ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area 7 NEC Code Violations

I had a licensed electrician install new service to my new garage and install an electric vehicle charger. Car wasn't charging right so I had another electrician inspect it since Cass county Illinois does not have inspectors or code enforcement. They found 7 NEC code and safety violations.

I am looking for something I can print off from an official site that shows electricians have to abide by the NEC-2008 here in Illinois as everyone is telling me, but nobody can tell me where to find it. I need it for the judge since I know he is going to say there is no code enforcement in Cass county Illinois.

Thanks in advance. Don't hate my username. It was the first one that came to my mind.

A lot will depend on exactly what violations were found but it really sounds like you need a lawyer more than an electrician if you are going after the original guy. It will come down to Illinois law and what requirements are imposed on an electrician there. There should some minimum standards they have to adhere to.
Up there, I bet the unions have more power than the government but you probably had an non-union electrician.
Most of the rules about car chargers are in more recent code cycles tho.

The following Illinois government site contains information you might find useful.

Also, note that if you scroll down the page to the link titled "Illinois Municipal Code Directory" and click on it, you'll be taken to a page where you can enter your municipality and get the name and contact details of the responsible Code Official, as well as the prevailing Codes (click on your municipality name to open up a window with that information, although when I did so for Beardstown - unlike some other municipalities - there were no Code entries). You might want to have a chat with your Code Official before pursuing other options.

https://cdb.illinois.gov/business/codes/buildingcodesregulations.html

As you'll see when you read the summary text on the webpage, as of Jan. 2025 Illinois has adopted statewide building codes. However, which ones apply depend upon commercial or residential construction, and whether or not jurisdictions have already adopted building codes, etc. The only explicit mention of the National Electrical Code is its requirement in the section titled "Commercial buildings in jurisdictions that have not adopted a building code AND state funded buildings". Another reason to contact your Code Official.

The Building Code for Beardstown is online at Municode and Section 5-31 states adoption of the 2020 version of the National Electrical Code.

https://library.municode.com/il/beardstown/codes/code_of_ordinances

This is a good find, and I will add it to the case. However; I sorry the electrician will say Beardstown ordinances do not apply to this because I live just outside city limits.

Here are a few of the NEC violations:

Our contract was for a 60 amp service to a detached garage. No grounding rod. He states in his response letter that it is not needed because Ameren requires it to be bonded at the main panel.

The wire he used is only NEC rated for 50 amps. 6awg aluminum wirecorp EC 1350 use-2. His response letter claims it is rated for 95 amps. He even includes the brochure of the wiring he used, and it isn’t even the same wire that was installed. The sellers website says it’s rated for 100 amp in non-NEC applications like for service entry.

The wire is laying on the ceiling tiles, not supported or in conduit.

As it goes outside, it is only buried 7 inches deep and not 24. It is not under concrete.

It is also missing a fourth conductor. Again he states it is not needed because if is bonded at the main panel.

Inadequate service for intended use. The car charger alone is 48 amps and requires a 60 amp breaker. That’s how I knew something was up. The car was only charging at 32 amps and I noticed he had it on a 50 amp breaker. I made him change it to 60, but later on I noticed the entire garage is on a 50 amp breaker from the main panel. He is trying to say that the bid included using existing breakers, but I asked how do you install new service with existing breakers when there were no breakers to begin with.

I also found a receipt showing he bought a 50 amp breaker. This is just a few items on this fiasco. I think I have a good case. I just want to be sure the judge knows he needed to go by NEC for Cass county illinois.

From the links and information earlier in this post you should have seen that the governing codes depend upon where you live in Cass County and under what circumstances they are being applied. If you live in an unincorporated part of the County, rather than the NEC, the electrical section of the International Residential Code(IRC) might apply to your location (the electrical section of the IRC is generally based on the NEC).

You first have to determine what code applies to your location and situation and I would still recommend contacting either the Beardstown Code Official (who might know about the unincorporated area anyway) or the Cass County Zoning Officer.

Once you know what applies, get someone qualified who can document the violations based on the specific chapters and sections of the applicable Code, so that you have a coherent case to present.

In case the IRC does apply to your location/situation, the link to its electrical section is:

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2021P3/part-viii-electrical.

Everything that I read says the Illinois Capital Development Board only applies to public buildings. I have called and talked to the Cass county zoning officer twice, and also talked to the previous zoning officer that retired. They both confirmed there are no electrical code requirements that they know of. They seemed to be clueless actually.

I am starting to worry that I may not be able to use NEC violations in court unless the judge will accept that the NEC is the standard. I am sure the electrician is going to try to convince him otherwise. I still may be able to get him for breach of contract since it was supposed to be 60 amp service and he put them on 50 amp breakers. That right there should show he knows the wire was not rated for 60 amps.

I think I can get him on the Illinois consumer fraud and home repair and remodeling acts. The wire he stated he installed is not the wire that is installed.

I also may be able to use the state fire Marshall. I have read that if the fire Marshall is alerted to a safety hazzard, private or commercial, they can inspect and mandate that it is corrected. The Illinois fire Marshall goes by NEC standards.

Evidently, this electrician has been doing this to people around here for years and nobody has been able to get hold him accountable. Thank you all for your help on this.

Illinois has long counted on the unions to regulate the building business but my guess is this guy has never had an IBEW card. As I said before, you probably need a lawyer. Any competent electrical professional knows this hack is lying to you.
At the end of the day you are going to be hiring a qualified person to clean this mess up and I hope the lesson of the low bid was not too expensive.
Your only recourse might be through the licensing people. (assuming this hack even has a license).

I suppose the lesson might actually be to add "all work shall conform to the NEC" Even if we set the wayback machine to 2008, the concerns you have are non-conforming.