Recent content by electrongeek

Hmm. May have to cobble together a little 4 ohm or 8 ohm resistor to fake the software. I doubt the software will be smart enough to detect that the load isn't inductive, like a speaker is.

I managed to crush my rocker panel after turning too quickly out of a parking space and hitting the curb. At the Tesla certified body shop, in Malden, MA, I found out that this section is a one piece structural unit that requires extensive disassembly of that side of the vehicle and windshield...

I have found that while it actually reads a speed limit sign, as it shows up correctly in the UI, it doesn't change its speed limit until it sees a second identical speed limit sign a short way down the road. This only seems to happen in the instance when there are two same speed limit signs in...

FalconFour is right that a 12V lead acid battery that does not see elevated temperatures will self-discharge very very slowly. The problem is that Tesla will frequently charge it up to about 14.4V. This is great for ensuring that the battery is fully charged, but it is actually hard on the...

Sulfation of lead acid cells does not occur when fully charged. If, however a battery of cells (e.g. the 6 cells in a 12V battery) in a lead acid battery never sees a voltage above the ideal "float" voltage of about 13.4V, then there is a good chance one or more of the cells will eventually find...

When the car is plugged in, it maintains the 12V battery by waiting for current draws to bring the battery voltage down to around 12.75 V, then initiates a 14.4 V charge. What it doesn't do is maintain the battery at what is considered an ideal "float" voltage. Cycling a 12V battery like this...

When all of the TM3 electronics are fired up, they seem to suck about 300 watts. I surmise that the TM3 has a way to check 12 Volt battery voltage without fully powering on, since 300 watts takes about 13 amps from the 12 Volt battery. It looks like when the 12 Volt battery falls to about 12.75...

Just an FYI - not every AGM battery is a deep cycle battery. If you don't replace the TM3 12V battery with a deep cycle battery, it will not last nearly as long. I don't know myself if the original Tesla 12V battery is a deep cycle battery, but I can't imagine that it isn't.

No way I can see to estimate charging amps. There is a rule of thumb to stop an absorption charge on lead-acid batteries when the charging current (at 14.4 V here ) drops to 3% of the amp-hour capacity of the battery, but no idea how Tesla handles all this.

Looks like the longest 14 Volt charge session was about 2.5 hours. Here is a zoomed view of part of the previous graph.

My logger came with leads ending in alligator clips. I just attached directly to the 12V battery.

I attached a Lascar EL-USB-3 Voltage Data Logger to my Sep 2019 TM3. Over a two week period, with average temperatures around 75F, voltage was logged at one minute intervals with the car in regular use. Minimum voltage seen was 12.50 volts, and maximum was 14.50 Volts, though those appear to be...

As an alternative, its 230 miles to the Muskogee, OK airport 16kW destination charger from the Little Rock SC. You could stop there for an hour or so of charging to get you the rest of the way. From there it is only 50 miles to the Catoosa, OK SC, or maybe your brother's house if closer. Check...

I'm not sure how you did your math, but at $0.28/kWh at the Supercharger, that $5000 translates to 71,000 miles by my calculations.

I've made three 3600 mile round trips in my M3 since September of last year, 98% was on Interstate Highway between Maine and Texas. Phantom braking is a real PITA and always startles me and my passenger. No accidents, but I'm sure following vehicles wonder WTH. I would say it occurred about...