Refreshed Model S: constant buzzing noise?

[wdolson]

The service center looked at mine and found some dirt in there. They said they cleaned it out, but the noise came back a couple of weeks later. Around here they use sand on the roads when it snows and the radiators suck up the sand.

The sound I hear is identical to the one the woman had in her video above.

 

[wdolson]

I got both headlights replaced after they started buzzing in December. It started right after a service center visit to replace the front seats plus investigate the scraping noise from the baffles int he front. On this visit they said a service bulletin had just been issued for the scraping baffles. It appears to be flash from the mold the baffles are made in. I will need to bring it back at some point to have them remove the baffles and smooth out the flash.

I found something curious now that I have the headlights replaced. My range has improved dramatically. About the time the headlights started buzzing, I also saw my range drop pretty sharply. I thought it was just winter weather and using more energy for heat, but the energy usage is now back to what I was seeing last summer. Possibly a little better.

Over the winter, the car has been consistently using about 50% more energy than rated range. For example a trip of 30 miles would burn around 45 miles of range.

I've only taken two trips since the fix. When I got the car back it was set to charge to 100%. I caught it when it was up to 97%, set it back to 90% charge, and bled off a bit of the excess (down to about 93%) by running the heat in the car in the garage with it unplugged.

The first trip I took was just running errands in town. I thought the energy usage might be an anomaly because it wasn't until I got to my first stop I noticed the climate control was off. I was wondering why the car wasn't warming up. On that trip I drove 6.2 miles and only burned off 4 miles of rated range.

The next trip was Saturday, more errand running, but a bit further afield. With the heat on normally, though with seat heaters off (my SO usually has hers on 2 or 3) and about 40F outside, we went 31 miles and only burned off 35 miles of range. That's a little better than I saw during the summer where the same trip burned about 37-39 miles of range.

It's still a little early to tell for sure, but I think it's possible that the buzzing headlights were also wasting energy.

 

[davidc18]

Had to have our headlights replaced for constant buzzing.

 

[MickC]

I had the same impression as @wdolson. Had the feelling range dropped a bit, but not dramatically.

The new lights have no or sometime a very silent buzz.
Still have the feeling that the buzzing will come back..

 

[SMAlset]

I think we might be experiencing this problem. Hubby drove home in our other car and upon getting out heard his MS parked next to it making a noticeable high pitched sound. Both cars are parked outside. He recorded it with his phone (audio file, I'll see if I can come back and post). He noted the time and played the sound for me and called Tesla. Only had the car for just over a month and never noticed any sounds before. The car hadn't been driven for a few days so he thought it peculiar that any sound would be coming from it although reading through the threads here realize that the car is always "alive" even when off.

While hubby was on the phone with Tesla I went to check the Tesla app again, had done so earlier this morning to see what the interior temperature was on it. The app was loading and waking up the car again and I saw a message that it was updating from like 26 minutes ago. Thought about it and that placed it about the same time as when hubby was hearing the noise from the car. Find the timing a bit suspicious. Always wondered what exactly happens to the car when you just wake it up with the app. Not sure if the timing was coincidental or not but reported it to them for their report for use when they check the logs. Told being a Saturday we might not hear back until Tuesday. Will let you guys know what they say. In the meantime we'll keep an ear out for the sound repeating and this time get close to the headlights.

 

[MickC]

@SMAlset
Does it come from the headlight?
Smart preconditioning on or off?
Do you have logging active? (like Teslalog)

 

[SMAlset]

@SMAlset
Does it come from the headlight?
Smart preconditioning on or off?
Do you have logging active? (like Teslalog)

Unfortunately when he recorded the sound he didn't walk around the car so can't answer the first question but it's on our list now to check.
Smart Precondition is Off.
We're not sure what you are referring to on #3. Please illuminate.

 

[wdolson]

There are a lot of normal noises from the front of the car. There are the pumps for the battery cooling system that are kind of low down and they get really loud when supercharging. There are also baffles that move back and forth behind the radiator grills in the front. These can make a scraping sound and I've been told by service there are two possible causes for the scraping sound, one is dirt in the mechanism and the other is some flash on the plastic moldings that scrape when the baffles move.

The buzzing originates from the headlights and I think it's the ballast for the LED headlights. The air conditioner also makes some whirring sounds you can hear outside the car, though those originate further back than the headlights.

 

[MickC]

So in my case it was one already replaced LED headlight which made the noise. At the SeC the new headlight had the same issue, so replaced again. Now all fine.

I heard sometime a similar noise, disabled "Monitor State" on my Teslalog account and it stopped. I believe it kept my car awake. Now only "Monitor Drive" active. And now I hear it much less. But never forget, a Tesla is always ON .

Some people, like me, use third-party logging software like Teslalog. So case #3 wont apply for you if you dont know it.

 

[Stunt822]

I joined the club of buzzing headlights. Mid 16 mS. If left for few days - hardly drains any battery, so this buzz isn't a power hog, but in a quiet garage it's quite noticeable. It goes off and on when left alone for a long period, not always on. So I know car CAN be silent!! Both lights buzz equally.

Btw, when unlplugged noise stops over a split second, like if it's a small motor spinning. Not instantly like a transformer would. What the hell can be moving in a LED headlights????

 

[wdolson]

It isn't a moving part, it's a ballast. LED and fluorescent lights use a ballast to drive the bulb. Old fluorescent lights can buzz up a storm. Under some conditions LED ballasts can buzz too.

My car is about the same age as yours. It started buzzing last fall after the car went to the service center for seat replacement. It took a couple of months to get the parts in, but it doesn't harm anything. It's just annoying.

 

[hacer]

I joined the club of buzzing headlights. Mid 16 mS. If left for few days - hardly drains any battery, so this buzz isn't a power hog, but in a quiet garage it's quite noticeable. It goes off and on when left alone for a long period, not always on. So I know car CAN be silent!! Both lights buzz equally.

Btw, when unlplugged noise stops over a split second, like if it's a small motor spinning. Not instantly like a transformer would. What the hell can be moving in a LED headlights????

When I had my headlight replaced at the service center (for making a constant buzzing noise), they diagnosed that the internal fan was always running. So they claimed that the headlight had an internal cooling fan. My new headlight makes no noise when parked, unlike the old one.

 

[Btrflyl8e]

Mine buzzed since day one, and I just had them replaced a couple of weeks ago, because one of my DRLs had started yelling and was partially out.

 

[Larry Hutchinson]

Now, two years on my MS70 has now entered the loud headlight buzzing club. Right.side (passenger.)

 

[wdolson]

Tesla will replace it under warranty. It's probably an item the ranger can do, though there is a backup getting parts.

 

[Larry Hutchinson]

It finally stopped on its own. Now, instead of a loud buzzing, there is a soft humming that sounds like the coolent pump except that it is coming from the passenger side headlight. I should note that the car is slowly charging up on 120V.

 

[Cjbabie]

My Model S75D just started with the high pitch noise to the front of the vehicle this evening after driving home 16 miles at slow speeds. It was making the noise before I started charging and even after charging started. No preconditioning on.My S is almost 1 year old. I have an appointment with service on Friday, but since it just started, they say I can’t add to this service!

 

[Cjbabie]

This is the first time it has made the noise and it is 44 degrees outside.

 

[wdolson]

If it's the same problem, the ballast in the LED headlights is producing the buzz. When it starts is random and probably doesn't have anything to do with the weather.