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Manual battery cooldown mod - a cure for the Roadsters insomnia

Discussion in 'Roadster 2008-2012' started by ML Auto, Nov 5, 2017.

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  1. driver_EV

    driver_EV Member

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    Disclaimer: I have not put the dash back together again yet! Hoping the wire route, etc will still be good when the work is done. :)
     
  2. Rolf68

    Rolf68 Member

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    Great pictures, thanks all is crystal clear :)
     
  3. driver_EV

    driver_EV Member

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    #23 driver_EV, Jun 22, 2018
    Last edited: Jun 22, 2018
    Okay, this is off topic, but I have info to share of an omission from the Roadster owners manual and is missing in the the 2.5 manual addendum supplement.

    * In case anyone has their glovebox stop working (will not open), the problem may merely be FUSE #11 (20Amp rated!).

    The electric glovebox is not listed in the fuse guide. The heated seats were also not working, and I did not discover that fuse earlier due to my confusion with the fuse panel layout.

    The guide shows FUSE #11 is for the heated seats and interior lighting. As far as I can tell at this point, only the heated seats and the glovebox are disabled by an open fuse #11. My interior (dome light) was working fine.

    I was able to find the glovebox is controlled by the switchpack, and was dreading how to deal with such an expensive repair for my glovebox, or sadly install some alternative solution.

    There could be some intermittent short that may pop fuse 11 again in the future, but at this point it looks all good with a new fuse. Fingers crossed.
     

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  4. Rolf68

    Rolf68 Member

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    Thanks for this info :)
     
  5. backmost

    backmost Member

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    Is there a way to initiate the cooldown on 110V? My coolant pump has been running nonstop with most daytime temps in the 90F range.

    I have the OVMS but not installed yet, can I do a range charge and crank the AC to get the same effect?
     
  6. gregd

    gregd Active Member

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    With this modification, the answer should be yes. The modification forces the opening of the valve to let refrigerant flow to the battery's evaporator coils. Without it, I am not sure, but I do not think the battery is ever cooled when charging on 120v. I often used a short (30 minute) Range charge to force the battery cooling, but I have a 240v charging setup.

    OVMSv3 doesn't have the cool down feature implemented for the Roadster as yet. Even so, it would need the 240v level 2 charging rate to function.
     
  7. ML Auto

    ML Auto Member

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    The car will activate the A/C and cool down the battery on 110V, but I think it needs the battery temp to be pretty warm. Did you try a range charge? It should turn on the A/C within a few minutes if its going to work with 110V. You can then stop it after the A/C cycles and restart the charge again until the temps are down. That way you won't add much charge. I previously shut down the APS every time to turn off the pump, which is the reason I did this mod.
     
  8. backmost

    backmost Member

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    I tried the range charge for a few minutes but it didn't seem to turn the AC on. Does the car have to be "on" with the AC running?
     
  9. gregd

    gregd Active Member

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    Not for charging, and in fact, the car prevents you from turning it "on" when the charge door is open.

    I think MLAUTO has the key bit of info, in that the battery cooling on lower charging voltage only happens if the battery is really hot, at which point it's probably doing so in self defense.
     
  10. DeedWest

    DeedWest 2008 VP & 2011 2.5 Sport

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    To answer this over a year later -
    cooling will only take place on 110V if the ESS reaches 41C while charging. It will then cool itself down to 38C and stop. It will then repeat as necessary during 110V charging.

    Side note - I cannot wait to install this modification next month (with some help). Here in Texas, this will do wonders for me. Thanks, @MLAUTO !
     
    • Like x 1
  11. backmost

    backmost Member

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    Luckily I got a Level 2 charger out in and OVMS so now I just do cooldown when needed.
     
  12. drewski

    drewski Supporting Member

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    Following @driver_EV's technique, I put an LED switch next to the headlight switch on the left side of the cabin. The circle imprint on the plastic is the exact size needed for this!
    IMG_20191223_100613.jpg
    Some spare 16awg lamp wire was what I used to run the connections
    IMG_20191223_145046.jpg
    I have no soldering skills so used T-taps for the connections on the HVAC controls and for the Ground
    IMG_20191223_155532.jpg IMG_20191223_144702.jpg
    I didn't disassemble the center console or lower dash, so couldn't use the hollow tube to run the wire. I just tucked it above the front of the lower dash metal tha's just ahead of the metal tube that driver_EV used. It was completely blind on my part, so hopefully nothing happened while I threaded it behind some existing wire to keep it in place.

    I hear clicking and the LED comes on. I'm new to the car so not sure what other noises I should be hearing with this :rolleyes:
    IMG_20191224_084942.jpg

    The hardest part was getting that panel in front of the HVAC control on / off! I still haven't gotten it behind the metal tabs at the front and the holes re-aligned to put the fasteners back!

