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Storage Mode

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NEWDL

R#350 R#1323, RWD LR 3, Perf3, 23 X LR (7th Tesla)
Jan 5, 2009
490
4
NE OHIO
Anyone use in the past or currently using Storage Mode?

I would like to know how the system actually works in storage mode. Our Roadster was charged full (in Standard Mode) to approx. 191-194 miles. Then moved to a storage location and placed into storage mode while using the MC120 or Spare Connector. The car rapidly lost charge and is now down to 100 miles after only a week. This is not regular operating loss rate while the car is stationary.

Does the vehicle quickly expend energy if when it is placed in storage mode it has a charge over the preferred level?

Will the vehicle stop expending energy at some point and maintain a certain charge? Does the charge vary? by how much?

Just wondering if anyone else has experience with Storage Mode.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
I haven't used Storage Mode at all yet, but the 2010 Owner's Manual says:

"Keep in mind that when the vehicle is left unplugged with a full Battery, the initial rate of decline can be significant. When fully charged, the Battery’s charge level can drop as much as 7% a day and 50% within the first week. When the Battery’s charge level falls below 50%, the rate of decline slows down to approximately 5% per week."

I would think that Storage Mode would discharge similar to the discharge rate when unplugged, until the charge reached the desired Storage Mode level of charge.
 
I plugged in using Storage Mode and the charger is not coming on even though the display shows only 60mi. When does the computer charge? Seems like 50% would be 122mi, but I guess they're not measuring 50% based on Ideal Miles.

Is it perhaps going by battery voltage? I hope it won't drop to 2.1 V ;-)
 

Another exaggeration by the oil-lovers.

"Former CEO Martin Eberhard discovered it after being ousted from the company. After taking delivery of his own car, he noticed that a fan seemed to be running continually. I write more about this on EV World Insider, but in a nutshell, the ever-running fan in his car appears to use the annual energy equivalent of two refrigerators.

So, there is clearly a lot of room for improvement in what is already an extrordinarily efficient machine compared to current compression engine technology. "

Even if that's true (and no doubt it's total bull****), running two typical refrigerators for a year might use 1000 kwh (modern fridges can draw 1kwh per day). That's about $120. The Tesla can drive for 10,000 miles for about $300. So $420 to drive and store the Tesla for a year. Compared to $800 in gas alone to drive an ICE that gets 48 mpg (that's right, 48 mpg) and has no performance whatsoever. Two Teslas could drive for a year using that much money and still come out ahead in reduced service costs.
 
This is curious... I was in my garage and noticed the Roadster was starting a charge cycle. The thing is, it's in Storage Mode. Usually it just powers up for a minute then shuts down again, but given the charge schedule it would have already been operating for half an hour. I had a look at the display and it's showing "Pack Heating 65% Comp".

The thing is, it is also showing 160 km of range remaining, about 50%. As I recall from previous winters, the Roadster allowed the pack to drop much lower before topping up - definitely below 30%.

I will have to check it in the morning to see if it actually did some charging, or whether it's just having fun warming the pack for no reason...
 
I checked the Roadster this morning, and it was still showing 160 km of range.

That raises the question... why did it perform a pack warming cycle when it didn't need to charge? I've seen it start up at the specified time before, and it just turns on the charge port light, starts the circulation pump and then shuts off again after a couple of minutes.

Maybe this is something it does periodically when extremely cold, so it can check the battery state with a warm pack?
 
Mid Winter in Storage Mode

I needed the J-plug for a visiting Tesla early tomorrow morning, so I unplugged the Roadster and stuck the cable out the garage door.

Before I did that I had a peek at the Roadster's range display. It's in storage mode. Range is in the red and showing 56 km (35 miles). I know there's another 30 km / 20 miles hidden, but that seems pretty darn low. It must be time for it to top up, surely. Does anyone know at what level the Roadster tops itself up in Storage mode?
 
That seems right. I've had the car in Storage mode for the last two winters. Both times the SOC bottomed out at 50-60 km.

I would do a 12A 120V charge to trickle-charge your 12V battery for a few hours. I don't think the DC-DC converter is on very often in Storage mode.