Difficulty charging with the 120 portable charger

[Aaron NC]

I just received my R1T yesterday. I have been having difficulty today charging off the 120 portable charger.

I have the upgraded charger being installed in a new home in a couple months. However in the mean time I am utilizing the portable 120.

I have dropped the amps to only 8 amps on the app and in the truck. The charger continues to trip the GFCi. I have even plugged it into a different circuit and it trips that circuit too.

trying to determine if it’s the charging cable or truck. As it will charge from 2-40 minute increments. When it does trip I notice the truck goes back to 48 amps and then I lower it back to 8.

have not heard back from charging specialist at Rivian yet.

any advice?
Thank you,
Aaron

Sponsored

 

[Hepatightass]

Don't think it'll be the truck. It defaults to 48A after charging ends unless you set a lower current for scheduled charging. The charger also should regulate how much current to draw even if the car's showing 48A before being plugged in. Maybe check the wiring and that nothing's loose or even try the charger on a friend or family's house to see if the same thing happens?

 

[sub]

I had similar problems when I tried charging on a 120v GFCI outlet.

Replacing the outlet solved the problem...for a few weeks. Replacing it again had the same effect.

I think many/most GFCI outlets just are not designed to handle constant heavy loads.

 

[SparkyR1t]

Have you tried plugging into a non gfci outlet. Since the wall connectors typically have built in gfci protection the combination of two gfci’s will sometimes act strangely. Also assuming the gfci trips as soon as you plug in the portable charger and not just when the vehicle is connected

 

[Aaron NC]

Have you tried plugging into a non gfci outlet. Since the wall connectors typically have built in gfci protection the combination of two gfci’s will sometimes act strangely. Also assuming the gfci trips as soon as you plug in the portable charger and not just when the vehicle is connected

it trips after about 2-40 minutes of charging. I tried it on 2 different circuits and 4 outlets (GFCI outlets and non GFCI outlets). Breaker isn’t tripping but GFCI on each circuit will trip even when on regular 120 outlet

 

[SparkyR1t]

Ok a bit strange. When you say you have tried a couple of non gfci outlets what actually trips in that scenario. Something on the portable vehicle charger cord or something in the house. I ask as because with a non gfci outlet you would only have the circuit breaker in the panel that could trip

 

[Dark-Fx]

Replace the GFCI with a different brand. Make sure you are careful with the wiring to get good contact.

 

[Foobar]

it trips after about 2-40 minutes of charging. I tried it on 2 different circuits and 4 outlets (GFCI outlets and non GFCI outlets). Breaker isn’t tripping but GFCI on each circuit will trip even when on regular 120 outlet

What trips on the non-GFCI circuits if not the breaker?

If there’s GFCI somewhere along the circuits, the problem is likely the GFCI - this happened to me until we replaced the 60-amp GFCI breaker with a non-GFCI one. As SparkyR1T mentioned, the two GFCI’s are not playing nicely together.

 

[Count Orlok]

Replace the GFCI with a different brand. Make sure you are careful with the wiring to get good contact.

^^ this^^

gfci outlets "wear out" especially if they are in a garage that is not climate control. temperature extremes attenuate them.

 

[DRJ564]

it trips after about 2-40 minutes of charging. I tried it on 2 different circuits and 4 outlets (GFCI outlets and non GFCI outlets). Breaker isn’t tripping but GFCI on each circuit will trip even when on regular 120 outlet

I don’t know your electric background so forgive me for the questions. When you say another circuit, is it still a gfi circuit? If an outlet does not have the gfi buttons on it, it still may be on a gfi circuit and you would get the same result. Are you sure you are not on a gfi circuit, maybe the gfi is inside the breaker panel? A gfi in the panel would look like a normal breaker but have a test button also. Where are you resetting the circuits on each circuit? Breaker box or a wall plug? If you are resetting both circuits at a wall outlet, they are GFI circuits. If you are resetting in a breaker box and the breaker has a reset button on it, it’s a GFI. You really need to test this on a non GFI circuit.

Can you reach an outlet that you know is not a gfi circuit? Gfi’s are typically around areas where theres potential for water. Outlets in a garage, utility room, baths, kitchen, porch, patio, pretty much anything outside your home, etc...

Edit: I agree with all the above responses. GFI’s wear out and not only that, the new ones are more sensitive than the old ones.

 

[Aaron NC]

Ok a bit strange. When you say you have tried a couple of non gfci outlets what actually trips in that scenario. Something on the portable vehicle charger cord or something in the house. I ask as because with a non gfci outlet you would only have the circuit breaker in the panel that could trip

The actual outlet doesn’t have the GFCI switch but the GFCI on that circuit (different outlet trips).

 

[Osyras]

As a test plug it into an outlet inside the garage door if you can. As many have said the GFCI is the most likely issue. Your setup is likely something like this diagram with the other outlets routed back through the GFCI which essentially means you are still going through the GFCI:

If you have to run an extension cord I would suggest that you get a 12 gauge extension cord to ensure it can handle the max amps of the charger over the distance of the extension cord.

Good Luck!
Danny

 

[Meltdwn]

it trips after about 2-40 minutes of charging. I tried it on 2 different circuits and 4 outlets (GFCI outlets and non GFCI outlets). Breaker isn’t tripping but GFCI on each circuit will trip even when on regular 120 outlet

If the GFCI is tripping, you are not on a non-GFCI outlet. Outlets without the buttons are still GFCI protected if they are on the same circuit. You may see this in bathrooms, as an example.

There is GFCI protection in the charger and, as some have said, 2 GFCI systems sometimes don't play well together. This is why many recommend that wall chargers be hard-wired (GFCI Breaker not required) vs. plugged into a GFCI NEMA 14-50 outlet. The 2020 NEC requires all outlets in garages be GFCI protected. If your state has not yet adopted that code, you could (per prior code) have non-GFCI protected outlets. This could be a safety concern if using the outlet for other than vehicle charging.

 

[Proxy]

Many people have problems with GFCI systems when charging their EV. GFCI in 120v circuits are different than the ground fault detection in EVSE’s. EVSE’s do a check of the ground to try to determine if it is actually connected to the earth. This check sets off some GFCI’s since a tiny bit of current travels from hot to ground and the GFCI trips since the current isn’t equal on hot and neutral (this is how a GFCI works in 120v circuits).

 

[SolartoEV]

Many people have problems with GFCI systems when charging their EV. GFCI in 120v circuits are different than the ground fault detection in EVSE’s. EVSE’s do a check of the ground to try to determine if it is actually connected to the earth. This check sets off some GFCI’s since a tiny bit of current travels from hot to ground and the GFCI trips since the current isn’t equal on hot and neutral (this is how a GFCI works in 120v circuits).

Great response!

Sponsored