New Owner Questions

Congrats on your new car.
I'll take a stab at a few of your questions, and let more experienced owners answer the others.

-The rumbling/vibration sound...is it possible that it is your tire noise? Without an ICE engine to mask the tire noise, you hear the tires more noticeably in the tesla.
- It is normal for the UMC to be warm, but not hot. You should be able to hold it. I have the same 14-50 plug setup as you.
-not sure on EZPass
- Waze will work with 3G. See the thread http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/showthread.php/45543-View-Waze-Incidents-on-the-Tesla-browser
- The parking brake engages automatically when going in park. So there is no lever to activate them.
- There is no way to turn the radio off completely. See the thread on that here

Enjoy your car!

sgopal2 said:

Hello: I'm so excited to have picked up my Model S yesterday. I was in a bit of a rush so I left the service center after only about an hour. Now that I have the MS at home, there are a few questions that I have:

• Rumbling/Vibration Sound: When driving sometimes there is a loud rumbling/vibrating sound that I feel. Sometimes this happens when I go over the center line, and other times it doesn't. It doesn't appear to be that consistent. I was thinking this might be the lane departure warning. Can someone confirm what this sound is?

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Thats the LDW. If you use your turn signal indicator you don't get the warning vibration.

The rumbling is very likely the lane keep assist.
Anytime it detects you are crossing a lane line there is a warning vibration unless the turn signal had been activated.
i believe this can be turned off in settings.

It is normal for the power cord/UMC to be warm after charging.

I'm from NJ too. EZ Pass doesn't work inside the car. Call EZ-Pass, tell them you have a Tesla and they will send you an external one that mounts to the front license plate.

I wish I could turn the radio off too. I hate that it turns on when you open the door. If they feel you must always have music, at least wait until the door handles retract. Then at least it doesn't go on until you drive off or lock the doors.

You can also engage the parking brake from the touchscreen.

gavine said:

You can also engage the parking brake from the touchscreen.

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Actually the parking brake engages automatically. Just to clarify, you can disengage/re-engage the parking brake from the touchscreen.

You mentioned that you have NEMA 14-50 - ensure you have a 50 amp breaker and not a 40 amp breaker. It should be an "80% rule" deal where you have a 50 amp breaker and wire of sufficient gauge for 50 amps feeding a 40 amp UMC.

sgopal2 said:

Hello: I'm so excited to have picked up my Model S yesterday. I was in a bit of a rush so I left the service center after only about an hour. Now that I have the MS at home, there are a few questions that I have:

• Rumbling/Vibration Sound: When driving sometimes there is a loud rumbling/vibrating sound that I feel. Sometimes this happens when I go over the center line, and other times it doesn't. It doesn't appear to be that consistent. I was thinking this might be the lane departure warning. Can someone confirm what this sound is?

Click to expand...

It's the lane departure warning.

sgopal2 said:

• Universal Mobile Connector Heat: when disconnecting the UMC cable after a short charge yesterday afternoon I was surprised to feel that the cable was warm. Is it normal for the cable to be warm? I have a NEMA 1450 installed in my garage 240v 40 amps??

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It's normal.

sgopal2 said:

• EZPass installation: Where is the best place to mount an EZpass on the inside windshield?

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I recommend behind the nose cone.
Mounted MA EZ-Pass behind front grill: here's how

sgopal2 said:

• Waze Navigation: I've become so addicted to the Waze app on my iPhone when travelling on the highway. Is there anyway to get the Waze data to show up on the navigation system? Would it work if I went directly to waze.com on the internet tab, or would the 3-G connection be too slow?

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The closest you'lll get for now:
View Waze Incidents on the Tesla browser

sgopal2 said:

• Emergency Parking Brake: I just noticed that there is no lever or similar pull-type mechanism to manually engage the parking brake. What do I do when I park on a steep hill? How do I prevent my MS from sliding while parked?

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Put it in Park using the lever stalk. If you forget and get out of the seat the car will do it for you.

sgopal2 said:

• How to turn off radio: I'm not a big music person. I know how to turn the volume on the radio all the way down to zero, but it seems as if the radio is always playing in the background (even in pause). Isn't this pulling 3-G data? I see this as a waste. Is there a way to completely turn off the radio entirely?

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You can't turn off the radio. If you play music from your phone and then disconnect it, or from an USB an disconnect it the radio will be off though.

Pair your smartphone to the car and then select your phone in he Media app under "my devices" but don't start music playing on your phone. It will then pair automatically every time you enter the car. Then no music will play unless you specifically turn it on.

