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I think you forgot to say what the "incident" was. Or are you just unhappy that the truck comes with a charger?
If you really do have some sort of problem and your report to Rivian customer service was equally unclear, they may have not responded because they also have no idea what you want.
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Joe schmoe
Well-Known Member
I'm sorry you're having trouble.
Can you describe what's happening (or failing to happen)?
I assume you meant to say a 120v charger, as there is no such thing as a 110w charger for an EV. At 110 watts, it would take more than 1200 hours to fully charge the truck, even without any losses from battery conditioning, etc.
A 120v/20amp wall circuit, which is a typical household plug in the US, should be capable of 2000w or so, which will add about 2 miles of range per hour.
A 50 amp, 240v plug (NEMA 14-50) and the supplied Rivian charger is capable of supplying 8kw or so continuously, which adds about 15 miles per hour.
If your charger is bad, and Rivian is unable for whatever reason to get one to you, a quick search on Amazon for "EV charger J1772" brings up dozens of options, starting at less than $150. I think I'd just buy one as a spare if you're having difficulty charging the truck.
Can you describe what's happening (or failing to happen)?
I assume you meant to say a 120v charger, as there is no such thing as a 110w charger for an EV. At 110 watts, it would take more than 1200 hours to fully charge the truck, even without any losses from battery conditioning, etc.
A 120v/20amp wall circuit, which is a typical household plug in the US, should be capable of 2000w or so, which will add about 2 miles of range per hour.
A 50 amp, 240v plug (NEMA 14-50) and the supplied Rivian charger is capable of supplying 8kw or so continuously, which adds about 15 miles per hour.
If your charger is bad, and Rivian is unable for whatever reason to get one to you, a quick search on Amazon for "EV charger J1772" brings up dozens of options, starting at less than $150. I think I'd just buy one as a spare if you're having difficulty charging the truck.
Joe schmoe
Well-Known Member
I understand your frustration.
This is a solvable problem, though. And as you point out, it's a $95K asset and the opportunity cost is several hundred dollars a month--it makes no sense to wait on Rivian when you can probably fix it yourself for less than one week of those costs.
I think there are 4 possibilities (not mutually exclusive):
1) The wall charger is defective. If it's turning red when you plug it into the wall (and not the truck) this is easy to test by plugging into a different circuit. Go to a friend's house and try there. If it shows red on a different circuit, especially if you've tested the plug and it's wired properly, then order a cheap EVSE off of Amazon while you're waiting for Rivian to get their act together. They start under $150.
2) There's a problem with the truck or charge port. This is easy enough to check by finding a J1772 plug somewhere else that is known to work. You likely have a friend with an EV, or Plugshare shows a half dozen free ones with 5 miles of my house, even here in "flyover country." A lot of grocery stores and parks tend to have them.
3) There's a problem with your wall plug or circuit. This is more common than you probably think. I recently had some home renovations which added branch circuits, and 2 of the 4 circuits were improperly wired by the "professional" electricians. You can buy outlet testers in the hardware store for $10-15 if you don't know how to use a meter. I don't know for sure, but I'd assume that the Rivian charger will show an error (red light) if the outlet is not properly grounded or the line and neutral wires are swapped.
4) The problem is in how you have the charger seated in the port. I haven't seen this with the Rivian, but my Tesla charger (and the Tesla charge port on the car) will light up red if I don't have the plug full seated. To reset it I have to pull it all the way out and put it back in properly.
This is a solvable problem, though. And as you point out, it's a $95K asset and the opportunity cost is several hundred dollars a month--it makes no sense to wait on Rivian when you can probably fix it yourself for less than one week of those costs.
I think there are 4 possibilities (not mutually exclusive):
1) The wall charger is defective. If it's turning red when you plug it into the wall (and not the truck) this is easy to test by plugging into a different circuit. Go to a friend's house and try there. If it shows red on a different circuit, especially if you've tested the plug and it's wired properly, then order a cheap EVSE off of Amazon while you're waiting for Rivian to get their act together. They start under $150.
