Charging is not possible - Grounding device error

[TaycanNJ]

Has anyone seen this error on the charger? It seems to happen randomly which is odd. Most days the car charges fine with no error message, but every once in the while it will stop charging and show this message. The annoying thing is that the Porsche Connect app does not always tell me when it happens so sometimes I wake up to a low battery on the car.

I do have the charger connected to an extension cord going to the Nema 14-50 outlet, but it is rated for higher amps than I am pulling and it's the same one I used with my Tesla for three years. Next step will be to reorganize my entire garage so I can try to plug it into the wall outlet and see if it still happens. I know it says not to use an extension cord in the manual, but this is a pretty standard setup.

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[daveo4EV]

one of these might be worth the $8 before calling out an electrician…

https://smile.amazon.com/Sperry-Ins...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

try it in the outlet -and then try it actually at the end of the extension cord - the Porsche charger might be more fussy about ground than the Tesla chargers…

you can also get one from your local home improvement store - great little less than $10 tool and often times quickly identifies if it' the plug or the wiring.

 

[TaycanNJ]

one of these might be worth the $8 before calling out an electrician…

https://smile.amazon.com/Sperry-Ins...9Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

try it in the outlet -and then try it actually at the end of the extension cord - the Porsche charger might be more fussy about ground than the Tesla chargers…

you can also get one from your local home improvement store - great little less than $10 tool and often times quickly identifies if it' the plug or the wiring.

I should’ve specified, it’s a Nema 14-50 outlet and extension.

 

[daveo4EV]

ahhh - well that is different - harder to test…

 

[KerbMonster]

Temperature will impact the cable resistance so if it’s borderline it may not take a lot of change to trip

 

[jonwalter412]

Goshh, that`s really bad...

 

[KerbMonster]

Goshh, that`s really bad...

It really - it’s a safety issue. If the car can’t immediately and safely dump all the current to ground then it could be bad.
It’s not the chargers fault and probably go away if not using the extension cable.
The fact Tesla’s works fine doesn’t mean it’s better... it just probably means that it’s less restrictive to what it considers safe.

 

[TaycanNJ]

I’ve tested it with and without extension cord at my house and I get the same error. I had an electrician test it and he said there is no grounding issue. However, I’ve tried it charging from almost empty on the same type of outlet at another location and there was no issue. Not sure what to do next... I guess I’ll try another electrician and see if they have a different opinion

 

[louv]

Ask your next electrician To test the system under load. Maybe some ground connection is marginal and when it draws heavy current it heats up, increases resistance, and faults.

I guess I’d double check every single connection, termination, breaker, and wire from the plug all the way to the copper rod going into the ground.

Try charging at a slower rate, and see if it faults. (You still have the problem, but it’s a temporary workaround).

 

[daveo4EV]

might be a faulty charger - have you tried another PMCC on the same plug?

 

[TaycanNJ]

Ask your next electrician To test the system under load. Maybe some ground connection is marginal and when it draws heavy current it heats up, increases resistance, and faults.

I guess I’d double check every single connection, termination, breaker, and wire from the plug all the way to the copper rod going into the ground.

Try charging at a slower rate, and see if it faults. (You still have the problem, but it’s a temporary workaround).

I did try going down to 20amps from 40 and

might be a faulty charger - have you tried another PMCC on the same plug?

I have not. I’ll bring in another electrician first and test it under load as suggested above and if nothing is found I will talk to the dealership about the charger.

 

[TaycanNJ]

Update on this, I purchased a ChargePoint Home Flex with Nema 14-50 plug and it works fine. Odd thing is that I used the Porsche charger at another location and there was no error so it is definitely something related to the wiring in my home however electricians can't find anything and it worked fine with the Tesla for years so I'm just switching it to the ChargePoint and hoping for the best.

 

[Scott Allen]

I've had the same message several times and my PMCC is not on an extension cord. I had an electrician wire directly from my electrical panel. It's strange because I plug the charger into the car and it charges fully, but then I get the same massage. Not every time though.

 

[Kingske]

I've had the same message several times and my PMCC is not on an extension cord. I had an electrician wire directly from my electrical panel. It's strange because I plug the charger into the car and it charges fully, but then I get the same massage. Not every time though.

Hi Scott, did you meanwhile get the grounding error problem fixed and - if so - what did you do? Thanks. I am experiencing the same problem.

 

[wmras]

Ask your next electrician To test the system under load. Maybe some ground connection is marginal and when it draws heavy current it heats up, increases resistance, and faults.

I guess I’d double check every single connection, termination, breaker, and wire from the plug all the way to the copper rod going into the ground.

Try charging at a slower rate, and see if it faults. (You still have the problem, but it’s a temporary workaround).

Agree,

Most likely, the PMCC is measuring the voltage difference between the unused Neutral wire and the Ground wire and triggering a ground fault if there is any imbalance in the draw from the 240V wires (this might cause some current to flow through the Ground wire). One more reason why I prefer NEMA 6-50 plugs - no Neutral wire to add unnecessary measurements..

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