Could my outlet or 120V charge cord EVSE cause a fire?

[saintlydean]

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.

[mikeg3]

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.

[saghost]

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.)

[Koz]

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.

[hamchief]

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.

[WopOnTour]

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

[holland_patrick]

is this what it looked like???

PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT

PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT

PLEASE NOTE THESE PHOTOS ARE NOT OUTLETS DAMAGED FROM CHARGING A CHEVROLET VOLT

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.

[saintlydean]

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.

[Steverino]

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.