I have a customer who has a Chevrolet Volt and he was having problems with the charger. Seems that in using it at both home and at work the neutral blade of the male cord end is overheating and burning. He contacted his dealership and they told him to install a 20A 120V receptacle to plug in to. I told him that since it had happened at two separate locations there was a very good chance that the charging unit was defective and not the power source. He was given a new charging unit but is apprehensive about using it since the last one actually burned the cord cap and melted the wall receptacle. The specs I found on the charger are 12amp and 8amp. The home receptacle is a 20A GFCI circuit that I installed new 5 years ago. Has anyone encountered faulty chargers with the Chevrolet Volt? I am going to go back in the A.M, replace the damaged receptacle, and plug in the vehicle and load check the circuit. The dealership told him he needed a 20A receptacle because that's what they use and don't have any problems. To my knowledge the circuit being overloaded was not the problem. The male cord end on the charger is 125V 15Amp 2 pole 3 wire grounding type. Don't see where the 20A receptacle comes into play.
Chevrolet Volt/ 120V Charger
- Thread starter nizak
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Think about it, there Are 2 prongs, the line and the neutral. Wouldn't be reasonable to think that the current for both would be identical?
As such I would replace the cord and plug assembly as it appears as though there is a poor connection from the neutral conductor in the cord to the neutral prong which causes the heating, a connection that you can't see.
As such I would replace the cord and plug assembly as it appears as though there is a poor connection from the neutral conductor in the cord to the neutral prong which causes the heating, a connection that you can't see.
- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
I agree. The mention of the 20A receptacle is a partial red herring. A 20A specification grade or heavy duty receptacle would likely have lower contact resistance and greater heat removal capability than the original 15A receptacles, so it could reduce the observed problem while hiding the fact that the real problem is still in cord and plug assembly.
And if the attachment cord is part of the charger unit, you could say that the problem is a defective charger and replacing it and the cord along with it could be a permanent fix.
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My guess is the plug is/was defective because it is the only reasonable logical answer. This is a standard NEMA 5-15P right? There are only two load current conductors of Line and Neutral, and each have the exact same amount of current flowing in them.
To take it one step further I bet if you replaced the line cord or plug, then cut open the plug you would find at the termination point between the plug blade and conductor a poor connection that was heating up from high resistance.
To take it one step further I bet if you replaced the line cord or plug, then cut open the plug you would find at the termination point between the plug blade and conductor a poor connection that was heating up from high resistance.
mgookin
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Myers, FL
Or x-ray it if you have a doctor buddy (dentist, orthopod, etc.)
pjkPA
Member
- Location
- Bethel Park, Pa
Volt owner 9 months
Volt owner 9 months
And I do have a heavy duty 20A receptacle... I've replaced many cheap 15A receptacles that burned out. Most of them by hair dryers or portable heaters with similar loads as the Volt charger.
Since that one incident I have had no problems... I just make sure the door is down before I plug in.
Electric is the way to go... great performance... quiet smooth no shifting ride... 5.7gallons of gas in 9 months.. 7,000 city miles.
Chevy Volt.
Volt owner 9 months
I've plugged in my Volt every day for nine months. One problem I had was that my garage door opener is on the same circuit as the plug I use for the charger. What happened was the GFI breaker "popped" when I plugged the charger in before the door was all the way down. Not sure if this would help but make sure the circuit where the charger is does not have too much additional load.
And I do have a heavy duty 20A receptacle... I've replaced many cheap 15A receptacles that burned out. Most of them by hair dryers or portable heaters with similar loads as the Volt charger.
Since that one incident I have had no problems... I just make sure the door is down before I plug in.
Electric is the way to go... great performance... quiet smooth no shifting ride... 5.7gallons of gas in 9 months.. 7,000 city miles.
Chevy Volt.
Skubie
Member
- Location
- Sacramento, CA
It sounds like a high resistance at the neutral blade, possibly in the male plug itself, unrelated to the recepacle it is plugged into. GM has limited the current for 110V charging for safety reasons - you can override that limit on newer models. The rumor is that owners were using under rated extension cords and the high current was causing "issues". This doesn't sound like a problem with the receptacle/home wiring, the EVSE propoer, or the J1772 connector.
This happened regardless of charging location, right? Home and work. Just checking.
Did anything happen/change with the new EVSE from the dealer?
This happened regardless of charging location, right? Home and work. Just checking.
Did anything happen/change with the new EVSE from the dealer?
My money would be on a defective male plug.
If the customer is concerned and $$ are not an issue, install a hospital grade outlet.
Someone here my correct me but I have always been lead to believe the contact tension is greater on HG.
If the customer is concerned and $$ are not an issue, install a hospital grade outlet.
Someone here my correct me but I have always been lead to believe the contact tension is greater on HG.
The contact tension may not greater at first but I would be very comfortable to say that the HG would have a much greater longevity.
mgookin
Senior Member
- Location
- Fort Myers, FL
I thought the problem was with the plug, not the receptacle.
- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
We think so to, but the question was raised whether the plug might perform marginally better in a better receptacle.
When you think about it there are devices that are left pugged in all of the time. The again there are devices that are plugged in an out quite regularly so you have wear on the contact surfaces. On top of that there in the load itself of which the greater loads contribute to more failures. To add insult to injury once this results in heating, the heat will offer degrade the outlet's contacts causing contact tension to weaken which causes further heating.
Using a high quality outlet is well worth the extra cost. An outlet with better contacts should have more copper which could also imply a better heat sink.
Just a thought
- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
Excellent thoughts, and if the charger travels with the car it will be plugged in and unplugged at least ten times a week. So the outlets at both ends of trip should be good quality.When you think about it there are devices that are left pugged in all of the times. The again there are devices that are plugged in an our quite regularly so you have wear on the contact surfaces. On top of that there in the load itself of which the greater loads contribute to more failures. To add insult to injury once this results in heating, the heat will offer degrade the outlet's contacts causing contact tension to weaker which causes further heating.
Using a high quality outlet is well worth the extra cost. An outlet with better contacts should have more copper which could also imply a better heat sink.
Just a thought
That said, I would think that a specification grade 15A receptacle would be better than a lowest-cost 20A at Orange or Blue.
And then there are the occasional appliances like popcorn poppers that have no on/off switch and are plugged in an uplugged hot.
At least they are mostly resistive loads with no surge or inductive kick. But how many of us always turn off the vacuum cleaner before moving the cord? :happysad:
What, unplugging a vacuum before turning it off? You have to remember that you are most likely at the vacuum and have to walk all the way back to unplug the cord whether or nor you turn off the vacuum or not. The way that I see it is that you either have run out of cord and it pulls out of the receptacle there by bending the prongs or you give it a good yank to save you the walk.
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