Strong smell from PHEV While connected to Level 1 Charger

[Chasenyadown]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on this board. My wife bought a 2019 Outlander this past weekend and we have charged the vehicle twice now. Both times when the PHEV is charging in the garage the smell is so strong that the whole house is stinking on our main floor if we open the man door to the garage. I don't know how to describe the smell... It smells like metal/strong static electricity smell. Is this normal? When I googled it nothing is showing up but lots about forklifts with bad batteries emmiting a rotten egg smell. I guess you could call it a bit of a rotten egg smell but it smells more like if you're soldering metal. Just seems very odd - not sure if this is going to go away and it's because the vehicle is new or because there's a potential issue. Any thoughts on this would be great. Thanks!

 

[michael8554]

Your description sounds like the smell you get when an electronic component is overheating, and is not normal for this car.

Needless to say you must quickly find the cause.

Is it coming from the granny charger or either of its plugs? You should still smell it if you smell the unplugged charger well away from the car. Look for signs of charring on the plugs.

Is it the mains outlet? Again, the smell should be apparent long after you've opened the garage and moved the car away.

Which only leaves the car. Smell the charge port when you get the car outside, are there any sign of blackened contacts or charring?

 

[Regulo]

Agree. It definitely sounds like an electrical problem. You need to localise it to the either the car or charging equipment, including your garage electrics. Let us know the outcome, please.

 

[jaapv]

And don't try it again until it is sorted. this is a serious fire hazard.

 

[Tai626]

Welcome to the forum.

If you are referring to “level 1” EVSE, I assume you are using 110V to charge PHEV in America’s.

Assuming also you are using the NEMA 5-15R, the Max charging current is 80% (12A) which is match the fast charging in our EVSE. The limitation is according to NEC (National Electric code) in the US and usually the same to other countries who adopted NEMA as well.

One more assumption: your wire from main panel to EVSE is a 12AWG or even 14AWG :-0

Here is an report about the temperature in the wire in the summer:
https://www.copper.org/applications/electrical/building/pdf/bundle_evaluation_report.pdf

So my hypothese is that your wire is getting hot and start releasing chemicals vapor, causing the smell.

You could lower the temperature of your wiring by setting the charge rate to 8A. Once weather becomes cooler, try 12A again and stay vigilant to the smell. It should be less.

The permanent solution is installing a circuit for the level 2. One NEMA 6-20R will do it for our PHEV. The entry level 2 EVSE is very economical.

Tai

 

[jdsx]

On the other hand, new PHEVs are well known for emitting a strange smell after the engine starts, particularly when new. Do you live at the top of a hill? Could the engine have started fairly recently when you ran out of charge as you approached the house/garage? We do, and I remember noticing a strange smell when the car was new (and we don't keep it in the garage).
Before doing anything drastic, I would try pressing the 'charge' button 5 minutes before you get home to get the engine running. Then *don't* plug the car in when you get home, and see if you get the same smell.... that would rule out a problem with the electrics....

 

[michael8554]

If the smell is definitely rotten eggs then that is classic catalytic converter exhaust smell, I assumed you wouldn't be running the petrol engine in your garage ?

 

[drdel]

Potentially a fire hazard and if your wiring is not at the correct rating your insurer would surely back away, get it checked..

Not wise to charge the PHEV indoors and/or from a domestic circuit. Needs a direct supply from the main/distribution board.

 

[michael8554]

Will we ever know what it was.........?

 

[Chasenyadown]

Wow, I got an email yesterday saying someone had posted a reply - wasn't expecting this much of a response. So thank you for that! The smell is definitely apparent after the vehicle is moved out of the garage just a metallic smell in the air that is lingering. Definitely not running the engine like someone asked. The wiring and breaker can definitely handle the granny charger. Can't see any charring on the connections.. Seems like it may need a trip to the dealer to get this looked at but yeah the smell isn't going away when charging. If the vehicle catches fire from charging it within the first two weeks of owning it then Mitsubishi shouldn't even have these things on the road. I just can't imagine with this being the #1 selling phev in the world that this could even be a possibility at this point. But obviously the smell is a cause for concern and needs to be looked at further. Will keep you posted. Thanks again for your replies.

 

[ThudnBlundr]

The smell you occasionally get from using the engine in a PHEV hard isn't your typical hot engine smell. I think it's something to do with the exhaust getting hotter than usual and burning off road debris. The only time I had it was soon after getting the car when climbing a steep hill after driving 50-odd miles to get there. The exhaust must already have been warm, but running the engine hard for a couple of minutes to climb the hill elicited a very strange smell.

 

[Chasenyadown]

So, as I said in my first post we were charging the Wife's PHEV in the garage & reiterated in my second post that the car WAS NOT running but was just charging. We found the cause however. We were under the impression from the dealer that you could use an extension cord to plug in the level 1 "granny" charger in the garage - we have our extension cords in this yellow doughnut thing that keeps them nice and tidy.... And after reading all your posts I kept reading other threads and came across one talking about how you should not (unless absolutely necessary) use and extension cord to charge the vehicle and if it is necessary that it has to be fully extended and not wrapped around itself or the heat generated by the system could melt the extension cord... So went out to the garage, checked the extension cord and sure enough the extension cord that was left in the ring has melted together. So yeah... Could have been A LOT worse than it had been - had it not been for your help and the other threads in this Forum. So thank you for your help! But after seeing this it also makes me think that getting the 6-20R wiring and level 2 charging unit should be the requirement for this vehicle and the dealerships need to know more than they do about the cars they're selling, like I said this could have been A LOT worse so thank you all.

 

[Regulo]

Glad you found the problem - in time!! I ALWAYS unwind any extension lead fully, after exactly the same thing happened to mine. I was using a 2kW heater in my garage at the time, the cable in the drum completely melted into a mess of plastic and cable. In those days I was a bit cavalier regarding safety warnings and advice, but I'm older and more careful now. I nearly said "older and wiser", but thought better of it!

 

[michael8554]

Okay, so when I suggested you sniff the plugs and sockets for the smell of overheating, why didn't you check the extension cable?