M3 HV won’t charge [car bought at auction]

[Wasabi K]

That's important context you should have pointed out from the start, it seems you messed with this car much more extensively then you initially pointed out. If the clock can be dialed back, you should have entered the service mode to see the alerts before doing any swaps of parts. Now it's not clear if the alerts are there originally or if it's a result of you swapping the parts.

But anyways currently it's pretty clear the car is refusing to connect the HV because of the firmware mismatch.

Yes, that is correct. The intention of buying this was to use but I learned a lot owning a non usable car lol.
I can try to get a new LV battery, try to fire up toolbox and clear codes. It’s a shot in the dark, as I’m unable to find much info on toolbox or someone who actively uses it.
Let’s see if someone who has experience with toolbox can chime in.

 

[Madmolecule]

I did not know you had the newer car with the lithium ion battery.
Still nothing really changes, it’s just a battery
Here’s an inexpensive charger. You can get on Amazon.
Most likely there’s nothing wrong with your LV battery. You just need to charge it.
And then to reset it, you need to unplug the power underneath the seat. Don’t forget, mine would not do it until I did that. I kept getting the error
Amazon.com

Earlier today after my battery was low from working on the stereo, it was about 12.6 V, and had turned yellow in the display
I was also getting a reverse battery protection fault, it was lit up red because I shorted the 12 V with a wrench by accident

Charging the battery, and then resetting the power under the seat, cleared everything

You can also see where you can reset your software once you were powered up

The alert I currently have is that the rear window needs calibration.

 

[Wasabi K]

I did not know you had the newer car with the lithium ion battery.
Still nothing really changes, it’s just a battery
Here’s an inexpensive charger. You can get on Amazon.
Most likely there’s nothing wrong with your LV battery. You just need to charge it.
And then to reset it, you need to unplug the power underneath the seat. Don’t forget, mine would not do it until I did that. I kept getting the error
Amazon.com

Earlier today after my battery was low from working on the stereo, it was about 12.6 V, and had turned yellow in the display
I was also getting a reverse battery protection fault, it was lit up red because I shorted the 12 V with a wrench by accident

Charging the battery, and then resetting the power under the seat, cleared everything

You can also see where you can reset your software once you were powered up

The alert I currently have is that the rear window needs calibration.

View attachment 1032827View attachment 1032828

Appreciate the detailed insight, will give this charger a try and see if there is success.
Thanks

 

[jjrandorin]

(moderator note)

This is all service related, so I am going to move it to the service subforum

 

[stopcrazypp]

Yes, that is correct. The intention of buying this was to use but I learned a lot owning a non usable car lol.
I can try to get a new LV battery, try to fire up toolbox and clear codes. It’s a shot in the dark, as I’m unable to find much info on toolbox or someone who actively uses it.
Let’s see if someone who has experience with toolbox can chime in.

I found this YouTube video that someone was able to update the software with a power supply. They also suggested clearing vcfront load shed (which requires toolbox), but it's unclear that applies to you. Trying to reload the software should probably be your first step, since that doesn't require toolbox.

 

[MP3Mike]

clearing vcfront load shed (which requires toolbox),

I think that depends on software version, newer versions had it added to service mode.

 

[Wasabi K]

I found this YouTube video that someone was able to update the software with a power supply. They also suggested clearing vcfront load shed (which requires toolbox), but it's unclear that applies to you. Trying to reload the software should probably be your first step, since that doesn't require toolbox.

Yes I did reach out to this gentleman who’s doing some neat things with the technology. I believe the new software requirement is to have ATLEAST 10% battery. I’ll confirm when I try it with the external PS.
Thanks

 

[walla2]

I think that would work, but it would need to be a close to 15v and 40-50A power supply if I recall correctly.

But I have concerns: if the firmware mismatches, that either means it failed mid-update, or someone has swapped parts around from different vehicles. (Like maybe they took all the good parts out and put failed parts back in before selling it at auction.)

I used a Black and Decker BC25BD to run a Model S computer with a defective DCDC converter, and it worked quite well so it might run enough of the components in the M3.

That said, I would as others have said, I would in your case, disconnect the 12 V from the car and just try to charge it. The same BC25BD can also do a recondition to restore some depleted 12v. If that isn't doing anything (failed charge), consider hooking that dead 12V to a good 12 v in parallel and charging both for 1 hour or so and then try charging again, following by reconditioning and charging again. Alternatively, go to Tesla and pickup a new 12V for $120ish.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I used a Black and Decker BC25BD to run a Model S computer with a defective DCDC converter, and it worked quite well so it might run enough of the components in the M3.

That said, I would as others have said, I would in your case, disconnect the 12 V from the car and just try to charge it. The same BC25BD can also do a recondition to restore some depleted 12v. If that isn't doing anything (failed charge), consider hooking that dead 12V to a good 12 v in parallel and charging both for 1 hour or so and then try charging again, following by reconditioning and charging again. Alternatively, go to Tesla and pickup a new 12V for $120ish.

