco or Federal Pacific, would you?

A sizzling sound indicates a problem. It could be as simple as a lose connection. That you should be able to test and correct yourself. If the connection is not lose then if comfortable, you can replace the breaker the second most likely issue. Beyond that call an electrician. But do not use until a problem is found and corrected.

Sounds like you're confusing fuses and circuit breakers. Sounds like your knowledge of electricity is minimal, sounds like you're probably not the type of person that should be trying to diagnose and repair this kind of problem. I would recommend leaving circuit breakers in the off position, not using the charger until you have contacted a licensed electrician to come out and diagnose and repair the problem. Suggest calling an electrician the first thing Monday morning for an urgent diagnosis and repair.

It sounds like a fire hazard that should be addressed ASAP by a licensed electrician.

The previous posters are correct. If you are not comfortable with removing the front of your electrical panel, then call an electrician. If you are comfortable with that, you should look at the wires that attach to the breaker supplying your receptacle; you may find that the insulation is melted, darkened, cracked, or otherwise damaged. If so, you will want to have that repaired and tightened. Otherwise, it may be more of a deeper problem.

Again, if you don't feel comfortable, please refer your case to a licensed electrician.

With regard to electrical panels, please read the FAQ in my signature, below - the arc'ing that you hear may also be a problem with your electrical panel especially if it is old and manufactured by the companies cwerdna mentioned. We can confirm if you will post a picture of your panel.