Thunk while supercharging

[Bighorn]

I’m guessing it’s WNL given the multiple observations. Over 8k miles with no other related issue. Would be great to get an explanation though.

 

[flyingpenguins]

I’m guessing it’s WNL given the multiple observations. Over 8k miles with no other related issue. Would be great to get an explanation though.

Yeah, no other problems for me, either. I will try to get a recording of it one of these days--when the supercharger is noisy or I have the music on, I don't notice it as much.

 

[Bighorn]

I’ve camped out in front of the car on several charges, and as they say, ‘ A watched pot...”.

 

[flyingpenguins]

I have the same experience with my model 3. I have had only 3 short supercharging sessions and each and every one has such clunking noise. Trying to contact Tesla about it.

@Tianshi , did you ever get an answer from them?

 

[Bighorn]

So, I have about 14k supercharger miles over the first four weeks and I'm still not sure what the clunk is. On some occasions, there is hardly anything and on others 4 strong clunks, which would wake one out of sleep, spaced over several minutes. It does not seem to be localized to one area. My working model is thermal flexing of a metal plate that encompasses the footprint of the battery. I'm not sure if there is a physical corollary in actuality. My limited querying of other owners seems to indicate this is a normal phenomenon. Many of us dealt with the mysteries of supercharging gremlins with the Model S only to become acquainted and familiar with the roaring and shaking of temperature regulation. I look forward to understanding these novel sounds as well.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

It sounds like the battery contactor is going on and off. I'd call Tesla service to make sure nothing is going wrong.

Contactors are the only thunk in an EV that I can think of. Plenty of whirring and buzzing, but thunking noises _in the car_ _during_ charging seems off.

I'd also suggest contacting Tesla. They have a lot of diagnostics and logs might show an obvious problem.

 

[Bighorn]

It sounds like someone winging a walnut at the side of the car. Not a contactor as that would interrupt the charging process, as noted above. Plus a different sound.

 

[samsroafen]

Try getting in the car's backseat when it's not charging after it's been sleeping for a while and see if you hear the clunks after a few minutes. I usually take a nap at work in my car during my lunch hour and that's when I noticed the car clunks when it goes back to sleep.

 

[Bighorn]

Try getting in the car's backseat when it's not charging after it's been sleeping for a while and see if you hear the clunks after a few minutes. I usually take a nap at work in my car during my lunch hour and that's when I noticed the car clunks when it goes back to sleep.

There are definitely other contactor like noises when the car is not plugged in and going deeper into sleep. I'm not sure I've heard the thunk while unplugged. I'll keep my ears perked for clunks outside of supercharging.

 

[Jedi2155]

You're probably right in that there is more than one contactor throughout the car for high powered connections. Just not famiilar with all the possible options.

 

[outdoors]

I’m over 4000 miles into my current trip, sleeping in the car, and it seems there are typically 3-4 bangs in diminishing intensity. Makes falling asleep a challenge Can’t say for sure whether it happens every time, though I think not or it’s not as intense.

@4500 into mine. 19 days of trunk living on the 3 thus far. The clunking is normal. I called back in January about it. They gave me the term. In escapes me now. I am not an electric knowledge guy. So those things kind of flow in and then out.

Sleeping in both the 3 and S .I would say this is a little louder. Happens early on in charging cycle. I also notice when I wake up and climb into passenger seat it makes the same noise after cycle has ended. A clunk-unk.

 

[smatthew]

I think one of the clunks is the louvers at the front of the car opening.

 

[wdolson]

The clunks I've heard in my S sound like pumps kicking on and off. The car needs an electrical pump to circulate the coolant around the radiators. There are also fans to help the radiators do their job.

The S has louvers, but the X doesn't have them. I don't know if the 3 has them or not.

 

[minmaxheap]

Clunk while supercharging

 

[astrowunder]

Clunk while supercharging

I have this sound also while supercharging

 

[flyingpenguins]

Clunk while supercharging

Thanks for the link!

 

[SJC3]

I have this too and it happens when the car is off. I’ll typically hear it when I’m sitting in the car waiting...sounds exactly like a nut was thrown at the car.

 

[Bighorn]

Clunk while supercharging

I posted over there because the bulk of answers about normal contactor sounds were incorrect.

 

[silentcorp]

This must be due to the weather, I hadn't heard this myself when supercharging and went on a road trip to LA. When I was in the mountains and it was very cold I was getting the clunks multiple times per charge. When I made it into the desert portion of Utah and it was warm again no clunks whatsoever.

 

[Vines]

I can confirm that since the colder weather my car clunks both while supercharging, and while driving.

It certainly seems like some sort of thermal event, such as the battery pack oil canning. It is certainly not the sharp snap sound of a contactor, as that is a snap sound compared with the deep, long drum of this sound.

I experience it both driving to work in cold temperatures and while supercharging.