Need wiring help: EVSE L6-20 fem. pigtail to NEMA 14-50 plug

[jaimev]

I'll soon have an upgraded EVSE that I plan to plug into a pigtail adapter that will have a NEMA 14-50 male plug on one end. The NEMA 14-50 plug is what I'll plug into a 240V outlet.

The pigtail has an L6-20 female socket on one end with a cable containing 3 bare wires coming out of it - green, black, and white.

The instructions on the packaging for the NEMA 14-50 male plug shows connections for 4 wires - green, black, white and red, one to each of the 4 prongs.

How do I wire the L6-20 pigtail to the NEMA 14-50 male plug? Should I just connect the 3 wires to the corresponding blade, and just leave the red blade unwired?

Thanks for any help.

 

[GeekEV]

See this thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=1450
Specifically, this post will help you match wires: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=68442#p68442

Although, based on your question, you may want to consider this thread: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3085

But the short answer is, wire the ground (green) to ground (green) and the two hots (which would be the black and white on the pigtail you bought) from the L6-20 to the two hots (black/red) on the NEMA 14-50. Leave the 14-50's bottom pin (the neutral, white) unconnected. If you omit the neutral pin (or cut it off if need be) your adapter will fit a 14-30, 14-50 & 14-60 outlet.

 

[jaimev]

Excellent! Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for the help!

 

[mwalsh]

Quick and dirty...the inside of the plug should be marked G W X Y

G=Ground
W = Neutral
X= Hot
Y = Hot

Green goes to ground and the two hots go to X and Y. Personally I always go white* (or red) to X and black to Y. But it doesn't matter....I just do it to be retentive. We don't use the Neutral for our purposes, so as GeekEV suggests pull out (if possible) or cut off the Neutral pin for use with 14-30, 14-50, and 14-60 outlets.

*assumes using three strand wire that is white/black/green

 

[tps]

Personally I always go white* (or red) to X and black to Y. But it doesn't matter....I just do it to be retentive.

Many years ago, when I started making electrical cables using Hubbell plugs, one of the instructions on the outside of the little box the plug came in was, when wiring the plug, to pick the proper "end" if the cable so the arrangement of the wires in the cable matched the pins on the plug to avoid crossovers. If you really want to do it "right", wire the two hots so that the X and Y are the same as the orientation of the wires in the cable.

 

[garygid]

With 3-wire twisted cables, there is not much "orientation".

Always best to check how the "other" end is wired before one makes the final decision.

 

[tps]

With 3-wire twisted cables, there is not much "orientation".

Always best to check how the "other" end is wired before one makes the final decision.

With a normal 3-wire cable, either wires at both ends will be physically crossed, in which case you put the plug and connector on the "wrong" end and you might, if you are so inclined, swap the plug and the connector (socket). Or the wires will come straight out of the cable and go into the correct screw with no physical crossovers, in which case the plug and connector are on the proper ends.

I just started assembling my version of the "Quick 220" using Leviton 115PR plugs. The Leviton instructions do not make mention, as did the Hubbell instructions, of picking the "right" end of the cable when wiring the plug, but the Leviton assembly drawings show it wired correctly. The Leviton 2323-B L6-20R connector is on order, but I'll let you know how I end up wiring it.

 

[lukati]

I would greatly appreciate some wiring advice as well.

I have a garage that is separated from the house by about 25 feet. The 20A protected garage circuit goes from the basement panel through an underground conduit into the garage. It now turns out that my garage 120V outlets are not grounded and there is no ground wire in the (metallic) conduit, I assume that the conduit serves as ground and this problem can be solved by simply connecting the outlet ground to the box and testing for ground continuity. Is this correct?

About 240V: There are four wires in the conduit (all on the same 20A breaker). One (always) hot wire to the outlets and garage door, one neutral, and two (3-way switched) hots for the garage lights. It might be tricky to pull another wire through the 30-year-old underground conduit to add the second phase. If this doesn't work, I am thinking of giving up the 3-way switch and use one of the hots as the second phase. I could even use the fourth wire as ground. Does this sound kosher code-wise?

Thanks.

 

[TomT]

As long as your color code the wires with tape appropriately at both ends, it should be fine. Four wires would give you the two hots, ground, and a neutral.

About 240V: There are four wires in the conduit (all on the same 20A breaker). One (always) hot wire to the outlets and garage door, one neutral, and two (3-way switched) hots for the garage lights. It might be tricky to pull another wire through the 30-year-old underground conduit to add the second phase. If this doesn't work, I am thinking of giving up the 3-way switch and use one of the hots as the second phase. I could even use the fourth wire as ground. Does this sound kosher code-wise?

 

[amtoro]

Does this sound kosher code-wise?

Your city would require that any modifications are made to the latest code requirements; this includes providing appropriate grounding and wire gauges and NEC 625.

