PEM, motor gets too hot -- fans failed

[Eberhard]

Today, #1144 again. I got a new blower set two weeks ago, because the bearings caused loud noice. But the blowers are really death. where are the fuses? could nt find them in den fuse box.
12 + 13 are for the fan of the HVAC? i have to call the tesla ranger

funny - ride in the morning no problem at all, even the charging after was fine. but after starting the car #1144 powertrain problem - service required appeared.

today was 34° Celsius outside.

Eberhard

 

[hcsharp]

Eberhard you go through blowers like they grow on trees! I'm glad you have shown Tesla that they still have a problem with blowers. Just not as bad as it used to be. They really need a large filter other than the square holes in the bottom of the PEM. I wish I could get that air compressor setup like you have to clean it.

Today, #1144 again. I got a new blower set two weeks ago, because the bearings caused loud noice. But the blowers are really death. where are the fuses? could nt find them in den fuse box.
12 + 13 are for the fan of the HVAC? i have to call the tesla ranger

funny - ride in the morning no problem at all, even the charging after was fine. but after starting the car #1144 powertrain problem - service required appeared.

today was 34° Celsius outside.

Eberhard

 

[Saftwerk]

=> I found an additional little fuse box next to the right trunk lock.
There is 1 fuse in there. (maybe for the fan?)


Here is the "3-Tube PEM cleaning solution" to use with compressed air.

Sorry no picture from the other end. (maybe a yellow owner will paste it)

 

[driver_EV]

I think I will "wait and see" if the latest configuration needs any help in the filter department.

That previous service on the PEM and blower did not succeed without my additional filter material.
So I did it again, with even larger coverage and a finer quality furnace filter material.

A long story made short: This was done late last year while waiting on my Model S, so the Roadster was still driven daily as my only driven car at the time. The hot season was over, and so there was nothing to report as to effectiveness until it was tested again for summer 2013. Though the car has been driven less now that the Model S is here, I do drive the Roadster on any other excuse I can find. Typically at least once per week for work commute, and in afternoon and evenings almost daily.

At this point there are no "too hot" indications from the car. On hot days I observe the "Performance" indicatior turns color (red/orange?) as I use the power, but typically returns to white within 20 seconds or so. This looks fairly good to me, and the car does not feel like it has limited power, as did become very noticable before the filter. It seems the blower is cooling as well as it can now.

When I did the filter material this last time, I tried to keep it simple, and improvised a bit more. I did little or no trimming of the rectangular furnace filter material, and used plastic wire ties and some strong looking nylon cord to hold it all in place.
So far, the "too hot, PEM dirty" issue seems fixed with the updated single motor blower and my "filter dome of protection".


Here are the pics of what was done last:

 

[hcsharp]

That previous service on the PEM and blower did not succeed without my additional filter material.
So I did it again, with even larger coverage and a finer quality furnace filter material.

A long story made short: This was done late last year while waiting on my Model S, so the Roadster was still driven daily as my only driven car at the time. The hot season was over, and so there was nothing to report as to effectiveness until it was tested again for summer 2013. Though the car has been driven less now that the Model S is here, I do drive the Roadster on any other excuse I can find. Typically at least once per week for work commute, and in afternoon and evenings almost daily.

At this point there are no "too hot" indications from the car. On hot days I observe the "Performance" indicatior turns color (red/orange?) as I use the power, but typically returns to white within 20 seconds or so. This looks fairly good to me, and the car does not feel like it has limited power, as did become very noticable before the filter. It seems the blower is cooling as well as it can now.

When I did the filter material this last time, I tried to keep it simple, and improvised a bit more. I did little or no trimming of the rectangular furnace filter material, and used plastic wire ties and some strong looking nylon cord to hold it all in place.
So far, the "too hot, PEM dirty" issue seems fixed with the updated single motor blower and my "filter dome of protection".

Thanks for posting this. I'm not having as much problem with the large air box installed around the fans that forces it to take the air from the top of the box away from the wheel well, but I'm still getting clogged up eventually. I take it you don't have the air box or cowling around the fans? Or did you just remove it to make this mod? With "leaf" season here in VT, I'm thinking of adding a course high-flow furnace filter over the top of the box. Wondering if anybody has tried that.

 

[driver_EV]

Thanks for posting this. I'm not having as much problem with the large air box installed around the fans that forces it to take the air from the top of the box away from the wheel well, but I'm still getting clogged up eventually. I take it you don't have the air box or cowling around the fans? Or did you just remove it to make this mod? With "leaf" season here in VT, I'm thinking of adding a course high-flow furnace filter over the top of the box. Wondering if anybody has tried that.

I do not have the box around the blowers, but I bet the filter would make a big difference if you can cover the open areas to/around the blower with it. Night and day difference for me. I did install white plastic barrier at the wheel well to partition it from the blower area. You can see it in some photos.

 

[coyote1b]

PEM Fan Fusees?

Today, #1144 again. I got a new blower set two weeks ago, because the bearings caused loud noice. But the blowers are really death. where are the fuses? could nt find them in den fuse box.
12 + 13 are for the fan of the HVAC? i have to call the tesla ranger

Has anyone found where the fuses are located for the PEM and Motor cooling fans? Had to replace the fan and now the new fan will not operate. Thanks for any info.

 

[Chillout]

In the back of the car, there;s a small fuse box, on the right top, near the wheelwell. I'm not sure what these fuses do, but I will take a pic as soon as I'm at the car again.

