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How can you possibly believe the outlet was not defective if "the outlet partially pulled from the wall???"

Outlets can go bad quite easily in a relatively short period of time due to things like moisture and corrosion. There is a huge body of experience now with the GM EVSE, and I politely disagree with your electrician. I am certain that a hair dryer would have caused the exact same event in that outlet.

So it sounds like the heat was generated from the plug area not the charger itself? If that is the case, I would tend to agree with Slapshot that it was the plug and not the charger at fault. I am sure you can get another expert opinion, if needed.

An EE with experience building circuiting could answer better but I don't think there is anything the EVSE (or any other plug-in device) could do to cause a fire in properly functioning outlets, with proper wiring connections, properly protected by a breaker/fuse, and fed with properly size sized/insulated wire. The breaker protects the wire and outlet from loads they cannot handle. If the breaker is functioning properly, then the load must have been within its design limits. The problem was most likely a poor wiring connection to the outlet or in the junction box. Poor or loose connections create resistance which generates heat under load. The next most likely issue is with outlet itself. Again, a poor internal connection in the outlet could generate excess heat. What the EVSE does is put higher "stress" on circuits than they may have experienced previously, which exposes the faulty connection. Shorter duration or lower loads would not cause the same amount of heat buildup. It's also possible a connection in the outlet or wiring to it loosened up enough over time and use to become a problem.

No doubt, you should have your EVSE checked but I would be more concerned about the wiring in the home and the quality of the outlets. If the electrician that did the initial work is still in business, you should contact them. Tell them what happened and that you want a whole house inspection. If not them, have another licensed electrician do an inspection.

Edit: Another likely scenario is a worn or otherwise loose receptacle. The plug posts should meet resistance when it engages the outlet. If the outlet's receptacle is "loose", the plug goes in easily without much resistance. That can also crate a poor connection that generates excess heat.

People may say to make sure you install a dedicated 20A circuit for Volt 120V charging but I disagree. It's a good idea to install wiring and an outlet rated for 20A but use a 15A breaker for better protection. It should also be a GFCI outlet or breaker.

Koz you mention a good suggestion. If this outlet is faulty, more than likely, then the rest of the house may be susceptible to the same issue over time. I think to get the wiring/outlet checked out by an EE is a good idea and see if the rest of the house is properly wired and has approved outlets within it. An EE will know if certain brand/style outlets has had more issues in the field than others.

Many electricians are skeptical of so called "backstab" outlets. It seems possible for an insufficient length of bare wire inserted to cause a less than perfect connection. Also possible to curl the wire and use the screw connection, but have the wire not fully under the screw head causing a less than perfect connection. I would replace the outlet with a GFI get a new charger and proceed after your inspection.

I'm sure GM will want this charger back since it was identified as the cause. I'm sure the OP has this documented by the local Fire Marshall etc.

But in the meantime I'd pay to have my house inspected to ensure it's up to code or no defects in materials or construction.

As a firefighter, I wonder was this just the opinion of one of the firefighters on the scene? In our department, this would have been determined to be an 'electrical fire'. Since the outlet itself was burning, it's a pretty big stretch to lay the blame on the device that was plugged into the outlet.

Get an electrician to look for faulty wiring in a more "electrician-oriented" way rather than those who have already looked. Was the wire proper for 20A or lower? Was it aluminum rather than copper? Was the socket a $.80 version or something good? Was it back-stab or screw connection? I assume they ruled out loose screw connection in this one.

There are a lot of short-cuts put in place when building newer homes. They tend to rush them more and more. When I end up with an EV, I will have a separate 120V line setup off a sub-panel using the highest quality socket possible. Not convinced I would need a 240V charger.

Southern California is notorious for using 14 gauge wire for duplex outlets with 15 amp circuits. It's code, but I wish it wasn't. While this may not be the cause, the loss of electric power when using 14 instead of 12 or 10 gauge causes extra heat and a larger electric bill. Your outlet may have been installed with the quick connect method rather than wired to the screw terminals. It's a possible weak link when a heavy load is attached to the outlet.

Another frustration is how GM used 16 gauge supply wire when designing the original charge cord. This causes extra heat that transfers to the outlet. I used a 20 amp dedicated circuit and Pro Spec outlet and it would still be warm. I'd use a heavy duty industrial series outlet today that is made with larger contact area to the blades to improve connectivity.

