# Adventures in 220 volt charging



## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Recently my mobile connector was replaced by Tesla mobile service because the car end of it was cracking and disintegrating. When they replaced it, they only replaced the main unit and the cord to the car. They reused the 14-50 head.

I have that Mobile Connector wall mounted so it's just far enough from the 14-50 outlet to reach. What I didn't realize was that the newer Mobile Connector (which had a different hard plastic cord instead of rubber) was just barely millimeters shorter. That caused the weight of it to gradually pull itself away from the plug head, causing it to heat up and eventually shut off with lots of warnings from the car.

Just in case, I decided to take apart the wall outlet and examine it. No cracking, no evidence of overheating. The outlet prongs looked clean as well. So I put everything back together, made sure the plug head was locked in as best as it could be, except it felt kind of loose in the Mobile Connector unit. This was actually a clue.

Tried charging again, and went into the garage with an infrared camera. The interior of the plug head cord and one conductor in it went quickly up to 150 degrees F. What I learned from that is once the plug head overheats and causes the MC to shut down, _the plug head might be permanently damaged_.

My mobile service appointment is on the 20th. Originally I asked why they don't just mail me a new plug head, but I'm guessing once the MC has been compromised by overheating they just want to swap the whole thing out to be safe. Meanwhile I'm limiting charging manually to 20 amps to keep the chances of overheat down.

This also gave me a new view of part of why Tesla might have started steering buyers away from using 220 volts. At 20 amps, even compromised equipment can still charge okay with very little risk of fire or damage. Even a thin and frayed extension cord can handle 20 amps more or less. If you start getting too much above that, heating and damage start to become a dangerous problem That average car buyers can't handle. So maybe they didn't want to insist on 220 volt charging, and then have to support all of the possible issues that come with higher amp charging in less than ideal conditions.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> Recently my mobile connector was replaced by Tesla mobile service because the car end of it was cracking and disintegrating. When they replaced it, they only replaced the main unit and the cord to the car. They reused the 14-50 head.
> 
> I have that Mobile Connector wall mounted so it's just far enough from the 14-50 outlet to reach. What I didn't realize was that the newer Mobile Connector (which had a different hard plastic cord instead of rubber) was just barely millimeters shorter. That caused the weight of it to gradually pull itself away from the plug head, causing it to heat up and eventually shut off with lots of warnings from the car.
> 
> ...


In the US there is no 220 Volt service. We have 240 volts, 208 volts and 120 volts. I will assume you are talking about 240 volt charging:

As far as I know, Tesla has not tried to steer customers away from 240 volt charging. It is the most practical way to charge your Tesla at home and at third party Level II chargers and is perfectly safe when done properly.

It sounds like your issue can be traced to strain on the cable between the outlet and the mobile connector. This kind of equipment needs to be fully plugged in at every connection. I don't think the body of the mobile connector is designed to be hard-mounted. If it is, it needs to be mounted the correct distance from the outlet. It's good practice to insure there is no weight hanging on the cable or Mobile Connector body and that the cable has no sharp bends or kinks. It also good practice to occasionally give the connections a firm shove to insure they are making a good connection. This is best done by unplugging the connection and re-establishing it. You can also spray a little electrical contact cleaner on the copper connections when the equipment is not powered. But it sounds like you need to re-position the body of the MC so it is not struggling to reach the outlet.

Once the equipment has been damaged by overheating, it generally needs to be replaced. It's important to know that all three plug-in connections of the Mobile connector have thermocouples inside them to monitor the temperature of the connections. If it senses high temperatures it will automatically reduce the level of current or shut it off altogether.

I am a big fan of the HPWC (High-Powered Wall Connector) because it is a heavier-duty unit designed for daily charging and it eliminates a number of plug-in connections because it is hard-wired. I've installed two of them and it's not difficult at all. You will eliminate the NEMA 14-50 outlet, NEMA 14-50 plug and the plug to the 14-50 adapter so that's two temporary connections (four connectors) that rely on a friction fit that get eliminated. You also get a heavier gauge charging cord. This will create less resistance (the connections are the primary contributors to resistance) which means less heat and less electricity to charge. It also allows you to leave your Mobile Connector in the basement of your trunk so you have a charge solution in an emergency away from home.