I'd consider a few points here:
1. As you have a single 20A circuit to share with the garage opener, lights, etc; this plus EVSE could be beyond the 80% max current allowed by the code.
2. NEC 625 allows plug-in EVSE's ONLY if they are on a completely separate circuit coming from the breakers panel.
3. Your wiring is old, it could be in bad shape and need replacement already. It is even possible that the code from 30 years ago required thinner wires than today's code.

I would strongly suggest to install a new circuit from the panel using a two-pole braker (20, 30 or 40A) depending on the circuit rating that you want to have, a new, separate conduit (which, depending where you live, may have to be a certain depth below the surface due to freezing of the soil, etc.) and proper wiring taking into account the circuit rating and the length of the circuit (a longer wire will create more resistance, heat faster and produce a larger voltage drop).

A 30A circuit would require a #10 2-pole, 3 wire conductor if the distance is less than 40 ft, given that your garage is already 25ft away, go with a #8 wire.

Better yet, call an electrician and get a permit from the city; in my city, for instance, the permit was for a "circuit branch addition" and cost me only $10.

It is not worth it to save a few hundred dollars on a DIY like this and then having to explain an awful situation to the insurance companies (home and car)

 

[tps]

I started a page of diagrams, which doesn't cover everything, but some of the popular adapters are on there. The view is from the mating face of the plug or connector, not the wiring side.

http://proxy1.fielddiagnostics.com/~tps/wiring.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[lukati]

I would strongly suggest to install a new circuit from the panel using a two-pole braker (20, 30 or 40A) depending on the circuit rating that you want to have, a new, separate conduit (which, depending where you live, may have to be a certain depth below the surface due to freezing of the soil, etc.) and proper wiring taking into account the circuit rating and the length of the circuit (a longer wire will create more resistance, heat faster and produce a larger voltage drop).

Thanks! Always a good idea to be safe rather than sorry.

In that case I'll have the electrician dig a little deeper and add two 3/4" PEX runs for my future garage roof solar thermal panels. No need to dig twice.

 

[amtoro]

No need to dig twice.

Good thought, I like that you are looking into the future :mrgreen:

 

[garygid]

I do not recall NEC 625 saying anything about requiring a dedicated circuit for a plug-in EVSE. I must have missed it.

What sub-section of 625 had that, please?

 

[shrink]

But the short answer is, wire the ground (green) to ground (green) and the two hots (which would be the black and white on the pigtail you bought) from the L6-20 to the two hots (black/red) on the NEMA 14-50.

Thank you for posting this. I had the same exact situation with a NEMA 14-50 outlet in my garage and the EVSE upgrade received earlier today. I at first attached the white wire on the pigtail to the neutral on the 14-50 male plug, but when I plugged in I only got a trickle charge.

I actually searched the forum, found this thread and your response, re-wired per your post, and voila - I was Level 2 charging.

I'm sure it's been covered before, but the EVSE upgrade is wonderful. Nissan should include that EVSE with every LEAF. Charging was much faster than expected - like going from 14.4 dialup to cable modem - and makes the car a lot more useable.

 

[rdhauser]

Ok, after my second read through this thread, I think I understand how to wire my adapter, but I'd like the confirmation of the more experienced members here.

The plug that I've purchased is new dryer plug. It has the 14-30P layout with the ground a round spine at the top, the two hot spines in the middle, and the Neutral "L" shape at the bottom. The ground is connected to a green wire, one of the hot blades is connected to a red wire, and the other to a black wire. The neutral is connected to a white wire.

When I make my connections to the L6-20R, the Green wire will go to the ground on the L6-20R, the red wire will go to one of the hot spines (labeled X on the L6-20R), the black wire will go on the other hot spine (labeled Y on the L6-20R), and the white wire will not be connected.

Have I understood?

The dryer plug that I've purchased is molded so I can't take out the white wire, I'll have to cut it off where it goes into the L6-20R. Any precautions there?

 

[arnolddeleon]

Ok, after my second read through this thread, I think I understand how to wire my adapter, but I'd like the confirmation of the more experienced members here.

The plug that I've purchased is new dryer plug. It has the 14-30P layout with the ground a round spine at the top, the two hot spines in the middle, and the Neutral "L" shape at the bottom. The ground is connected to a green wire, one of the hot blades is connected to a red wire, and the other to a black wire. The neutral is connected to a white wire.

When I make my connections to the L6-20R, the Green wire will go to the ground on the L6-20R, the red wire will go to one of the hot spines (labeled X on the L6-20R), the black wire will go on the other hot spine (labeled Y on the L6-20R), and the white wire will not be connected.

Have I understood?

The dryer plug that I've purchased is molded so I can't take out the white wire, I'll have to cut it off where it goes into the L6-20R. Any precautions there?

That is correct. Also if you cut off the "L" shaped neutral pin on the plug side then your adapter will also fit a 14-50 receptacle.

arnold

 

[rdhauser]

That is correct. Also if you cut off the "L" shaped neutral pin on the plug side then your adapter will also 14-50 receptacle.

arnold

Ok, thanks Arnold