Continuous Faint Humming Noise When Parked

[RobK]

I charged our 2015 Tesla S 85 last night (using scheduled charging option) after it was updated to firmware 40.2.3. I charged it to 80% of the capacity. This morning I am hearing a humming sound from the car. It is 42 degrees in the garage. This did not happen before this update.

It seems that when Tesla adds new functionalities via OTA it messes up some other parts of the code.

 

[RobK]

I charged our 2015 Tesla S 85 last night (using scheduled charging option) after it was updated to firmware 40.2.3. I charged it to 80% of the capacity. This morning I am hearing a humming sound from the car. It is 42 degrees in the garage. This did not happen before this update.

It seems that when Tesla adds new functionalities via OTA it messes up some other parts of the code.

Update - I took the car for a short drive and now it has stopped humming.

 

[MrKool]

Update - I took the car for a short drive and now it has stopped humming.

Tesla is like having a dog you need to take it out for the morning walk for it to stop whining

 

[Kandiru]

Mine is humming from behind the front driver side wheelwell, mostly when plugged in and not charging.

Interestingly, it also turns off by itself at times.

 

[veloaudio]

I just heard my '14 S85 making a humming noise from the front driver wheel well. Car is plugged in Software but not charging. 2019.40.2.3

 

[dannycamps]

I'm thinking this is a new normal to keep the battery coolant pump circulating longer while the car is sitting. Mine (2019 100D) started doing it as well but I can't tell if it's the colder temps or a recent firmware but seeing as it's happened with relatively mild temps (e.g. 50F), I am leaning towards a new software "feature".

 

[OrbiterTI4]

I'm tempted to start a new thread, but has anyone seen a dramatic increase in the volume of the humming, to the point that "faint" is not a fair description? I noticed the change in the past couple weeks, right around the time 8.1.1 appeared on the car. I have scheduled charging set up, and the humming is constant from the time of plug-in pre-charge until sometime post-charge (I charge at midnight so have not stayed up long enough to see when it stops, just know that it isn't present when unplugging in the AM).

 

[Christinev]

Yes, I’m having the same increased humming noise in my MS coming from the fan. Sometimes it turns off, sometimes it doesn’t. Seems to have started last week or two.

 

[Droschke]

I'm tempted to start a new thread, but has anyone seen a dramatic increase in the volume of the humming, to the point that "faint" is not a fair description? I noticed the change in the past couple weeks, right around the time 8.1.1 appeared on the car. I have scheduled charging set up, and the humming is constant from the time of plug-in pre-charge until sometime post-charge (I charge at midnight so have not stayed up long enough to see when it stops, just know that it isn't present when unplugging in the AM).

Yes, I’m having the same increased humming noise in my MS coming from the fan. Sometimes it turns off, sometimes it doesn’t. Seems to have started last week or two.

Does not happen even if you charge to 80% or below?

 

[r1200gs4ok]

mine did the same......happened after 2020.8.1......whining noise.......scheduled service and then cancelled.....initially, the noise was happening on my M3 and then on my MS......it usually lasted any where from 1 hr to 14 hrs.....once it goes to sleep or says "car off" it seems to continue but eventually shuts off......when I open my wife's car, I usually hear a clunk, but that doesn't happen anymore......as far as every loss, I am losing ~ 1 mile per hour.......I have also noticed via Teslafi, that car is cycling......26 min idling followed by 1 min sleep......this cycle continues for hours until it finally goes to sleep, then the whining goes away.....very troubling but I am sure it is 2020.8.1 issue.....since Tesla is silently upgrading the MS to "Plus", they are probably not going to make any changes for a while.....hopefully it will address this issue.......just one last thing, after the car sleeps about 10-14 hours, it suddenly wakes up without me doing anything and goes into the cycling 26min on, 1 min sleep.....this cycle last 1-4 hours.....

 

[dark cloud]

I'm tempted to start a new thread, but has anyone seen a dramatic increase in the volume of the humming, to the point that "faint" is not a fair description? I noticed the change in the past couple weeks, right around the time 8.1.1 appeared on the car. I have scheduled charging set up, and the humming is constant from the time of plug-in pre-charge until sometime post-charge (I charge at midnight so have not stayed up long enough to see when it stops, just know that it isn't present when unplugging in the AM).

