Work on lighting lift gate appliqué begins

[Danal]

Can it light up green while charging?

So glad I'm on the first list for this!!!

Difficult, as there is no wire or signal in the hatch that could tell the applique controller a charge is occurring. Also, there is no power of any kind in the hatch while charging. So the preliminary answer is "No". Nonetheless, I will ponder this, and if I find a way, I will update.

- - - Updated - - -

Are there possibilities for other colors other than red/white? I know there's legal rules about white vs red lights, but what about other colors? And can the neopixels do it natively or do you need extra material for other colors? Just curious. I'm picturing some awesome purple, blue or green light. Would look cool while charging or parked. Or maybe driving at night.

Yes, NeoPixels are natively 24 bit color, which works out to "16 million+" colors.

As you mentioned, legality does enter into it. Thus the bluetooth interface. Artsci and I will make the device behave within the limits of motor vehicle lighting code "out of the box', responding to running/braking/turn inputs only with various reds, and only showing whites when the reverse lights are on. If you choose to override that via bluetooth, the legal liability is yours.



And, regarding any/all ideas for "...while parked...", if that means "...while parked with the car off..." then that's not achievable at the moment due to the hatch not having a continuous source of 12V power when the various lighting circuits are off. I'm very interested in this, and I'm going to try to come up with an option to support 'overnight' operation. At this moment, I don't have a Tesla I can take apart. Mine should be here in Late Feb or Early March.

 

[pgiralt]

night rider - back and forth T, E ,S, L, A, / A, L, S, E, T in dim red while parked maybe? (1 letter at a time w/ a tiny overlap of the last letter fading)

Right. I think you need to overlap letters a bit more to get the right effect. Here is a good sample:

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=54O_1mOab4Y[/video]

 

[artsci]

Talked to the shop making the 3D TESLA letters to insert into the cut outs in the appliqué. He told me they should be ready by the end of the week. So with Danal's work proceeding apace, we might even have a complete demo next week. Given what Danal is doing we're going to make one version of letters clear or translucent and another version red (for testing with a conventional LED light panel).

 

[Danal]

Right. I think you need to overlap letters a bit more to get the right effect. Here is a good sample:

[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=54O_1mOab4Y[/video]

Thanks, good video. I work on coding that up for our 5 letters.

 

[Najeeb]

Better integration could be possible by plugging into the Can-Bus the way that Mobile-Eye integrates. Tesla worked with them and now a version is integrated into the car (TACC). Maybe Tesla will integrate the appliqué. Thinking ahead...

 

[Rheazombi]

random thought about the lights being on while charging/parking: Sure, it would be a pain in the booty but surely you could snake a wire through to the front end of the car to power it so it COULD be always on? I have a rear dashcam that does this. On that note: is there a way you could tap into the dashcam's electrical feed or would that mess with the voltage.

 

[zax123]

random thought about the lights being on while charging/parking: Sure, it would be a pain in the booty but surely you could snake a wire through to the front end of the car to power it so it COULD be always on? I have a rear dashcam that does this. On that note: is there a way you could tap into the dashcam's electrical feed or would that mess with the voltage.

I thought about doing this when I was installing my rear lighted T, but it's actually harder than it looks... getting access to the the passthroughs that Tesla uses to get wiring into the trunk lid really isn't easy, and then you have to get into the car under the headliner of the rear passengers, and you have to get a wire all the way to the front. It's likely doable but it's not a simple task.

 

[Danal]

Yep, getting constant 12V will require a lot of wire pulling work. For those who already have such a wire, the NeoPixels and controller draw very little (exact amount TBD) and using the existing wire should be fine. I also have some other ideas, but don't want to say anything until I do more research.

Having a car to examine would also help. I get mine in February. I'm in the Dallas, TX area, specifically the McKinney/Fairview area, if anyone wants to volunteer to pull some body panels in their hatch. I WILL NOT touch someone else's car... so if you want me to look at the wiring in your hatch, you'd have to pull the panels and let us look together, and then you'd put the panels back on. And... I get my car in Feb (if it doesn't move again).

Danal

 

[HankLloydRight]

To detect when a car is charging, you could use one of these for all but Supercharger (DC) charging:

Clamp-on-ammeter MiniFLEX

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

my car has an unused small wire harness in the trunk on the left side w/ 3 wires under/behind the plastic parcel shelf lip piece (with the magnet in it)
never tested the power on this but it is in the early cars like the mic area wires

 

[swegman]

That sounds like it may be the connector for the rear parking sensors. Classic Model S's built prior to (if I recall correctly) August 2013, were prewired for the parking sensors with the connector (actually two connectors) hidden in that general area.

 

[Danal]

To detect when a car is charging, you could use one of these for all but Supercharger (DC) charging:

Clamp-on-ammeter MiniFLEX

It is possible to detect both AC and DC with a Hall Effect sensor (which is what Clamp-On Ammeters utilize). I will look into this. Constant 12v would also be required...

Might also be able to sense the LED ring around the plug.

 

[artsci]

my car has an unused small wire harness in the trunk on the left side w/ 3 wires under/behind the plastic parcel shelf lip piece (with the magnet in it)
never tested the power on this but it is in the early cars like the mic area wires

Swegman is right -- very likely you have wiring harness for the parking sensors.