OP has a 16V lithium-ion LV battery, so the latter doesn't apply to him. It would have been much easier if he has the 12V lead acid. That's part of the reason I personally am glad to have the 12V in my car instead.

 

[FatFalcon]

You can do firmware reinstall with the battery disconnected with the vehicle on an external charger (provided it is powerful enough). If you have a lithium LV battery you will need to do a second firmware reinstall afterwards.

 

[Wasabi K]

Dettached the LV cables under the seat. Powered on and I see 11 Alerts, besides the battery, coolant and Tire pressure, anything interesting standing out?

 

[stopcrazypp]

Dettached the LV cables under the seat. Powered on and I see 11 Alerts, besides the battery, coolant and Tire pressure, anything interesting standing out?

What's the point of doing this? Did you update the software yet and clear the previous errors first?

 

[FatFalcon]

Dettached the LV cables under the seat. Powered on and I see 11 Alerts, besides the battery, coolant and Tire pressure, anything interesting standing out?

So you are trying to kill your LV battery for fun, or??

 

[Madmolecule]

Most of the errors seem to be from the low-voltage battery not being fully charged


I don’t think there’s any need to disconnect the low-voltage cable
Just the plug connector underneath the rear seat.
Make sure you have the low-voltage battery fully charged
Reconnect the low voltage battery
Push down the connector underneath the the rear seat
This should allow you to go into the software and reset everything, re-download the firmware
At this point, you might be able to recharge your high voltage battery

When the car detects low voltage on the LV battery it shut off a lot of functionality electronically

Until you have a low-voltage battery fully charged, it’s hard to really do any diagnostics in my mind unless you’re at a Tesla service center

 

[Wasabi K]

Most of the errors seem to be from the low-voltage battery not being fully charged


I don’t think there’s any need to disconnect the low-voltage cable
Just the plug connector underneath the rear seat.
Make sure you have the low-voltage battery fully charged
Reconnect the low voltage battery
Push down the connector underneath the the rear seat
This should allow you to go into the software and reset everything, re-download the firmware
At this point, you might be able to recharge your high voltage battery

When the car detects low voltage on the LV battery it shut off a lot of functionality electronically

Until you have a low-voltage battery fully charged, it’s hard to really do any diagnostics in my mind unless you’re at a Tesla service center

I’ll pick up another new Tesla 16v battery from Tesla in a day or so. I do t think I can charge the existing LV battery with an external 12v charger. I have to remove (bypass) the BMS on the battery (torch it open) and then charge it. Few ppl on YouTube show it but it’s kinda risky and I don’t want to let it charge in my garage with the fear of burning down the house. I have seen a video online of a garage which was charging the same exact battery which caught fire and captured on CCTV.
So it’s a safe bet to buy another one. My only fear is depleting its charge before I can identify any proper issue with the car.
Any idea of clearing codes with toolbox or some reset? I will try to reinstall the software with the black connector connected under the seat.
All other inputs or suggestions are welcomed.

 

[brkaus]

Make sure you unplug your new battery when it isn’t actively being used. Until you get to the point where it’s running and will charge of course.

Will these cars pull power from the mobile connector if the HV battery contactors are open?

 

[MP3Mike]

Will these cars pull power from the mobile connector if the HV battery contactors are open?

I don't think so, the AC charger is inside the battery.

 

[davewill]

If you have access to another car, you could probably install your LV battery in it temporarily and charge it that way. It's very unlikely that your LV battery is in ill health, it just needs a charge.

Another thought is that the service center is likely to have a way to charge one. They might do it free, or at least for less than the cost of a new one.

 

[drb3333]

Most of the errors seem to be from the low-voltage battery not being fully charged

Respectfully disagree. In that particular instance the LV battery is not fully connected as indicated by the ECPA not closed; the green tab has not been fully locked so the vfront is unable to read the voltage or communicate with the BMS via the pilot coms.

The battery might yet be discharged but you won't know until the connector is fully engaged.

 

[stopcrazypp]

I’ll pick up another new Tesla 16v battery from Tesla in a day or so. I do t think I can charge the existing LV battery with an external 12v charger. I have to remove (bypass) the BMS on the battery (torch it open) and then charge it. Few ppl on YouTube show it but it’s kinda risky and I don’t want to let it charge in my garage with the fear of burning down the house. I have seen a video online of a garage which was charging the same exact battery which caught fire and captured on CCTV.
So it’s a safe bet to buy another one. My only fear is depleting its charge before I can identify any proper issue with the car.
Any idea of clearing codes with toolbox or some reset? I will try to reinstall the software with the black connector connected under the seat.
All other inputs or suggestions are welcomed.

Probably helps to have an eternal power supply and that new battery would only be as support, especially given people apparently have been able to update using the external supply alone, presuming it was powerful enough. Otherwise, as others pointed out, disconnect the new LV battery when not using to limit unnecessary discharge. Also don't dilly dally. Make sure you have everything planned out exactly what you want to do before connecting it, instead of trying to figure things out while the clock is ticking.