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Service question; how to charge AC?
- Thread starter ElectricLove
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- Model S
Plasmid_Boy
Member
Interesting. I kept the old broken Tesla compressor and plan to open it up when I have time to kill. It is comparable to a typical car AC compressor in size. I have a 5 tons AC for my house and that compressor is about 3 times the size if the tesla’s and maybe 10 times more heavy. If I have to guess, I would guess that my home AC co.pressor is much more powerful than Tesla compressor. So, it seems unlikely to me that the Tesla AC is 60 tons. But just a guess though.
Both the condensers on my 2015 S P90D broke recently after close to 5 years and 75k miles (119 000km). Took it to the local service center as I suspected that there only had to be made a refill of coolant gas, and an easy fix. The service center concluded that both condensers had corroded (lots of salt on roads in winter probably caused it), causing a leak resulting in the breakdown. I was quite shocked that the condensers broke so early in the lifetime of the car, as I also drive a 2007 Saab 9-5 with more than 150kmiles on the meter that have never had any issues with the AC.
I claimed that this should not happen this early, and stood my ground on that this kind of component should not have corroded at such an early time in the life of the car and they agreed to take another look into if this could be covered under goodwill or if I had to pay for the repair my self. The technician said he would check with his supervisor and call me back shortly, but I never heard from him again. The next day I got a message that my car was ready for pickup so I went to pick it up.
Luckily for me the car was less than 5 years old (by a few days), and we are covered by extensive consumer protection laws here in Norway, resulting in me not having to pay a dime for the repair. Everything was taken on goodwill by Tesla.
See image for details
-PC
taimurasad
Member
taimurasad
Member
Can you please elaborate more on your experience? I know which gas and oil to use and in what quantity as that is mentioned on sticker under frunk.
You had Model X or S? Do you know if HV battery or 12v battery or first responders plug need to be removed prior to refill? I’ll definitely be going to a pro car AC guy but I’m not sure he will have experience of doing it on an EV. Any precautions to take specific to an EV?
The difference on EVs (and many hybrids) is that the compressors are electric and not belt driven. The refrigerant and oil is very sensitive to contamination and will short out the compressor if the wrong oil is used …or even if AC gauges and hoses with trace amounts of forbidden PAG oil are used…. He should have a dedicated set of gauges/hoses just for use with POE based oil. I believe model S use POE ND-11 oil but would look for stickers under the hood / on the compressor to confirm.
taimurasad
Member
Thank you for this.
Any other precautions that I need to be aware of when regarding AC in EVs? Do we need to disconnect HV battery, 12v battery or first responders loop before doing this?
Model S P85D, car had front end crash so I replaced both condensers and some pipework.
Called a local AC guy who came out to me , he'd done a couple of teslas and confirmed the correct gas etc.
Didn't disconnect the 12v or HV loop.
He filled it then made me run the AC for 10 minutes.
It's been fine for over a year, ice cold air con and superchargers fine.
I'm in the UK so quite a cool climate.
The AC guy said its just the same as most cars with as above , an electric ac pump.
£200 all in
taimurasad
Member
That’s so great to hear that it can be done without going to Tesla SC. I have a Model X 2017 so hopefully it won’t be that much different than yours. Hope to get it fixed soon from a third party shop. Just trying to find the right shop with right equipment.
taimurasad
Member
Sorry to bother you again but can you tell me if he filled the gas while AC was running or not?
Did he add the ND-11 oil as well?
Don’t disconnect the battery or 12V. The Tesla service center would use Toolbox (their software) to put it into recovery mode or filling mode. Indy shops won’t have that, but typically you would set the car to maximum cold to get the compressor to run while filling it. The exact process isn’t super important- what I’m trying to convey is that they will want the car and AC functional during the procedure.
Hi @GazMav , I'm also in the UK. I was wondering who your AC guy was and where he is based? I'm in need of a refill at best, and compressor replacements at worst. I'm in Surrey.
Thanks,
Will.
I was about to take my car to a third-party shop to re-fill my AC, and before I did that thought I'd look at the service manual, tried to follow instructions and got the car into the "Thermal Fill Drain" mode, unfortunately I see no way to get out of it. My car now shows "Refrigerant system needs commissioning" alert. Does anyone know how to commission the HVCAC system? Is toolbox3 needed for that? I can't find any info online.
Thanks!
Thanks!
It also says to use Service Mode Plus, which requires a laptop with Toolbox 3 to get into.
It does mention a 5-hour timeout. So maybe after five hours it exits the mode? (But I would think you should know that by now.)Oh man, thank you. Well looks like I now messed up my carReally don't want to spend a day taking to a service center (2hr drive one way) and paying who knows how much for it...
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