Have the charge cord checked by GM. I had a charge cord that ran so hot that the unit would flash red lights and I had to have a fan aimed at it to keep it cool and keep it operational. Finally, GM replaced it with a charge cord that did run cool.

Dean, what is the VIN # of your Volt (the last 8 characters such as CU101999). It may not have had the replacement EVSE done (there was a customer-satisfaction "recall" done on the original charger). The 16ga wire was a dumb move on that one, obviously and the replacement one is better.

Did you call the fire dept after you put the fire out to make sure all was good in the wall?

My neighbor mentioned that she had to call the fire department after she had a fire start and run up a wall in her house because a socket shorted out while using a lamp in it. So, all sorts of things can happen. She didn't put the fire out but they did after arriving within 4 minutes of the call and saved her house.

Glad you caught it and you and your family are safe!

Southern California is notorious for using 14 gauge wire for duplex outlets with 15 amp circuits. It's code, but I wish it wasn't. While this may not be the cause, the loss of electric power when using 14 instead of 12 or 10 gauge causes extra heat and a larger electric bill. Your outlet may have been installed with the quick connect method rather than wired to the screw terminals. It's a possible weak link when a heavy load is attached to the outlet.

Another frustration is how GM used 16 gauge supply wire when designing the original charge cord. This causes extra heat that transfers to the outlet. I used a 20 amp dedicated circuit and Pro Spec outlet and it would still be warm. I'd use a heavy duty industrial series outlet today that is made with larger contact area to the blades to improve connectivity.

Have the charge cord checked by GM. I had a charge cord that ran so hot that the unit would flash red lights and I had to have a fan aimed at it to keep it cool and keep it operational. Finally, GM replaced it with a charge cord that did run cool.

14 AWG is used everywhere in North America for 15A circuits. This is what is in the NEC and CEC. And I see no problem with this. In our product development lab we often run up to 20A of current through 14 AWG wires with very little heat being generated. Trust me any of these issues have nothing to do with the wire gauge and everything to do with the connections. The original Volt EVSE did use 16 AWG wire which is running near its limit. 16AWG wire can be run safely up to 13A of current and the Volt EVSE runs at 12A. I did agree with the decision to upgrade the plug gauge to 14AWG. But the issue as I saw it was at the plug. And most of the heat people experienced was conduction from the poor contact resistance at the plug. I see poor contact resistance issues every day from bad recepticals, to wire nuts not properly installed and checked, even screw terminals were the screws were not properly torqued or the wires not striped and inserted properly.

You should consider this the canary in the coal mine. Have a properly liscensed electrician come in and examine your garage circuit. And given the nature of the fire issue, withold blame until all the professionals look at the situation. My garage wiring was a disaster. It took an electrician 6 hours to find the circuit was double fed along with other issues. It happens more often than you think.

It took an electrician 6 hours to find the circuit was double fed along with other issues.

What does that mean in this context? It shares a circuit breaker with another room? It and another room on the same leg are crosslinked, so they both share two circuit breakers? Obviously it couldn't feed from or be linked to the other leg...

Glad you caught it! Otherwise it could have been a very big problem. Chalk one up for the chirping Volt! Some have complained about this "feature" but you've proved why it was a good idea to include it.

My guess is that it was the outlet. That's both from the fact that it was the outlet that was on fire and from the fact that there are plenty of low end outlets out there. We saw similar things to this posted here early on. Just to be safe, I replaced my original garage outlets with some higher end ones. I can't say for sure that the old ones were of poor quality but if they were like most other things in my CA tract home they were the absoute cheapest things the builder could find that met code. Or not! LOL It's just the economics of building. If you can save a buck for 50 outlets in a house and you're building 200 houses it starts adding up to real money.

Sounds as though the Volt equipment work as planned. I thought the volt charger only pulled the current of a hair dryer. You're home outlet should be able to carry that(?). I'm no electrician though. I do put surge suppressors on EVERYTHING in my house electrical for a home insurance credit. And of course to protect my home and equipment.

The car was not on fire, the charge cord was not on fire, but the duplex outlet was on fire? Sounds like the AC outlet could not handle the load at the given charge level. Whether from poor wiring, poor wire connections, etc. only a qualified electrician could say. Firemen are not electricians.

There are two screws that hold the outlet to the electrical box. That the outlet simply pulled out from the wall would seem to indicate those where missing, possibly a sign of poor workmanship.

