New Owner Here, Bought a 2013 S85 with Massive Issues and Need Guidance.

[jtlpowersports]

Howdy guys!
Yesterday I achieved a milestone by buying my first Tesla, a 2013 S85 with 165k on it and a laundry list of issues. The car has been sitting "dead" for almost 9 months now after the previous owner got stranded in his work parking lot with it. The car is currently being towed cross country to me and I'm hoping to get prepared to start the diagnostic phase as soon as it arrives. Luckily for me my day job is in the salvage industry so I have access to a few S's for parts, which is the deciding factor in me purchasing this car. I'll try to make this post short, but my head is currently spinning with the amount of conflicting information online. I will make a list of the codes I know the car has currently displayed when hooked up to jumper cables (the 12v battery is completely smoked). I do know the LDU has coolant in it, I was able to get that checked on the initial purchase inspection. I have a pretty extensive automotive and electrical background (Xerox Engineer for 8 years of my life) so I'm hoping to conquer this car and get another notch in my belt.

Questions
1. What is the best course of action for diagnostics? I've been suggested a few different scanner setups but looking for a community consensus.
2. Can I force the air suspension to lift manually? This thing is sitting on the ground on all 4's and its making life rather difficult
3. 12v battery replacement... Parts store or do I "need" to get one from Tesla.

Current List of Codes
EAS_W007
DI_U014
BMS_F086
THC_W0105 (This went away with adding some coolant)
BMS_W026
BMS_W086
BMS_F086

Thanks in Advance for the help!

 

[vcor]

Likely the best place to start is with the Tesla service manuals. Access is free. Go to Tesla Service and set up a service subscription. You can then get access to what the codes mean and a lot more. The 12v battery is hard to source outside Tesla, but Tesla part prices are generally reasonable. If the car has been sitting uncharged for 9 months, I suspect the main battery is a goner. Hope I'm wrong.

I'm about 90% sure the air compressor in the car is 12v, so if you power the car up (via external 12v), I'd expect it should start up the compressor automatically and pump up the suspension. You can change the ride height from the main display, but it shouldn't be necessary. It may take a few minutes for the air compressor to get enough pressure. Unless there is damage to the system, it should keep the suspension up for weeks (months?) without power.

Sounds like you have a fun project on your hands! Good luck!

 

[howardc64]

I did a couple of DIY websites targeted to DIYers. Both in my signature line. One for early Model S which I own. The other for the drive unit I just rebuilt. Should be good starting point for you. I have seen this car disable the most advanced of all DIYers (those that build EVs from scratch with this drive train) There are a lot of limiting factors.

Here are couple of links specific to your question

12V battery, Diag tools and service manual Howards Model S - Parts & Diags

Also read section on New to EV/Tesla to gain understanding of the HV+12V system.

On your drive unit, read EV Builders Beware section here. Its a full detailed LDU DIY rebuild website

Tesla LDU (google.com)

 

[jtlpowersports]

Likely the best place to start is with the Tesla service manuals. Access is free. Go to Tesla Service and set up a service subscription. You can then get access to what the codes mean and a lot more. The 12v battery is hard to source outside Tesla, but Tesla part prices are generally reasonable. If the car has been sitting uncharged for 9 months, I suspect the main battery is a goner. Hope I'm wrong.

I'm about 90% sure the air compressor in the car is 12v, so if you power the car up (via external 12v), I'd expect it should start up the compressor automatically and pump up the suspension. You can change the ride height from the main display, but it shouldn't be necessary. It may take a few minutes for the air compressor to get enough pressure. Unless there is damage to the system, it should keep the suspension up for weeks (months?) without power.

Sounds like you have a fun project on your hands! Good luck!

Thanks for the help! The main battery still shows 61% so im hoping theres a chance (fingers crossed)

 

[TheFro]

Is this WatchJRGo???

 

[howardc64]

Is this WatchJRGo???

OP Location is in OH and not KS (I think JRGo location) but maybe bought it from JRGo? hahaha. But j**powersports and JRGo seems possible

I am connected to many people rebuilding LDU. Almost all are very advanced DIYer (including EV builders) becoming stuck on LDU seal leak. Its amazing how disabling this car can be to even the most advanced DIYers. Advanced DIYers are confident to fix anything. But they have yet to encounter Tesla's issues (don't distribute some parts, basically prevent manufacturers from distributing parts in case of LDU seal)

 

[jtlpowersports]

Is this WatchJRGo???

