Turning off charging lights

[Dstrohl]

Waiting on my MS, and I was wondering if the lights on the car and HPWC can be disabled (or dimmed) during charging? My car will be parked outside and I don't really want to have a glowing light in my driveway all night telling people "here's an expensive car, so the house might have stuff worth breaking into for.

Thoughts? (Or is it not bright enough to worry about?). Since I am waiting for the car, I don't know yet!

Thanks, Dan

 

[TonyFast43]

The lights only show until you lock the car. It'll be dark as night out there and your house will be safe!

 

[wdolson]

The lights on the HPWC will be lit all the time and they give the illusion of moving while charging, but you can always cover them with something. As @maccaj22 said, the lights on the car go out. The only light that is on while charging is the one on the charging port anyway.

The instrument panel shows charging progress, but I think that shuts off if you lock the car. I leave the car unlocked in the garage, so it's a different situation.

 

[BerTX]

The lights only show until you lock the car. It'll be dark as night out there and your house will be safe!

+1 as far as lights on the car -- a piece of duct tape over the lights on the Wall Charger should do the trick...

 

[kirkbauer]

I suggest Gaffer's Tape (no residue)

 

[Dstrohl]

Thanks everyone!

 

[AWDtsla]

I would leave the LED connector disconnected.

 

[DarkMatter]

For the HPWC use high quality black electrical tape, and cut a very small circle in the middle of it. Then you can still see the indicator from up close but won't be advertising. If you ever need to clean it up, it will be easy.

 

[wdolson]

You can also put tape with a ridge on each side of the indicator so it can only be seen straight on, but not from an angle.

 

[David29]

I also park my car outside in a parking lot, quite a distance from my condo. Personally I like being able to see the charging lights on the HPWC to verify that charging is or is not occurring. (I can just about see it from my condo window if it is dark out, but not in daylight.)
To offset the security risk, or at least to lessen it, I had the electrician install a security lamp on the wall above my parking space. A motion sensor turns the light on if a person walks into that area adjacent to my car.

 

[Nismode]

I also park my car outside in a parking lot, quite a distance from my condo. Personally I like being able to see the charging lights on the HPWC to verify that charging is or is not occurring. (I can just about see it from my condo window if it is dark out, but not in daylight.)
To offset the security risk, or at least to lessen it, I had the electrician install a security lamp on the wall above my parking space. A motion sensor turns the light on if a person walks into that area adjacent to my car.

You can use the mobile app to confirm charging status as well.

 

[David29]

Actually, I think the Tesla itself is going to say "expensive house" regardless of whether or not it is being charged. So I do not think the visible charging lights will make much difference. The ones on the HPWC are pretty small, anyway.
My own concern is more about vandalism or mischief with the charging equipment. (I realize that is not the OP's stated concern.) And I personally guess (and hope) that the active lights on the HPWC will indicate to someone that "Hey, this stuff is alive" and might help deter someone from messing around with 240 volts.
As for the car itself, that is exposed to whatever risks there are at my location, regardless of whether or not it is plugged in.

 

[Dstrohl]

Actually, I think the Tesla itself is going to say "expensive house" regardless of whether or not it is being charged. So I do not think the visible charging lights will make much difference. The ones on the HPWC are pretty small, anyway.

True, and I agree in general, However, we are in a cul-de-sac, so anyone just driving down the main road would probably not see the car normally (its behind a couple of other cars), but a glowing light on an otherwise pretty dark driveway will stand out pretty much, drawing attention from anyone driving by.

My own concern is more about vandalism or mischief with the charging equipment. (I realize that is not the OP's stated concern.) And I personally guess (and hope) that the active lights on the HPWC will indicate to someone that "Hey, this stuff is alive" and might help deter someone from messing around with 240 volts.
As for the car itself, that is exposed to whatever risks there are at my location, regardless of whether or not it is plugged in.

That's certainly a valid concern, we haven't had much of that around here (thankfully), I have a concern about kids running by and knocking into it while chasing balls, pets, or whatever other things that kids tend to chase, but hopefully that wont be an issue.

Overall, it's not a huge worry, but it is something I am keeping in mind.