Model 3 Trips Wall GFCI

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I hope this doesn’t get flagged as a duplicate post… I have read all the other threads without any luck…


Model 3 Trips Wall GFCI

Last fall I had an electrician install a 120 v outlet for my electric gate. I later bought a Tesla and was using that outlet off and on to charge. The weather proof cover was pinching the larger charging cord, so I switch it (I did not touch any of the electrical at the time) and now the GFCI trips about 50% of the time and when it trips I cannot ever get it to start charging. It just constantly trips as soon as I plug in the car. The electricians installed a Leviton non-WR outlet. I replaced it with a Leviton WR outlet hoping that would fix the problem without any luck. My outlet meter shows everything is wired correctly and grounded.

I have an older outlet about 10 feet away that is on the same circuit and goes to the same box. This outlet never has any issues. The other outlet is older and is grounded via metal conduit and the new one is grounded by a green wire.

 

[Cosmacelf]

Do you have a circuit tester with a button to test GFCI compliance? If so, when plugged into the older, working outlet, when you press the button, does it trip the GFCI?

 

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Do you have a circuit tester with a button to test GFCI compliance? If so, when plugged into the older, working outlet, when you press the button, does it trip the GFCI?

I don’t have one of those, but I have a meter with 3 lights for +, -, and ground and all the lights say it’s ok

 

[Sophias_dad]

I don’t have one of those, but I have a meter with 3 lights for +, -, and ground and all the lights say it’s ok

Yes, but is it GFCI protected at all?

 

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Yes, but is it GFCI protected at all?

This is my tester. The outlet is a GFCI. That’s were it is tripping

 

[RayK]

Just for clarity... is the GFCI located inside the outlet or inside the breaker?

If the outlet, then does both outdoor outlets have their own GFCI? Or does a single GFCI control both outlets (in other words, daisy-chained outlets)?

 

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Just for clarity... is the GFCI located inside the outlet or inside the breaker?

If the outlet, then does both outdoor outlets have their own GFCI? Or does a single GFCI control both outlets (in other words, daisy-chained outlets)?

GFCIs are located in the outlet.

Both outlets have GFCI inside the outlet.

 

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When I got home from work it wouldn’t charge… a few hours later went to plug it in and I now works…

Could it be wired incorrectly even though my tester says it’s ok? Insufficient grounding (I know it has some ground g because when I disconnected the ground the Tesla gave an insufficient grounding error on the display)? Ground and neutral grouching somewhere?

The GFCI is also wired to an electric gate with a backup battery. I’m wondering if those could case issue but I have no way of testing. Once it started working I opened and closed the gate a bunch of times but it still worked

I’m starting to run out of ideas to test… especially since it works 50% of the time, I have difficulty knowing if I fixed it or not.

Worked ok on Monday and Tuesday but Wednesday it did not work for a few hours.

 

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Ugh I thought it was good. Nothing for almost a week and then today it tripped

Was bad for an hour or two but is now ok

 

[DuncanM]

Ugh I thought it was good. Nothing for almost a week and then today it tripped

Was bad for an hour or two but is now ok

What amperage is the car set at?

 

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What amperage is the car set at?

I tried 12 and 6

 

[ATPMSD]

GFCI outlets fail, I suggest replacing the outlet. Make sure all connections are tight and none of the exposed wires are touching anything - the ground wire can touch the box but not the outlet.

After installing, use your tester to confirm correct wiring and then press the “test” button on the outlet, it should trip. Reset it then try using the mobile connector.

 

[ATPMSD]

The GFCI is also wired to an electric gate with a backup battery.

I assume the wiring runs from the GFCI outlet to the gate? If so, and if it is hard wired at the gate (no outlet), you can connect those wires to the pass through connections of the GFCI breaker.

 

[Waiting…]

GFCI outlets fail, I suggest replacing the outlet. Make sure all connections are tight and none of the exposed wires are touching anything - the ground wire can touch the box but not the outlet.

After installing, use your tester to confirm correct wiring and then press the “test” button on the outlet, it should trip. Reset it then try using the mobile connector.

I already replaced it once. The power from the wall and to the gate were “back stabbed.”

One is a solid metal wire and one was a bunch of small wires.

I thought I fixed the issue by using a wire connector to connect everything instead of the back stabbing method. Also used extra tape to keep everything in place.

Worked for about a week until last night.

 

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I already replaced it once. The power from the wall and to the gate were “back stabbed.”

One is a solid metal wire and one was a bunch of small wires.

I thought I fixed the issue by using a wire connector to connect everything instead of the back stabbing method. Also used extra tape to keep everything in place.

Worked for about a week until last night.

The gate is connected on the line side with the input from the wall… wondering if I should switch it to the load side

 

[ATPMSD]

The gate is connected on the line side with the input from the wall… wondering if I should switch it to the load side

Can you disconnect the gate and leave it open for a few days to help isolate the problem?

 

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Can you disconnect the gate and leave it open for a few days to help isolate the problem?

I disconnected it for 10 min and it did not solve the issue at that time…

 

[AC Traction]

GFCI's work by comparing current between the hot and neutral wires. If they differ by 4-6mA or more, that extra current is going somewhere other than through the circuit and is reaching a potentially dangerous level. Tesla EVSE's test presence of ground by intentionally "leaking" a couple mA through the ground pin. Normally this should be less than the trip threshold of everyday GFCI's. If everything's wired properly, your mobile connector may be leaking a little too much during this test.

Do you have any other known good GFCI-protected circuits/receptacles you can charge on to test?

 

[Benito1283]

If you're able to test your Mobile Connector on another outlet and it works, I think it's time to call your electrician to troubleshoot. Unless you're very comfortable with electrical work, I wouldn't risk DIY repair on an EV charging circuit that will be taxed to its limits.

 

[VT_EE]

GFCI's work by comparing current between the hot and neutral wires. If they differ by 4-6mA or more, that extra current is going somewhere other than through the circuit and is reaching a potentially dangerous level. Tesla EVSE's test presence of ground by intentionally "leaking" a couple mA through the ground pin. Normally this should be less than the trip threshold of everyday GFCI's. If everything's wired properly, your mobile connector may be leaking a little too much during this test.

Do you have any other known good GFCI-protected circuits/receptacles you can charge on to test?

This! Buy a different brand GFCI and try that out. Hopefully it’s not as sensitive as the existing one. I had the same issue at my mother-in-laws house once I replaced her ancient GFCI. I don’t not have any issues anywhere else with level 1 charging on GFCI.