Sometimes people are reluctant to spend $500 on a HPWC but it's a good investment in the EV charging infrastructure of your home. EV's are only going to become massively more popular over the next few years.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

It's 226 volts here! Each leg is 113 volts. I'm only going to get close enough, because I'm too lazy to be 100% accurate and type the entire possible range like "215-250 volt service" each time (also that's probably more confusing).

Yes, as I assessed above, there was a problem with the plug head (the cord between the MC and the wall) caused by it coming partially loose from the top of the MC. What I didn't expect was that it now fits very loosely, and was likely physically damaged by the overheating to the point where it's in such fragile condition that it can't handle more than 20 amps now.

The reason I'm not using a HPWC is strictly the sale price - if I got one somehow, I would have no problem hooking it up myself, so I wouldn't need an electrician. I got a 2nd MC for about $200, and have it hanging from a bracket on the wall to reduce strain on the plug and cord.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> It's 226 volts here! Each leg is 113 volts. I'm only going to get close enough, because I'm too lazy to be 100% accurate and type the entire possible range like "215-250 volt service" each time (also that's probably more confusing).
> 
> Yes, as I assessed above, there was a problem with the plug head (the cord between the MC and the wall) caused by it coming partially loose from the top of the MC. What I didn't expect was that it now fits very loosely, and was likely physically damaged by the overheating to the point where it's in such fragile condition that it can't handle more than 20 amps now.
> 
> The reason I'm not using a HPWC is strictly the sale price - if I got one somehow, I would have no problem hooking it up myself, so I wouldn't need an electrician. I got a 2nd MC for about $200, and have it hanging from a bracket on the wall to reduce strain on the plug and cord.


That's just voltage sag, the nominal voltage is 240 volts.

I'm confused, why are you charging at only 20 amps if you have a second, undamaged Mobile Connector with which to charge with? And why do you say Tesla has tried to steer customers away from charging with 240 volts?


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> I'm confused, why are you charging at only 20 amps if you have a second, undamaged Mobile Connector with which to charge with? And why do you say Tesla has tried to steer customers away from charging with 240 volts?


The other Mobile Connector didn't come with a 14-50 head. And as far as I know none of the new Teslas do either, which is why I said Tesla was trying to steer them away from needing 240 volt charging.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> The other Mobile Connector didn't come with a 14-50 head. And as far as I know none of the new Teslas do either, which is why I said Tesla was trying to steer them away from needing 240 volt charging.


Oh. That's not true. Tesla doesn't include the NEMA 14-50 adapter for cost reasons since many owners were installing either Wall Connectors or using the 120V adapter and never used the 50A 250 V adapter anyway. Tesla encourages 240 volt charging at home. The 15A 120 V adapter is included, most likely because that's, by far, the most popular outlet in North America. It ensures everyone can maintain a charge in their car.

You can buy whatever adapter you need for only $35 and that includes free shipping.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> Oh. That's not true. Tesla doesn't include the NEMA 14-50 adapter for cost reasons since many owners were installing either Wall Connectors or using the 120V adapter and never used the 50A 250 V adapter anyway. Tesla encourages 240 volt charging at home. The 15A 120 V adapter is included, most likely because that's, by far, the most popular outlet in North America. It ensures everyone can maintain a charge in their car.


But if everyone is using 14-50, then why not include that, tell new buyers that they must install a 240 volt outlet, and leave out the 120 volt head? It's the same cost savings. The best reason I can think of not to do it that way is Tesla deciding not to push people too hard toward 240v charging, and let them use 120v as good enough unless they're _willing_ to upgrade.

Additionally, they could save even _more_ money by not including the Mobile Connector at all, having buyers choose their own EVSE, and gently shoving the Wall Connector in their direction if they want level 2 home charging. After all, it's not needed for supercharging or for public charging, and people can always order a Mobile Connector if they plan on charging at a friend's or relative's house.


