WARNING: Do not plug an AC inverter into your 12VDC socket!

[bonnie]

If they don't, make sure they give you the defective switchpack. You're entitled, by law, to the "defective" parts.

Game - set - match.

 

[vfx]

So Roadster owners who got a new battery pack should have asked for the old ones?

 

[tennis_trs]

So Roadster owners who got a new battery pack should have asked for the old ones?

Looks like maybe Scott's wording meant the owner would be able to get the defective part if not covered by the warranty. That makes more sense, since the owner owns the old pack and is paying for the new pack if not under warranty. But under warranty, since Tesla is paying, I'd think they'd get to keep the old pack once they replaced it with another pack. I'd think that whenever Telsa replaced a battery out of warranty they'd probably offer the owner enough money for the old battery that most owners would accept.

 

[scott451]

So Roadster owners who got a new battery pack should have asked for the old ones?

No. You are entitled to the defective parts if it is an "out-of-warranty" repair. This may give Zach some leverage.

 

[donauker]

I would expect all components of any significance, especially their proprietary items, will have a very high "core value".

 

[zack]

I wrote to Tesla and demanded the part if it's not going to be covered under warranty. Then I wrote to them again and INSISTED that they repair it outside of warranty and send me the part. The last letter I received from Tesla, although I'm not yet going to discuss it's contents, has got me so riled that I'm... well, I'm actually not going to say that either. Grr. All I can say is this: They'd better get this resolved and get my car back to me on Monday.

I saved them a GIANT hassle by revealing this obvious design flaw. Now they can come up with a fix to protect other Roadster owners from the same fate. If the Model S has this problem as well, I discovered it before they went into production and they'll be able to protect the sensitive circuitry from noise generated by accessories plugged into the 12VDC socket. They should be thanking me, not #&*!ing with me.

 

[bonnie]

Not to mention that a large number of Roadster owners and future Model S owners are watching to see how this will resolve...

 

[doug]

Honestly, without explicit notification before hand, it should just be covered by the warranty.

 

[vfx]

Rather than a fix they could just send a note to every owner to not do this.

 

[zack]

If I don't get a resolution in the next few hours, I'm going to publish the email exchange that has me so bent out of shape.

 

[zack]

Rather than a fix they could just send a note to every owner to not do this.

Apparently they'd prefer to have me do that here.

 

[vfx]

Apparently they'd prefer to have me do that here.

And what about the next owner? And the next?

 

[Ardie]

I'm sure that any problem that might end up as a Vehicle Recall would up on a lawyer's desk, and that practically guarantees a delay, a denial, a runaround, vague threats, and either a resolution or (more likely) stony silence.

I imagine if this problem is as potentially disasterous as Zack seems to think it is, Tesla is already hard at work either:
a) engineering a reasonably low-cost solution, or
b) drafting an addendum to the owner's manual stating "don't to that," or
c) planning to remove 12v cigarette lighter sockets from their cars, or
d) hoping it is too rare an occurrence and the problem will go away.

If drawing 12v power from a 12v socket is such a horrible thing to do, and if Tesla decides to do *nothing*, then maybe someone here brighter than me (which is almost everybody) could design a device that will filter the power signal to prevent any kind of bad feedback, and, while there car is not running, to limit the current drain to <xx> milliamps, and to limit the duration of such a drain to <yy> minutes, and slap that sucker on the power cable heading to the cigarette lighter socket. Voila. Sort of.

But, I do hope that Tesla will instead see this board for the gold mine of user experiences that it is, and use these "opportunities" to improve their product.

-- Ardie

 

[bonnie]

My guess is that the issue has already been escalated (if they have any sense at all) & the initial emails Zack received might not be the position that Tesla takes once common sense prevails.

I also assume that they have read/are reading this thread and are taking note of the responses and sentiment of current owners and reservation holders.

 

[efxjim]

The Tesla OBD port is different from the one shown. W.Petefish found the prewired connector.

"Go to FORD get the pigtail for the connector. Ford Part# 3U2Z-14S411-PLA. It costs $44, but it already has the wires crimped and installed in the connector."

I removed all the wires except for the two power wires.

 

[jaanton]

Maybe they need a zener diode to shunt these spikes... Can you tell us the make of that inverter? I have used an inverter but just once with a cell phone AC charger. Trivial power levels. But makes me think of putting my inverters under a scope and trying some tests (not with my car but another dc source). 19v spikes are too high. Maybe a 14.5v zener. Maybe also a forward rectifier to prevent current from going back into the car from the socket.

 

[Dragon]

zack, seems like you're experiencing the "Tesla experience" like I did.
Hopefully it will end well. If the person you are communicating with gets unreasonable you should go a level higher, maybe write directly to Elon Musk.

 

[shark2k]

I also assume that they have read/are reading this thread and are taking note of the responses and sentiment of current owners and reservation holders.

I was thinking this also bonnie. Hopefully Tesla does the right thing in this situation. Good luck with everything zack.

-Shark2k

 

[JRP3]

Zack, if you are potentially considering legal action I would hold off sharing any emails until you speak to a lawyer. I'm not one, so take my advice for what it is, but it might be in your best interest to not disclose information that would be potentially damaging to Tesla, it might give you some leverage.

 

[JRP3]

I would add that as a Tesla share owner I'm not happy with the actions of the company in this case so far.