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Charging issues ARGGHHH!!

Discussion in 'Prime Plug-in Charging' started by Optoprius Prime, Apr 3, 2022.

  1. Optoprius Prime

    Optoprius Prime New Member

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    2022 Prius Prime
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    Plug-in Base
    Greetings All, noob here to Priuschat... If you're driving a prius and joining a forum to talk about them then i must be in line with many of yours' thought processes and wavelengths just bought a 2022 Prius Prime and it's by far the most awesome car I've ever had, - I'd wanted one forever, but never liked the way they looked, until Gen4, and because they offer FREE charging at work, so no brainer... So I WAS able to charge at home in my downstairs storage area where I rent. I was simply plugging into a standard outlet form the wall and charging, normally for about 2 months maybe. Then one day it just stopped working. So i moved to a different outlet and it worked for 2 days then stopped. Talked to the landlord and he said a portion of his bedroom above the storage area's electricity was out. I could not figure out why even with an electrician. Nothing fried, no smells. No GFCI tripped, no circuit braker tripped. Still don't know why....Now may landlord's being all weird because he thinks I screwed up his wiring. I will add that he stated he was fine with me using his outlets for charging, but now they don't work, don't know if he's fixing them or not, even if he does he's not gonna let me use them to charge off of NOW....

    So Then i tried to run an 50', 10 gauge, extension cord from my upstairs bathroom, (I technically live on the 3rd floor) I also used a GFCI adapter (w/12 gauge cord)> before the extension chord then> into the charger. It worked ... for about half and hour, then GGFCI tripped. So i reset it, fine for 15 mins, then tripped again, Wash, rinse, repeat... i finally gave up and haven't tried again, which is prob a good idea.

    So now the only thing i can think of is only thing that works in the storage area is the dryer outlet. it's on an independent circuit which his actually billed to my unit... I've done some searching for ways to do this, my understanding is there are ways but they're at at least $160 and up. Do I just have to bite the bullet? or are there cheaper options? I'm not very mechanically/electrically inclined, or I'd make one myself like I've seen some posters do. Did see fellow named Rob43 who does, indeed, create these? I went to profile but do not know hoe to contact him. I would certainly be willing to buy one form someone, if possible... any info will help, and is much appreciated. Thanks
     
  2. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Rob43 has not been around on this platform for quite a while now. I doubt he will be of any help. Either buy an L2 EVSE that comes with plug that will fit the dryer outlet, or make your own. You can also try charging off of the 120v outlet but set the charging at 8A instead of the normal 12A. If that still trips your GFCI, then there may be something wrong with your EVSE.
     
    Marine Ray likes this.
  3. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    Welcome;
    Your car draws 12A while charging. Obviously on a 15A circuit, you don't have much wiggle room. Someone turned-on something that drew more than 3A while your car was charging and blew the circuit breaker. Your landlord probably isn't aware of a secondary breaker box that feeds the dead circuit/line. Or the warm wire attracted vermin and they started chewing on the wire and broke the circuit.
    Use a 10-30P welding plug splitter to hook-up to your dryer outlet. It will draw 16A when charging; obviously - DO NOT use the dryer while your car is charging!
    The extension cord from your bathroom probably didn't work because of the 12 gauge cord. That section of cord was acting as a choke-point; think of it as a pinch on the far end of a drink straw. Once it got hot, it started tripping. I personally wouldn't be comfortable with a 70' extension cord (50' + 20' EVSE); I'd bet the connection points was hot.... If your bathroom was built to code, those outlets should be on 20A breakers.

    Hope this helps...
     
    #3 BiomedO1, Apr 4, 2022
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2022
  4. Optoprius Prime

    Optoprius Prime New Member

    Joined:
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    2022 Prius Prime
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    Plug-in Base
    Yes very helpful. But where do one get one of these 10-30P welding plug splitters? I don't even care about how fast it charges just as long as it works safely and does the trick.
     
  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    search amazon.com for (10-30p welding plug splitter)