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Well, luck finally caught up with me... Main pack failed...
- Thread starter islandbayy
- Start date
I'm just going to tack on to this thread after working with my salvage pack...
My guess here is that one or both of the main contactors failed, or the circuit that keeps them closed failed. The pack itself, the batteries, are probably just fine.
However, I can now see why Tesla would replace the whole pack for this. In my case it took hours of labor just to reach the main contactors... and presumably many more to replace them and close the pack. And I personally was not concerning myself with reassembly. So, replacing the whole pack is likely much less labor and allows them to refurbish the pack at a later date.
My guess here is that one or both of the main contactors failed, or the circuit that keeps them closed failed. The pack itself, the batteries, are probably just fine.
However, I can now see why Tesla would replace the whole pack for this. In my case it took hours of labor just to reach the main contactors... and presumably many more to replace them and close the pack. And I personally was not concerning myself with reassembly. So, replacing the whole pack is likely much less labor and allows them to refurbish the pack at a later date.
I think we all probably wanted the bigger pack, but we couldn't all afford it. I'd really want a bigger pack, but these are exactly the sticky points I'm looking at.
For me, it seems like a better idea to sell my 60, and buy the 85 vs. trying to swap up to the bigger pack.
You bet, but they're an even bigger issue if you're buying new vs refurb. Still have to offer an appropriate valuation. Price point of 42 k for a new pack is insane. Would the new battery come with a full renewal of the 8 year warranty? Point is that you have to think about these issues regardless. Refurb is just simpler (and way cheaper).
Darn right. If I had the dough Ray Me when I ordered the car, it would have been a 85. Along with battery swap talk so on and so fourth, it sounded like it would be no problem to upgrade pack size at a later time. In fact, the actual process of upgrading the pack is (as I have been told and via observations) as simple as unbolting a 60, popping in the 85, and run a firmware update and bam, the stain is gone, errr. the 60 is gone.
In my case, after running the numbers, I'd be better off (if offered) upgrading the battery and keeping my existing car. At least for me, I am also factoring in the mileage I drive. If I sell mine, then order a new car (Cant order til I sell mine, I'm middle class on tight budget), I would have a period of 1-4 months driving a ICE. Each month I drive a ICE, will cost me about $750-$780 in gas + maintenance. And since I'm not going to buy a Econobox for just the time without a MS, I'd be stuck driving my old truck, or a Moped.....
mknox
Well-Known Member
That seems to be to be a bit of a design defect. I can absolutely see why the main contactors have to be where they are to protect the pack (and the car), but they should be readily accessible by simply lowering the pack and removing a cover or something. Since the pack is designed to be swappable, it would be a simple matter for a SC to then repair without having to replace wholesale.
I get that the pack can be sent back to the factory and refurbished, but why not eliminate all that handling and transportation of such a heavy item?
cost of highly specialized training to work inside of a very dangerous part. Really, only electricians or highly trained personnel should work inside the battery. it might be cheaper for training costs and insurance to just move the packs back to CA for service.
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
I see it as just the opposite of a design defect. If you take the position that you don't want to train and outfit the service centers with the necessary equipment to repair and test battery packs - which is a different beast than the other work they do - and look at the battery as more of a field replaceable unit (FRU), then you can centralize your battery repair. Additionally you can gather any knowledge of battery failure in one place. You have trucks rolling out to deliver cars, not that big of a deal to put any battery packs on the same trucks going back to the factory.
mknox
Well-Known Member
It could very well be that, but then the Service Centers are just "parts swappers". Replacing a blown contactor or main fuse does not necessarily have to be complicated or dangerous if it's designed as such. For a company that's interested in the environmental impact of automobiles, there is certainly a cost of transporting these very heavy parts around even if the truck is going back (same reason they tell you to take your golf clubs out of the trunk).
I agree to a certain extent. It's ok to say that you don't want service centers having to prod around inside the batteries. However, if the contactors prove to be one of the parts of the drivetrain that fail more "regularly", even for centralized repair depots you want to make them more accessible to manage repair costs.
With that said, most of the pack failures we've seen so far have been on early packs and maybe this really isn't all that much of an issue anymore except in rare cases.
I was told by the service center that they could service the packs to replace contactors or main fuses. At this time, though, the interest, at least while under warranty, is to get the customer back on the road as quickly as possible, which is not always the lowest cost route for Tesla. My contactors COULD have been replaced at the service center, it would have taken longer due to the labor required to do so, so chances are I would have been without my car for a longer period of time.
Electric700
Active Member
I think Tesla Finance can work with you on that so that you can keep your Model S 60 until you get the Model S 85. Just trade in the 60 on delivery day. Of course you'd need to pay $2,500 when you place your order for the 85 (used to be $5,000 down), but they might be able to factor the $2,500 out, especially since you're already a Tesla customer. If you're interested, contact [email protected].
The fuse would be pretty simple. It has its own cover and all that is accessible.
The contactors on the other hand would require removing the entire pack cover it seems, which as I found out, is a labor intense process. I'd be surprised if they ever did this at the service centers unless they had some busted packs laying around and some downtime to spend on them.
They're supposed to check the CAC value and replace with an equal or better capacity battery. Apparently it doesn't always work out that way though.
Someone had requested what the B pack takes kWh wise from dead to 100%,see video attached, however, I am having some issues with my new B pack. Video will explain. It will not charge to 100% and I started LOOSING rated range WHILE charging.
Last edited by a moderator:
bonnie
I play a nice person on twitter.
For those of us on limited (mobile) bandwidth, it would be helpful if you'd just explain what you meant (vs. having to load a video).
From charge now to full, or at least as full as I could get it (Car wouldnt charge past about 97% SOC) it consumed 56kWh. It would not charge past 200 miles. And WHILE charging, the rated range was dropping. When I finally got fed up, I unplugged while it was at 198ish miles. Also, power consumed was 56kWh, it WAS 57 and that dropped down to 56. Now I cant get over 200 miles rated range. 2,300 miles ago it was 211. Thats a BIG and ODD drop. 300 miles ago, with 2,000 miles on this replacement battery, my rated range was 208ish. It seems to be dropping quite rapidly. I will do another 100% charge this evening after I do some more driving.
We'll see. I'm putting er on the charger right now, see what happens after another 100% charge.
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