Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

[Btr_ftw]

UPDATE

welp, cant figure out the abs issue as yet but I shouldn't let that stop me from working on the rest of the car.

You guys remember when I used that stupid black dye and it turned the C pillar fabric to purple?

Well I picked up some Duplicolor black fabric dye and went to town

The headliner had a few stains from handling and quite frankly I didn't feel like cleaning it so I went to town on the paint. It came out very nice and looks OEM. Painted the A , B , C Pillars as well.

Minor staining

Base coat

Second coat

Third coat

Fourth coat

Final coating

 

[Oil4AsphaultOnly]

WOW! That came out REALLY NICE!

 

[gabeincal]

UPDATE

welp, cant figure out the abs issue as yet but I shouldn't let that stop me from working on the rest of the car.

You guys remember when I used that stupid black dye and it turned the C pillar fabric to purple?

Well I picked up some Duplicolor black fabric dye and went to town

The headliner had a few stains from handling and quite frankly I didn't feel like cleaning it so I went to town on the paint. It came out very nice and looks OEM. Painted the A , B , C Pillars as well.

Minor staining

Base coat

Second coat

Third coat

Fourth coat

Final coating

That came out perfect! Congrats! Can you elaborate a little bit on headliner removal? Does it come off fairly easy without damage? I've removed the front part so far due to a dashcam install, but quite keen on removing it all to fit the cables neatly and perhaps install some more sound insulation in there. I heard that removal of the headliner requires removal of the windshield which just sounds absurd.... Perhaps you could take some pictures of the installation also for folks to use for DIY projects later. There is nothing on the internet afaik.

 

[jelloslug]

I have dyed fabric several times. You should let it dry for a day or two and then lightly brush the entire part and give it another coat.

 

[Btr_ftw]

That came out perfect! Congrats! Can you elaborate a little bit on headliner removal? Does it come off fairly easy without damage? I've removed the front part so far due to a dashcam install, but quite keen on removing it all to fit the cables neatly and perhaps install some more sound insulation in there. I heard that removal of the headliner requires removal of the windshield which just sounds absurd.... Perhaps you could take some pictures of the installation also for folks to use for DIY projects later. There is nothing on the internet afaik.

It was a piece of cake really, everyone said you have to remove the windshield which is false, yes it makes it easier but have fun doing that in your garage.

The basics are...

Remove A pillars
Remove sunvisors
Remove panoramic brace plastic cover
Remove B pillars (they snap off)
Remove C pillars (they pop out)
Recline seats all the way down

Start pulling on the headliner and disconnect all of the electrical connections in the front of the car that control the mic and map lights.

open rear hatch, slightly fold headliner and pull out of the rear hatch! Once put back in place the folds are no longer visible due to the bracing from the A,B,C pillars

 

[kwjayhawk]

I saw this picture online the other day and could swear it looks like your profile pic.

 

[scaesare]

No relation... I'm sure of it.

 

[ElectricT]

Here are the two different version of the radiator support: The aluminium one is the older version and the black plastic one is the new version. I don't know if the plastic one is what is under the new bumper cover though.

does it matter which one we can use? Mine is an Aluminum one right now, but i need to replace it. should i go with plastic or AL? why did they change it? 2014 Model S

 

[disillusioned]

I saw this picture online the other day and could swear it looks like your profile pic.

View attachment 202853

I mean, he gets around:

 

[Johan]

Strangely enough Harold looks slightly different in the beginning and end of his first drive video

 

[Btr_ftw]

UPDATE....

SOMETHING I'VE WANTED TO DO FOR A LOOOOONG TIME.

Regen isnt working but................ hey, at least she's gonna look real good!

Had some leftover red paint sooooo

BAM

 

[Saghost]

Interesting. Can't wait to see what that'll look like all together in the car.

 

[Btr_ftw]

Update

Well not really an update but I'm just brainstorming/thinking out loud on my abs, regen, stability issue.

Here is what I know.

