Dual Blower fan retrofit

[gregd]

he said he covered "Northern California" i'm not sure which SC that covers exactly.

i do have his name & phone #. i can PM that to you.

also, i'm wondering if this Config Flag setting is what needed to be changed when you were having 1146 errors when you first had this done?

i remember a post where the ranger or tech said some "wiring harness" issue, or something like that, but the cable looks like a pretty simple Y.

it's probably too early to tell, but i've had a bunch of #1146 errors on every drive since i installed this and didn't have any on the drive back from the SC

Oooh, interesting thought about the "wiring error". Yes, that was my car. Could be! Next time I take it in, I'll have them check that. (Current plan is to wait a bit longer for the next annual service, given that they seem to do more damage than good in the process.)

Right now I think what I have is a somewhat worn set of brushes in the fan motor, which seasonally don't appear to the PEM to be up to snuff. It's a $1,000 "fix" to replace the whole assembly. Given that the temps themselves are fine, I'm not inclined to spring for it right now. The challenge, of course, is to move forward just before it becomes impossible to find...

 

[drewski]

Oooh, interesting thought about the "wiring error". Yes, that was my car. Could be! Next time I take it in, I'll have them check that. (Current plan is to wait a bit longer for the next annual service, given that they seem to do more damage than good in the process.)

Right now I think what I have is a somewhat worn set of brushes in the fan motor, which seasonally don't appear to the PEM to be up to snuff. It's a $1,000 "fix" to replace the whole assembly. Given that the temps themselves are fine, I'm not inclined to spring for it right now. The challenge, of course, is to move forward just before it becomes impossible to find...

IIRC @MLAUTO (or other knowledgeable member) said the fan / motor was an easily replaceable SPAL part?

 

[gregd]

IIRC @MLAUTO (or other knowledgeable member) said the fan / motor was an easily replaceable SPAL part?

Yes, that's my recollection too, but I haven't done any research on the specific part, nor how long it will be available. It does seem to be a minor worry, based on his comments, so I'm not going to panic.

 

[drewski]

Went for my first long-ish drive since getting the "Dual Fan" setting changed in the firmware . . . Zero 1146 errors!

We'll see how that holds up.

 

[Gremlin]

I liked the idea of better IP rated fans and the reports of lower PEM & Motor Temps with the Dual Blower fan which was a warranty upgrade for cars in colder climates and paid upgrade elsewhere.

I couldn't source the parts from Tesla because my SC didn't try. This was the "dedicated Roadster SA" as indicated by the new Roadster specific service email

them: "If it's not on the upgrade webpage, it's not available. did you want the Battery 3.0? It's the only upgrade still available"
me: "It's there, but says 'Sold Out'"
them: "Oh, right"
me: "Berkeley got me a Roadster car cover, which isn't on the website any longer"
them: "Maybe you should talk to Berkeley about these other items"​

I found the fan and sway-bar on a Canadian parts Roadster posted on TMC.

View attachment 494835​

I saw questions on the Eibach part number for the sway-bar and didn't see answers so here it is

View attachment 494836
​

Removing the bottom panel, you find a mix of rusted (10mm) and stainless (8mm) bolts. Whatever Tesla found at the hardware store?

View attachment 494837​

The original fans have a short plastic "plenum" before connecting to the ductwork leading to the PEM & Motor. The new blowers don't have any plenum.

View attachment 494845​

The fan lock nuts are 13mm. The sway bar bushings have 10mm bolts and the nuts at the end link are 17mm. These end nuts were very rusted and a PITA to remove.

One of the reducers to the ducting is rubber and the other is plastic with 4 studs in between. These need to be removed to install the new fan as there's no room because of the centrally located fan motor.

View attachment 494846​

I used an oscillating tool. Make sure you have a blade rated for metal and touch up any scuffs / scratches in the paint as this part of the frame is steel.

View attachment 494841​

I'm installing the JdeMO after this. The instructions say to remove the rubber & plastic reducers / manifolds to mount the JdeMO bulkhead and then refit them through the openings in the new bulkhead. I decided to do an install similar to @Stefan T and skipped that by chopping the JdeMO bulkhead into 3 pieces. We'll see if I regret this decision later!

View attachment 494842​

The JdeMO parts act as the spacers under the sway-bar bushings so remove those before re-installing. Here's the final install of the fan and sway.

View attachment 494847 View attachment 494848​

The blowers are smaller than the original in size, but because of the design (no plenum) they hang down a little lower so I will need to install some spacers where middle & rear bottom panels attach. This was part of the original upgrade where Tesla used what looked to be high density foam strips.

Sir you have some serious skills. I'll just contact Carl if I land a Roadster :- P