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Long absence with no power available
- Thread starter MarineroVA
- Start date
ucmndd
Well-Known Member
Generally this isn’t a great idea.
That said, if you park the car with a reasonably high state of charge (say 80-90%) then do a full power down when you leave it, you’ll *probably* be fine, though you’ll likely need to jump the 12v system to get going again.
That said, if you park the car with a reasonably high state of charge (say 80-90%) then do a full power down when you leave it, you’ll *probably* be fine, though you’ll likely need to jump the 12v system to get going again.
AlanSubie4Life
Efficiency Obsessed Member
Yeah, I would not plan on it. Perhaps if a whole bunch of things are turned off you could get drain below 2 miles a day and just make it. Some people claim this, and it might be true, but I have never seen a long term demonstration that is much different than 3 miles a day. In any case, it is something you’d want to emulate first, and you would also want a contingency plan.
In general I would expect 3 miles a day of loss if you have turned off the buggy draining features (Smart Summon Standby is one specific item). That makes this difficult. If someone can charge the car for you midway through, then no problem I guess. But you would still have to be careful to configure the car correctly before departure.
It also kind of biases you to charging to 100%, or close to it, before departure. It probably doesn’t matter much, but having it sit for a week above 90% is probably not the best.
I would charge to 90-95%, wait for the rapid loss of miles (rebalancing?) that I always see (7 miles a day the first day, followed by 2-3 miles per day), then recharge again the next day. It might hold that extra couple % a bit better on the second charge. Maybe.
But mostly this seems like a huge pain.
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I've been looking into this as well, and it is possible to disconnect the battery (not trivial, as you must disconnect both the 12v and HV battery), there are some complications.
I tried disconnecting the 12v battery, and it has no effect on the car (it gets 12v also from the main battery). I think, to go further, here is another untested solution:
1) Disconnect the HV battery (following proper instructions, possibly disconnecting 12v battery first)
2) Run the car off the 12v battery in the frunk
3) Remove all belongings from the car
4) Open the frunk
5) Exit the car and lock it
6) Walk off a short distance and close the Tesla app (phone key)
7) Disconnect the 12V battery negative terminal (in frunk)
8) Close and "lock" the frunk
9) Make sure no power (test doors or something)
To return, unlock the frunk using emergency access in tow hole (some say a 9v battery will work), connect 12v battery, unlock the car, and follow steps to reconnect HV power.
This is just a theory - in theory it could work, and there is some dangers and skill involved.
The doors should not be opened without the 12v battery as the glass will break (not a problem as you want the car locked, but a necessary warning).
The manual also states this "Make sure to reconnect the high voltage controller harness connector before reconnecting 12V power. Reconnecting 12V power before reconnecting the high voltage controller harness connector might result in the high voltage battery becoming over discharged."
I'm guessing that this is a typo, and they mean that the 12v battery would be over disconnected, but since there is no way to know what they are saying, it is a bit concerning.
I already damaged the car removing the back seat cushion (cheap plastic clips broke) and just looking at the orange colored make me cancel testing this at least for the near future.
So it is possible, but are you able to learn and take risks with an expensive car for the sake of parking (?). I've been on these forums for a while and this question gets asked a lot in various forms and I've not ever seen anyone do it.
I tried disconnecting the 12v battery, and it has no effect on the car (it gets 12v also from the main battery). I think, to go further, here is another untested solution:
1) Disconnect the HV battery (following proper instructions, possibly disconnecting 12v battery first)
2) Run the car off the 12v battery in the frunk
3) Remove all belongings from the car
4) Open the frunk
5) Exit the car and lock it
6) Walk off a short distance and close the Tesla app (phone key)
7) Disconnect the 12V battery negative terminal (in frunk)
8) Close and "lock" the frunk
9) Make sure no power (test doors or something)
To return, unlock the frunk using emergency access in tow hole (some say a 9v battery will work), connect 12v battery, unlock the car, and follow steps to reconnect HV power.
This is just a theory - in theory it could work, and there is some dangers and skill involved.
The doors should not be opened without the 12v battery as the glass will break (not a problem as you want the car locked, but a necessary warning).
The manual also states this "Make sure to reconnect the high voltage controller harness connector before reconnecting 12V power. Reconnecting 12V power before reconnecting the high voltage controller harness connector might result in the high voltage battery becoming over discharged."
I'm guessing that this is a typo, and they mean that the 12v battery would be over disconnected, but since there is no way to know what they are saying, it is a bit concerning.
I already damaged the car removing the back seat cushion (cheap plastic clips broke) and just looking at the orange colored make me cancel testing this at least for the near future.
So it is possible, but are you able to learn and take risks with an expensive car for the sake of parking (?). I've been on these forums for a while and this question gets asked a lot in various forms and I've not ever seen anyone do it.
