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Battery Pack Failure, Tesla Service, New Pack & New Pack Range compared to original

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I haven't watched the video yet ... when talking about the battery failure, is there any mention of possible causes? I know running a Roadster battery down to empty is really hard on it and can cause permanent damage - just curious if there was any mention of that by Tesla or if you thought maybe it contributed. I know Elon has stated that he'll cover a battery damaged that way, regardless (bless him), but still good info for the community. We have a few people who think it's fine to take down below 0 on a regular basis. Just not a good thing, imo.
And am sure you're thrilled to have your car back again :).
 
I haven't watched the video yet ... when talking about the battery failure, is there any mention of possible causes? I know running a Roadster battery down to empty is really hard on it and can cause permanent damage - just curious if there was any mention of that by Tesla or if you thought maybe it contributed. I know Elon has stated that he'll cover a battery damaged that way, regardless (bless him), but still good info for the community. We have a few people who think it's fine to take down below 0 on a regular basis. Just not a good thing, imo.
And am sure you're thrilled to have your car back again :).

As far as my understanding, it was the Contactor that failed. The "permanent damage" your thinking of is Range Loss. My battery was charging to 203ish miles and giving me another 2-3 miles before any miles would drop. So effectively, In 34,000 miles of HEAVY use, including MANY MANY Range Charges and MANY drains down to 1-10 miles remaining, I only lost 2-3 miles range, fairly impressive if you ask me!!!

Regardless, the pack still held charge, the main contactor went. Even after the car was disabled, it still showed whatever the rated range, without watching my video right now, I think it was around 80 miles???? or something like that.
Given the minor range loss, and how well the batteries themselves held up, I'd like to see tesla bump the 60kW warranty (well, of course I would as I own one...) to the Unlimited miles like the 85 pack is. Reading through, seems like all the failures so far are not related to the Actual Battery, but other components inside the back. In both cases of the 60 and 85 packs. I have not seen anything yet where the Actual BATTERY/BATTERIES failed (not talking about the 12v one, just HV pack).

And along those lines, with how little maintenance is required, I'd personally think the Motor warranty should mirror the Battery warranty, or at least 100,000 miles for the motor. Even a crappy $12,000 ICE Car gives 100,000 mile power train warranty .

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Congrats on getting your car back, must be good to not have to use gas anymore :biggrin:.
So good not driving gas. But that Volks was a POS. Not complaining as it was a free loaner, but damn, what a Pile. I didn't realize Volkswagens had gotten so bad. And I'm not saying that because I'm going from a Tesla to a Volks. That Passat Really was just that Poorly Built. For being a 2014, that transmission slipped like a SOB!, It was Gas Powered, NOT Diesel, yet, the engine knocked like it was a Diesel. Pulled up at my grandparents house, first thing my grandmother said was that this thing is loud, sounds like a diesel...... Seat was comfy, the control stalks for Cruise, headlights etc.... was CRAP.

Anyways, that is a whole nother story. Only thing it had going for it was that it got 40+ Mpg on the freeway.
 
As far as my understanding, it was the Contactor that failed. The "permanent damage" your thinking of is Range Loss. My battery was charging to 203ish miles and giving me another 2-3 miles before any miles would drop. So effectively, In 34,000 miles of HEAVY use, including MANY MANY Range Charges and MANY drains down to 1-10 miles remaining, I only lost 2-3 miles range, fairly impressive if you ask me!!!

Regardless, the pack still held charge, the main contactor went. Even after the car was disabled, it still showed whatever the rated range, without watching my video right now, I think it was around 80 miles???? or something like that.
Given the minor range loss, and how well the batteries themselves held up, I'd like to see tesla bump the 60kW warranty (well, of course I would as I own one...) to the Unlimited miles like the 85 pack is. Reading through, seems like all the failures so far are not related to the Actual Battery, but other components inside the back. In both cases of the 60 and 85 packs. I have not seen anything yet where the Actual BATTERY/BATTERIES failed (not talking about the 12v one, just HV pack).

And along those lines, with how little maintenance is required, I'd personally think the Motor warranty should mirror the Battery warranty, or at least 100,000 miles for the motor. Even a crappy $12,000 ICE Car gives 100,000 mile power train warranty .

Actually, no. The permanent damage I was referring to was not something as simple as just loss of range. But glad you're back up and running.
 
Glad you got a new pack and car back. What's concerning is that not many folks have hit the 35k mark and this may come up more and more. Do you think its because of the range charges you've done from empty? And can you explain what the contactor does?
 
Glad you got a new pack and car back. What's concerning is that not many folks have hit the 35k mark and this may come up more and more. Do you think its because of the range charges you've done from empty? And can you explain what the contactor does?

No, not from going down to empty.

Good explanation from Wiki and recommend going to the page, it even shows a EV contactor used in conversions: Contactor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"A contactor is an electrically controlled switch used for switching a power circuit, similar to a relay except with higher current ratings.[SUP][1][/SUP] A contactor is controlled by a circuit which has a much lower power level than the switched circuit.Contactors come in many forms with varying capacities and features. Unlike a circuit breaker, a contactor is not intended to interrupt a short circuit current. Contactors range from those having a breaking current of several amperes to thousands of amperes and 24 V DC to many kilovolts. The physical size of contactors ranges from a device small enough to pick up with one hand, to large devices approximately a meter (yard) on a side.
Contactors are used to control electric motors, lighting, heating, capacitor banks, thermal evaporators, and other electrical loads."
 
Example contactor: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail...iM02SgaIXU%2bo2OPRFdm7qfcLZosy4Jteim1Xa%2bQ==

I've no clue what Tesla actually uses in the Model S, but the above is a unit that is probably similar in specs (900 VDC @ 500 A)

The idea is to keep the high voltage from the traction battery contained safely deep inside the enclosure until the computer determines that it is safe to energize the contactor which will close the switch to let the power flow out. When the high voltage is off, something needs to energize the contactor and run the computer, and that is the familiar 12 VDC "car battery". There are lots of failsafes that will prevent the contactor from getting power, from the "cut here" emergency responder loop in the frunk to an explosive bolt that will sever if the airbags deploy. All of this is to turn the high voltage off in the event something isn't right, making it safe for occupants and first responders.

If the 12 VDC isn't charging correctly, it's possible it's voltage is getting low enough that it cannot keep the contactor energized. Then the contactor may cycle open/closed under load which could cause it to fail (usually with a "bang" as the opening of the contactor at high amperage will create a big spark across the contactor's connectors as they move away from each other). Once that happens then the motor cannot get power to move the car, and the 12 Volt battery cannot be charged up, so it's voltage keeps dropping as the lights, computers and displays are drawing current from it. Eventually it will go flat.

The moment the contactor went, @islandbayy reported that the "12 Volt battery low" error message appeared. So possibly something was amiss with the 12 Volt battery/charging system, which in turn caused the failure of the contactor, which precipitated the need to replace the pack.
 
The "rear arch liners" on your invoice are the wheel well liners, according to my service adviser. (They did this particular modification to my car today.) There was part that was close to the brake lines, and I guess they are concerned it could damage the brake lines.
 
The "rear arch liners" on your invoice are the wheel well liners, according to my service adviser. (They did this particular modification to my car today.) There was part that was close to the brake lines, and I guess they are concerned it could damage the brake lines.

That is correct. TSB issued earlier this month. I had one of my rear brake lines replaced when they performed the TSB -- it was showing wear from rubbing on the arch liner.