He’s a close friend but yes this is the car

OP Location is in OH and not KS (I think JRGo location) but maybe bought it from JRGo? hahaha. But j**powersports and JRGo seems possible

I am connected to many people rebuilding LDU. Almost all are very advanced DIYer (including EV builders) becoming stuck on LDU seal leak. Its amazing how disabling this car can be to even the most advanced DIYers. Advanced DIYers are confident to fix anything. But they have yet to encounter Tesla's issues (don't distribute some parts, basically prevent manufacturers from distributing parts in case of LDU seal)

I’m not rebuilding, going to go the used route for now on the LDU

 

[KJD]

Howdy guys!
Yesterday I achieved a milestone by buying my first Tesla, a 2013 S85 with 165k on it and a laundry list of issues. The car has been sitting "dead" for almost 9 months now after the previous owner got stranded in his work parking lot with it. The car is currently being towed cross country to me and I'm hoping to get prepared to start the diagnostic phase as soon as it arrives. Luckily for me my day job is in the salvage industry so I have access to a few S's for parts, which is the deciding factor in me purchasing this car. I'll try to make this post short, but my head is currently spinning with the amount of conflicting information online. I will make a list of the codes I know the car has currently displayed when hooked up to jumper cables (the 12v battery is completely smoked). I do know the LDU has coolant in it, I was able to get that checked on the initial purchase inspection. I have a pretty extensive automotive and electrical background (Xerox Engineer for 8 years of my life) so I'm hoping to conquer this car and get another notch in my belt.

Questions
1. What is the best course of action for diagnostics? I've been suggested a few different scanner setups but looking for a community consensus.
2. Can I force the air suspension to lift manually? This thing is sitting on the ground on all 4's and its making life rather difficult
3. 12v battery replacement... Parts store or do I "need" to get one from Tesla.

Current List of Codes
EAS_W007
DI_U014
BMS_F086
THC_W0105 (This went away with adding some coolant)
BMS_W026
BMS_W086
BMS_F086

Thanks in Advance for the help!

The search engine on TMC is kind of clunky but sometimes it finds what you are looking for. For example when I searched for the EAS_W007 code from your list I found this 4 page thread. Might be a good place to start.

Air Suspension error - EAS_w007

Good luck with your project.

 

[howardc64]

I’m not rebuilding, going to go the used route for now on the LDU

Just FYI, I've seen 2 EV builders buy used LDU to put in their Porsche + custom subframe. Both LDUs have rotor shaft completely rusted ( 1 confirmed pitted after clean up, 2nd one not yet cleaned up but likely). Pitted shafts require sprayed metal repair so there is more variables. Just a note on used LDUs, best case is get one that hasn't been idled too long and plan on changing a leaky seal. I'd guess high % on used LDU unless known not leaking and haven't sat idle.

Here is the reference to the 2 salvaged LDUs in case you are curious how bad they look

Tesla Large Drive Unit (LDU) Motor Teardown and maintenance - Page 11 - openinverter forum

Hope this helps

 

[mrjedistud]

My air suspension flattened out when my HV battery died. I tried everything to raise it but even after a month of trickle charging I couldn’t get the system to work. There’s no shrader valve so you can’t just pump it up manually either.

Good to know that JRgo didn’t part out the car, although that would have been interesting content.

 

[TheFro]

Random question and sorry if this sounds dumb but can you replace the LDU with an SDU? I know one uses coolant vs the other using oil and I'm sure it would be underpowered like a ton but is it possible?

 

[howardc64]

Random question and sorry if this sounds dumb but can you replace the LDU with an SDU? I know one uses coolant vs the other using oil and I'm sure it would be underpowered like a ton but is it possible?

Good question and quite natural People have looked into this before. No one has done it and probably can't be done wo Tesla support. Tesla may have had a test mule with SDU in RWD cars for dev but probably no way to change without Tesla developing a field retrofit kit+firmware.