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## slacker775 (May 30, 2018)

Obviously they include the 5-15 because it’s ‘universal’ in the US. If I go to my folks place for awhile, i can find a 120V 15/20A outlet. It’s by no means a recommendation. They dropped the 14-50 because even folks that are doing higher charging, they might need the 30A connector or any of the other variations - I’m only 30A for example, campgrounds or other places may have a few different connectors. So for Tesla, it’s a small cost saving measure and avoids potentially wasteful production. Kind of like Apple not including the cheapo USB chargers with iPhones anymore.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> But if everyone is using 14-50, then why not include that, tell new buyers that they must install a 240 volt outlet, and leave out the 120 volt head? It's the same cost savings. The best reason I can think of not to do it that way is Tesla deciding not to push people too hard toward 240v charging, and let them use 120v as good enough unless they're _willing_ to upgrade.


That's an odd question because it assumes something that isn't true (that everyone is using a NEMA 14-50 to charge). The truth is that customers use a wide variety of charge solutions including 15A 120 volt, 20A 120 volt, 30A 240 volt, 50A 240V as well as the very popular wall connector that can be configured to charge at whatever level of power the customer has available (up to 48A 240 volts).



JasonF said:


> Additionally, they could save even _more_ money by not including the Mobile Connector at all, having buyers choose their own EVSE, and gently shoving the Wall Connector in their direction if they want level 2 home charging. After all, it's not needed for supercharging or for public charging, and people can always order a Mobile Connector if they plan on charging at a friend's or relative's house.


True, Tesla could save money by not including the wall connector. Porsche leaves owners to pay a lot of extra money for the mobile connector last time I checked. But that could be considered a real slap in the face after you've spent $150K or more on a car that gets it's behind kicked by a less expensive Tesla that comes with it as standard equipment. Porsche makes buyers pay for a lot of things that come standard on a Tesla. That's just how Tesla rolls. That doesn't mean they have to include every available adapter. Including an adapter for the most ubiquitous outlet in North America (120 volt, 15A) doesn't mean Tesla is pushing customers to only use 120V 15A or to avoid 240V. That's just silly and it's not clear to me why you are drawing such weird conclusions from the sensible standard equipment choices that Tesla has made. Obviously, they chose the 120 volt 15A because everyone has them. Not everyone has the other outlet types.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> That's an odd question because it assumes something that isn't true (that everyone is using a NEMA 14-50 to charge). The truth is that customers use a wide variety of charge solutions including 15A 120 volt, 20A 120 volt, 30A 240 volt, 50A 240V as well as the very popular wall connector that can be configured to charge at whatever level of power the customer has available (up to 48A 240 volts).


Maybe I'm asking too many questions here, and Tesla simply included a 120-volt level 1 charging head with the Mobile Connector because everyone else does (Chevrolet, Nissan, Hyundai, etc). I believe, though, that they put more thought into it than simply "everyone else is doing it".

And if you believe they put more thought into it, then you have to ask yourself why they would choose 120 volts over 240 volts? The plug heads cost the same, so from that point of view it doesn't matter if they include a 14-50 or a 110-volt head. My guess is they decided that a 120 volt head offers more utility to the average new Tesla owner on delivery day.

So I didn't mean that Tesla was trying to steer new owners _away_ from 240 volts, just that their actions no longer emphasize it as a _need_. The message they're sending by including only the 120 volt head is this is all you need at first. Then when you're ready, you can upgrade to a 240 volt head or Wall Connector. When they included the 14-50 head as well, the message was this is what you _should_ be using, and the 120 volt head is there is a backup. That's where I believe the message and intention has changed.

That message has been received somewhat, because among the now 7 Teslas in this neighborhood, I'm the only one using Level 2 charging. I've verified that 4 more (two at one house that charge in the driveway with a long household extension cord, and two in garages) are using Level 1 charging, and the other 2 look like they're parked outside all the time, so they probably use a supercharger or nearby Chargepoint station.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> Maybe I'm asking too many questions here, and Tesla simply included a 120-volt level 1 charging head with the Mobile Connector because everyone else does (Chevrolet, Nissan, Hyundai, etc). I believe, though, that they put more thought into it than simply "everyone else is doing it".
> 
> And if you believe they put more thought into it, then you have to ask yourself why they would choose 120 volts over 240 volts? The plug heads cost the same, so from that point of view it doesn't matter if they include a 14-50 or a 110-volt head. My guess is they decided that a 120 volt head offers more utility to the average new Tesla owner on delivery day.
> 
> ...


