DMC FW: Line UnderVoltage warning (ID 1065) and a fan that's always running

[JohnnyLounge21]

I recently took delivery of Roadster 1190 (2011 2.5) and it's beautiful. There's a couple things I'm going to need to do to get the car perfect (glass top is on the way, a better detailing, etc.). But for now, I'm very happy. The battery seems to have good capacity for a well driven car (25K) and it feels good and solid (albeit some small squeaks here and there).

The moment I got the car home and plugged it in, I then received this warning. I had been driving the car very moderately in very pleasant weather - 75 degrees. Again, this came up shortly after plugging in and and charging in my high-rise parking garage with a normal 110 plug. This is the only charging option I will have for the foreseeable future. I sent a note to the several service contacts that I have - and got quick responses even on Independence Day (great service!). The technicians said that it was nothing to be concerned about. However, I'm concerned when someone breaths in the direction of my car! They also recommended that I move to another outlet (not an option) or get a NEMA 14-50 installed (not an option). He said that "It means your power dipped while charging" and asked "If you clear it, what happens?" I let him know that the car seems to keep charging and there's really no apparent issue from that point forward. Although, when I return to the car hours later, the same error is on the screen again. Also - the fan is running in the back of the car 100% of the time while it's charging. Actually, the only time it's not running is when the car is not being charged and is sitting in the shade after being there about an hour. . . The technician also said this (the fan running like crazy) is nothing to worry about - but I'm worrying. I don't like that many moving parts going on in a car; and it's worse while they're moving while the car is just sitting there. That's one of the reasons I wanted to get away from ICE in the first place. . .

Anything you guys have? I searched all over the forum and can't seem to find this error. I just don't want to be damaging my car as I go when this is my only option for actually charging.

Thanks so much in advance everyone!

 

[wiztecy]

First of all you have "debug" set in your VMS / Display. You will get errors / warnings that really don't mean any harm and possibly this may be one of them so you would most likely want to have debug turned off until you're more familiar with how the Roadster is.... Meaning debug is useful but you'll trigger more customer service responses that are not really necessary unless you know their true meaning. Next time you're at Tesla tell them to turn "User Debug" to "OFF" in your VMS. As for the warning, yes, the technician is right that you had a drop in "line" voltage... most likely you may not have seen this message if debug was off. If you were on 220V you would not have seen this as well... Again its just a "Warning" not a real error! So no need to worry, your Roadster is happy and well.

As for the Fan running in the back of the car, its the PEM cooling itself... get use to this! The electronics / brains are air cooled and they will and do heat up. Its that black rectangular box right in front of the rear trunk... it should say PEM. In front of that is your battery. Also the battery is water cooled... so anytime you touch the door handles, open the charge port, lock/unlock the car, etc.... the car will "wake up", the water pump will turn on which will cycle coolant through the battery to prep for a drive...

I suggest reading many of the posts here... they'll enlighten you and let you know about the roadster and how it lives while driving, charging, and sitting....

Enjoy.

 

[JohnnyLounge21]

wiztecy - I couldn't be happier with your thoughtful response. Thanks so much. This is a great community. I had been lurking on this board for close to a year before making the plunge. I feel I learned a lot - certainly not quite as much as once I actually had the vehicle in-hand. Those lessons are coming now. And I'm only by the car 2-3 days a week b/c I work on the road. So I'm still not exposed to it as much as I'd like to be! Hopefully in the coming months, I get off the road and I get to this being my daily driver (the ultimate reason I got the car).

I will take your advice right away an go from here!

With the battery cooling pump and PEM fans running so often, are these the first items to ware out on the roadster? I wanted to drive this thing for a decade and really only fear small mechanical items (like a steering maintenance item or brakes, for example) and overall battery degradation. . . Whereas with an ICE you're replacing all sorts of engine items like the fuel pump, injectors, spark plugs (it was $500 on my old Benz to replace them!), etc.

Am I a little off-base?

 

[augkuo]

you'll wear out your rear tires first before anything else - one thing to do if you plan to drive it a lot and don't plan on doing a lot of high-speed tight turns is to change the tire camber to 0 degrees.
Otherwise your rear tires will wear more on the inside and reduce the tire lifetime. My first rear tire replacement was at ~5000 miles

wiztecy - I couldn't be happier with your thoughtful response. Thanks so much. This is a great community. I had been lurking on this board for close to a year before making the plunge. I feel I learned a lot - certainly not quite as much as once I actually had the vehicle in-hand. Those lessons are coming now. And I'm only by the car 2-3 days a week b/c I work on the road. So I'm still not exposed to it as much as I'd like to be! Hopefully in the coming months, I get off the road and I get to this being my daily driver (the ultimate reason I got the car).

I will take your advice right away an go from here!

With the battery cooling pump and PEM fans running so often, are these the first items to ware out on the roadster? I wanted to drive this thing for a decade and really only fear small mechanical items (like a steering maintenance item or brakes, for example) and overall battery degradation. . . Whereas with an ICE you're replacing all sorts of engine items like the fuel pump, injectors, spark plugs (it was $500 on my old Benz to replace them!), etc.

Am I a little off-base?

 

[JohnnyLounge21]

Thanks for that tire tip! Bringing the car for service in the next couple months and that'll certainly be one of the items I have them do!

 

[Arddrea]

You say that you live in a high rise, They are usually fed three phase, meaning your outlet voltage will never exceed ~107V.

If you are concerned, get yourself a line conditioner like Line Conditioners. If the voltage is too low it will boost it by pulling more juice from the wall. And in the worst case scenario (like a bad, bad brown-out or lighting strike), the regulator fries and not your car. Note the manual says the peak 110V current is 15A meaning the 1500 could do the trick but I like going over board with the ones I have in my house. Just wish APC made one, I find them more reliable then tripplite.

 

[JohnnyLounge21]

Woah - this is a fantastic piece of advice. Now that you mention it. . . When I look at the display, the volts fluctuates around and seems to hover around +/- ~107 just like you said! I plugged in a shop-vac to the same outlet box and when I throw the switch, the car will go "bing bing!" will remind me AGAIN that it's low voltage.

Do you think charging in this way over the last month has been hurtful at all to the car? I seem to get a nice high charge in all cases. . .

I will most certainly take a look at a Line Conditioner. . . Is there a VERY specific one that anyone could recommend?

 

[pharma5]

I also charge from a regular outlet. When you turn debug off the error may look like this (also error ID 1065, in the lower left corner)... I saw this recently when using an older, longer charging cable that came with my 2008 Roadster. (No separate extension cord). Despite the message, it charged fine.

As far as the fan and coolant pump, these are definitely normal. Coolant pump will always run, but fan activity will lessen in fall and winter since the PEM benefits from fanning cooler air.

You may also find it useful to look at public charging stations (or fellow Tesla owners) nearby to help "catch-up" if you drive longer distances and if charging 110V 15A overnight falls behind your daily usage. You can find these on plugshare.com, recargo.com, chargepoint.com, etc. If you create a plugshare login, you can see residential options and can also filter for Tesla high power chargers (220V 70A) - just be sure it is for Roadster and not Model S (no adapter yet).

If you use a standard charging station, you will need a J1772-to-Roadster adapter (see Tesla gear website) but will charge at least 4x faster than at home (220V 30A).

Good luck, and welcome. :biggrin: