Hi everyone, I recently purchased a salvage title December 2014 P85D linked here, with a somewhat interesting situation.
About a month ago, the original owner drove through a "6-8" puddle" and the car displayed a few error messages: "Immediate Service", "12 volt battery”, Car may not start”. He was still able to drive it home (only five more miles or so) and park it. When he tried to drive it again the next day, his 12V battery was dead, so he towed it to a Tesla approved body shop (not service center, from what I can tell).
This body shop replaced the 12V battery, nothing else, and he got more warnings: "Reduced power", "Cay may not start", and no heat or A/C. In addition, supposedly, the GPS does not update to a new location.
The owner called his insurance company, and they totaled it without looking at it more in depth. The broker that sold it has powered it up only by jumping the 12V battery, not much else is known.
With the background information out of the way, the car is arriving today. My father and I have successfully rebuilt 5 other salvage vehicles for ourselves and family members, but never a Tesla. We have good mechanical skills, but that will only go so far for these, as a larger portion is software related (BMS latched faults are my main concern for this) and the parts are harder to come by. I mainly have a few questions for everyone and am seeking advice as to how to proceed / what to watch out for.
1. Is there anything absolutely critical that I should do/check after the car has arrived to prevent any damage to the pack? The issue occurred about a month ago with the pack at 200 miles of range remaining, so I do not think the pack will be low/drained, thankfully.
2. From the errors listed, I currently suspect that there is an issue with the contactors and/or pyrofuse. I don't yet have the vehicle to inspect or test those yet, but I wonder if the seal let some water in to that section of the pack and shorted out the contactors or the board controlling them. Does this seem like a good place to start? If not, what would be? I plan on first at least checking the pyrofuse to see if it has any resistance, but after that I'd probably drop and inspect the pack. I have a hydraulic car lift, so dropping the pack would not be terribly difficult. If the car still displays 200 miles (as pictured in the listing) when it arrives, I suspect that the pack status / voltage is not updating at all, which would likely indicate either pyrofuse or contactor issue, correct? What if it displays lower than 200 miles?
3. As far as acquiring parts goes, would it be best to try to go through Tesla? eBay? Obviously, Tesla will not sell an entire battery pack, but would they sell contactors or a pyrofuse in this case?
4. Is there any way to check and see what warranty work was performed on the vehicle in the past? Due to the fact that it is clearly no longer in warranty, I am concerned about DUs, MCU, and door handles.
Mostly just looking for any advice and/or tips that you all may have. In addition, from what you all can tell, was buying this a good deal or a mistake? I know we won't know for sure until it's finished, of course.
Thanks!
About a month ago, the original owner drove through a "6-8" puddle" and the car displayed a few error messages: "Immediate Service", "12 volt battery”, Car may not start”. He was still able to drive it home (only five more miles or so) and park it. When he tried to drive it again the next day, his 12V battery was dead, so he towed it to a Tesla approved body shop (not service center, from what I can tell).
This body shop replaced the 12V battery, nothing else, and he got more warnings: "Reduced power", "Cay may not start", and no heat or A/C. In addition, supposedly, the GPS does not update to a new location.
The owner called his insurance company, and they totaled it without looking at it more in depth. The broker that sold it has powered it up only by jumping the 12V battery, not much else is known.
With the background information out of the way, the car is arriving today. My father and I have successfully rebuilt 5 other salvage vehicles for ourselves and family members, but never a Tesla. We have good mechanical skills, but that will only go so far for these, as a larger portion is software related (BMS latched faults are my main concern for this) and the parts are harder to come by. I mainly have a few questions for everyone and am seeking advice as to how to proceed / what to watch out for.
1. Is there anything absolutely critical that I should do/check after the car has arrived to prevent any damage to the pack? The issue occurred about a month ago with the pack at 200 miles of range remaining, so I do not think the pack will be low/drained, thankfully.
2. From the errors listed, I currently suspect that there is an issue with the contactors and/or pyrofuse. I don't yet have the vehicle to inspect or test those yet, but I wonder if the seal let some water in to that section of the pack and shorted out the contactors or the board controlling them. Does this seem like a good place to start? If not, what would be? I plan on first at least checking the pyrofuse to see if it has any resistance, but after that I'd probably drop and inspect the pack. I have a hydraulic car lift, so dropping the pack would not be terribly difficult. If the car still displays 200 miles (as pictured in the listing) when it arrives, I suspect that the pack status / voltage is not updating at all, which would likely indicate either pyrofuse or contactor issue, correct? What if it displays lower than 200 miles?
3. As far as acquiring parts goes, would it be best to try to go through Tesla? eBay? Obviously, Tesla will not sell an entire battery pack, but would they sell contactors or a pyrofuse in this case?
4. Is there any way to check and see what warranty work was performed on the vehicle in the past? Due to the fact that it is clearly no longer in warranty, I am concerned about DUs, MCU, and door handles.
Mostly just looking for any advice and/or tips that you all may have. In addition, from what you all can tell, was buying this a good deal or a mistake? I know we won't know for sure until it's finished, of course.
Thanks!
