Tesla Model 3 Down: Won't Power Up, and is Inaccessible

[Reciprocity]

I have to say @MarkS22 is a calm and measured guy. I would be out of my head pissed at this point. If the car is getting software updates, it must be driveable.

@MarkS22 - are they giving you anything for your pain and suffering? I suggest some arachnid wheels and a powerwall or something like that. All kidding aside; Tesla owners are pretty cool to beta test and crash test the cars for Tesla. Dude and his friend walked way from a pretty gnarly wreck and Elon tweeted they would make updates to improve the results in that situation. I personally thank all the people who suffered through the FWD issues because mine work pretty good. My X has been all but issue free with the except of the most minor of issues.

 

[mongo]

Heh. I used to moderate the official online communities for Fox Television, like X-Files, back before there was an “Internet” with web browsers. This is nothing compared to dealing with fans pissed off about their favorite show being cancelled.

/me says before http? whatever do you mean? ;-)


NO CARRIER

 

[ℬête Noire]

I have to say @MarkS22 is a calm and measured guy. I would be out of my head pissed at this point. If the car is getting software updates, it must be driveable.

@MarkS22 - are they giving you anything for your pain and suffering? I suggest some arachnid wheels and a powerwall or something like that. All kidding aside; Tesla owners are pretty cool to beta test and crash test the cars for Tesla. Dude and his friend walked way from a pretty gnarly wreck and Elon tweeted they would make updates to improve the results in that situation. I personally thank all the people who suffered through the FWD issues because mine work pretty good. My X has been all but issue free with the except of the most minor of issues.

I'm not of the tribe, a newcomer here. Only a month ago as part of "maybe it'll be happening soon so I'll start looking into this", while trying to get a handle on where AP-cum-FSB development may be, I went through a Tesla owner thread (not sure if it was here? definitely before I had an account here) as various owners methodically described their observations and what they were doing in what was effectively field tests of AP (both 1 & 2) and their assessment of where it was and was heading.

I was taken aback by how much "out there" they were in letting the AP run things. Not in an "unsafe" manner per se, nobody was wedging ripe fruit into the steering wheel so they could use both hands on their sudoko, yet they were describing somewhat hairy incidents that I'd expect were akin to a high school driving instructor's Bad Week(tm).

Tesla ownership is heavily populated with rugged pioneers.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Correct. But I have been in contact with Tesla as recently as last evening.

I gather that Tesla has not told you or did not know what is wrong with the car?

 

[kbecks13]

If the car is getting software updates, it must be driveable.

There is no way you can say that confidently. So many other things go into it, what if they had the computer system running off an external power source for diagnostics?

 

[ℬête Noire]

There is no way you can say that confidently. So many other things go into it, what if they had the computer system running off an external power source for diagnostics?

Even getting it to "able to move down the road under it's own power, right now" is an entirely different thing than "we trust that if you park it overnight it'll be good to go in the morning", the later being the initial problem.

 

[Saghost]

There is no way you can say that confidently. So many other things go into it, what if they had the computer system running off an external power source for diagnostics?

Right. Especially if the speculation upthread is right and something (loss of isolation?) caused the computers to lock down the pack.

They could easily have the car on an external 12V source while they try to figure out the problem with the car's high voltage system and be updating the firmware but completely unable to drive the car.

 

[MarkS22]

Update 2:

I'm able to discuss a little more without speculating. The latest is that a firmware error was the primary contributing factor that stopped the 12V from charging as designed. A new firmware, which fixes the issue I experienced, was loaded onto the car. This appears to have remedied the error. They replaced the 12V battery (as a precaution since it was fully drained) with a brand new one and have been monitoring its charge. As of now, it's holding a charge as expected. Since I'm not in a hurry, I did say it wouldn't be a problem to keep the car over the weekend to ensure the the 12V battery behaves as expected over a longer time frame. (They'll let it sit there and monitor the charge.)

So, while it was unfortunate that it happened to me, I think it also highlights the power of the ability to rapidly update firmware in the field. In theory, this update will prevent all future cars from having the same issue.

 

[scaesare]

Excellent... thanks for the update @MarkS22

 

[scaesare]

/me says before http? whatever do you mean? ;-)


NO CARRIER

Do a Gopher or WAIS search and perhaps we can figure it out.

 

[AnxietyRanger]

Very nice, thank you for reporting @MarkS22.

 

[MarkS22]

Do a Gopher or WAIS search and perhaps we can figure it out.

Indeed. We used Gopher for our first Internet connectivity. Before that, it was a mixture of proprietary systems (e.g. CompuServe, Prodigy). I remember the day Mosaic was released.

 

[TEG]

I did go ahead and add "Update 2" to the original message. Still not promising to do anymore updates there.

 

[arnis]

I would bet the car goes into "hard shutdown" mode

There is no such system on 12V lines. Each and every module has it's own power. Nothing has the ability to kill all modules.

The latest is that a firmware error

This is most probable reason of dead 12V battery.

 

[MarkS22]

@MarkS22 - are they giving you anything for your pain and suffering?

I feel like members of this forum have caused me significantly more pain and suffering. Maybe you can all chip in for a gift?

 

[JRP3]

I feel like members of this forum have caused me significantly more pain and suffering. Maybe you can all chip in for a gift?

 

[RayK]

Do a Gopher or WAIS search and perhaps we can figure it out.

Hey! I was on the 'internet' when it was still referred to as ARPANET. You youngun's are spoiled!

 

[Saghost]

I feel like members of this forum have caused me significantly more pain and suffering. Maybe you can all chip in for a gift?

Maybe a Tesla Model 3 Sunshade?

 

[McRat]

...The latest is that a firmware error was the primary contributing factor...

Well, we know the experts have said calling that 'bricked' is inappropriate.
So perhaps your car was Fricked. Firmware 'ricked?
When I've screwed up a flash on a car's computer, we've always said Bricked from at least 1997. This predates the iPhone and the Android phone. Sometimes you can 'unbrick' a ECM with a bench harness. Sometimes it becomes a wheel chock.

But now that I know, I'll say I Fricked the ECM when I drop the 12v supply during a flash or use the wrong file for the car. I'll try to pass it along...

 

[McRat]

I feel like members of this forum have caused me significantly more pain and suffering. Maybe you can all chip in for a gift?

Which one, and what address?

https://www.amazon.com/Foam-Fake-Jo...TF8&qid=1518814003&sr=8-3&keywords=Fake+Brick

https://www.amazon.com/Xshelley-Shi...TF8&qid=1518814003&sr=8-2&keywords=Fake+Brick