New Roadster owner

[jason.tv]

not sure what's happening with the circular pieces on the sides . . . maybe just to provide some clearance between the belly cover & the side rails where it contacts?

I just remembered those circular pieces in the belly panel are for access to the abs module without removing the entire panel; something I will never need or use.

 

[gregd]

Furthermore I've seen from Gruber videos the PEM is really really clean to begin with since the seal is excellent on the PEM they say, so they probably open it up and already know the PEM is in good order; then they close it back up and unhook couple connectors make sure they are clean and plug them back in and charge you $650 for the annual cleaning. I've read unhooking and connecting the connectors every time is what wears out the tips and connections; enough times you will need replacing.

There are two "sides" to the PEM. The pictures you see in the Gruber videos (and other sources) with all the pristine chips and circuit boards is never opened. Where the crud accumulates is on the other side of the heat sinks, which is where the cleaning takes place at the Service Centers with compressed air.

The infamous PEM Fan Connector is a relatively easy thing to fix, but it requires access to that top part. Until recently, the SCs were forbidden to go in there, and instead had to swap the entire PEM. Lack of an "approved ESD-safe workstation" was cited as the reason when I pushed them on it a few years ago.

 

[jason.tv]

Curious does the roadster make a grinding or weird brake humming sound every time the brake is pushed? even when the parking brake is on I hear weird random noises. The noise comes every time I push the brake; This is different than the clunk sound I am referring to.

so when I am reversing out of the garage or parking spot I have to push the brake multiple times which causes that weird noise or electrical humming noise to appear that last 2-3 seconds and goes away.

when I put the car into drive or from reverse into drive I first hear it as I release my foot off the brake; but it does not sound like the rotors, it's more electrical noise for 2-3 seconds but maybe it is the brakes or the rotors I don't know; Is this normal?

I even hear the noise when I first turn the car on.

 

[hcsharp]

I was cleaning them and read what they were but now forgot lol; I think they were wheel or rear access panels for something because it's accessible / removable with one screw without removing the entire panel; looks to me it's for rain drainage in case water gets into the belly.

Those are used for inserting lift adapters, not for access to abs modules.

Furthermore I've seen from Gruber videos the PEM is really really clean to begin with since the seal is excellent on the PEM they say, so they probably open it up and already know the PEM is in good order; then they close it back up and unhook couple connectors make sure they are clean and plug them back in and charge you $650 for the annual cleaning.

What @gregd said above. If done right the annual service is a lot of work and worth the cost. It's a long list of things they do to the car, not just cleaning the PEM, fans, and cooling channels around the motor (which you might not have known about).

The noise you hear after pressing the brakes is the electric vacuum pump for the brake booster.

 

[jason.tv]

Those are used for inserting lift adapters, not for access to abs modules.


What @gregd said above. If done right the annual service is a lot of work and worth the cost. It's a long list of things they do to the car, not just cleaning the PEM, fans, and cooling channels around the motor (which you might not have known about).

The noise you hear after pressing the brakes is the electric vacuum pump for the brake booster.

Has anyone been able to replace the electric vacuum pump for the brake booster with a quieter one?

 

[jfischer]

Those are used for inserting lift adapters, not for access to abs modules.


What @gregd said above. If done right the annual service is a lot of work and worth the cost. It's a long list of things they do to the car, not just cleaning the PEM, fans, and cooling channels around the motor (which you might not have known about).

The noise you hear after pressing the brakes is the electric vacuum pump for the brake booster.

Here is what is done on the yearly service at the SC in case you want to do it yourself.

 

[drewski]

Didn't use any product; just wiped down any spots with dry paper towel and threw away one by one; the spots with tons of dirt and or dust I used tiny bit of water from a bottle but enough just to dampen the towel a tiny bit just to remove the dirt in case I hit or touched any electrical wiring, But everything seemed pretty safe.

I would rather do this then send my car in for the yearly service PEM cleaning; seems to me that is a waste to send it in rather than the process I just did. I am damn sure Tesla service center is not going to spend couple days wiping down all the components under the belly for you.

Furthermore I've seen from Gruber videos the PEM is really really clean to begin with since the seal is excellent on the PEM they say, so they probably open it up and already know the PEM is in good order; then they close it back up and unhook couple connectors make sure they are clean and plug them back in and charge you $650 for the annual cleaning. I've read unhooking and connecting the connectors every time is what wears out the tips and connections; enough times you will need replacing.

Furthermore again lol, with the new employees and service center crew technicians you really want them in your PEM? Taking a meter to make sure all your cells are reading correctly? And if they are not you want them to break the bad news to you? no thanks.

not sure of the Gruber videos with the clean PEM, but i've heard the 2.0/2.5 PEM get's pretty dirty because the fans pull in air from the rear wheel wells. not as muhc of a problem with 1.5 PEM / fan design, but can be substantial (leaves & dirt) with 2.0/2.5 design.

 

[jfischer]

not sure of the Gruber videos with the clean PEM, but i've heard the 2.0/2.5 PEM get's pretty dirty because the fans pull in air from the rear wheel wells. not as muhc of a problem with 1.5 PEM / fan design, but can be substantial (leaves & dirt) with 2.0/2.5 design.

I concur... My 2.5 is like a Dyson Vacuum pulling up all kind of debris and road trash. LOTS of DUST and leaves in the PEM that needs to be cleaned out. My 1.5 never had that kind of issue. As also stated earlier, by taking off the PEM to clean, the FAN connector will become an issue as the lifetime rating on that connector is 25 cycles.

 

[jason.tv]

Here is what is done on the yearly service at the SC in case you want to do it yourself.

Ah cool; yea I forgot there was an under suction of the pem where leaves and debris get sucked into; the other checklist is good to know they do their work.

