Recent content by vcor

While it won't help older cars, Tesla has ditched the PTC battery heater on all new cars. The heat is now generated by the heat pump and/or running the motors in a way that generates more heat than normal (which can be done even if the motor is not turning). It appears to be a more reliable...

Another way one could go is to monitor the CAN bus rather than tapping into the existing ambient lighting. I used a Teensy 3.6, which is another tiny Arduino processor, but it has two CAN bus ports (they have a newer version available now). With this, I watched the drive signals...

Automotive grade electronics are rated for -40C to 105C (or -40F to 221F). If your car gets to 105C/221F you're going to have other problems than the electronics. Things may start to melt! Here's a Jaguar being melted by sun reflection in London (from a concave mirror effect)...

There are two "frames" of memory - one for the current active release and one for the downloaded version. When installing, it switches to the new download copy and installs it. If it fails, it is supposed to switch back to the current active release. It sounds like when the first one failed...

Isn't there a 1-year warranty on the replacement? You might be within that period and have Tesla pay for it. These really should last the life of the car, so having to replace it 3 times is crazy. Sorry you're running into so much trouble.

1) Try a reboot (hold both scroll wheels in until the main display goes black). It will resume in 60 seconds or so. That often fixes oddities. 2) In this case, I doubt the reboot will fix it. To me, it sounds like a shorted LED driver (in the headlight assembly). 3) No problem letting it run...

Zero distortions on our 2022 Model S or 2022 Model Y (I use progressive glasses). I wonder if those who are seeing distortions are using polarized glasses or glasses with special coatings. They tend to make invisible distortions visible and magnified. It might explain why many have zero...

Remembering to start USB has been a bug for years (it used to work fine in the 2012-2014 era). Ok, what is happening is if the car remains powered up, the USB will automatically start where it left off when you get in. For example, you likely have Sentry mode on, but perhaps set off when at...

I'm sure only the DMV can change a title to Salvage. Only the vehicle owner can ask the DMV to switch the title to Salvage. Typically this occurs by the insurer when they total the car, they become the owner, and they retitle it salvage and then sell it. Tesla (or any other manufacturer) cannot...

The ODB port CAN connections are worthless. There is no data worth looking at. You need to connect to the diagnostics connector (white). It's in the center console area on the S/X (varies a little depending on the vehicle variant). I'm fairly sure 120 ohms is the normal termination resistance...

Not really. I suspect you could design a BMS to handle larger discrepancies, but you'd also be reducing the pack capacity by doing it. The worse/bad module reduces the life of the remaining modules as they are constantly compensated to try and adjust to match the bad module. Efficiency also goes...

I made a comprehensive comparison between any Tesla model and its variants. It is best to view on a PC/Mac as it can be a lot of data to view on a phone! https://teslatap.com/vehicle-comparison-selector/

If you have a little money to burn, also consider an MCU2 upgrade. It replaces MCU1 (the main computer and main display) along with a new Instrument cluster (another computer and display). It improves the display, is more responsive, and offers some additional features. It also includes the...

Likely a polyurethane (a plastic). My December 2016 was one of the very last Leather seat Model S vehicles made. Two days later the factory switched to the current seat material and has been using it ever since.

Glad I could help. On the OBD port - Tesla has it in all Model S/X/Y. The early Model 3 didn't have it, but it was added back I think around 2020. The OBD port is not much use other than power. On the S/X before 2022 Plaid/LR, the OBD power is always on. Don't bother with any OBD scan tools...