There is no "full power down". The "turn power off" setting does very little if anything.
I went away for 10 days approx, and left the car just for testing and other reasons. The car somehow lost 10% in the first day (who knows maybe my fault somehow - I did move it a little in the driveway) from 65 to 56. Then it stayed at 55 for a few days and finally ended up at 50.
So I think what happened is that the car takes a while to realize that it is not wanted and then it goes into deep sleep mode. Then it looses 5% per week.
So at 12 weeks he will be at "60% loss", add 10% margin for the first day and he needs power to get there and use it when he returns - it is possible, but dangerous. Especially given that he is at the will of the military and they are in no obligation to return him exactly after 3 months.
Ah yes when the 90 day tour turns into close to 6 months
If you disconnect the 12V negative battery cable from the terminal, when the car goes to sleep it will be in storage (coma) mode. When you here no pumps running or clicking sounds from the charge port area, that is your indication the car is in storage mode. You can verify this by attempting to enter the car from the drivers door. If the screen does not illuminate, you are good to go. BTW, you will need to close the frunk lid or the car will never go to sleep and you will need to use a 12VDC source or a 9V battery to open the frunk to reconnect the negative cable when you return.
M3BlueGeorgia
Active Member
Presumably you don't have access to someone who could (say) retrieve your car monthly and charge it up to 90% before re-parking it?
I've tried this, and it does not happen. There is an additional disconnect under the backseat that needs to be unplugged so that the car does not produce 12V DC from the HV battery.
One would assume. If he has family, they likely do not live nearby the military installation and/or he is not given time to move it.
Besides, how is he going to keep his charge at the military installation unless there is a supercharger nearby. The most reasonable solution would be to ask the military for a charger.
If the car does not go to sleep for some reason, then you will need to disconnect the gray connector under the rear seat passenger side. Disconnecting the connector under the seat puts the car in storage mode without waiting for the car to enter sleep mode but you need to leave a window/door open so you can re-connect the grey connector. My Model 3 sometimes takes 4 to 6 hours before it goes to sleep.
Electric700
Active Member
I would contact Tesla through the app or Contact | Tesla about this. It would be a really good feature to add in the software an Away Mode, which would reduce the energy drain to 0.5 miles per day or less. The LR Model 3 could probably easily handle this amount for 9 months, and the SR+ too if both are charged to 90%.
CharleyBC
Active Member
It would be nice if there were a super-low-drain Away Mode, as mentioned above. But until then, sometimes I start to look for the out-of-the-box solution. I admit I don't know the specifics of your environment, so this may be dumb, but what the heck. Instead of the long-term lot, can you park somewhere else that you could leave the car plugged in, even to a good ol' 120V outlet. That'd be plenty to keep it happy. Then bum a ride or take Lyft to get where you need to fly away.
Actually this would be a fantastic solution, but I don’t know anyone in either the Dover DE or Norfolk VA area who could do this for me. I’d even be happy to let them use my car while I’m away... I took delivery of a DM AWD, and asked Tesla (Tyson’s Corner VA) to help me find someone, or an economical place to store and charge, and they suggested that I leave my Model 3 at home and rent a car...but I travel Space-Available and never know if, or from where, I’m going to leave, so I returned the car
Thanks, this is a good idea, but...I’d be reluctant to just leave my Tesla just anywhere. Imagine I found a place where I could leave it, unprotected, for months at a time, unattended. The advantage of the long-term lot is that it is patrolled, and it’s on a Military Installation. Would be great if they had 120V!
So you're saying that you have done this?
It sounds pretty good in that case. What about these steps:
1) Remove the 12v gray connector under rear passenger seat
2) Open Frunk
3) Close Doors and Lock car (close app)
4) Disconnect 12v battery negative terminal
5) Close frunk
Then can re-enter by releasing the frunk and connecting 12v battery, restoring 12v connector.
What about charging while you are at the installation for your your return journey and any local trips you may/may not make? Is there a local supercharger, or do you arrive at the installation and immediately go to your deployment / on a ship / never leave the base except to return home?
I think we have a good solution for you for long term storage - you just need to unplug the 12v power under the rear seats, lock the car and disconnect the 12 battery in the frunk. Disclaimer: haven't done it yet, and be careful not opening doors while power is off, but rrolsbe appears to have some experience with it. The car will be 100% off and hence use no power.
Electric700
Active Member
One other option, the parking area might have a standard 120 V outlet next to a light pole which you could park close to. You'd have to look around. You would want to set the current in-car to a lower value such as 8 A, which I think is the lowest. Also, I'd put a small surge protector in-line and make sure the electrical connections are covered from rain / debris etc. Since it's long-term, you will probably want to get approval and offer to pay to offset the electrical cost (I'd be surprised if it exceeds $20 total for three months).
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