I am looking for new rotors; which rotors should I get? I'm on eliseparts and inokenetic and the lotus is 4 bolts and the roadster is 5 bolts; they said it will not fit.

Kinda confused.

 

[drewski]

Ah cool; yea I forgot there was an under suction of the pem where leaves and debris get sucked into; the other checklist is good to know they do their work.

I am looking for new rotors; which rotors should I get? I'm on eliseparts and inokenetic and the lotus is 4 bolts and the roadster is 5 bolts; they said it will not fit.

Kinda confused.

Slim pickings, and as you've found out, different bolt pattern vs. Lotus.

@titaniumdave where's the interest level for another batch of your 2-piece rotors?

 

[jason.tv]

Slim pickings, and as you've found out, different bolt pattern vs. Lotus.

@titaniumdave where's the interest level for another batch of your 2-piece rotors?

I've emailed him here and personally at his email and no reply.

 

[jason.tv]

with all honesty I'm watching a PEM cleaning video right now and I wouldn't trust the service center in west palm beach. The Entire PEM and connections literally have to come apart. enough times doing this your car will start giving you errors.

 

[titaniumdave]

I've emailed him here and personally at his email and no reply.

Sorry, huge backlog of emails...working through them now. I am getting a set of rotors going at this time. Only doing 15 cars of rotors and it may be the last batch since interest has fallen off and prices are getting so hard to keep down. PM if you are interested in getting on on a set, I have a number still available.

 

[titaniumdave]

You might want to consider upgrading the rotors, too. The custom ones that @titaniumdave makes are much better than the stock, especially since they are much more resistant to rust. The stock ones will rust within a few milliseconds of even the threat of moisture, and it takes a number of heartbeats for the rust to get scraped off when you first need to stop. Then they will begin to slow the car, the usefulness of which depends on whether your heart is still beating.

See Now Shipping: Custom Tesla Roadster 2-Piece Slotted Rotors

Sorry, huge backlog of emails...working through them now. I am getting a set of rotors going at this time. Only doing 15 cars of rotors and it may be the last batch since interest has fallen off and prices are getting so hard to keep down. PM if you are interested in getting on on a set, I have a number still available.

 

[Bill25cycle]

I concur... My 2.5 is like a Dyson Vacuum pulling up all kind of debris and road trash. LOTS of DUST and leaves in the PEM that needs to be cleaned out. My 1.5 never had that kind of issue. As also stated earlier, by taking off the PEM to clean, the FAN connector will become an issue as the lifetime rating on that connector is 25 cycles.

Yeah, when I owned my Roadster I was joking with the technicians that I wondered whether they 'preloaded' the pem with leaves since the thing was so jam packed it wouldn't charge even at 30 amperes since it was thermal limited. I seriously considered putting a removable cloth bag in the inlet to reduce the number of times the thing had to be cleaned at the Canadian Service Center (Mississauga) (since it was the only place I could drive to on my battery (from Buffalo, NY) for $USD 830 each time.

As far as the twenty-odd checklist of things they did - they did *NOT* even blow out the motor (a technician to my house did that with an air hose I supplied) and only removed the PEM. The Tesla Technician at my house couldn't believe they ignored all the other stuff but still charged full price, so he wrote them up in a complaint!

 

[jason.tv]

Working with someone to create Halo ring HID Headlights; when the turn signals function the amber color will turn as 3 piece halo ring effect for the fronts.

wish me luck; I will post pictures of how it turns out. will start mid April; this is just a test sample.

 

[CAR3NUT]

Interesting project, good luck and kept us posted of the progress..........

 

[jason.tv]

Interesting project, good luck and kept us posted of the progress..........

if it works I am planning to get the internal housing of the headlight dipped in Carbon Fiber.

Luckily the prior owner had the Headlamps fogging fixed back in 2012 with the vent patches installed in the internal housing so there is no cracking and this skips the process of ordering the Xenon HID headlamps from Tesla at $4k plus labor.

 

[jason.tv]

So the best project to do while at home during these time is "Dynamat"; I've spent the past couple days doing work on the car; couldn't get good pictures underneath the vehicle so don't have much to show of what I did.

I saw some articles here and heard someone refer to "Singing Bars" and actually I missed this; this was one of the last things I did before I put the belly panel up; Video attached.

If you read in this prior forum I mentioned a clicking or clunk sound every time the accelerator is pushed and released; as the bolt to the transmission was already completely fastened I managed to put a piece of Dynamat right next to the transmission piece or where it's assuming there is a "click" and sure enough it sounds MUCH BETTER" now it's like a faint click than a clunk.

The car is Completely different! I kid you not, I don't hear any of the rattles and the vibrations are reduced in my opinion and I am not even done yet; I still have to do the inner wheel wells above the plastic piece, both doors, the carpet, and the front dash.

For the belly panel tesla already includes sound damping in 3 piece sheets that were cracking and dusting on the edges so I taped up everything and added more to the under belly panel.

Overall without it being complete and the dash not even done or doors not even complete yet I consider this 100% worth while from the test drive I did after.

I thought I ordered to much dynamat but it's perfectly enough; I think I have 3-4 sheets left and still have the doors and upper portion of car to do; inner wheel wells and under dash. and might have to purchase more for under the carpet and seats; not sure.

Keep in mind I am hard of hearing; I am 35% hearing loss in my left and 30% in my right so for me this was a perfect solution; now I barley hear anything lol. But it does seem the car is more grounded in sound and the squeeky '87-91 Porshe thunderbird rattles are gone.

singing bars.mov
before.mov
after.mov

 

[X.l.r.8]

I wish I could stay at home, my roadster to-do list increases all the time. Maybe in 4 months they will give me a month off to compensate/recover