I've restarted this thread because finally the time came for me to replace my original factory JVC radio. The ipod to iphone adapter had stopped working ("Unrecognized device" was the message) and the bluetooth stopped working as well. It would sync for about the duration of one song and then stop. So I decided to buy a modern JVC radio in the hopes it would make the installation easier. It didn't.
I pulled out the old radio and found the main wire harness connector almost fits the one in the new radio, except for the locking mechanism. I decided to take the bold move of just cutting off the plastic lock on the connector and plugging it in to see if it would work, in the hope that it would save me hours of wire identification and splicing. I plugged in the connector and POOF! Everything in the Roadster went dark. It wouldn't start, the doors wouldn't open, nothing. I unplugged the radio, and after about 5 panic-filled minutes, everything rebooted, all the doors and truck popped open, and all was well.
After a few deep breaths, I set about the business of figuring out what wires go to what. There's an old thread in this forum that describes what the radio wires should be, so I pulled the wire harness forward, and POOF! The gauge cluster went dark. The car beeped 3 times and the display said "ABS Short Circuit".
Immediately my memory went back to the day I found the mouse nest behind the radio and wondered if moving the wires around shorted things out. I realized at this point I was in over my head. I doubted that the Watertown SC would touch this problem, as they no longer have Roadster specialists. I didn't actually check, but I suspected they would have me take it to southern Connecticut, which is the only place in New England where Tesla will take on big Roadster issues. But then I realized there might be another option:
In September, I went to an EV car event in Shrewsbury, MA (yes, I had the only Roadster there) and one guy pulls up in a Rivian truck towing an Arcimoto with Oregon plates. Eventually after he let a bunch of folks take it out for a spin, I asked him how he got his hands on it. He said the company gave him two of them to play with because he has an EV-themed YouTube channel called Rich Rebuilds. I didn't know him from a hole in the wall, or about the work he did on Robert Downey Jr's car collection, but he seemed like a really bright guy, so when I got home, I checked out his channel. After sifting through some of the episodes, I realized he started up the Electrified Garage. This rung a bell.
In another discussion in this forum about a coyote damaging my Roadster,
@Lou B mentioned there was a place called Electrified Garage that had the former Roadster tech from Watertown (Chad). So I called, made an appointment and since my car was still drivable (albeit without a working speedometer) I headed to Amesbury. Chad poked through the car, found the mouse nest was far more extensive than I had thought (plus another up front), and sent me an estimate to repair. In case you ever wondered what a Roadster looks like without a dashboard, and with a giant mouse nest, attached is a picture.
Chad cleaned it out, repaired the chewed wires, put it back together and installed my new radio, all for about $1,500, which I feel is dirt cheap. The Roadster is good as new and now plays music too!
So if your Roadster needs a repair that may be something Tesla doesn't want to touch, or if yours is in the "salvage" category, you might consider these guys.