    For this, removal of the center console like driver_EV did may make things easier? Or there's a trick that I missed to make it easier!
     
    • Like x 3
  13. Logticom

    Logticom 2010 Roadster Sport | 2015 Model S 85D

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    Zwolle The Netherlands
    Thanks everybody for contributing to this thread!
    Yesterday I did this mod.
    And I will be testing it today with JdeMo charging.

    I am still looking for a place to put the switch.
    Since I have the rear fog light button, I will have to make a hole for the switch somewhere else.
    I have a small switch and a bigger one and I am going to place it somewhere near the other buttons.
    (to be continued)
    Hereby some pictures:

    upload_2020-8-23_8-53-7.png

    upload_2020-8-23_8-53-52.png
     

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  14. Logticom

    Logticom 2010 Roadster Sport | 2015 Model S 85D

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    #34 Logticom, Aug 23, 2020
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2020
    Another mod that would be great for JdeMO users is to be able to lock the car while charging (and car being on).
    Does anybody know how this can be done?

    EDIT: I found the JdeMo thread where this is already discussed.
     
  15. markwj

    markwj Moderator, Asia Pacific

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    There was a custom setting added to OVMS to allow this.

    Code:
    config set xtr protect.lock no
     
  16. slcasner

    slcasner Active Member

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    I've been frustrated over the past few days of this heatwave in California that my battery has been sitting at 35C with the coolant pump running. Twice I tried to use the OVMS "charge cooldown" function, but even though it cycled through the range charging steps at 12A as it is programmed to do, that was not effective on my car. The A/C ran very little. I even tried a normal charge, which brought the battery temp down to 32C near the beginning, but left it back at 35C at the end.

    Coincidentally this thread became active again today. So I said, OK, I've got to do this. I preferred an installation that was inconspicuous and removable, so I installed my toggle switch right near the HVAC control box. I can still reach it easily from the driver's seat, but I don't expect to use this while driving, rather just to cool down the battery when I get home.

    To avoid getting metal shavings down in the works when I drilled a hole for the switch I used a small piece of light cardboard as a chute. Wanting to keep it simple and using parts on hand, I decided to make do without an inline fuse. Although I am skilled at soldering, I decided to use the vampire taps rather than trying to work with a hot soldering iron in the confined space of the footwell. Also the taps can be removed leaving only minor evidence. (You're right, I can't undrill the hole where I mounted the switch, but it's in an inconspicuous location.)

    After completion I started the car in the garage, turned on the A/C with minimum fan speed and coldest temp, and flipped the switch. That cooled my battery down to 29C in about 10 minutes, so it doesn't really even consume that much battery power. Tesla really should have designed the car to do this in the first place, or at least should have given the driver an option to do this on the VDS.

    The hardest part was getting the plastic parts out and back in place. I did not find it necessary to unbolt the HVAC controller. In fact, I think I could have tapped into the wires without removing the plastic parts at all, just by choosing a spot further up on the wire bundle -- see the second photo. Thanks to @MLAUTO and the others who've posted here. IMG_5744.jpg
    IMG_5746.jpg
     
    • Like x 2
    • Informative x 1
  17. Logticom

    Logticom 2010 Roadster Sport | 2015 Model S 85D

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    Hi Mark, thanks for the code!
    I can lock the car now with OVMS, while the key is in and the car is on.

    But it is not possible yet to JdeMo charge while the car is locked with OVMS.
    Car wont take a JdeMo charge when key is in and car is on and locked with OVMS.
    And when I am JdeMO charging and I lock the car with OVMS, than the car stops the JdeMo charge.

    Am I missing something?
    Is there something more I have to do to lock the car while JdeMo charging?
    Thanks!
     
  18. markwj

    markwj Moderator, Asia Pacific

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    Maybe something has changed on the jDeMo side since the early tests with this? Can anyone with jDeMo doing this help?

    OVMS logic is:
    1. If handbrake is off, refuse to lock and show console message "Lock: Refuse to lock car with handbrake off".
    2. If car is on, and xtr/protect.lock is true, refuse to lock and show console message "Lock: Refuse to lock car that is switched on".
    Regards, Mark.
     
  19. slcasner

    slcasner Active Member

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    @markwj, it seems like it should be possible to command this solenoid closure by sending a message to the HVAC ECU on CAN bus 2, no?
     
  20. markwj

    markwj Moderator, Asia Pacific

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    Yes. But, a little scary to mess around with that bus. ESS and HVAC :(

    Also, we might be fighting the VMS, which will also be controlling that.
     

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