2) There's a problem with the truck or charge port. This is easy enough to check by finding a J1772 plug somewhere else that is known to work. You likely have a friend with an EV, or Plugshare shows a half dozen free ones with 5 miles of my house, even here in "flyover country." A lot of grocery stores and parks tend to have them.
3) There's a problem with your wall plug or circuit. This is more common than you probably think. I recently had some home renovations which added branch circuits, and 2 of the 4 circuits were improperly wired by the "professional" electricians. You can buy outlet testers in the hardware store for $10-15 if you don't know how to use a meter. I don't know for sure, but I'd assume that the Rivian charger will show an error (red light) if the outlet is not properly grounded or the line and neutral wires are swapped.
4) The problem is in how you have the charger seated in the port. I haven't seen this with the Rivian, but my Tesla charger (and the Tesla charge port on the car) will light up red if I don't have the plug full seated. To reset it I have to pull it all the way out and put it back in properly.
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Cosmacelf
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Are you trying to charge daily using the 120V charger? Do you have a Wall Charger that works?
mount_finkus
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- Tyler
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Let me counter that by saying "When someone has capital to buy a $95000 truck, you expect every concern they have to be well articulated and properly researched."
Phatman113
Well-Known Member
If it really bothers you, and you just can't possibly stand to deal with this terrible customer service team, I'm sure you can get more than you paid for the truck by selling it, and then it won't be your problem anymore!
Joe schmoe
Well-Known Member
A bit of additional information to flesh this out...
None of this changes the steps I suggested up thread a few post ago, but it does change what I think is the most likely culprit.
I'm charging at a vacation home, 133 miles from the nearest high speed DCFC charger that is on or near my route home, and more than 60 from the absolute nearest one (which is in the wrong direction)
There are a handful of level 2 chargers around, most are "reserved for hotel guests" or mall chargers that top out at 6kw.
So I'm charging here at the condo.
I first plugged in the the outside outlet that I use to charge my golf cart. It is a typical GFCI outdoor outlet, and has always worked (and still does) for the golf cart. I've also used it for power tools.
The Rivian portable EVSE worked a bit at first, but then faulted (without tripping the breaker or GFCI). repeated attempts sometimes worked, mostly didn't. I was getting the red light you describe on both the charger and the charging port on the truck.
I switched to using an indoor outlet (on a very heavy duty extension cord) and it's charging fine, at about 2 m/hr and 2kw. It is also GFCI protected (being on a kitchen wall)
The outdoor outlet that won't work with the charger still works fine with the golf cart. I don't have my tools/testers with me so can't confirm that it's wired correctly, but it does suggest that the portable charger may be more sensitive to circuit quality than other devices.
None of this changes the steps I suggested up thread a few post ago, but it does change what I think is the most likely culprit.
I'm charging at a vacation home, 133 miles from the nearest high speed DCFC charger that is on or near my route home, and more than 60 from the absolute nearest one (which is in the wrong direction)
There are a handful of level 2 chargers around, most are "reserved for hotel guests" or mall chargers that top out at 6kw.
So I'm charging here at the condo.
I first plugged in the the outside outlet that I use to charge my golf cart. It is a typical GFCI outdoor outlet, and has always worked (and still does) for the golf cart. I've also used it for power tools.
The Rivian portable EVSE worked a bit at first, but then faulted (without tripping the breaker or GFCI). repeated attempts sometimes worked, mostly didn't. I was getting the red light you describe on both the charger and the charging port on the truck.
I switched to using an indoor outlet (on a very heavy duty extension cord) and it's charging fine, at about 2 m/hr and 2kw. It is also GFCI protected (being on a kitchen wall)
The outdoor outlet that won't work with the charger still works fine with the golf cart. I don't have my tools/testers with me so can't confirm that it's wired correctly, but it does suggest that the portable charger may be more sensitive to circuit quality than other devices.
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