Regardless, the Volt 110 charge cord draws what, about the same as a hairdryer?

The label on the charge cord says, "Using the charge cord with a worn or damaged AC outlet may cause burns or start a fire. If the AC wall plug feels hot while charging, unplug the charge cord and replace the AC outlet." It goes on to say, "Using a charge level that exceeds the electrical circuit or AC outlet capacity may start a fire or damage the electrical circuit. Have a qualified electrician inspect your electrical circuit and AC outlet capacity before using the normal charge rate. Use the lowest charge level if the electrical circuit or AC outlet capacity is not known." Italics mine.

It sure sounds like the issue was the outlet whose capacity was exceeded and the label tried to give all the warnings, precautions and recommendations it could to help the user avoid this issue.

I would agree with the others in the connection at the outlet being the problem. I am retired after 37 years in power plant operation and maintenance and the majority of electrical fires in breakers or switches/outlets I have seen, were caused caused by loose connections. I have seen some that were not, those being in situations where a mechanical device driven by a motor failed and would not allow the motor to turn. Once in a while a breaker will catch fire when the load is too great, but this has always been a case where load was added to a breaker system that exceed the original system design. In my home a loose connection at the dryer breaker caused the breaker to trip and partially melt the breaker. This was shortly after we moved into our home when it was less then six months old. Ray

I would agree with the others in the connection at the outlet being the problem. I am retired after 37 years in power plant operation and maintenance and the majority of electrical fires in breakers or switches/outlets I have seen, were caused caused by loose connections. I have seen some that were not, those being in situations where a mechanical device driven by a motor failed and would not allow the motor to turn. Once in a while a breaker will catch fire when the load is too great, but this has always been a case where load was added to a breaker system that exceed the original system design. In my home a loose connection at the dryer breaker caused the breaker to trip and partially melt the breaker. This was shortly after we moved into our home when it was less then six months old. Ray

Sage advice and I'd ask you contact the MOD's to change the title of this post. Someone GOOGLING will stumble on this and it could spin out of control again that the Volt is burning down homes.

I hope there was some actual evidence that it was the charger that you left out. If not, given there WAS evidence that it's instead the wiring/outlet, that fireman shouldn't be allowed to speak on scenes anymore.

Had it for a month. It's the only thing plugged into the outlet. Heard the car horn beeping, remembered that means something caused an interference in the charge. Thank God for that function. Checked the plug in the wall, very hot, tried to pull it out and the outlet partially pulled from the wall ON FIRE! Grabbed the extinguisher inside and put it out. Fireman said the wiring in the outlet was fine (house built in '04) said has to be a defective charger.

I feel very lucky for my family and I tonight.So sorry for the scare and very thankful as well the car horn alerted you to a potential problem. Hopefully your electrical wiring is in conduit as it really really limits the possibility of damage/danger. Your outlet would have been in a metal box to contain things presumably.

To me as well it is clearly an outlet+wiring issue. 12amps is a lot of draw and highlights poor electrical work.

For anyone using the 120v charger at home, I would 100% recommend buying the highest quality 20amp outlet and replacing whatever outlet they are using in their garage. That way they know the wires are screwed on tight and internal resistance is minimized.

I updated the title to include "Outlet+" as I think that is the responsible thing to do/say.

Had it for a month. It's the only thing plugged into the outlet. Heard the car horn beeping, remembered that means something caused an interference in the charge. Thank God for that function. Checked the plug in the wall, very hot, tried to pull it out and the outlet partially pulled from the wall ON FIRE! Grabbed the extinguisher inside and put it out. Fireman said the wiring in the outlet was fine (house built in '04) said has to be a defective charger.

I feel very lucky for my family and I tonight.

Car started fine after that so I assume it somehow shut off the connection instead if frying the battery luckily. Hope car is OK. Too afraid to charge after this using the Voltec charger. Will charge at work and wait until I get my charging station. Unless this was an actual fire investigator a "fireman" generally doesn't have the qualifications to make such a determination, especially so if his opinion is being based merely on the cronological age of the outlet or wiring (as per your 2004 comment) which means absolutely nothing.Improper residential wiring practices can occur at anytime, by anyone! Even those with the necessary qualifications. Unfortunately a lot of garages have been wired by homeowners and do-it-yourselfers. A typical low dollar outlet, can technically be worn out in a very short time if used daily (plugged in and out) especially if used for a high current appliance.