Drucifer said:

You mentioned that you have NEMA 14-50 - ensure you have a 50 amp breaker and not a 40 amp breaker. It should be an "80% rule" deal where you have a 50 amp breaker and wire of sufficient gauge for 50 amps feeding a 40 amp UMC.

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Just as an informational note: there is a giant misconception out there when it comes to breaker and wire ratings that you're not supposed to exceed 80% of the breaker capacity or listed wire capacity in all cases, and unfortunately it's incorrect. It may look correct in this particular case, but there is no "80% rule", just to keep future readers clear. Instead, let's call it the "125% rule" or "continuous load rule" - for EV charging loads and other electrical loads that are expected to last 3 hours or more on a regular basis, you must size the breaker and wire for 125% of the charging load. So if the car charges at 40A, you need to have wiring and breaker rated at 40A * 125% = 50A. For varying/intermittent loads (e.g., a stove, oven, dryer, hair dryer, light bulbs, computer, etc.), you're permitted to load a breaker to full capacity.

I understand it's a matter of semantics and that 80% of 50A is indeed 40A, but unfortunately the use of "80% rule" usually leads to people saying "if you have a 20A breaker, you can only put a 16A appliance on it", which isn't always true and is a giant misnomer.

FlasherZ said:

I understand it's a matter of semantics and that 80% of 50A is indeed 40A, but unfortunately the use of "80% rule" usually leads to people saying "if you have a 20A breaker, you can only put a 16A appliance on it", which isn't always true and is a giant misnomer.

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There is a difference between intermittent and continuous use. But, if you have a 3.3 kW EVSE pulling 16A (say for an early Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt), you better have a breaker and wire for 20A dedicated, and 16A would be the max continuous load.

That said, I am not an electrician.

EZ Pass - Please search forum. There are threads on this which include illustrations of where to put it. Bottom line: just on passenger side of rear view mirror mount, in the area where there are pebbled black dots.
Waze - Please search forum. There is a thread regarding a waze app that can be run in the browser. I use it ALL the time. Stays just as current as the maps.
Audio - The problem where the audio won't stay paused is a widely reported bug. It just appeared in 6.2, and hopefully Tesla will soon revert to prior correct behavior... paused should stay paused.

Though the forum search tools are weak, I'd suggest that - to get most out of forum - you give them a shot. Welcome to forum!

Drucifer said:

There is a difference between intermittent and continuous use. But, if you have a 3.3 kW EVSE pulling 16A (say for an early Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Volt), you better have a breaker and wire for 20A dedicated, and 16A would be the max continuous load.

That said, I am not an electrician.

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I agree with you here that for EV loads, it's a matter of semantics and that you do indeed need a 20A breaker and conductor for a 16A charging load. My objection is to the term "80% rule", because there is no "80% rule" yet there is a common misconception/misunderstanding that says you can never load a breaker to 100% of its capacity legally. That is untrue - so my post is merely to ask that we call it the "125% rule" or "continuous load rule" as it is called within the Code.

The intention was to make sure the point was made clearly for those who arrive here due to searches for things like "80% rule". It's one of the greatest misconceptions about electrical infrastructure, or just think of it as a pet peeve of mine. You don't establish a circuit, then figure how much you can draw; rather, you take a load and figure out what the circuit needs to be rated at (125% of continuous load).

sgopal2 said:

• Emergency Parking Brake: I just noticed that there is no lever or similar pull-type mechanism to manually engage the parking brake. What do I do when I park on a steep hill? How do I prevent my MS from sliding while parked?

Click to expand...

mibaro2 said:

- The parking brake engages automatically when going in park. So there is no lever to activate them.

Click to expand...

Drucifer said:

Just to clarify, you can disengage/re-engage the parking brake from the touchscreen.

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Just as side note, if you ever need to engage the Emergency Brake while driving, press and HOLD the parking button on the selector stalk. After a second or two, the Emergency Brake will engage.

Cyclone said:

Just as side note, if you ever need to engage the Emergency Brake while driving, press and HOLD the parking button on the selector stalk. After a second or two, the Emergency Brake will engage.

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Thanks...didn't know that. Learn something new every day.
(hopefully I'll never have to use it).

sgopal2 said:

• EZPass installation: Where is the best place to mount an EZpass on the inside windshield

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I had searched and seen the pictures. I have one of the new/smaller EZpass tags and a brand new 85D. And I tried the standard "recommended" locations and it reads about 50% of the time. Inside the window on the black dots. Tried mounting it (yes the internal one) on the inside of the nosecone. That works about 50% of the time too.

Gonna ask them to send me an external one and see how that goes. There is a "behind the nosecone" mount. The guys at the SC will do it for you if you ask. I'll probably do it myself, I have a plastic pry tool that is good for taking off the nosecone.