EV charger not working or charging slowly
easy 15–45 min
Tools: the charger's app or status light guide, flashlight · Materials: none — this is a diagnostic guide
Steps
- Read the status light or app: a fault code tells you whether the charger sees a ground fault, an over-temperature, or a car-side refusal; write it down.
- Reset once: switch the charger's breaker off for a minute and on again, and unplug and replug the car; if the breaker trips again within a day, stop resetting it.
- Check the car's charge schedule and charge limit — a car set to charge off-peak or already at its limit reports 'not charging' with nothing wrong.
- Feel the plug and the outlet face after ten minutes of charging: warm is normal, hot or discoloured means a loose terminal and you stop using it today.
- For slow charging, check the amperage set in the app and on the car; many chargers are set low at installation, and a long wire run derates them.
- Keep the cable dry and the connector capped; moisture in the handle trips the built-in ground-fault protection.
Stop and call a pro if
- the breaker trips repeatedly, the outlet or plug is hot or discoloured, or you smell burning — that is a loose or undersized connection and an electrician's call
- the charger needs its amperage changed at the internal dip switches or the panel
- the car charges normally at a public charger but not at home
Rules in the US: A hard-wired Level 2 charger and its 40–60 A circuit are permit work; a NEMA 14-50 outlet must be on a GFCI breaker under the 2020+ NEC in most states.
What a pro does that you can't
An electrician measures the voltage drop under load, torques or replaces the outlet and breaker, fixes undersized wiring, and sets the charger's current to what the circuit can actually carry.
DIY cost: $0 — checks and resets only