Dead UMC after storm

So, had the UMC outside last night plugged into an enclosed outlet.

The UMC itself was elevated hanging from the outlet about a foot off the ground.

Good sized storm came through, car continued charging. The UMC is a NEMA 4 enclosure, so, wasn't concerned about the rain (have used it in the rain before).

Well, this morning charge ring was red, dash complained of no power to the charger.

UMC had no lights on it. Breaker was good and tested the outlet and it had power.

Shook the UMC around in my hand and I could hear water inside it.

The water was dripping out from behind the sticker on the back. The sticker had one edge up a little, so, I peeled it back. Turns out the reset button sits on top of a cutout in the plastic, which is obviously where the water got in. I'm not sure covering this with a sticker qualifies as NEMA 4 (water tight/weather proof). Seems like a bit of a design flaw...

Anyway, I shook the bulk of the water out and have it sitting in front of an A/C vent for now with the sticker peeled back. Hopefully it comes back to life. If it doesn't I'll try to get Tesla service to replace it since it's supposed to be weatherproof and I presume is under warranty (only had the car and UMC for 5 months).



Anyone ever had a similar problem?

widodh said:

I'd suggest you look into a HPWC.

Click to expand...

I actually have the HPWC at home on a 100A circuit. I was using the UMC away from home.

Still dead after drying. Contacted Tesla service about the issue, waiting for response.

My only issue with taking it to the service center is that they are about 70 minutes away, each way, and I never have a reason to go in that direction otherwise. I'm hoping they can do a swap of it via mail or something. I'd let them put a hold on a card or something while they send me a new one if they'd go for it. Would save me 2+ hours of driving.

Verdict: Warranty replacement UMC is on its way from Tesla service via Fedex.