The car does not tell me how fast I'm going unless it's on the ground and driving, when it's up in the air the speedometer says zero mph when I press the accelerator.

Judging by the videos of the model s on the dyno it looks like it's supposed to give me a reading even when the front wheels are moving.

My first thought was that it would be the rear wheel speed sensors, so I pulled them out, tested them and they checked out just fine. Hmmmmmm.

I will also remove and inspect the motor speed sensor that is connected to the drive unit when I get the chance too.

 

[Btr_ftw]

These are the possible things that could give me the regen, abs, traction control issue, it may be a combination of two or more of these items or perhaps it's just one thing that's ruining it all.

1) bad wheel speed sensors
2) faulty motor speed sensor
3) faulty abs traction control module
4) battery pack not getting to operating temperature
5) brake cluster sensor
6) poor wiring connection from drive unit to passenger side wiring harness
7) air in brake lines
8) brake power pump

 

[jelloslug]

You forgot the most likely problem:

 

[Nietschy]

4) battery pack not getting to operating temperature

Do you see the dotted lines on the speedometer all the way to the center?
If not, I doubt that it is a temperature problem. Even at 40°F there is some (but little) regen on the car.

 

[emptyspaces]

These are the possible things that could give me the regen, abs, traction control issue, it may be a combination of two or more of these items or perhaps it's just one thing that's ruining it all.

1) bad wheel speed sensors
2) faulty motor speed sensor
3) faulty abs traction control module
4) battery pack not getting to operating temperature
5) brake cluster sensor
6) poor wiring connection from drive unit to passenger side wiring harness
7) air in brake lines
8) brake power pump

I'm putting my money on #8

 

[Ingineer]

It's normal on RWD cars to not see speed if front wheels are stationary. BTR, I can walk you though diagnostics and reading the fault matrix to determine why ABS isn't working, just hit me up.

 

[Btr_ftw]

It's normal on RWD cars to not see speed if front wheels are stationary. BTR, I can walk you though diagnostics and reading the fault matrix to determine why ABS isn't working, just hit me up.

THIS GUY ^^ above is the reason this whole thread even exists. A year ago I showed him a pic of this dead car sitting in a field and asked him "hey what do you think?" He replied with " oh piece of cake , just take everything out and dry it "

Now I didn't realize that we had two different definitions of what a "piece of cake" really was, also we didn't realize that was a salt water car and most of it was destroyed.

We have been communicating for a year now and I don't know if he's so smart that he knew one way or another the car was going to be running (whether I had to ship it to him or not) but you know what, he never doubted me.

Our convos would go like this.

Me - hey, everything is terrible, car was salt water flooded, harnesses are corroded, pack has water, drive unit has corrosion, nothing works, interior was destroyed and needs to be thrown away, Car smells like the ocean, and I have no keys! this thing is done man, I have a $15,000 5000lb paperweight in my garage.

Ingineer - buy another car and simply swap everything over


Me - K



And that's it. That's how 99% of our conversations go, simple and to the point, he never questions my skill or ability, never asks my comfort level, he just says "yeah, do this" maybe he's laughing at me in his head or talking to his friends at the local pub but I gotta say, it's refreshing.


Anyway

Got some new Thoughts in my head (one of those , now that I'm in here kinda things) this is going to be a loooooong journey

Here's a hint (P85+)

 

[Btr_ftw]

These are the possible things that could give me the regen, abs, traction control issue, it may be a combination of two or more of these items or perhaps it's just one thing that's ruining it all.

1) bad wheel speed sensors
2) faulty motor speed sensor
3) faulty abs traction control module
4) battery pack not getting to operating temperature
5) brake cluster sensor
6) poor wiring connection from drive unit to passenger side wiring harness
7) air in brake lines
8) brake power pump

Ruled out #5 tonight.

Swapped a new brake sensor cluster in and I'm still having the same issue, I opened up my flooded one for the fun of it (that I didn't throw away as yet) and made a keychain out of it