Your owners manual designates the minimum requiements for the wall outlet used to charge the Volt, which demands pristine connections or excessive heat can be generated. So despite what the fireman said, it's not the wiring itself that is the concern, it's the quality of the connections both to and inside the receptacle that matters.
Were you using any sort of plug adapter, or extension cord?
What else have you ever used that plug socket for?

I would suggest you have an electrcian inspect your damaged outlet as well as others in your garage.Also the 15A breaker should be inspected as it should have opened if the current was so excessive to the extent to cause a fire.
I advise NEVER use a breaker more than 15A on an oulet to be used with the 120V EVSE. A 20A breaker actually provides LESS thermal protection.

While not impossible, IMO it's doubtful that an EVSE issue could cause a fire in that location, unless the plug itself or short pigtail cord was damaged beforehand.

Did you inspect them before plugging in?
Was there any burn marks on the plug terminals from previous charging events?
Was it an 1st gen orange pigtail cord or 2nd gen black cord model?


Furthermore, you mentioned that when you attempted to unplug the EVSE the outlet pulled away from wall? 120V outlets are to be secured by a pair of metal screws, top and bottomto a metal box, that is secured to part of the wall structure (typically a stud). Then covered with a plastic or metal bezel that is secured by a single fastener/screw in the center of the receptacle.
So how could it "pull away" from the wall?
Did the entire box pull away from the wall?
Or did the plug receptacle come out of the metal outlet box?
Was the single center screw holding the bezel and 2 screws securing the receptacle in place?

Pics please...

WopOnTour

To clarify for those not familiar with some of the terms used here... 'Backstab' or 'quick connect' refer to some electrical outlets that have a small hole in the back that a stripped wire is simply pushed in and is held in place by a one-way spring gripper that supposedly both holds the wire from being pulled out and provides an electrical connection. In most cases these work OK but outlets used for high current devices should have the wires secured by the screw terminals on the side. Much better connection. There are heavier duty outlets available (sometimes called hospital grade) that are much better quality. Another good idea is replacing the outlet with a combination unit that provides one outlet and a switch so you no longer have to keep plugging and unplugging your charger. All outlets will eventually wear out and the switch will help delay that time.

SaintlyDean - We will be in contact shortly regarding your unfortunate incident. We want to do some root cause analysis to gain more insight. The safety of our customers is our top priority - Michelle Malcho, Volt Communications

I wonder if the moderators would consider changing the title of this thread. It is obvious from the context of this thread the fire was not caused by either the onboard charger or the portable EVSE charging cord.

WVhybrid

The Volt charger draws about 12 amps. If your electrical outlet was installed using quick stabs instead of binding screws they will often overheat at 12 amps. Also... If you said the house was built in 04 that outlet is 8 years old. 8 years is plenty of time for oxide to tarnish the contacts. Tarnished contacts with weak contact springs can lead to overheating as well.

This is clearly a case of plugging in a high wattage appliance into an improperly maintained outlet.

Everyone who owns a Volt (or any appliance that draws 12 amps...) should check the outlet after an hour or two to see if the outlet is getting warm. If it is... Replace the outlet with a high quality commercial grade outlet. (NOT the 79 cent ones.) Do not use quick stabs. Use the binding screws. You should also check the breaker panel. If the circuit breaker is getting hot or tripping frequently you need to get that checked out.

People may say to make sure you install a dedicated 20A circuit for Volt 120V charging but I disagree. It's a good idea to install wiring and an outlet rated for 20A but use a 15A breaker for better protection. It should also be a GFCI outlet or breaker.

Put me up as one who not only recommends it, but also did it. My garage had two outlets for the entire place, and both were on one circuit breaker. Their location also required that I use an extension cord to charge the car. Installing a dedicated outlet is a nice insurance policy that allows the owner to insure that the circuit for charging the car is robust enough for the job of handling relatively high current for extended periods of time, AND allows for them to put in a surge protecting breaker to protect a very expensive piece of kit.

I did mine using 10/2 wire, a 120v outlet rated at 30 amps, and a 20amp GFCI panel circuit breaker. I laughed at code while deliberately overbuilding my car's charging outlet.

I wonder if the moderators would consider changing the title of this thread. It is obvious from the context of this thread the fire was not caused by either the onboard charger or the portable EVSE charging cord. WVhybridI actually added "Outlet" to the title yesterday. I think that was enough to lessen the impact of the title.

