Flash and bang turning granny charger off
Discussion
Hi PH'rs
I've owned my Rav4 PHEV for a week and until Octopus give me a charge point installation date I'm using the Toyota supplied granny charger. Priot to picking which socket I used I plugged in my socket tester and also checked the plug and socket for increased heat during its use. Nothing flagged....
Until today!
My car was charging using the granny charger and not on an extension for an hour. I went to check for any heat on the plug and there was none of concern. As I needed to go out I went to turn the switch off at the granny charger and there was an almighty flash from the switch and a bang. Fortunately it tripped the RCD so I didn't get a shock.
My house has reasonably modern wiring, a new consumer unit and Solar plus battery (Not that I expect the solar contributed to this).
I have no idea what caused the flash, bang and tripping of the RCD. Its not as if I unplugged the charger from the socket without turning the socket off first.
Im trying to avoid this happening again so I would like to hear any suggestions as to what may have happened?
I've owned my Rav4 PHEV for a week and until Octopus give me a charge point installation date I'm using the Toyota supplied granny charger. Priot to picking which socket I used I plugged in my socket tester and also checked the plug and socket for increased heat during its use. Nothing flagged....
Until today!
My car was charging using the granny charger and not on an extension for an hour. I went to check for any heat on the plug and there was none of concern. As I needed to go out I went to turn the switch off at the granny charger and there was an almighty flash from the switch and a bang. Fortunately it tripped the RCD so I didn't get a shock.
My house has reasonably modern wiring, a new consumer unit and Solar plus battery (Not that I expect the solar contributed to this).
I have no idea what caused the flash, bang and tripping of the RCD. Its not as if I unplugged the charger from the socket without turning the socket off first.
Im trying to avoid this happening again so I would like to hear any suggestions as to what may have happened?
OutInTheShed said:
If the flash was from the socket switch, you need a new socket.
If the flash was from some part of the granny charger, it's faulty.
Does the manual suggest stopping the charger with a button or something before switching off at the mains?
Thanks for the suggestion. The manual states nothing about stopping the charge and there is no button etc to do so.If the flash was from some part of the granny charger, it's faulty.
Does the manual suggest stopping the charger with a button or something before switching off at the mains?
The flash was definitely from the switch on the socket
OutInTheShed said:
Once a switch has performed a decent flash, there is often metal sprayed around the works, the contacts will be pitted, it will never be the same again and may have leakage due to the metal and compounds coating the internals.
Switching off a large current can put a lot of stress on a switch. But it should cope. I'd try fitting a new one, double pole and preferably a premium brand unless there are decor matching issues....
Thanks. Any brand suggestions?Switching off a large current can put a lot of stress on a switch. But it should cope. I'd try fitting a new one, double pole and preferably a premium brand unless there are decor matching issues....
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