Not so much the volume of the hum, which is the coolant pump running, but the frequency it does it. A month ago it was quite coolish, about 10 degrees C, and even at charging to 77% I noticed the pump running.

Another time after supercharging to 80% or so, driving home where the SOC was less than 75% it still was running, and it ran for at least an hour after wards. I went to bed and wondered if it was still running in the morning, it wasn't; it quit at some point. But everytime I witness the car running the coolant pump for longer than I expect it to I think "I am next" after reading @Droschke 's first post regarding this before the reduced range incident many months ago, before the notorius "save the battery" XXX.16 update. So far it hasn't affected my battery.

so now I wonder how long is that coolant pump going to run once it gets hot out? (yes it gets to 35+ C here in the summer) Will it just be on 3/4 of the day?

 

[Christinev]

Does not happen even if you charge to 80% or below?

Yes. This past weekend I didn’t charge my 2015 MS at all, never plugged it in, and the fan stayed on all weekend.

 

[RobK]

I'm tempted to start a new thread, but has anyone seen a dramatic increase in the volume of the humming, to the point that "faint" is not a fair description? I noticed the change in the past couple weeks, right around the time 8.1.1 appeared on the car. I have scheduled charging set up, and the humming is constant from the time of plug-in pre-charge until sometime post-charge (I charge at midnight so have not stayed up long enough to see when it stops, just know that it isn't present when unplugging in the AM).

I normally set it to charge my 2015 Tesla S 85 at midnight (as our utility gives very low rates). I hear the humming as it gets close to 80% charge. It will hum even after disconnecting the charger. If you do not drive the car the humming will continue until the battery drops to 79% or so. If you take it out for a short drive and then park it, the humming seems to stop.

I think the humming is due to the BMS (Battery Management System) pump. This was initiated some time ago after Tesla encountered a fire in one of their S battery.

 

[aerodyne]

I normally set it to charge my 2015 Tesla S 85 at midnight (as our utility gives very low rates). I hear the humming as it gets close to 80% charge. It will hum even after disconnecting the charger. If you do not drive the car the humming will continue until the battery drops to 79% or so. If you take it out for a short drive and then park it, the humming seems to stop.

I think the humming is due to the BMS (Battery Management System) pump. This was initiated some time ago after Tesla encountered a fire in one of their S battery.

^^^This.... Never used to run the battery pump, now it does as I exceed 78 % SoC on AC, 28 amps, 240V.

 

[OrbiterTI4]

Some additional comments:

Charge level: set to 90% charge. After unplugging/driving, pump humming does not occur regardless of charge level until plugged in at end of night. Most days this would be below 80%, but the recent mostly-at-home days, above 80%. Humming occurred regardless.

Temps: Have heard it upon plug-in for night temps in both 50s and 70s °F. No recent supercharging to compare to.

Experiment: I'll set my charge-to-level to 75% and see if humming occurs upon pre-charge plug-in.

 

[aerodyne]

Looking at canbus data is very informative...plus you can document changes that correspond with updates or other changes.

Using SMT, Scan My Tesla, Android app, I see the coolant pumps run at low temps and SoC, but not really audible at 24% as shown by data.

Like Fox and others have noted, does not matter what you set the final SoC to, the pumps and also coolant loop come on at a later time during the charge cycle, 75 to 80% SoC, and they stay on.

For this reason, I am going to run the car between 25 and 75%. Why waste energy and wear out the pumps and such.

I'd like to take the best care of this car, but Tesla is not making it easy...

 

[r1200gs4ok]

maybe the new 2020.12.1 release today will remedy it....the whining/

 

[aerodyne]

I will wait for others to find out. I have learned to be a late adopter when it comes to updates..

 

[KalJoMoS]

I have asked Tesla about it and they say it’s normal for the operation of the car. Here is another discussion:
high pitch whining noise from front when parked

 

[Kandiru]

maybe the new 2020.12.1 release today will remedy it....the whining/

Not for me, happens when plugged in, about 90% of the time as I take ice cream trips to the garage freezer (this COVID-19 isolation will make me fatter than a heifer).