No front lights at all, even indicators (Whoops did I do something....)

[Billbrown1982]

So, let the judgement commence. I fitted an EVOffer powered frunk kit today, all seemed to go swimmingly. The only real connections to the car are an earth (which will be my first point of call tomorrow I think) and a tap off the 12v battery.

All went great. Bonnet opening and closing like a champ. Fantastic.

Then I just went to drive home in the dark and realised I had no lights at all on the front end. Not indicators. No daytime running lights. Zip.
Also, something that surprised me is that the car doesn't seem to know anything about it. Shows the lights as being on, no error messages or anything.

Tried the standard reboot and a power off with no avail. Have deserted the vehicle for tonight and got a lift home. Now I'm just trying to figure out what on earth I've done and how I can undo it come tomorrow.

Any thoughts much appreciated and keeping the judgement to a minimal level would be further appreciated

 

[Overworked]

So, let the judgement commence….

Any thoughts much appreciated and keeping the judgement to a minimal level would be further appreciated

Two hopes of that happening then:
1. Bob Hope
2. No hope

Good luck!

 

[Irata]

I can only really offer some general diagnostic advice to help work out the issue.

Roll back each electrical change one by one, especially any wiring harness connectors that were needed, checking at which point the headlights start working again.

Because it's such a clinical failure, I do suspect by undoing the changes it'll work again. Then go forward again from that point.

 

[Billbrown1982]

I can only really offer some general diagnostic advice to help work out the issue.

Roll back each electrical change one by one, especially any wiring harness connectors that were needed, checking at which point the headlights start working again.

Because it's such a clinical failure, I do suspect by undoing the changes it'll work again. Then go forward again from that point.

Thank you and I sincerely hope your correct.

I've got this brief glimmer of hope that I tripped a fuse when I connected to the battery and that it will reset itself overnight, but seems unlikely as its knocked out the entire front end.

The add-on harness is literally connected to the latch mechanism, a shared ground and the shared 12v terminal on the battery, so while I find it hard to believe any of that has caused this, at least it will be easy enough to undo and hopefully get it back up and running.

 

[Durzel]

I wouldn’t be too surprised about the possibility of it being the fuse. It takes a good sleep for it to reset itself if it goes.

The electrical systems in the car are interconnected in ways that can often seem strange. I remember fitting replacement door puddle lights and on disconnecting the OEM bulb on some doors - not all - the window moves back up (it’s one of the things they say to be wary of, so you don’t damage the trim when closing the door). Why would the window be affected by an LED? Not sure, but it is.

My money is that you shorted something very briefly and tripped an efuse. I think it’ll be back to normal after a sleep (which hopefully has now happened).

Logically, as you say, the frunk kit is the more simplistic of the two, getting power directly from the battery and just being in the pathway of other connectors for signal purposes. The fact the kit works would suggest you installed it properly. I know there’s a part (or parts) of the install where they advise to be careful about bending pins, but I’d presume it wouldn’t work at all if you’d done that.

One thing that is worth being wary of is that the connector that joins the part that attaches to the 12v battery and the power cable that runs to the unit ends up being located in an area that is exposed to the elements. EVOffer instructions advise wrapping it in electrical tape, and I would concur.

 

[AndrewGR]

Very worrying if a single fuse protects all the front lights. No car I’ve ever owned has.been fused like that - far too dangerous if the one fuse was to fail whilst driving.

 

[WannabeOwner]

Why would the window be affected by an LED? Not sure, but it is.

Clearly you've not been a software developer? We get that sort of stuff all the time ... and are prone to trying to set the fix-ticket status to "That's not a bug its a feature" (actually we have "By design" for that, or if we are desperate "Won't fix" )

 

[AndrewGR]

Very worrying if a single fuse protects all the front lights. No car I’ve ever owned has.been fused like that - far too dangerous if the one fuse was to fail whilst driving.

Thinking about it - is there a single cable wired via single connector that routes to all the front lights. Failure of that seems much more likely than a fuse.

 

[Andy_RS2113]

The electrical systems in the car are interconnected in ways that can often seem strange. I remember fitting replacement door puddle lights and on disconnecting the OEM bulb on some doors - not all - the window moves back up (it’s one of the things they say to be wary of, so you don’t damage the trim when closing the door). Why would the window be affected by an LED? Not sure, but it is.

is it on a canbus system? if so, these are notorious for this kind of strangeness…. I had a disco 3 back in 2005 on canbus and it was a nightmare - I particularly remember when a brake light bulb used to blow, the entire air suspension would collapse….

 

[teaston]

If it is an E fuse then letting the car sleep should reset it. If you ever want to reset the fuses immediately this is the process to do it:

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - How-To Perform a 12V Reset on Your Tesla!

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - Mountain Pass Performance - A How-To/DIY Guide on performing a hard 12V Reset in Your Tesla Model 3!

www.mountainpassperformance.com

It’s slightly different on the MY, need to remove the massive cabin filter to get to the lithium 12v battery, just one bolt either end and it can then be lifted out with a bit of a squeeze past the frunk liner. Lithium battery is easier to disconnect though, just pull up the green tab, pull the black bit to the right then the plug can be pulled off the battery. Also , MY rear seat bench just pulls up from the front, no latch to open.

Also, this is the method to use if you are ever fitting electrical accessories such as auto frunk, amplifiers, tow hitches etc., just stop at the point where the connector under the rear seat has been disconnected, install your accessories, then do the rest of the process to get power back.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Much help given guys and to everyone that is hoping for a fuse, I love you all!

I'm just about to get picked up and go retrieve the car. I am also in the "surely the whole front end can't be controlled by a single fuse" camp - but I will be incredibly happy if it lights up when I arrive.

