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grinding noise after plug in

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J

Jeffruby

Member
Mar 10, 2014
115
10
#1
Guys,

New p90d. Had a few issues and just got back from service.

I now notice that when I plug in car at home, it makes a high pitch sound for 15 seconds (like electric sound?)- which is likely normal. However after 15 seconds there is a grinding motor like sound coming from the front.

Hate to bug the guys at tesla again. Lol
 
#2
Jeffruby said:
Guys,

New p90d. Had a few issues and just got back from service.

I now notice that when I plug in car at home, it makes a high pitch sound for 15 seconds (like electric sound?)- which is likely normal. However after 15 seconds there is a grinding motor like sound coming from the front.

Hate to bug the guys at tesla again. Lol
Click to expand...

The only things I'd expect to be running in the front as a result of plugging in are the coolant pump, and if it is hot enough the radiator fans and maybe A/C compressor. None of those should be grinding (but a worn/damaged coolant pump could?)
 
#3
I get the same thing I think. Sounds like a heavey rusted iron gate swinging, stops, then swings back. Not high pitched though. Almost as though it were growling at me. Not sure now if it's after plugging in, or simply after approaching the car. Thought it was normal. Will pay closer attention tomorrow. S90D.

Definitely from the frunk area, not what I've heard others describe as (perhaps) the parking brake engaging, as it had already been engaged.
 
#5
Hmm. That's neither as loud nor as gritty/grinding as I was picturing. Could just be a valve switching position in the cooling system?

Edit: just did a little fiddling with my X. By pushing the charge limit higher to restart charging, I got the same high pitched ringing sound (coolant pump?) almost immediately and lasting until several seconds after charging stopped, but after a minute or two I never got the grinding noise. Tried unplugging, waiting, and replugging, same result. This is on a cold car in a cold garage, though.
 
Last edited:
#6
High pitched sound is normal, though some people may not hear it (the older you are, the less likely you're going to hear it, also the volume will be different from car to car and possibly depending on temperature and/or humidity). The grinding noise could be the front corner vents opening and closing or the cooling fans if they turn on. This open/close cycle seems to happen after plugging in (cooling system initializing and/or calibrating maybe?), and periodically while the car is parked, but it always stays open and fans are cranked when supercharging fast. Check when that happens whether anything may be stuck on the front corner vents preventing them from opening (@Joe F that may be something for you to check). As for the fans, they are not the quietest things in the world, and at supercharger they do make a loud "grinding" noise so it may be hard to tell whether your noise is normal. Is the noise noticeably louder from one front corner than the other? My 2015 MS had a a label sticker that fell off a harness or something and got stuck in the fan, making a noise louder than usual - a 5 minute fix to pop the plastic on the side that was making the noise, reach in to pull out the sticker, close it back up. I haven't taken my wive's refreshed MS apart yet, but on my pre-refresh MS if I pop plastics around the frunk (after unscrewing the big rubber mushrooms) you can get to the fans quick (there is one fan under each headlight). Hope this helps.
 
#7
Ok, after watching and listening to the video, it sounds like just the vent flaps opening and closing (look at the corner vents from the front with a flashlight when that happens and you'll see). The fan does not sound loud at all (go to a supercharger with battery close to empty sometime to hear them roar). The high pitched noise is different than the one I was referring to, I never heard that one, but does it only happen for a short time or all through the charging?
 
#8
Thanks for the suggestions @whitex

Finally got a chance to shoot a video, and got nothing. Finally figured it out. In my case, it was after my fob linked profile kicked in, which was about the time I reached the back of the car to unplug the UMC. The sound then appeared to come from the front. It wasn't; It's the mirrors, perhaps both but not sure.

Odd thing is it doesn't always do it:

 
#12
Joe F said:
Thanks for the suggestions @whitex

Finally got a chance to shoot a video, and got nothing. Finally figured it out. In my case, it was after my fob linked profile kicked in, which was about the time I reached the back of the car to unplug the UMC. The sound then appeared to come from the front. It wasn't; It's the mirrors, perhaps both but not sure.

Odd thing is it doesn't always do it:

Click to expand...

I am very sure this grinding sound you got there are not the mirrors but also the flaps in front of the radiators of each front wheel.
 
#13
Pretty sure it's your louvers opening and closing. It will a bugger grinding noise in cold weather especially if they get frozen stuck. It's normal unless they don't open/close at all. You can physically charge the car and go in front to see for yourself right under the front lights. The louvers open and close almost each time the car is plugged in to charge.
 
#14
Hey guys, I think this is a known issue at Tesla, and I have the same issue with my car (delivered 30 November 2016). Check out the YouTube clip below I found that I forwarded over to my service center in Seattle, WA. The replacement part is on order for me, but there are delays in getting the replacement part from Tesla's Fremont factory. Hope this helps in explaining this issue to your service center.

 
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#15
randycandy said:
Hey guys, I think this is a known issue at Tesla, and I have the same issue with my car (delivered 30 November 2016). Check out the YouTube clip below I found that I forwarded over to my service center in Seattle, WA. The replacement part is on order for me, but there are delays in getting the replacement part from Tesla's Fremont factory. Hope this helps in explaining this issue to your service center.

Click to expand...
My September 2016 is doing this also. I thought is was normal. I live 200 miles from a service center should I even bother until my annual service?
 
#19
Read the follow up comments on Kate's excellent video; Tesla found the problem on her car. Kate wrote:

"Tesla ironed this one straight out for us. The fault was a burr on a diversion vein in an air box."

So, the noise is not normal but a burr scraping across the plastic enclosure as the vents open and close. That several of us have this issue points to a quality failure to deburr a plastic part.
 
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