 

[artsci]

I shipped Danal one of the appliqués with the letters cut out this morning. He's going to use this to finalize the design for the neopixels. He thinks he'll have a video of it in operation on the bench next week.

In anticipation of demand I also ordered 10 more appliqués from Tesla today. I'll get the letters cut out as soon as they're received.

This is going to be a very cool mod and I'm excited about getting on my car.

 

[zax123]

I shipped Danal one of the appliqués with the letters cut out this morning. He's going to use this to finalize the design for the neopixels. He thinks he'll have a video of it in operation on the bench next week.

In anticipation of demand I also ordered 10 more appliqués from Tesla today. I'll get the letters cut out as soon as they're received.

This is going to be a very cool mod and I'm excited about getting on my car.

Me too, me too! Excited!!

 

[artsci]

Learned today that the appliqués are in very short supply. I may be able to get 5 in a few weeks but not 10. So the challenge we face will be obtaining enough appliqués from Tesla to meet demand.

Once we have an installed, operating prototype and know the final cost, we'll start taking deposits and create a waiting list on that basis. In the meantime I'll keep building inventory of the appliqués as they are available.

 

[Danal]

These are the "Out of the Box" behaviors. In the chart below "Y" means a light is on, " " means it is off, and "?" means it doesn't matter. In the "TESLA logo" portions, regular vs. bold indicates medium vs. bright, and a blank "_" indicates a position that is off (no light from behind).

Proposed 1.0 Behavior for TESLA Applique Controller "out of box"
Parking Lights	Brake Lights	L Turn Signal	R Turn Signal	Reverse Lights	Resulting Behavior of Logo Applique
					_____ No Display (dark)
Y					TESLA all Med Bright Red, constant, no animation.
	Y				_____, TESLA, all flash together between black (off) and Bright Red. Flash frequency corresponds to "G" force sensed from braking. Note: Not pedal pressure, actual 'de-celleration' of car.
Y	Y				TESLA, TESLA all flash together between Med Bright Red (running lights) and Bright Red. Flash frequency corresponds to "G" force sensed from braking. Note: Not pedal pressure, actual 'de-celleration' of car.
			Y		_____, T____, TE___, TES__, TESL_ TESLA, then repeat, all Bright Red.
		Y			____A, ___LA, __SLA, _ESLA, TESLA, then repeat, all Bright Red
Y			Y		TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, then repeat.
Y		Y			TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, then repeat.
Y	Y		Y		I'm open to suggestion here... copy above brake light? Or Turn Signal?
Y	Y	Y			I'm open to suggestion here... copy above brake light? Or Turn Signal?
?	?	?	?	Y	White Letters: TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, TESLA, repeats with a longer pause when all are illuminated bright white.

 

[Danal]

Potential behaviors that can be configured from the BlueTooth app (Apple iOS and Android) and will stay in effect until re-configured:

1. When controller senses car is parked, which is defined as "not motion from the 'G' sensor for X minutes while all light inputs (running, turn, brake) are off", the Tesla logo will steadily glow. Color and brightness selectable via the app. It just sits and glows that color. When motion or lights are sensed, behaviors revert to "out of the box" above. This is dependent on wiring an "always on" 12V source, which will make the install more complex. This may or may not be legal on a parked car, depending on colors selected and local laws.*
2. Just like (1), except the logo VERY SLOWLY 'breathes' between two colors (or two brightnesses of the same color). Same dependencies and disclaimers as (1).
3. Just like (1), except the logo "Knight Rider" scans. TESLA appears with a moving brightly lit single red letter that "Scrolls" from side to side, while leaving "fading" letters behind. Also needs the 12V. Not clear to me if this is legal or not, because it is red.*

What else do you guys want as a behavior that can be configured to automatically kick in when the controller senses "parked"?

Potential behaviors that can be configured from the BlueTooth app, that will display immediately, and that will cease to have any effect at the next transition sensed into or out of "park", or the next power cycle:

1. Replace "Medium Red" and "Bright Red" in 'out of the box' behaviors with any pair of colors desired. All behaviors in the 'out of the box' section would still occur... just in different colors. This would be legal only on private property.*
2. Light up every letter in TESLA with a any color chosen, and simply leave them on. No animation. Just glowing. For any color other than a shade of red, this would be legal only on private property.*
3. "Knight Rider" mode. This would be legal only on private property.*
4. "Random Color Blaster" mode. TESLA appears with all letters lit medium bright in a randomly selected color, once a second this color changes. Several times a second, a single letter "pops" into full brightness in a different color for a fraction of a second. Very pretty and eye catching. This would be legal only on private property.* And it is eye catching enough to be the one most likely to get you in trouble.
5. Have a BT command that 'resets' back to 'out of the box' mode, allowing a reset to street legal without having to power cycle the car.

And ??? This is where I want your thoughts and suggestions. What else should the BT app do?




* = It is YOUR responsibility to check applicable laws and decide if the "out of the box" and/or "configurable" behaviors of the TESLA Applique are legal on a public road, while driving, while parked, on private property, and any other place you choose to deploy the device.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

parked -

'Tesla'

then

'S'

possibly with a scroll back and forth, night rider style, of the 'TESLA' first then just an 'S'

 

[swegman]

Does "Running Light" correspond to the DRL? If I drive without turning ON the DRL, does that mean the word TESLA will not be illuminated medium red (in other words, it would be No Display (dark))?