Delivery & Home Charger Install Help

[hOHMie]

I am taking home delivery of my R1S next Wednesday. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to install the charger at my home. I have never had an EV and have spent years reading the threads here to be prepared, but the truth is...... I'm scared that I am drastically unprepared. What are the main tips you have for making sure installation of home charger goes perfect and what to do at my delivery appointment to make sure I ask the right questions to be reedy to take my vehicle and make it work without problems. I am 4 hours away from a service center, so I can't just "pop-in" with problems or questions. Thank you!

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[godfodder0901]

I am taking home delivery of my R1S next Wednesday. The electrician is coming on Tuesday to install the charger at my home. I have never had an EV and have spent years reading the threads here to be prepared, but the truth is...... I'm scared that I am drastically unprepared. What are the main tips you have for making sure installation of home charger goes perfect and what to do at my delivery appointment to make sure I ask the right questions to be reedy to take my vehicle and make it work without problems. I am 4 hours away from a service center, so I can't just "pop-in" with problems or questions. Thank you!

For the charger, make sure you use copper (not aluminum) 6awg THHN or equivalent. Use a dedicated 60 amp breaker. Set the charger internal dip switches to 48amps before install (I'm assuming Rivian wall charger). And make sure the cable from the front panel gets connected... This gets overlooked a lot, especially by electricians who have never installed a Rivian wall charger.

But MOST importantly... Congrats! And have fun!!

 

[Dark-Fx]

Make sure to set the dip switches correctly before powering it up or it will save whatever setting the charger is set to. Only Rivian Service can reset it (they can do it over the phone at least, as long as it is on wifi). Not many other issues to really be worried about.

 

[COdogman]

You got this.

You already have some good advice on things to double check with your installer.

As far as your delivery, there are a couple different lines of thought with how to approach it:

1. Print out one of the checklists that are found here and carefully go over your S point by point before accepting delivery.

2. Know the most common issues and give it a good once over during delivery, but do a more detailed check during your 7 day window to return it.

I went with option 2, but I'm also not 4 hours from a service center. So there are no wrong answers there. Part of my thinking was that unless I found something totally egregious I wasn't going to refuse delivery, so that helped me relax a bit and just listen to what the delivery specialist was showing me. Although once I drove away from the service center I found that everything I learned from the great folks here came back to me and I could just enjoy my truck. Don't overthink it

 

[Ravenron]

My $.02...relax and enjoy the process. Look for the normal things you've probably looked for on every new car you've ever purchased (dings, dents, chips in glass, body lines, etc.). Drive the vehicle with the delivery guy and watch for vibrations and pulling. Very likely, you'll have no (or very minor) issues and be sure to document everything. Minor stuff can usually be resolved with a home visit or all done at a SC visit (four hours is no joke but have them do all at once).

From following this forum, it seems most of the issues seen on early deliveries are slacking off. There'll always be something, but, my experience has been that Rivian addresses it quickly and without drama.

40 yrs of owning and loving cars and this is, by far, the best vehicle I've ever owned...and it's not been perfect but still the best. As far as the charger question, advice above is spot on by some of the most knowledgeable folks I've encountered on this forum over the past 18+ months. Biggest right thing you're doing is hiring a professional - it's expensive but you're buying peace-of-mind that what you end up with is safe and reliable. And if you have a charging issue, you can reach out to that installer for help.

Enjoy the process and don't let imagined concerns spoil the experience. The Rivian is awesome and fun...you're going to love it! Also, stick around the forum and you'll learn tons about your new truck. Congrats!

 

[nukem384]

One thing to add on the charging. Since you have to use 6AWG THHN for the 60a breaker, if you're going that route. Make sure the electrician puts that wiring in conduit. Whatever conduit works for your situation. It's against code to have THHN just hanging out or buried inside a wall without conduit. Wouldn't want some rats chewing up your wire later and starting a fire.

Congrats on the car! It's a freakin awesome vehicle and I'm glad we have it too!

 

[Electrified Outdoors]

Congratulations! On the home charger just make sure the electrical work is permitted and inspected by your county or jurisdiction. This protects you and gets a second set of professional eyes to verify the job was done correctly.

On thr car there are inspection checklists posted here. Just thoroughly check over the car inside and out before you accept delivery in the app. If there are any really egregious issues you have the right to refuse delivery. Otherwise its important to have the delivery specialist note any issues identified at delivery.

Enjoy!

 

[Zoidz]

One thing to add on the charging. Since you have to use 6AWG THHN for the 60a breaker, if you're going that route. Make sure the electrician puts that wiring in conduit. Whatever conduit works for your situation. It's against code to have THHN just hanging out or buried inside a wall without conduit. Wouldn't want some rats chewing up your wire later and starting a fire.

Congrats on the car! It's a freakin awesome vehicle and I'm glad we have it too!

And ask the electrician to pull a neutral. It's not required, but pulling in a neutral future-proofs the installation if it is ever needed.

 

[Gman]

All good advice from above-but one additional suggestion- when the electrician is connecting the 3 wires to the charger box and your electrical panel require him/her to torque the 3 connection screws. The torque is indicated in the Rivian charger Installation instruction pamphlet. Also, watch the YouTube link from Munro that I will post after this posting this reply regarding home charger installation.

 

[Gman]

 

[SilverII]

Enjoy your new R1S. Don't worry too much. Come back here if you have questions.

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