Put me up as one who not only recommends it, but also did it. My garage had two outlets for the entire place, and both were on one circuit breaker. Their location also required that I use an extension cord to charge the car. Installing a dedicated outlet is a nice insurance policy that allows the owner to insure that the circuit for charging the car is robust enough for the job of handling relatively high current for extended periods of time, AND allows for them to put in a surge protecting breaker to protect a very expensive piece of kit.

I did mine using 10/2 wire, a 120v outlet rated at 30 amps, and a 20amp GFCI panel circuit breaker. I laughed at code while deliberately overbuilding my car's charging outlet.

Code is a meant as a minimum standard and I'm sure the code writers would be smiling back at you. My point was that a 15A breaker should be used not that a dedicated circuit is bad. A dedicated circuit is part of GM's recommendation as well as code for a 12A device. The 15A breaker offers more protection downstream then the 20A breaker.

It melted from the inside which is why it pulled away according to the fire captain. I don't really know, I was just passing on the information and was in a bit of shock so wanted others to be safe. I see the post was taken the wrong way. I actually love the car. Anyway, I deleted the post as best as I could, would love to delete the thread entirely. Sorry I ever mentioned it judging from some of the responses. We are safe that's all that matters. It was a bad situation, who knows the cause, not placing blame. It operated fine for an entire month since I bought the car. Yes, the breaker is 15A. No extension cord, nothing else plugged into the outlet. Previously had a freezer plugged in long term (over a year) to the outlet, no problems, periodically have had various other things plugged in there, no problems. House was built in 2004 by Lennar, haven't had another electrical issue. Had an electrician come out to the house, redid the outlet, said it looked wired appropriately but couldn't tell much since it was melted so who knows, could be anything. He checked the house said the outlets looked good and the box outside was set up well. If there is a moderator who can delete the thread I'd appreciate it.

I do not agree with deleting threads.

First of all, it's pointless. There are archival sites that save deleted posts.

Second, the fire really happened and we should explain history, not delete it.

We're really not that mean a crowd, and you don't need to worry about being PC here. We're a little sensitive to fire issues because they've been used falsely to spread FUD about the car in the past. There's no need to delete your post or worry about people taking it the wrong way (though the nature of the fire makes the charger unlikely to be involved except as a high current draw.)

I do not agree with deleting threads.

First of all, it's pointless. There are archival sites that save deleted posts.

Second, the fire really happened and we should explain history, not delete it.

I agree 100%.

Doesn't sound like anything risky was done and the outlet just failed. Sometimes things just happen even when proper precautions are taken. Putting in a top quality GFI outlet sounds like the prudent thing to do now.

This is a great thread. Many here are DIYers and will appreciate the information given. A year and a half ago I had some problems with the outlet I was using (circa 1970). The outlet was getting warm and intermittently causing an EVSE fault. It winds up that not only was the ground not connected, but the hot and neutral wires were reversed. I replaced the outlet with a quality GFI unit (I'm cheap, so it was hard to justify a $20 outlet in lieu of a $0.99 one) and haven't had a problen since.
Thanks to this issue, I have found several other outlets in the house (some as old as 60 years) that were wired backwards.
BTW: I just had my FUSE box replaced with a nice new circuit breaker load center.

It melted from the inside which is why it pulled away according to the fire captain. I don't really know, I was just passing on the information and was in a bit of shock so wanted others to be safe. I see the post was taken the wrong way. I actually love the car. Anyway, I deleted the post as best as I could, would love to delete the thread entirely. Sorry I ever mentioned it judging from some of the responses. We are safe that's all that matters. It was a bad situation, who knows the cause, not placing blame. It operated fine for an entire month since I bought the car. Yes, the breaker is 15A. No extension cord, nothing else plugged into the outlet. Previously had a freezer plugged in long term (over a year) to the outlet, no problems, periodically have had various other things plugged in there, no problems. House was built in 2004 by Lennar, haven't had another electrical issue. Had an electrician come out to the house, redid the outlet, said it looked wired appropriately but couldn't tell much since it was melted so who knows, could be anything. He checked the house said the outlets looked good and the box outside was set up well. If there is a moderator who can delete the thread I'd appreciate it.All good. Hopefully we didn't come across too strong but please don't misread the message. We don't need speculation, we require facts when something like this happens in order to potentialy assign fault. Yes the car and the EVSE could indeed be the cause, (unlikely as IF they were drawing excessively it SHOULD have tripped your breaker) but there's really no way to know without a detailed reconstruction and through investigation of the facts.
But if your outlets and wiiring is not able to handle and properly dissipate the heat from rated maximum current (12A is 80% of your 15A breaker) then you will need repairs or upgrades, regardless of your home's age.

