front fans constantly on while charging on 13a/240v

Bart Jocqué said:

Is it normal that the front fans are contiously running when charging at 13a/240v when charging after a drive ?
even during cold weather.
On 10a this never happens.
i have a feeling that something is wrong with the HVAC...

under which conditions do your front fans come on ? and how long do stay on ?

roadster 2.5 2012

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I also noticed, that when I get in the car and turn it on for a very short while, the front fans stop and don't come on anymore during the rest of the charging cycle.
If I don't do this, they'll remain on until charging has completed
weird.

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Yes, the fans will kick on after a drive when your battery temp is above 26C and will keep cycling on/off/on until temp has reached this or below. Its the thermal management system for the ESS.

I do this all the time to keep my battery temps down when the Roadster sits after a drive. Actually I do it as much as I can, even on a trip and know the Roadster will be sitting for some time.

Bart Jocqué said:

Yes, but why they only go on when charging at 13A ( and stay on ), while this never happens at 10A.

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Because the HVAC system takes a huge amount of AMPS to run, so Tesla made that a cut-off so that if you found yourself charging on 10 AMPS that you wouldn't be sitting there just cooling things off and not taking a a charge really.

Same thing goes with charging off of 110v. It'll spin up the fans at the end of the charge to manage the temps and I presume this also would happen with 220V@10amps as long as the ESS temp is greater than 26C.

Bart Jocqué said:

Yes, but why they only go on when charging at 13A ( and stay on ), while this never happens at 10A.

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I think it is because 10A is either not enough to charge and run the cooling system simultaneously, or because the heat generated by 10A charging does not require cooling.

I have the same situation as Bart. If the fans are running the whole time the charging time is double than normal. SeC checked the system and analysed that the HVAC system is leaking and advise a replacement of 1200 euro costs.
I personally have my doubts as in the diagnose screen the HVAC shows a pressure of 1,6 bar which can not be the case if the system is leaking. I more have the idea there is something wrong with the temperature sensors. However I depend on the SeC to get it fixed.
I am now waiting for 4 months for a replacement. In the mean time to be able to charge I use performance mode and through my OVMS control stop charging at 85% manually and keeping my temperature of the pack under supervision.
During winter the situation is acceptable driving defensive at max 100 km per hour to keep the pack on acceptable temperature.
I am wondering if ever SeC will find a replacement HVAC system. I keep on calling them every week.

I live in the same area, and have the exact same car as Bart.. I always charge 230V/13A. Mine usually stops blowing after 5 or 10 minutes, just after my usual 100km highway drive.. When it's a little warmer, the rear left fan blows longer but at a much lower pace. Last night, it was snowing, and it was the first time the fans did not kick in at all when I started the charging. If I select Range Mode, then the fans go on every 30 seconds for about 10 seconds..