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Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

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UPDATE

So the car smells like seawater (precisely the kind of water I did not want)..... definitely sea water... but is it? Carpet was damp and I opened the manual frunk release under the dash
and what did I find?


RI1NiEE.jpg


wqYBN43.jpg



Water in the frunk, along with lots of small twigs, sticks and dead leaves. Perhaps its not seawater? Maybe rainwater from the frunk not being fully closed? Man I'm dying to know the real story on this car. I'm praying the water level was below this.

Tomorrow is electrical isolation day
 
UPDATE

So the car smells like seawater (precisely the kind of water I did not want)..... definitely sea water... but is it? Carpet was damp and I opened the manual frunk release under the dash
and what did I find?

Water in the frunk, along with lots of small twigs, sticks and dead leaves. Perhaps its not seawater? Maybe rainwater from the frunk not being fully closed? Man I'm dying to know the real story on this car. I'm praying the water level was below this.

How about the 'taste' test? :scared:
 

Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

Okay, here's a "how to" primer:

1. First, crack open all the cylinder heads and purge them of all the excess electrons. Keep at it - don't let them accumulate on the plugs 'cuz that might cause what in the industry is known as a 'spark'.

2. Work your way back to the carburetor, as this will be full of electrons, too. You need to dry it out completely, esp. as some of them will be 'stale' electrons.

--->It's vital to keep a positive attitude. Don't become negative!<----------

Get back to us for further steps. Good luck!
 

Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

Okay, here's a "how to" primer:

1. First, crack open all the cylinder heads and purge them of all the excess electrons. Keep at it - don't let them accumulate on the plugs 'cuz that might cause what in the industry is known as a 'spark'.

2. Work your way back to the carburetor, as this will be full of electrons, too. You need to dry it out completely, esp. as some of them will be 'stale' electrons.

--->It's vital to keep a positive attitude. Don't become negative!<----------

Get back to us for further steps. Good luck!

Carburetor? Serious?
 

Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

Okay, here's a "how to" primer:

2. Work your way back to the carburetor, as this will be full of electrons, too. You need to dry it out completely, esp. as some of them will be 'stale' electrons.

......Unless he has the newer fuel injector. Be careful when working on this, as electrons have been known to spray randomly.
 
I specialize in 2002 Ford Thinks, which is a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV).

A couple of months ago, I added another Ford Think to my herd (or maybe this being the 1st in my flotilla is a better description). It was on a boat ramp, and by accident, was driven into the ocean. It remained in salt water for about 15 minutes, before being plucked out by a fellow boater's tow vehicle. The owner attempted to 'garden hose' it, but total tear-down, neutralizing , cleaning and drying were required, but not accomplished. Although it's too late, powering up any vehicle before these steps are taken is gambling with odds like winning the Powerball jackpot.
Growing up in Canada, snowmobiles going through the ice would occasionally happen. I saw several brought back to life by locals. It was imperative to keep it submerged in fresh water, until starting and completing all the steps. One step was verifying the ICE was not hydrolocked, but obviously that's not an issue with a Tesla. Immediately after rushing through the steps, the engine was started and run for at least 15 minutes, to dry out any other moisture.

On receiving the Think, it was apparent that the windows for following the steps had closwd, as the initial tear-down revealed the following. There can, and usually are, additional gotcha's found when digging in.

1) The instrument cluster, which does not have conformal coating, had it's copper traces corroded away in some places, and leaching in other.... Toast.
2) Motor is a DC 6 Hp motor. bearing and some steel parts corroded or seized. Questionable, but probably rebuildable
3) Differential has a vent, located on the top, water in, air out. Toast
4) Motor controller - potted (like wk057 states the CHADemo adapter is) and appears to be unscathed.
5) All 4 wheel assemblies have seized bearings. Brake cylinders appear ok, but will be replaced as well.
6) Brake master cylinder reservoir has salt water in it. Probably little impact since it's plastic
7) Delta-Q charger is toast. While environmentally ok with rain, etc, there is a vent with filter on the bottom. Water intrusion lead to rampant corrosion internally.
8) Deka gel batteries are sealed, and owner kept them for his replacement car. They were less than 6 months old.
9) Kilovac contactor (same brand as Tesla uses, but different model) has an Economiser circuit board on it. Circuit board destroyed, but since the actual contactor coil, contacts and leads are sealed, it can be rebuilt.

