L2 charger getting hot

[Joe Hoffman]

I use the Rivian provided portable charging cable with the 50a pigtail adapter end plugged into my 50 amp wall socket in the garage.
My wall socket outlet does not get warm, however the 50 amp Rivian pigtail cable gets quite warm along just the cable section when I’m charging at 32 A. If I turned down the amperage, of course the temperature goes down, but I’m wondering whether there’s something wrong with my dongle or do other people experience the same thing when they charge at the maximum 32 A using the Rivian provided portable charging cable.

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[VandalSibs]

I use the Rivian provided portable charging cable with the 50a pigtail adapter end plugged into my 50 amp wall socket in the garage.
My wall socket outlet does not get warm, however the 50 amp Rivian pigtail cable gets quite warm along just the cable section when I’m charging at 32 A. If I turned down the amperage, of course the temperature goes down, but I’m wondering whether there’s something wrong with my dongle or do other people experience the same thing when they charge at the maximum 32 A using the Rivian provided portable charging cable.

There's a difference between "quite warm" and "hot". Are you able to touch it for more than a few seconds (or less)? Do you smell anything melting/burning?

Electricity generates quite a bit of heat with these constant, higher loads (even 32 amps!), so some warming is normal.

 

[Joe Hoffman]

120f on my laser gun.
That’s getting borderline where you can’t keep your hand on it constantly.
No discernible smell.

 

[Mellowyellow]

Is your portable charger hanging or mounted? The pigtail can slip out ever so slightly.

 

[Joe Hoffman]

Is your portable charger hanging or mounted? The pigtail can slip out ever so slightly.

Hanging from the NEMA plug.
I removed the pigtail and inspected but I don't see any overheating indications.
The heat seems to come from the pigtail cable rather than the ends of the pigtail.

 

[C12farmer]

What is your ambient temperature? I'm guessing relatively warm Southern California temps.

Temperature rise is the more important measure of how much heat is actually being generated.
Sounds like a normal amount of heating for the cable at 32A. It can get really warm at 48A.

The vehicle will let the J1772 handle / plug end get up to ~200F before it starts be current de-rate to keep the temperature from increasing further.

 

[Joe Hoffman]

Ambient temp in the garage is about 80.
The main long cable does not get warm enough to be concerning. The concern is only with the pigtail cable which I measured at 125deg F today.

Too hot to touch is too hot for me, so I reduce the amperage a bit.

All great feedback, thanks. But it doesn’t sound like others notice their pig tail cable getting this hot.

 

[Time2Roll]

Ask Rivian if 125 is OK. They might be concerned enough to replace it under warranty.

 

[VSG]

Hanging from the NEMA plug.

Don't do that. Put a screw in the wall and hang the charger body from it. That's how it was designed to work. What @Mellowyellow said is true.

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