Defective Charger?

[SourGrapes]

I didn't expect this as one of my initial problems, but with EVs I know I should be prepared for anything...

Has anyone experienced issues with the Rivian wall charger? I have a feeling that something is not right with the charger itself, assuming my electrician did not botch the install. As of today it looks like I have a defective unit:

• Charger was installed last Friday (2/17), same day as my R1T was delivered. Set up as 40A limit with a 50A breaker to the main panel.
• Successfully charged overnight for about 5 hours to 85% SOC.
• The next day, the charger ran for about 3 hours in prep for a road trip (trying to get to 100%), but the breaker tripped. I reset the breaker in the morning and tried again; after a few minutes the breaker continued to trip.
• I tried again last night, but the charging session lasted for only a few minutes based on the log (not sure if the log is accurate after the truck throws an error) before the breaker tripped. Now, after resetting the breaker the charger does not seem to come to life (no lights, no connection to WiFi).
• Contacted Rivian support. They want me to remove the faceplate and take a bunch of pictures.

If anyone has had similar issues and are willing to share, please do!

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[Dark-Fx]

Make sure the wire is sized properly and check to make sure that the connections are tight at the breaker and at the charger.
Some people are finding out that they have bad breakers too, so something else to look out for.

 

[electruck]

The install wasn't on a GFCI breaker, was it?

 

[SourGrapes]

Make sure the wire is sized properly and check to make sure that the connections are tight at the breaker and at the charger.
Some people are finding out that they have bad breakers too, so something else to look out for.

Wire size should be appropriate for 40A continuous (8AWG). I was going to look at the connections as I take pictures this evening; will report back what I find.

The install wasn't on a GFCI breaker, was it?

Just a breaker (50A) using a direct connection to the charger. The wall charger manual suggests that there is a GFCI circuit internal to the charger, but it isn't clear what "interrupt charging" means.

 

[jollyroger]

Not sure how you would check this, but see if the EVSE was accidentally set to 48 amps. Make sure you don't have a GCFI breaker. Try reducing the amperage in the truck itself and limit to 40, or even 32 amps.

Those are the first things that come to mind.

 

[Hepatightass]

Most likely a defective breaker

 

[SourGrapes]

BTW, is there a mistake in the Rivian Manual about copper wire requirements? The footnote says the requirements are per the NEC 90-degree column, but it appears it is actually the 60-degree column?

Rivian Manual:

NEC:

 

[SourGrapes]

Not sure how you would check this, but see if the EVSE was accidentally set to 48 amps. Make sure you don't have a GCFI breaker. Try reducing the amperage in the truck itself and limit to 40, or even 32 amps.

Those are the first things that come to mind.

Yup, I actually already checked the DIP switch in the charger, it's set to the 40A rating (though I'm pretty sure the truck was charging at a higher rate: should be ~9.5kWh but I saw 11.5kWh).

 

[Giovanni46]

Have your electrician check the breaker. You could have gotten a defective one. The tripping mechanism could be weak. I have seen that happen on older breakers.

 

[Dirty_B]

I have/had same issue...and no not a bad breaker. The lugs that connect the charging cable to the board, done by Rivian at assembly, ended up not being torqued/tight. Since I tightened them down, not a problem (only charged 3x since then though). This first happened 3x on my wife Model S, then it happened 2x on my T.

Funniest part is that my troublecall technician wanted me to "reboot" the truck so they could grab diagnostics from the truck...I suggested they pull the logs from the connector instead.

Since I corrected the torque I haven't tried the S but the T now charges at 48amp fine (3 times so far and will be charging tomorrow).

 

[SourGrapes]

I have/had same issue...and no not a bad breaker. The lugs that connect the charging cable to the board, done by Rivian at assembly, ended up not being torqued/tight. Since I tightened them down, not a problem (only charged 3x since then though). This first happened 3x on my wife Model S, then it happened 2x on my T.

Funniest part is that my troublecall technician wanted me to "reboot" the truck so they could grab diagnostics from the truck...I suggested they pull the logs from the connector instead.

Since I corrected the torque I haven't tried the S but the T now charges at 48amp fine (3 times so far and will be charging tomorrow).

Ah, will definitely check this when I'm home.

 

[electruck]

BTW, is there a mistake in the Rivian Manual about copper wire requirements? The footnote says the requirements are per the NEC 90-degree column, but it appears it is actually the 60-degree column?

Rivian Manual:

NEC:

No, the statement is correct (the 90C reference is a statement of requirement). Both the breaker and conductor must be rated at 125% the continuous charge load. For 40A charging you need a 50A breaker and conductors rated for 50A @ 90C. Per the table, that results in the selection of 8 AWG conductors of type THHN, etc. By contrast, #8 Romex cable (NMB) would not be suitable as the ampacity of the cable is restricted to the 60C rating which is only 40A and does not provide proper overcurrent protection.

 

[SourGrapes]

No, the statement is correct (the 90C reference is a statement of requirement). Both the breaker and conductor must be rated at 125% the continuous charge load. For 40A charging you need a 50A breaker and conductors rated for 50A @ 90C. Per the table, that results in the selection of 8 AWG conductors of type THHN, etc. By contrast, #8 Romex cable (NMB) would not be suitable as the ampacity of the cable is restricted to the 60C rating which is only 40A and does not provide proper overcurrent protection.

I was aware of the breaker requirement, but not the wire, thanks. Sounds like service connections don't follow this rule (eg. PGE's greenback says 4/0 AL is required for 200A service, but 4/0 is rated to 205A @ 90-degrees).

 

[SourGrapes]

Found the issue. The breaker tabs were not installed correctly to the panel, and in fact I don't think the breaker was designed for the panel. The electrician is going to replace the breaker with the correct sized part.

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