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I have a Nema 14-50 ran to my garage on a 50 amp circuit. Haven't used it in a few years but just picked up a new Tesla. Replaced the outlet with a heavier duty one than my previous cheapy (after some internet horror stories on the cheap outlets.)

Everything was working fine, charging fast etc. After about a week, get a notification that charging has stopped from my app. The charging cord that I use has a power light, that's now off.

Now I'm no electrician by any means, but I did my best to troubleshoot. Got another cord, also doesn't light up on the cord itself to show any power. Tried a second outlet, same problem. I'm getting 239 volts on the multimeter on the hots, each hot to neutral/ground is about 120, and 0 between neutral and ground which I believe is right.

Only strange thing I'll get is when sometimes when I plug the charging cord in a might get a quick flicker of the power light on the cord coming on. Once, it stayed on for about 10 seconds. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

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    From the NEMA 14-50 what charging cord do you use, or is it Tesla original ?
    – Traveler
    Commented Apr 23 at 6:05
  • Is the conductor going into the NEMA14-50 copper or aluminum?
    – Jim Stewart
    Commented Apr 23 at 14:29

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This is typical of a connection that was not properly torqued when installed coming loose after thermal cycling (a few fast charge sessions...), and having an intermittent connection.

Get a torque driver if you don't have one (sold in the electrical aisle since this has been part of code for a while now), and follow the values given for the screws on the connections. Those values should be in the installation instructions; they may also be molded into the device, or they can be looked up via the manufacturer's web site, or by calling their customer support line. The problem can be located at the receptacle, at the breaker, or at any junction in between those two (where it would more typically be loose wire-nuts, but might be a screw-type connector.)

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  • Given, in the third paragraph of the question, it is stated: "Tried a second outlet, same problem." I rather doubt it. Does not say: "also worked fine for a week, and then..."
    – Ecnerwal
    Commented Apr 23 at 16:57

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