No need to kill the thread though as it was a valued exercise.
(I'm just going to edit the title and with your permission return your original post)

So please tell us.
Now that the wiring and outlet has been repaired have you checked for heat build up while charging your Volt?
Did contact with Michelle Malcho @ gm provide any assistance?
WOT

is this what it looked like???

PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT
http://0.tqn.com/w/experts/Electrical-Wiring-Home-1734/2008/05/Outlet-picture.jpg
PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT
http://hoechstetterinteriors.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/burned-outlet.jpg?w=500&h=375
PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TSp75CDEjxU/SUQiVd4467I/AAAAAAAABT4/UU-5LTjeXXY/s400/BathroomOutlet.jpg
PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT

While I was not there I have been a firefighter for over 15 years and have seen lot's of plugs and switches go bad over heat and almost catch fire or start a fire. I'm sure GM and the Volt team would like to see your charger and the fire report.

After a great deal of back and forth GM said that nothing was wrong with the cord and the garage fire was not their responsibility.

I wrote a letter to GM headquarters at the address I found online and explained the issue had nothing to do with whether the cord performed as designed, it performed exactly as designed. I also said I wasn't trying to assign any sort of blame. The problem was (which I was educated about on this forum) the cord should be plugged into a dedicated outlet not a "conventional outlet" as is advertized on the Chevy website or if it is plugged into a standard outlet then you need to hit the button to pull less Amps. I explained that I was told by my dealership in the 5 minute tutorial I received on home charging that I could plug into any outlet (nothing about using the button to pull less Amps etc.).

I got a call from a young lady in the claims department and I explained that I absolutely LOVE my car, wouldn't trade it for the world even if I do have to run it on gas until I can get a 240 Volt charging station (unfortunatley the Columb free charger program ran out even though I was on this list so it cost me $500+ but worth it once I get it installed). I told them I wasn't interested in any sort of repair costs or anything that I had already gone through my insurance company to repair the home minus the deductible and electrical wiring and that I just thought it might be a good idea for their employees selling the Volt to educate customers like me that are new to all of this and that it's a potential danger if for whatever reason the circuit breaker doesn't trip and someone is plugged into a standard outlet. As I said previously for whatever reason (no blame) my car charged perfectly for an entire month and then out of the blue the garage was on fire. It's an odd situation but it happens but my ONLY concern to to help Chevy and GM with the information so that they can let their associates know to tell dummies like me "hey don't plug this into a standard household outlet UNLESS you hit the button to pull less Amps on your charge cord". The fact is the folks on this website are all extremely sharp, but there are some people like me out there that really do need some guidance when it comes to dealing with a newer technology like the Volt. I want to see this car succeed beyond all expectations.

I guess they liked my attitude because they kindly picked up my deductible. I am extrememly impressed with their management and again this is the greatest car I have ever owned. Kudos to GM.

The problem was (which I was educated about on this forum) the cord should be plugged into a dedicated outlet not a "conventional outlet" as is advertized on the Chevy website or if it is plugged into a standard outlet then you need to hit the button to pull less Amps. I explained that I was told by my dealership in the 5 minute tutorial I received on home charging that I could plug into any outlet (nothing about using the button to pull less Amps etc.).

I just thought it might be a good idea for their employees selling the Volt to educate customers like me that are new to all of this and that it's a potential danger if for whatever reason the circuit breaker doesn't trip and someone is plugged into a standard outlet. As I said previously for whatever reason (no blame) my car charged perfectly for an entire month and then out of the blue the garage was on fire. It's an odd situation but it happens but my ONLY concern to to help Chevy and GM with the information so that they can let their associates know to tell dummies like me "hey don't plug this into a standard household outlet UNLESS you hit the button to pull less Amps on your charge cord". The fact is the folks on this website are all extremely sharp, but there are some people like me out there that really do need some guidance when it comes to dealing with a newer technology like the Volt. I want to see this car succeed beyond all expectations.

Your message was apparently received. I guess we now know why the 2013 EVSE has no button, why it defaults to 8 amps, and why you must manually reset to 12 A from the car every time.