Overall, the Think is a relatively open design, and exposure to the environment isn't usually a major problem. However, there's a world of difference between exposure to rain vs salt water immersion. Printed circuit boards that are not conformally coated will probably be toast. In reference to possible impact to the Tesla, I'm very certain that a substantial tear-down, neutralizing, cleaning, and possible coating to ward off continuing corrosive effects is likely. A list of parts necessary will need to be compiled. I would also recommend a detailed conversation with a few of the forum members that have delved into salvage vehicles and battery pack work would be worth it. at least 2 of them have already commented on this thread. Locating a battery pack from another Tesla would be the way I'd go, but your pack has value, even in it's current condition.

I would also put out feelers so if a salvage Tesla is being parted out, you might be able to procure some parts.

There might also be additional help out there on the forum. There is a wealth of info on the hacking thread, started by wk057, and at some point, analyzing faults, etc would probably be mandatory in hopefully restoring this MS and getting it back on the road, notwithstanding the possibility of Tesla. However, the comment by your Tesla friend might be more indicative of Tesla's general thought to avoid it at all costs.

Good luck!
 
Well, you're definitely going to have to remove and repair the battery pack if it was submerged. The pack is mostly sealed, but in a submersion event the pressure will be able to let water in through the little check valves and such. And here is the issue. While the cells would maybe survive submersion (probably dead, though) the BMS connections probably wont. Tesla's BMS connects to each individual cell group using small copper wires welded to the aluminum bus plates with ultrasonic welding. Unfortunately this process has a tendency to fail in the presence of water. So you're going to have to drop the pack, open it up, and remove every module to inspect these connections.

The electronics themselves are probably fine throughout the car, though, believe it or not. Every circuit board in the car I've seen has a conformal coating on it which would mostly protect it from water damage I'd believe.

I don't believe the HVJB would be water tight, though.

*shrugs* I'm cheering for you, but I think it's going to be a long road. :(

It is going to be a long road! Ill be honest. If people like you werent on this forum possessing a wealth of information Im not sure I would have taken this on. Believe me Ive read many of your threads and contributions and have learned alot, so much so that I purchased the car based on what I learned from you and others have said.






















If this fails you have nobody to blame but yourself

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How about the 'taste' test? :scared:

Good idea. Ill pour some in a glass for my wife.

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Not sure what you paid for the car, but when you get tired of it let me know. Probably a few parts on it that are good at least...

Realistically my plan of attack is to bust the car open like a pinata, shake out all the goodies, then scatter them all over the house until my wife tells me to get rid of them.

You are first in line.

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Good post ... I would recommend that the OP reach out to additional TMC members for assistance with this project.

I have and will. Im also willing to pay if need be. I know peoples time is money. No doubt about that.

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Judging by your pics and first takes on the parts you look at, can you go all CSI on it and get an idea of what you think happened? I'm guessing dropped from a flatbed from an overpass into a canal. It'd be interesting to know it's history and how it got there.

Hoping to get that answer as well. One of my goals is to get in touch with previous owner
 
UPDATE

So the car smells like seawater (precisely the kind of water I did not want)..... definitely sea water... but is it? Carpet was damp and I opened the manual frunk release under the dash
and what did I find?


i told ya, if you got it from jersey it's most likely seawater. (i'm from there). we've had a bunch of major floods in the last few years from hurricanes and stuff. lots of beach towns got seawater destroyed.
 
Can someone tell me whether or not these are the generation 1 or 2 posts (they look pretty rickety)

It looks like someone tried multiple times to jump the car judging by the way the positive terminal is all chewed away.

yOVZXtn.jpg

These are Gen 1. The new one has a rubber cap that seals the positive terminal. This is normal looking, though a bit more corrosion than normal on the terminals. (This is why they went with a cover for Gen 2!)
 
These are Gen 1. The new one has a rubber cap that seals the positive terminal. This is normal looking, though a bit more corrosion than normal on the terminals. (This is why they went with a cover for Gen 2!)

I can vouch for this. Had mine replaced with gen 2 when I had a 12V failure (courtesy/warranty). The new ones are more solid. My old + pole was pretty corroded, and my car never took a bath in the ocean. And road salt doesn't get under the nose cone.