On Dec 1, 2022 I had my 2013 Tesla Model S 85kw towed to Tesla Service. They said Gen 1 DC/DC converter bad and they would replace in 2 weeks for $1,400. In late December they said, they cant find a Gen 1 converter and now I have to upgrade to a newer gen DC/DC converter and it will cost $7000. Fast forward to March and I am still waiting for the car. They cant find parts for the new gen DC/DC converter. HELP? What should I do? P.S. I finally got a loaner from them on Jan 8th. We have 2 Tesla Service centers in Las Vegas.
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2013 Model S DC/DC converter bad - Tesla says $7k to fix
- Thread starter jchickey
- Start date
What's wrong with your gen1 DC-DC converter?
Most likely it is blown fuses in the converter & It is easy DIY project.There are multiple videos online on how to replace a fuse.
Electric700
Active Member
7-thousand for the DC-DC?
You could ship your car here, have us replace it with a gen1, and ship it back for probably less than half that... and that's probably 85% transport cost.
You could ship your car here, have us replace it with a gen1, and ship it back for probably less than half that... and that's probably 85% transport cost.
Wowsers that 's a lot of money. You might want to give these guys a call if you're not confident the problem is a simple fuse change:
I haven't seen anyone mention these guys on this forum so I can't speak about their reputation or service, but at $255 it seems like a bargain compared to $7K.
Tesla Model S Gen 1 DC-DC Converter Repair [TeslaG1-DC-DC] - $225.00 : HybridReVolt: Hybrid Battery Repair
HybridReVolt: Hybrid Battery Repair Tesla Model S Gen 1 DC-DC Converter Repair [TeslaG1-DC-DC] - This is a repair service of your existing DC-DC converter from early (2012-2013) Tesla Model S vehicles. You will need to remove and ship your DC-DC converter to us (US zip 85379), we will repair it...
www.hybridrevolt.com
I haven't seen anyone mention these guys on this forum so I can't speak about their reputation or service, but at $255 it seems like a bargain compared to $7K.
If I recall correctly the 1st generation DC-DC converters are located along the passenger side of the frunk's outer edge (2012-2013) and water is not an uncommon element that causes them to fail. I'll have to check out my own the next time I remove the tub but I'll probably add a ridge or some sort of umbrella to dam the water away. Tesla already replaced the HVAC drain hose but now I'm having more concerns for the DC-DC converter.
What's the difference between the gen 1 and gen 2 DC/DC converter? Is the gen 2 supposed to be more reliable? Mine just failed right after Tesla replaced the fuses for the AC so the only option I have from Tesla is to do the gen 2 retrofit.
Gen 1 has fuses internally in the unit. Gen 2 has fuses in a separate fuse box. Lots of re-routing of wires and coolant to do the Gen 2 mod as I understand it. Gen 2 would supposedly make a future replacement or fuse replacement easier but probably they will be out of Gen 2 at that point as well and recommend a Gen 3...
For my Gen 1 some component other than the fuses failed because they all tested fine. I did find that my coolant pump1 was also stalled so I suspect it was a failure of cooling that caused the issue since that pump routes to that area in my Sig.
You can buy used Gen 1 replacements on usually ebay. The labor is about 2 hours and very straightforward with multiple youtubes available to guide you. I found out you can move the car by connecting a 25 AMP external battery charger to the 12v temporarily and have it on a portable power station or on an extension cord (length limited range). 25 AMps is enough power to bypass the dead DC inverter (or it was in my case) to allow the car to boot and move.
For my Gen 1 some component other than the fuses failed because they all tested fine. I did find that my coolant pump1 was also stalled so I suspect it was a failure of cooling that caused the issue since that pump routes to that area in my Sig.
You can buy used Gen 1 replacements on usually ebay. The labor is about 2 hours and very straightforward with multiple youtubes available to guide you. I found out you can move the car by connecting a 25 AMP external battery charger to the 12v temporarily and have it on a portable power station or on an extension cord (length limited range). 25 AMps is enough power to bypass the dead DC inverter (or it was in my case) to allow the car to boot and move.
Hi. Tell me, will Tesla allow you to move with a non-working dc-dc converter? My 2013 Tesla model s has an error Dl_u014 _ not_ok_to_start_drive. And the car is not going. I connected the launcher, but the machine still does not turn on.
Mine did. What I found in my instance was that I had to reset the computer by doing a negative terminal disconnect for more than 1 minute. Reconnected and started the 25 Amp 12 v battery charger (not a trickle) which began pulling amps immediately ( I used a BLACK+DECKER BC15BD Fully Automatic 15 Amp 12V Bench Battery Charger/Maintainer with 40A Engine Start, Alternator Check, Cable Clamps https://a.co/d/1uewtB3). Open the door and push the brake pedal. This process allowed me to bypass the error code, I drove the car out of my garage and into a trailer, and back out until I could replace my converter.
Hope this helps.
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