Hey everyone. I currently have two 2.5 Sports under my roof - VIN 1414 and VIN 1462. I've noticed something rather spooky recently when studying the active cooling cycles while both cars are charging. I was hoping some of you guys could weigh in.
THE ISSUE - 1414's cooling cycles (while charging) are nearly 2.5X LONGER than 1462's.
As you know, the Roadster performs a series of active cooling cycles when charging on 240V (when the very loud HVAC fans in the front of the car start screaming). This is a very important aspect, as it brings the battery temperature down into healthier ranges after a long day of driving, or time spent in higher ambient temperatures. For me, here in Texas, this is one of the main reasons I keep my Roadsters plugged in all the time when not in use. The Roadster seems to perform these periodically while charging. The first one always starts about 30 seconds after a charging session is initiated (unless charging in Performance Mode, but who does that anyway?). I have not timed the distance between cooling cycles, as those seem to greatly vary based on ambient temps, initial temps of battery when initiating charge, distance to full in Standard Mode, etc.
I've had VIN 1414 for nearly a year now, and have never thought twice about the cooling times. When I get in my car (after a night of charging), even in the summertime, the battery is healthy at around 26C to 29C - even after sitting for an entire day in a hot garage. However, when I purchased 1462, I noticed that this car in particular doesn't seem to have even HALF of the duration of 1414's cooling cycles during charging. I'm stumped. So, I started to test them both. I tested both in the same day, in relatively the same ambient temperatures, same SOC (initiating charge at about 50% SOC) and same amperage (240V @ 32A) using my Foundry Mobile Connector.
VIN 1414 STATS -
Build Date - August 2011
Current Firmware - 4.7.2
Version - 2011 2.5 Sport
Battery CAC - 129.77
Battery - Remanufactured ESS (from Tesla)
Mileage - 6,363
Charging Rate (Amps) - 32A
Ambient Garage Temp - 32C
Start of Charge SOC - 48%
Start of Charge Battery Temp (C) - 36C
Temp After 5 Cooling Cycles - 25C
Cooling Cycles Log for VIN 1414 -
Cycle 1 - 3 minutes 28 seconds
Cycle 2 - 2 minutes 49 seconds
Cycle 3 - 2 minutes 37 seconds
Cycle 4 - 1 minute 57 seconds
Cycle 5 - 1 minute 38 seconds
VIN 1462 STATS -
Build Date - November 2011
Current Firmware - 4.7.2
Version - 2011 2.5 Sport
Battery CAC - 151.18
Battery - Original Factory ESS
Mileage - 40,154
Charging Rate (Amps) - 32A
Ambient Garage Temp - 32C
Start of Charge SOC - 52%
Start of Charge Battery Temp (C) - 37C
Temp After 5 Cooling Cycles - 32C
Cooling Cycles Log for VIN 1462 -
Cycle 1 - 1 minute 28 seconds
Cycle 2 - 1 minute 18 seconds
Cycle 3 - 1 minute 24 seconds
Cycle 4 - 1 minute 9 seconds
Cycle 5 - 1 minute 12 seconds
I only did five cycles per car to measure the duration of each one. It's obvious that 1414 is cooling for considerably longer at first, until the battery gets healthier, then it seems to taper off in duration. However, for 1462, the cycles are completely predictable - regardless of temperature.
The cars have identical firmware and every number in the Firmware screen of the Diagnostic Menu matches (apart from the IMEI number). The only thing that makes sense at this point, is that 1462 has an original ESS, while 1414 has a Remanufactured ESS from Tesla (installed in December 2018). Do ESS have their own internal firmware that could be controlling the cooling cycle durations?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
- T
THE ISSUE - 1414's cooling cycles (while charging) are nearly 2.5X LONGER than 1462's.
As you know, the Roadster performs a series of active cooling cycles when charging on 240V (when the very loud HVAC fans in the front of the car start screaming). This is a very important aspect, as it brings the battery temperature down into healthier ranges after a long day of driving, or time spent in higher ambient temperatures. For me, here in Texas, this is one of the main reasons I keep my Roadsters plugged in all the time when not in use. The Roadster seems to perform these periodically while charging. The first one always starts about 30 seconds after a charging session is initiated (unless charging in Performance Mode, but who does that anyway?). I have not timed the distance between cooling cycles, as those seem to greatly vary based on ambient temps, initial temps of battery when initiating charge, distance to full in Standard Mode, etc.
I've had VIN 1414 for nearly a year now, and have never thought twice about the cooling times. When I get in my car (after a night of charging), even in the summertime, the battery is healthy at around 26C to 29C - even after sitting for an entire day in a hot garage. However, when I purchased 1462, I noticed that this car in particular doesn't seem to have even HALF of the duration of 1414's cooling cycles during charging. I'm stumped. So, I started to test them both. I tested both in the same day, in relatively the same ambient temperatures, same SOC (initiating charge at about 50% SOC) and same amperage (240V @ 32A) using my Foundry Mobile Connector.
VIN 1414 STATS -
Build Date - August 2011
Current Firmware - 4.7.2
Version - 2011 2.5 Sport
Battery CAC - 129.77
Battery - Remanufactured ESS (from Tesla)
Mileage - 6,363
Charging Rate (Amps) - 32A
Ambient Garage Temp - 32C
Start of Charge SOC - 48%
Start of Charge Battery Temp (C) - 36C
Temp After 5 Cooling Cycles - 25C
Cooling Cycles Log for VIN 1414 -
Cycle 1 - 3 minutes 28 seconds
Cycle 2 - 2 minutes 49 seconds
Cycle 3 - 2 minutes 37 seconds
Cycle 4 - 1 minute 57 seconds
Cycle 5 - 1 minute 38 seconds
VIN 1462 STATS -
Build Date - November 2011
Current Firmware - 4.7.2
Version - 2011 2.5 Sport
Battery CAC - 151.18
Battery - Original Factory ESS
Mileage - 40,154
Charging Rate (Amps) - 32A
Ambient Garage Temp - 32C
Start of Charge SOC - 52%
Start of Charge Battery Temp (C) - 37C
Temp After 5 Cooling Cycles - 32C
Cooling Cycles Log for VIN 1462 -
Cycle 1 - 1 minute 28 seconds
Cycle 2 - 1 minute 18 seconds
Cycle 3 - 1 minute 24 seconds
Cycle 4 - 1 minute 9 seconds
Cycle 5 - 1 minute 12 seconds
I only did five cycles per car to measure the duration of each one. It's obvious that 1414 is cooling for considerably longer at first, until the battery gets healthier, then it seems to taper off in duration. However, for 1462, the cycles are completely predictable - regardless of temperature.
The cars have identical firmware and every number in the Firmware screen of the Diagnostic Menu matches (apart from the IMEI number). The only thing that makes sense at this point, is that 1462 has an original ESS, while 1414 has a Remanufactured ESS from Tesla (installed in December 2018). Do ESS have their own internal firmware that could be controlling the cooling cycle durations?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
- T