I simply don't think Tesla intended to send any message at all, they just included the plug that the most people could use in a pinch. :smiley:


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## gary in NY (Dec 2, 2018)

I’ve never used my 14-50 adapter, but have had to buy several others to meet my charging requirements, which are all 240v. 120v receptacles are everywhere, so at a minimum should be included. I use mine when it’s my only option. I did buy a HPWC second hand, and while it’s nice to have, it’s not a necessity when you have the MC with the right adapter.

When Tesla dropped the 14-50, they said it was not used by the majority of the owners.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> I simply don't think Tesla intended to send any message at all, they just included the plug that the most people could use in a pinch. :smiley:





gary in NY said:


> When Tesla dropped the 14-50, they said it was not used by the majority of the owners.


Both of these factors are what I'm talking about - because neither are "we included it because everyone else does". There was some thought to which charging head provides most new owners with the most utility.


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## gary in NY (Dec 2, 2018)

JasonF said:


> Both of these factors are what I'm talking about - because neither are "we included it because everyone else does". There was some thought to which charging head provides most new owners with the most utility.


Agreed, but that would not necessarily mean they were discouraging 240v charging.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

gary in NY said:


> Agreed, but that would not necessarily mean they were discouraging 240v charging.


I should have stated that better - they're steering away from requiring 240 volt charging.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> I should have stated that better - they're steering away from requiring 240 volt charging.


I think this is getting ridiculous - they have never required 240V charging to begin with! You are reading far too much into Tesla's choice of standard equipment. Even when they previously supplied a collection of adapters as standard equipment they included a 120V adapter.


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## lance.bailey (Apr 1, 2019)

PNWmisty said:


> Sometimes people are reluctant to spend $500 on a HPWC but it's a good investment in the EV charging infrastructure of your home. EV's are only going to become massively more popular over the next few years.


EV are going to get massively more popular, and Tesla will be a big part of that, but as more and more automakers get on board, the percentage of EVs which are Tesla is likely to drop. So I beleive that a 240 outlet in the garage will be more attractive as it supports Tesla, j1772 or whatever standard next year's model uses.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

lance.bailey said:


> EV are going to get massively more popular, and Tesla will be a big part of that, but as more and more automakers get on board, the percentage of EVs which are Tesla is likely to drop. So I beleive that a 240 outlet in the garage will be more attractive as it supports Tesla, j1772 or whatever standard next year's model uses.


I wouldn't worry about that because most of the work is in the wiring. It's dead simply to replace a Tesla Wall Connector with a different brand so just buy whatever you are currently driving. In the most recent year in the US (2020) Tesla new car registrations rose to 79.4% of all new BEV registrations so the percent of BEV's that are Tesla is still increasing and I don't think it will fall below half for some time.

I hope other manufacturers get their ca-ca together (for the sake of the planet) but I wouldn't count on it. They have been over-promising and under delivering for many years when it comes to their plans to launch new EV's. Is it real or just more hot air? I want to see them produce EV's in high volume but they seem incapable of it regardless of their long-standing EV rhetoric.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

PNWmisty said:


> I think this is getting ridiculous - they have never required 240V charging to begin with! You are reading far too much into Tesla's choice of standard equipment. Even when they previously supplied a collection of adapters as standard equipment they included a 120V adapter.


I was hoping to get some insight into why, but I guess that crosses a line. I'm sorry for questioning it, it was made for reasons beyond my understanding and I shouldn't have even brought it up.


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## PNWmisty (Aug 19, 2017)

JasonF said:


> I was hoping to get some insight into why, but I guess that crosses a line. I'm sorry for questioning it, it was made for reasons beyond my understanding and I shouldn't have even brought it up.


There's nothing wrong with asking sincere questions. I hope you found the answers sensible.


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