Front Door - Puddle Lamps (Tesla Logo - not fitting)

[darnelli]

Hey guys,

I purchased abstract ocean Tesla T logo puddle lamps and was unable to get them to fit, the connectors are roughly the same and can make continuity but could get the connector to sit flush, tried it on a few other model 3's and model S's as well, fit the model S connectors but not model 3.

Anyone else have these lamps, or have these fit issues? I ended up returning them since there was nothing short of dremeling down my puddle lamp connector to make it work.

 

[darnelli]

Hey guys,

I purchased abstract ocean Tesla T logo puddle lamps and was unable to get them to fit, the connectors are roughly the same and can make continuity but could get the connector to sit flush, tried it on a few other model 3's and model S's as well, fit the model S connectors but not model 3.

Anyone else have these lamps, or have these fit issues? I ended up returning them since there was nothing short of dremeling down my puddle lamp connector to make it work.

correction - could not get the connector to sit flush when installing it into the abstract ocean puddle lamp

 

[JPP]

Did you contact Pete? He is really a responsible guy and makes great products.

 

[ww73]

Bummer. I'm getting mine soon and was looking forward to installing it.

 

[NewTMSMan]

They should have come with little connectors that look like wire pigtails. You should user these to connect the lights.

 

[Aljohn]

Installed the "X" puddle lights from Abstract. No issues, but need to press the connectors in securely. Also, when testing, keep in mind that they turn off after the door has been open continuously.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

I had the same problem on my S. The issue is the pins inside the puddle lamp connector ... on 3 of the 4 that I installed, the pins were pointed slightly up or down from the proper angle, and they weren't lining up with the holes in the connector from the car. Inserting a small screwdriver into the socket on the puddle lamp connector and pushing the pins towards the middle allowed them to line up with the holes in the car's connector, and then they seated flush.

 

[Akikiki]

Lamp has the pins. The pins are not in the car's connectors'. You might be bumping the plastic of the connector against the pin and its not lining up properly. Look in the lamp and insure the pins are straight.

Also, can remove the top of the connector. The part that has the piece that moves up and down. Let me explain that again. The connector is two pieces even though it looks like one. Use a paperclip and move the tab that secures it. You can side the top off. But its not long-ways. It slides off sideways.

I make my own connectors. I know it sounds strange, but it works. Once the top is off, there's enough friction that will hold the bottom part of the connector and wires in the lamp.

 

[NewTMSMan]

Lamp has the pins. The pins are not in the car's connectors'. You might be bumping the plastic of the connector against the pin and its not lining up properly. Look in the lamp and insure the pins are straight.

Also, can remove the top of the connector. The part that has the piece that moves up and down. Let me explain that again. The connector is two pieces even though it looks like one. Use a paperclip and move the tab that secures it. You can side the top off. But its not long-ways. It slides off sideways.

I make my own connectors. I know it sounds strange, but it works. Once the top is off, there's enough friction that will hold the bottom part of the connector and wires in the lamp.

I did have to straighten the pins on a few of my lights when I installed them on my cars. I just took a screw driver and made sure they were straight by eye and they worked.

 

[ww73]

The same puddle lights fit in the 3, but light is very faint. I'm exchanging emails with AO.

 

[ww73]

Here's the 3 vs S.

3 is the blue car, S is white. Notice how it's not bright enough.

 

[pete8314]

Hey all, I'm here if needed

As some of you will know, Tesla have used 4 difference connectors over the various vintages of S, X and now 3. As mentioned above, the pins inside the top of the bulb are typically the issue, but can easily be adjusted with a spudger or small flat-blade screwdriver. As @Akikiki mentioned, these bulbs are sometimes provided with tails, but I wanted to avoid that with the right design, but the latest generation of connectors in the cars (and all Model 3's) tend to prefer the pins at a slightly higher angle. I'm working with the designer to either refine the 'one size fits all' approach, or go with a couple of designs, but I'm really trying to avoid that, as there's no easy way to determine the connectors in use in S & X without pulling a bulb out, and even then, it's very subtle.

If there's anything urgent, always reach out to us using the support widget on the site, but I'll keep an eye here too

 

[darnelli]

Hey guys,

Yes I've been in contact with Peter ever since the issue was found, unfortunately the items were returned since they could not be made to work. He also confirmed that they fit with his particular vehicle but not with another model 3 quite yet.

In terms of the blue vs white (m3 vs ms), was this the same puddle lamp that was used in each photo (ie model s is supplying more power than model 3 is to illuminuate logo)?

Peter - I didn't realize you guys were looking into a design change, do you know when this will happen by / when will this part be available for purchase to work with the 'mass' model 3 market?

Thanks!

 

[pete8314]

I might have made my explanation confusing. The current design works for all models (S, X & 3), there's many that have been sold to M3 owners, hence why we're out of stock of the 3 design currently :-( I'm just saying that the 'one size fits all' design necessitated by the various plug designs that Tesla have cycled through necessitates a bit more effort for the the end-user to make the plug & socket fit in every scenario.

There's no difference in terms of the current supply on 3 and S, it's still a trivial difference.

 

[darnelli]

Thanks for the response Peter.

Unfortunately for me the puddle lamps that were shipped to me did not fit / would not fit even with excessive force (short of jeopardizing my connector). I'll wait to see what if the general masses who buy the 'T' puddle lamp have install issues.

Now that I think of it, I wish I had an opportunity for exchange/replacement for another 'T' puddle lamp to see if it was a batch issue from AO or in fact it was just an issue with my specific vehicle (and the other employee vehicles I was able to test fit with).

I would love to hear success stories with these connectors too, (so far it looks like the blue model 3 has faint light issues, which could be a symptom of not having a connector properly engaged if there are in fact fit issues)?

 

[pete8314]

Yeah, I'm not sure why, but you're the exception rather than the rule. There's plenty of 5* reviews on the website, include from Model 3 owners. I wish I could figure out what the issue was, but that's the drawback of eCommerce, there's no way to get hands-on with most of the vehicles!

 

[harry]

Well, The two sets we installed fit well enough to provide consistent lighting, but none of the plugs ever clicked into place in the housing. I don't worry about it -- they work OK.

 

[Kitesean]

When unplugging original puddle light from the driver door my Model 3 lost main power. Screen, interior lights, HVAC fan, everything. After the new AO T logo LED was plugged in, everything powered up again. Is this normal? The new connection did not click together, but it’s tight and works.

 

[pete8314]

It is normal, we mention this behavior on our help pages. The most popular theory is that the car thinks the manual door release was pulled, though it doesn't really fully explain the behavior. Either way, there's no lasting issues, it's a one-time event.

 

[TaoJones]

Strange. I had no problem installing the AO Tesla logo puddle lights in the doors. Took less than 15 minutes to do both sides as I recall. Front doors only - I chose to not replace the rear door puddle lights.

Installing the footwell LEDs was a bit more challenging as evidently Tesla glued the driver's side panel in place around the light aperture. I noted at an SvC that I was having a challenge getting that light assembly out. A tech knew what the problem was immediately - they ordered a replacement panel and it was simple after that. Turned out great.

Both the footwells and the puddle lights are plenty bright.

Next will be custom lighted door sills and my interior mods will be complete, thanks to Abstract Ocean for the above, and to Norm for the custom sills and an excellent cubby drawer and handle assembly.