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Model S Technical / Mechanical Issues

Discussion in 'Model S' started by DrComputer, Sep 27, 2012.

  1. ajbessinger

    ajbessinger EV Repair Technician at QC Charge

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    Location:
    San Marcos California, USA
    A quick update to that seized up motor that I posted some pictures of earlier. We managed to get the rotor pressed out today, and it looks pretty nasty... We'll try to clean it all up as best we can with the hopes of salvaging this drive unit.

    20210113_213841.jpg

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    20210113_214018.jpg
     
    • Informative x 4
  2. 2101Guy

    2101Guy Active Member

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    @ajbessinger This is great work that you are doing, and sharing. Wanted to let you know that your posts/photos are extremely appreciated over here across the country. Helps some of us who are used to working on ICE cars only, have a better understanding of some of the innerworkings of these EV's
     
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  3. Palmtree

    Palmtree Member

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    What he said.
     
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  4. ajbessinger

    ajbessinger EV Repair Technician at QC Charge

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    Thanks guys!

    I started a thread on the site feedback page to see about creating a dedicated sub-forum for repairing/maintaining Teslas (as opposed to just these super long "Technical/Mechanical Issues" threads for each model). I think it would be really helpful to folks to have a dedicated place to go on the site here in order to ask questions or provide helpful information to keep these cars on the road, especially once they are out of the warranty period!

    BTW, I got another motor apart today, and I'm working on replacing bearings and a putting in a new coolant seal. On this one the seal was just starting to leak coolant into the motor, and it had started to form some rust on the rotor and steel bars in the windings. Luckily the owner of the car caught it in time when they were replacing a bad motor speed sensor, and saw evidence of coolant leakage.
     
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  5. ajbessinger

    ajbessinger EV Repair Technician at QC Charge

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    Here's the motor I was working on today. As you can see, the steel bars in the windings and the rotor were both starting to rust from exposure to coolant. Got it all cleaned up and started putting it back together with new hybrid ceramic bearings and a new/improved PTFE seal!

    20210114_115020.jpg

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    20210114_173732.jpg

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    • Informative x 2
  6. hpartsch

    hpartsch Member

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    Am I correct to assume ASY,PTRAIN,RMN,MDLS,BASE,CMC,HS,FA2+ (1025276-00-Q) is a large drive unit? I checked on the tesla parts page -- and I clicked large drive unit. But under large drive units it looks like there is even more and mine is not labelled large... So even more confusing...

    Lastly, I've not yet jacked up my Tesla yet. Got a jack pad. Can I check this by jacking up one side only or do both sides need to be jacked up?
    upload_2021-1-14_19-58-34.png
     
  7. ajbessinger

    ajbessinger EV Repair Technician at QC Charge

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    Both of those are large drive units. The highlighted one is the "base" large drive unit, and the other is the "sport" (otherwise known as performance) large drive unit. There are a multitude of different part numbers for them as there have been several revisions. But essentially, if your car is RWD only, or is a Pre-2017 AWD performance model; e.g., P85D or P90D, then it has a large drive unit (as far as I'm aware, P100D and of course the newer Raven performance models do not have a large drive unit).

    You might be able do it by jacking up just the left side, but it may be difficult to remove the splash shield. An alternative to jacking it up would be to use ramps instead (as long as they'll fit under the bumper without scraping).
     
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  8. Palmtree

    Palmtree Member

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    That's a great idea to ask for a sub forum here since there's already a lot of eyes on this site. I hope we can get it done. We are definitely on the cusp of high demand for diy repairs as model s cars come out of warranty coverage. I certainly hope to keep mine going as long as you have.
     
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  9. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    Jun 22, 2019
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    Location:
    Schuylerville NY 12871
    Help for no reason my passenger side of the car went dead yesterday. The doors wont present or open from the outside and the windows will not function. The side mirror is also not functioning with no door lights too. Tesla suggested it could be the ground stud. I pulled the frunk and the ground stud looks fine. The headlights work too. The only thing dead is from the passenger door to the back door on the passenger side. When I open the door from the inside the window drops like its suppose to and goes back up when the door is shut so there is power . I am so confused what it could be. I looked at the wiring going to the door and I dont see any damage from mice etc. any idea ?? i cant afford an expensive diagnostics and the first opening at Tesla is the end of the month and I drive my car every day. Thanks for any help.
     
  10. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    2015 model s 85 d
     
  11. Luv2preech

    Luv2preech Member

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  12. Gtech

    Gtech Member

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    Side mirror and door lights are connected to the door module. This module is grounded on the A pillar and not the frunk. (For 10 dollar on Ebay you can get the whole Model S wiring diagram and that is very helpful with this sort of cases)

    gnd.png

    You know how to measure a faulty ground point?

    You could also check if your LIN network isn't shorted but for that you need a scope. (door handle right front, left front, window switch all connected with LIN bus so if one component is shorted nothing works.

    Good luck
     
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  13. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    Thank you I have a meter but never did faulty ground before. dont know how.
     
  14. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    how do I get into the pillar to check the ground. Couldnt from Frunk
     
  15. Gtech

    Gtech Member

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    Think your ground point is behind some trim panels in the passenger footwell near the a pillar.

    Bad ground can be measured with a voltmeter, I'll try to explain.

    One pin into the ground wire you want to test, other pin goes to a 100% ground point. If you measure more than 0.1 volt then there is a resistance in the circuit you are testing. Hope this helps.
     
  16. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    Thank You ! now to figure out the trim piece lol you have been very helpful
     
  17. LTUAE42

    LTUAE42 Member

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    i Am downloading the wire diagram etc right now from ebay !
     
  18. Gtech

    Gtech Member

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    Cannot edit anymore but it is door handle RF, door handle RR and window motor RF and RR are all connected together with the same LIN bus.
     
  19. Luv2preech

    Luv2preech Member

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    @jbbessinger
    Great posts! I am going to tackle my 2015 p85 this week as I suspect the problems you have mentioned are happening to my DU.
    Do you mind sharing the bearing and seal numbers and source?
    Thank you
     
  20. ajbessinger

    ajbessinger EV Repair Technician at QC Charge

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2020
    Messages:
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    Location:
    San Marcos California, USA
    The seal we use is custom built for us to our specifications. As far as I know, there is no source for a suitable off the shelf replacement, trust me, I searched for a long time to find one.

    The hybrid ceramic bearings for the rotor are a special order item that comes from Germany, and retail for about ~$400 ea. There are also two other bearings in the gearbox that we replace as well whenever we have a motor torn apart.

    If you want to call our shop tomorrow, we may be able to sell you a set of new bearings and a seal (that's up to my boss Tony though, and he might not want to do that). I do know that if you wanted to ship the car, or just the drive unit itself to our shop, we'd be happy to do a full rebuild for you.

    There are quite a few specialized and expensive tools required to tear down a drive unit properly without damaging it, and a fair bit of expertise that goes along with doing so as well.

    since you say that you are having issues with the car, it would be best to have the whole thing torn down and closely examined in order to repvent a catastrophic failure. There are a multitude of other issues to check for while the motor is out of the car, besides just the seal, so its best to tear the whole thing down to make sure everything is in good order. We have rebuild dozens of these drive units, and as far as I know we are the only shop in the world that is doing so, so I think its pretty safe to say we are the world wide experts.

    If you want to get in touch here's the contact info for our shop:
    QC Charge
    Vista California, USA
    +1 (760) 798-0342
    +1 (844) EV-Parts
    [email protected]
     
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