 

[coyote1b]

In the back of the car, there;s a small fuse box, on the right top, near the wheelwell. I'm not sure what these fuses do, but I will take a pic as soon as I'm at the car again.

Thanks for the reply. After some more investigating I found the two 20A fuses for the fan motor. In our 2010 Roadster Sport the fuses are located in the high voltage compartment accessible on the top of the PEM. **** Leave this fuse change to a qualified service technician as there are dangerous voltages in this area. ****

 

[hcsharp]

I noticed lately that my motor was heating up rather quickly and my fans were louder than normal. Then the fans just stopped completely with a message on the VDS about PEM and Motor fan problems. I replaced the two 20A fuses you mentioned (pulled the safety disconnect first). One of them was blown. After removing the PEM, I opened the cowling around motor and couldn't believe what I saw. It was completely packed with leaves! All the way around the motor! It's a wonder the motor was getting any air at all! It's odd because Tesla cleaned it out only a year ago.

Then I removed the fans. Since Tesla installed the snow dam on my 2.5 I haven't had as much problem with leaves, dirt and failed fans as I used to. Until now. I noticed that the bottom pan, the plastic part, had separated from the seal on the lower part of the snow dam shroud. This left a large gap for all manner of crud to get into the fans including all those leaves. I haven't finished putting it all back together because I need something to seal the pan better, but I'm hoping this will take care of it for a while.

When you go for your annual service, Tesla normally cleans out your PEM and fans. Make sure they also clean out your motor cooling ducts as well.

 

[coyote1b]

We live in an area with plenty of Fall leaves and the PEM fan generally finds a way to shred and deposit leaves and other detritus into the PEM and motor cooling passages. This Spring after doing a thorough cleaning I decided to try a screen to see if it will help. Basically I used a piece of aluminum window screen, removed the fan from the mounting bracket, put the screen on the bracket and reinstalled the fan. The screen was then wrapped around the motor and folded so one end will be between the fan mounting bracket and car mounting area. I used some small wire to mesh together the screen ends. Not the best looking solution but it may help keep things cleaner. Some pictures are attached.

 

[hcsharp]

Nice job! I look forward to hearing how it works. If I'm correct you had to remove the sway bar in order to do this? And drill out the rivets holding the fan to the bracket. Did you replace with new rivets or find a better fastener solution?

 

[dhrivnak]

My PEM and motors stay very clean, especially after I added a barrier to keep them out from around the motor. I got some of that yard sign corrugated plastic and attached with Velcro incase I want to remove. 3 years later they are holding up well. I assume the rear screen allows plenty of air in without leaves.

 

[wiztecy]

My PEM and motors stay very clean, especially after I added a barrier to keep them out from around the motor. I got some of that yard sign corrugated plastic and attached with Velcro incase I want to remove. 3 years later they are holding up well. I assume the rear screen allows plenty of air in without leaves.

But you have a 1.5 They don't get dirty bone stock really, at least mine. Last time I pulled my pem/motor for cleaning was 2 years ago, PEM and motor temps are still in the normal range. I may pass pulling it off this year even and do my cleaning next April. I don't live in the woods, so that helps, but the 1.5 vs. the 2.x in terms of blower, pem, and motor cleaning/up keep is a whole different story. One reason I'm happy I have a a 1.5 roadster.

The 2.x's modified design work better than a Dyson in cleaning up the road. Curious if Tesla skipped the dirt & grime test which they conducted on the 1.x's before their release. There's some awesome videos showing the roadster doing doughnuts and messing around in the dirt all to test its ability to not clog up and keep going over time.

 

[dpeilow]

There's some awesome videos showing the roadster doing doughnuts and messing around in the dirt all to test its ability to not clog up and keep going over time.

I was looking for those the other day and couldn't find them.

 

[wiztecy]

I was looking for those the other day and couldn't find them.

It appears they're titled skid pad / traction control tests:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=509042243145

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=523517659253

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=523517634303

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=523517414743

 

[midlife crisis]

Has that dust doughnut test been tried with the S and X?

 

[wiztecy]

Has that dust doughnut test been tried with the S and X?

The dust / doughnut test is labeled by Tesla as the "dust intake test" in the 1st video. This test is due in part that the PEM and motor are air-cooled in the Roadster. Since those components on the S & X are now water cooled and enclosed, this test would not be valid unless they're trying to see how much grime and fun they can pick up in that dirt field. As for the traction control / skid-pad tests, I'm certain this test or some form is used to validate traction control on their prototype vehicles.

I'm curious if they did the dust intake test for the Roadster 2.x. Not sure if that would have flagged the issue where the blower sucks and pushes up all the pine needles, leaves, and junk up into the PEM though.

 

[coyote1b]

Nice job! I look forward to hearing how it works. If I'm correct you had to remove the sway bar in order to do this? And drill out the rivets holding the fan to the bracket. Did you replace with new rivets or find a better fastener solution?

Yes. I had to loosen the sway bar to remove the fan assembly. My fan is attached to the fan bracket with small screws and nuts so no drilling out of rivets required for me. We have not been using the Roadster since last Fall and now we have a Model S so we are trying to decide if we want to put the Roadster back into service. I am not sure if I will get to test the screen modification after all.

 

[bart513]

Wiztecy,
Never missing a moment to bash the 2.xxxxx!!
Not that I disagree with the dyson analogy. My fans seized up and are being replaced as we speak