$3800 AC repair bill??

[PhxGT]

The DcDc converter is okay. There is nothing wrong with it. It did not fail. The quote does not include a DcDc converter repair.

 

[rooter]

Can we say "air conditioning" instead of A/C when we are discussing D/C currents/converters? I'm getting confused over here.

I make the distinction (and apparently others do too) that AC and DC refer to voltage, and A/C refers to air conditioning.

 

[Snerruc]

For what it’s worth, Mercedes wanted almost $5,000.00 just to replace the evaporator in a C class. Have to pull the dash. You got off light if Tesla replaced the whole system for $3800.

 

[Need]

Replacing the A/C compressor on an old Prius is like $2000, so $3800 on a car that priced 3x to 5x more really does not seem too bad.

 

[ahkahn]

Replacing the A/C compressor on an old Prius is like $2000, so $3800 on a car that priced 3x to 5x more really does not seem too bad.

Fair point, but at 60k miles an A/C should not be going out... warranty or not...

 

[Need]

Fair point, but at 60k miles an A/C should not be going out... warranty or not...

But OP is from Arizona! Those egg frying summer 120 degree days are brutal!

 

[cookie99]

But OP is from Arizona! Those egg frying summer 120 degree days are brutal!

also fair point. but id also like to know how Arizona Prius' are doing. This is probably like 60% tesla's fault being a new manufacturer, 30% OP's choice of living, 10% bad luck. someone can try to rebut my percentages, but i think they're rock solid.

 

[wycolo]

Are we saying that the compressor frame is 400v hot?! Oy . .
--

 

[PhxGT]

also fair point. but id also like to know how Arizona Prius' are doing. This is probably like 60% tesla's fault being a new manufacturer, 30% OP's choice of living, 10% bad luck. someone can try to rebut my percentages, but i think they're rock solid.

Hilarious. Doesn’t California hold the world record for hottest place?

 

[rooter]

Are we saying that the compressor frame is 400v hot?! Oy . .
--

Certainly not. But the coils of the armature are. And of course the gas and oil around the armature must be non-conductive or the car senses it and shuts down.

 

[smilepak]

Ouch.

 

[Sealander]

I can't imagine that the compressor would be driven by a DC motor. More likely it's a 3 phase AC motor driven by a DC to AC converter.

 

[rooter]

I can't imagine that the compressor would be driven by a DC motor. More likely it's a 3 phase AC motor driven by a DC to AC converter.

Agh, you caught me. Your superior knowledge and experience have foiled my evil plan to mislead you.

How about you document your findings for us by taking a picture of the compressor power wires? Or better yet take apart your compressor like I did and video that 'magnetic armature' and "three phase stator", since I'm a silly buffoon just using my womens' intuition?

 

[Colbster777]

Agh, you caught me. Your superior knowledge and experience have foiled my evil plan to mislead you.

How about you document your findings for us by taking a picture of the compressor power wires? Or better yet take apart your compressor like I did and video that 'magnetic armature' and "three phase stator", since I'm a silly buffoon just using my womens' intuition?

 

[David.85D]

For what it’s worth, Mercedes wanted almost $5,000.00 just to replace the evaporator in a C class. Have to pull the dash. You got off light if Tesla replaced the whole system for $3800.

Both my 1999 Silverado and 2001 X5 were like this. Somewhere north of 20 hours labor to change out a $100 part (evaporator). Bad design in my book…

 

[PURDUEBoiler]

Wat?! The compressor runs on 400v, not 12v.

Sure Tesla recommends replacing all the parts. But I didn't. I took a page from residential HVAC and carefully flushed each segment of the system with this special HVAC flush solvent from URI. Been running fine now for 1.5 years and will continue to do so.

PS - My problem wasn't burnout, it was mineral oil poisoning. I'd rebuilt my car from a major accident. I knew that you need synthetic non-conducting oil and that's what I used.

BUT my A/C gauges are old and I've had them since I owned an apartment complex before most of you were born, and these gauges had a film of mineral oil in them. A drop is all it takes to poison a system that has exposed coils carrying 400v. A carbon trail is eventually made. Took 6 months for the symptom to start appearing, slowly at first, then worse and worse.

The symptom? I started getting errors that 'resistance is too low between + and - battery'. This means HV. But it didn't know where. So I bought an insulation testing meter (very high resistance), and disconnected branches inside the HVJB one at a time and tested them. The circuit going to the front was at fault. Disconnected the DC-DC but still resistance under a megohm. Disconnected the heater, same. Disconnected the compressor and bingo.

Rooter - checking back to see if your AC compressor is still chillin'? I'm in the process of diagnosing my AC system.