DC Doc
Member
Yes I had to peal it off from the last repair. The tape should not get hot enough to peel off. If it were in question, I would have just taped it better.
Fix your door that won't open
- Thread starter scottm
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- Model S User Interface
How many door handles have you gone through and what gen do you have? I'm concerned of getting any Model S due to the door handles and makes me want to wait to buy a new one or a 2018 later on since gen 3 have mitigated the issue.
DC Doc
Member
Have you repaired them yourself and fixed the issue or sent it in to Tesla to fix the handles? Is it possible to request Tesla to re-arrange the wiring so this issue doesn't happen or do we have to do it ourselves?
The force needed to open my door by pulling on the handle has intermittently gone up to sometimes a lot. It's always fine when triggering the release from the inside, but it requires more and more force.
This leads me to believe the microswitch itself is starting to fail.
This leads me to believe the microswitch itself is starting to fail.
Yep. Classic symptom of a fraying microswitch wire. (The switch itself is mechanically fine.)
For those who have experienced the door handle issue, what does the Service Center usually do? Will they repair or is their standard to replace and not repair?
It was a $725 replacement they wanted. I was told they don't try to repair it.
Bighorn
Top Supercharger
I've had a couple/few paddle gears done gratis out of warranty. I think a new handle is more likely if you're under warranty or get lucky because that's the best a ranger can do. With rebuilds, they've automatically replaced all the switches. Have never had to pay for either a new handle or rebuilt, but I know that is not universal. I've lost count--maybe 5?
No problem after 160k, but a friend of mine have a problem. Doors open when the handles comes out. How can we fix this?
Adjust the bump stop on the second microswitch. Counter clockwise (back it off a bit)
This will stop the handle from presenting too far out and hitting the third microswitch on its own (which says "user has pulled so pop the door open now")
cheers
What the service center prefers to do is just swap out the handle. It's the same hours for them to take apart the door and remove/reinstall the handle
Got tired of waiting for digikey to ship my back-order micro switches. Also the issue got worse so that 2 out of 3 times the door fails to open.
So I pulled the panel off and the handle module out. No obviously broken wires so I figured it had to be the micro switch.
Long story short, it wasn't the micro switch. It was indeed the shorter white wire that most commonly breaks. What happened is the strands all broke right before going into the insulator in the back of the switch but the insulation of the wire was still in tact which is why it wasn't obvious. This is the main reason why it was intermittent. The insulation was holding the broken strands on each side together so they were mostly making contact but sometimes failing.
It would have gotten worse and worse over time.
I soldered a new wire onto the switch itself after removing the micro switch wire insulator protecting the solder points. I then joined the new wire to the white wire (paired back about an inch) with solder and then shrink tubed over that. I did the re-route using the black tar stuff to hold the wire in place. I left the black wire alone. We'll see if it holds but for now the door is back to 100%.
I covered the back of the micro switch with more of that tar goop but that was after taking this photo:
So I pulled the panel off and the handle module out. No obviously broken wires so I figured it had to be the micro switch.
Long story short, it wasn't the micro switch. It was indeed the shorter white wire that most commonly breaks. What happened is the strands all broke right before going into the insulator in the back of the switch but the insulation of the wire was still in tact which is why it wasn't obvious. This is the main reason why it was intermittent. The insulation was holding the broken strands on each side together so they were mostly making contact but sometimes failing.
It would have gotten worse and worse over time.
I soldered a new wire onto the switch itself after removing the micro switch wire insulator protecting the solder points. I then joined the new wire to the white wire (paired back about an inch) with solder and then shrink tubed over that. I did the re-route using the black tar stuff to hold the wire in place. I left the black wire alone. We'll see if it holds but for now the door is back to 100%.
I covered the back of the micro switch with more of that tar goop but that was after taking this photo:
It still makes me wonder why they still tend to fail. I mean, I thought by now Tesla knows about this biggest issue and has fixed this by either moving the cable around or applying a thicker cable. You'd think 6 years in making the Model S that they would've fixed this issue by now.Got tired of waiting for digikey to ship my back-order micro switches. Also the issue got worse so that 2 out of 3 times the door fails to open.
So I pulled the panel off and the handle module out. No obviously broken wires so I figured it had to be the micro switch.
Long story short, it wasn't the micro switch. It was indeed the shorter white wire that most commonly breaks. What happened is the strands all broke right before going into the insulator in the back of the switch but the insulation of the wire was still in tact which is why it wasn't obvious. This is the main reason why it was intermittent. The insulation was holding the broken strands on each side together so they were mostly making contact but sometimes failing.
It would have gotten worse and worse over time.
I soldered a new wire onto the switch itself after removing the micro switch wire insulator protecting the solder points. I then joined the new wire to the white wire (paired back about an inch) with solder and then shrink tubed over that. I did the re-route using the black tar stuff to hold the wire in place. I left the black wire alone. We'll see if it holds but for now the door is back to 100%.
I covered the back of the micro switch with more of that tar goop but that was after taking this photo:
youngjoseph
Member
My door stop presenting over the weekend, but I can still hear the switch in the handle operating when the car is off. Also, heard a piece fall to the bottom of the door when I was fidgeting with it. Without opening the door and pulling out the door handle unit, is it possible to diagnosis whether I need to change the microswitch only or the entire unit? I am out of warranty and a $200 fix is a lot more acceptable than a $1000 fix... I think if I go into the service center (San Diego) with this information I could get better service. Thanks for the help!
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