HVAC turned itself on? Or was that the dog?

[wycolo]

Yesterday I went into a shop for about five minutes and came out to find ModelS roaring loudly from the front, like a Roadster when driven hard and put up wet. But this was curious since we had just dropped down from the 12,000 ft pass to this village @ 8300 ft. ModelS should be 'cool as a cucumber'. Opened the door and all manner of heat was blasting from the dash along with loud fans, pumps. Hit the 6pm kill switch and it all stopped. When I get home I'll turn HVAC back ON and hopefully it will replicate itself.

No such luck. This morning it simply opened with my usual skimpy settings: 68* on left, LO on right, AC OFF, DEFROST only, fan on ONE.

So that kinda kills my theory that my dog's tail smacked ON the HVAC. This must have been a software glitch of some sort. Could have fried the dog and killed the battery. Or at least dropped the charge so much that return trip would be impossible without a recharge. In a city with no EVSE.

Time to isolate cabin heater from software control. Ditto fan. Fun time is over!!
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[dbfish]

Curious if the mobile app showed the HVAC settings correctly or not. I would still call Service and have them check the logs, if any, for the error. Would be good if Tesla could push a notification if temp went beyond a set parameter (above 70 or below 50, for example).

 

[wycolo]

> ModelS should be 'cool as a cucumber': wycolo

Not so fast pardner! ModelS needs to cool off from all that regen accumulated during the 4000 ft decline! So it dumped heat every which way, including into cabin. If you had thought about it, you could have opened the doors, removed the dog, and watched from the sidelines as the scenario unfolded. Opportunity lost.
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PS: I will replicate this trip, :smile: stopping at this same spot but this time letting ModelS do its thing unmolested. Usually we proceed directly from the 12k pass down to Denver (5200 ft) without stopping. Still curious why 'everything' stopped when I hit the kill switch. Maybe ModelS was just about done with it's emergency heat dumping when I arrived. Next time we'll know for sure, and report back here.
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[FlasherZ]

No such luck. This morning it simply opened with my usual skimpy settings: 68* on left, LO on right, AC OFF, DEFROST only, fan on ONE.

The dog likely hit both HVAC on and the defrost button, which can set the fan to high and temp to "HI".

Turning climate control off, then back on will revert to your normal settings.

To the point above, I believe service can have Tesla confirm that for you by obtaining the logs from your car. They'd be able to tell you what was set. Tell them you are unsure what happened and they'll tell you exactly what happened.

 

[brianman]

The dog likely hit both HVAC on and the defrost button, which can set the fan to high and temp to "HI".

Turning climate control off, then back on will revert to your normal settings.

This was my immediate guess. The pre-4.5 front defroster can be very loud in Model S volume terms.

- - - Updated - - -

Please avoid such inflammatory titles. I hope the mods fix it...

 

[NigelM]

Please avoid such inflammatory titles. I hope the mods fix it...

Thanks. Title now fixed.

 

[ckessel]

Regardless of if it was the dog or not, the ability to disable the screen would be convenient. Specifically, for cleaning it, but it'd be useful in other cases as well. The lock screen could be buried in some sub menu, then maybe something like having to touch 2 corners of the screen simultaneously to unlock it.

 

[NigelM]

^^^ Like!

 

[wycolo]

Regardless of if it was the dog or not, the ability to disable the screen would be convenient. Specifically, for cleaning it, but it'd be useful in other cases as well. The lock screen could be buried in some sub menu, then maybe something like having to touch 2 corners of the screen simultaneously to unlock it.

I called for this last year, specifically to allow driving with a black screen. But if black screen means 'cannot be touch-activated' then yes, this will prevent my navigator from wagging the S into some energy-wasting, possibly life threatening mode. With summer heat comes new issues. Excellent suggestion!!


> Title now fixed. [NigelM]

Well done. I knew 'film @11' would not be quite enough, what with the recent demise of broadcast tv & such. Enter the book of obsolete phrases.
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[MitchMitch]

What is this "film" you speak of? :wink:

P.S. I got a kick out of the original deceased canine thread title, but appreciate the re-do.

 

[wycolo]

What is this "film" you speak of? :wink:

P.S. I got a kick out of the original deceased canine thread title, but appreciate the re-do.

Thank you, thank you. Simply too beautiful to live. [sigh]
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[wycolo]

Was sitting in the S the other day when voila! the navigator spun around in her seat and flicked the 17in screen with her ear. Turned on the HVAC, but to my usual minimum settings. This makes sense since she keeps tail tightly wrapped during spinning AFAIK and also I never found nose marks on screen. The windows, yes, but not on the screen. So it's the ear, Sherlock.

Solution (makeshift) would be to hang a piece of rug sample over screen somehow. Would have to remember to do this when exiting car for any length of time.
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[brianman]

Was sitting in the S the other day when voila! the navigator spun around in her seat and flicked the 17in screen with her ear. Turned on the HVAC, but to my usual minimum settings. This makes sense since she keeps tail tightly wrapped during spinning AFAIK and also I never found nose marks on screen. The windows, yes, but not on the screen. So it's the ear, Sherlock.

Solution (makeshift) would be to hang a piece of rug sample over screen somehow. Would have to remember to do this when exiting car for any length of time.
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I'm so envious that you have a canine navigator.

 

[wycolo]

> Solution (makeshift) would be to hang a piece of rug sample over screen somehow. Would have to remember to do this when exiting car for any length of time. [wycolo]

Planned on making a cardboard cutout & then Lexan plastic sheet to exactly cover 17 inch screen. It could nestle on the surround but without velcro or something sticky it would just be falling off all the time. Lexan could be drilled with pinky holes so I could change screens, yet dog's ear would not.

Grabbed a bath towel and a bungee just to get this project going. Voila, it fits & works. Slight sag to the right, but a staple from cardboard box hooks into vent perfectly to level it off. I can't change screen thru the 4 layers of terrycloth. Presumptive success, but we'll see.

Pink towel for shock effect/test purposes only. Maybe I'll hit a local pawn & score a black velvet Elvis tapestry. Fold it to feature The King on the ModelS dash. I'm sure He would approve.
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[wycolo]

Update: Screen just too darn sensitive!! Now thinking to use my videocam bar to support a simple partition to keep navigator in the rear seat while I'm shopping. Problem solved. And she likes the rear seat: can stretch out and there is less sunlight back there.
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[wycolo]

Update: Screen gets too hot if anything is covering it up.

Dog can stay in hatch with both rear seats UP. Can't jump over seats, you'd think?!

With front passenger seat moved ALL the way back, she cannot easily flick screen with ear or tail. Now we are getting somewhere. Should have tried this!! Doh!! And move driver's seat back all the way before leaving car. Have to make it a routine drill.
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