Otherwise i'll be driving it home and then start diagnostics.....wish me luck! I shall report back in a bit.

 

[Billbrown1982]

If it is an E fuse then letting the car sleep should reset it. If you ever want to reset the fuses immediately this is the process to do it:

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - How-To Perform a 12V Reset on Your Tesla!

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - Mountain Pass Performance - A How-To/DIY Guide on performing a hard 12V Reset in Your Tesla Model 3!

www.mountainpassperformance.com

It’s slightly different on the MY, need to remove the massive cabin filter to get to the lithium 12v battery, just one bolt either end and it can then be lifted out with a bit of a squeeze past the frunk liner. Lithium battery is easier to disconnect though, just pull up the green tab, pull the black bit to the right then the plug can be pulled off the battery. Also , MY rear seat bench just pulls up from the front, no latch to open.

Also, this is the method to use if you are ever fitting electrical accessories such as auto frunk, amplifiers, tow hitches etc., just stop at the point where the connector under the rear seat has been disconnected, install your accessories, then do the rest of the process to get power back.

Yeah kind of wish I had known that sooner. I followed the instructions which just tell you to power it down from the screen. Maybe that would have prevented this problem.

 

[Billbrown1982]

welp not a fuse....that's concerning.

Although....sentry mode was on now that I think about it. Does that keep it awake enough to stop the fuses resetting? I suppose it would.

First step then. Do that hard reset.

 

[Medved_77]

@Billbrown1982 Try a 2 button reset with the brake pedal pressed.

Most think the addition of the brake pedal in the reset procedure is just to prevent the car from rolling but given you are running out of options and it takes 3-4 minutes, it's worth a try on the off chance that it does indeed reset more modules than the standard 2 button reset.

Also, sentry will keep the car awake so the car will not have slept at all.

 

[Billbrown1982]

Very worrying if a single fuse protects all the front lights. No car I’ve ever owned has.been fused like that - far too dangerous if the one fuse was to fail whilst driving.

Not sure why you got downvoted. Bit harsh imo as I totally agree with you. At least if you lose headlights you've got side lights, or DRL's, or hazards, or something.

The whole lot going in one go seems like a bad design...but apparently thats what happens because after following teaston's guide the car lives! Unless I blew all the light fuses in one foul swoop, which seems excessive.

If it is an E fuse then letting the car sleep should reset it. If you ever want to reset the fuses immediately this is the process to do it:

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - How-To Perform a 12V Reset on Your Tesla!

Tesla Model 3 Hard Reset - Mountain Pass Performance - A How-To/DIY Guide on performing a hard 12V Reset in Your Tesla Model 3!

www.mountainpassperformance.com

It’s slightly different on the MY, need to remove the massive cabin filter to get to the lithium 12v battery, just one bolt either end and it can then be lifted out with a bit of a squeeze past the frunk liner. Lithium battery is easier to disconnect though, just pull up the green tab, pull the black bit to the right then the plug can be pulled off the battery. Also , MY rear seat bench just pulls up from the front, no latch to open.

Also, this is the method to use if you are ever fitting electrical accessories such as auto frunk, amplifiers, tow hitches etc., just stop at the point where the connector under the rear seat has been disconnected, install your accessories, then do the rest of the process to get power back.

My friend, I love you. If your ever passing Basildon, a tasty beverage of your choice will be made available to you. After realising that the car didnt sleep at all last night, I followed that guide just now and 5 minutes later its as if nothing ever happened. YAY!

So relieved. I'm off on holiday on monday and I really did not want this hanging over me until I got back. Thank you.

 

[Billbrown1982]

@Billbrown1982 Try a 2 button reset with the brake pedal pressed.

Most think the addition of the brake pedal in the reset procedure is just to prevent the car from rolling but given you are running out of options and it takes 3-4 minutes, it's worth a try on the off chance that it does indeed reset more modules than the standard 2 button reset.

Also, sentry will keep the car awake so the car will not have slept at all.

Dead right about Sentry. I just posted 2 seconds ago that Its now fixed

As for the 2 button with brake pedal. DId I not read in a few places that it no longer does anything and all of the "resets" were rolled into one (i.e just the 2 button push) ?? I'm sure I've seen that mentioned in a few places lately.

 

[Medved_77]

Dead right about Sentry. I just posted 2 seconds ago that Its now fixed

As for the 2 button with brake pedal. DId I not read in a few places that it no longer does anything and all of the "resets" were rolled into one (i.e just the 2 button push) ?? I'm sure I've seen that mentioned in a few places lately.

Glad you got it fixed!

As for the method with the brake pedal, the instruction manual mentions to use the brake pedal, we've heard via forum members via Tesla technicians that the reason is to prevent the car rolling. Whilst this is most likely accurate I would still be tempted to give it a go given the little additional effort it would take to give it a try.

 

[Durzel]

Late to the party but yes, Sentry Mode stops the car sleeping and thus stops efuses from resetting.

 

[teaston]

Not sure why you got downvoted. Bit harsh imo as I totally agree with you. At least if you lose headlights you've got side lights, or DRL's, or hazards, or something.

The whole lot going in one go seems like a bad design...but apparently thats what happens because after following teaston's guide the car lives! Unless I blew all the light fuses in one foul swoop, which seems excessive.

My friend, I love you. If your ever passing Basildon, a tasty beverage of your choice will be made available to you. After realising that the car didnt sleep at all last night, I followed that guide just now and 5 minutes later its as if nothing ever happened. YAY!

So relieved. I'm off on holiday on monday and I really did not want this hanging over me until I got back. Thank you.

No problem mate, glad you got it sorted easily.

 

[EVer Hopeful]

Unless I blew all the light fuses in one foul swoop

Start this at 11:52