This update is going to focus on something unrelated to life for a change. Also, this post will not have any photo associated due to iCloud for Windows resorting to nagware pop-ups. I encounter pop-ups even during full-screen video games which infuriated me enough to fully uninstall the application. Now the only way I can get pictures on my PC is finding a sync method (like I used to do with iTunes) or navigating to iCloud website and downloading them. Once I figure out a workable solution, I can throw some pictures into my updates. EDIT: I just logged into icloud.com and pulled images down that way. It’s a less elegant solution, but it works.
This one is about the low voltage battery found on my Tesla Model Y. I suspect this to be a core design for most of Tesla’s EV lineup. Similar to most ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles, this Tesla has a 12V battery under the hood. Also, similar to ICE engines, this 12V battery is a crucial component related to the initial “startup” of the vehicle. In an ICE vehicle, you have an option to simply run accessories off of the 12V battery. In my youth, I followed car audio, and I liked to just listen to my stereo without starting the car. This would bleed energy from the 12V. If I planned on doing so for any substantial length of time, I used to run a trickle charger on the 12V in order to supplement the energy lost from the battery. A more important task that the 12V has is to provide enough energy to create the spark used by the starter for the internal combustion cycle. Once that initial start gets combustion going, the alternator takes over the job of supplementing energy for the battery while it continues to run these accessories. The alternator sources energy from the combustion cycle to feed the battery.
The 12V motor on my Tesla does much, much more than simply run the stereo. On my Tesla, yesterday, I ran into the garage to make a quick run for dinner. We like to eat out on Fridays–a little break from cooking. Well, imagine my surprise when I could not open my driver’s side door. I figured the car could not sense my key, which sometimes occurs. Usually I just pull up the Tesla app on my phone to “wake things up.” Then, imagine my surprise when I could not disconnect the wall charger from my vehicle. I start to realize that I have a paperweight in my garage. If the app cannot reach the vehicle and I can’t open the door, I am in serious trouble.
I fortunately have my Toyota so I made my run then and figured I would read up on what could be happening. I found there is a method to reach the battery even without opening the doors. I mean, Elon and team had some ace engineers designing their solutions so i did (and surprisingly still do) have faith. I’ll be honest, that faith wavered in the face of yesterday (and today), but it remains.
Tesla has a couple leads behind the front tow hitch cover as an emergency to pop open the front trunk, or “frunk.” One may think (as I did), if that’s the case, isn’t that a significant security risk? Well, yes and no. If the 12V under the Tesla hood has juice, these leads will not work unless there is a key sensed nearby. However, if the 12V is dead, as I believe mine was, it will always just work. Once the frunk is open, there is an aesthetic panel at the top under the windshield held in by simple panel clips that pops off. The 12V battery can be found under this panel. In my case, since I have a 2022 vehicle, there is an additional HEPA filter found there which I would need to remove as well, but the battery is under there.
Later on last night, when things quieted down, I planned to hop into the garage, get some Youtube movies up, and explore how to get this Tesla going. Little did I know, that I was a bit handicapped. But onward I marched.
First, I tried to get the front trunk opened. The car is completely unresponsive to the app, so I need the emergency tow hitch leads. I manage to get access there and read that it takes little energy to get the front trunk open. I grab a small C size battery and attempt to close the circuit to no success. At this point, I try using my trickle charger at 2A, 6A, and 12A. No dice. Finally, last resort, I use the 12V from my Toyota and it works. I’m not sure if there is a security feature in the trickle charger that prevented it from working, or if it just lacked the “oomph” needed. I proceed to get access to the battery and get the trickle charger on there. It does start to charge and I slowly start getting some things working on the car, but not everything. What do I mean?
Well, I manage to get a door open and get inside, but the console is dead so i can do little else. The windows do not respond either. After I get about what the charger reports as “70%” charge, I get the console working and then I’m greeted with about 30 alerts from the vehicle. I also notice if I take the trickle charger off and put it back, the charge that was once there seems to almost instantly disappear. Seems like the battery is failing to hold a charge, which is a telltale sign.
So at this point, I’m fairly certain the 12V is a problem, but how do I fix it? I can’t exactly drive the car to a service center. Another problem occurred while troubleshooting–the window refuses to go down on my driver side door, and the door cannot close without the window being down a bit. Whether I jumper to my Toyota, connect the trickle charger, or both, I can’t get the window down. Secondly, I can’t remove the wall charger from the vehicle. Earlier in the night I was able to, but somewhere down the line, it stopped responding. The car, for all intents and purposes, lost its mind. Half the controls work, and half do not. I was up to about midnight trying to at least get the driver to close before I threw in the towel and left the door open. I also left the trickle charger off expecting the battery to go dead. I had a small hope that it could reset itself overnight with a hard power cycle. Before I went to sleep, I bit the bullet and opened a service request with Tesla because I did not see any solution and knew the car was under warranty being almost 3 years old.
So in the morning, I received a suggestion from Tesla to set up roadside assistance for a tow, which had not crossed my mind since it was at my house. Before I even had that message, I drove my Toyota to the Tesla service center hoping they could just give me a replacement battery. Tesla’s response is that they can’t give me the battery under warranty unless they installed it. I understood their logic, although it seemed a bit silly for me to set up a tow just so they could replace a 12V battery. At the end of the day, it’s their money, not mine, so I set it up. They were quick with the tow service as well as the battery maintenance. The whole ordeal must have taken about 2 hours, which is impressive. I had to reinstall my HEPA filter and frunk panel, which I was disappointed with, but had fixed in about 20 minutes.
All in all, I learned how to access the 12V battery and what it is used for. Once the console starts and holds some power, it cuts to the high voltage panel which should keep things running as long as the car does not go to sleep. It spits out a ton of alerts, but it does run and drive. Based on my research, it needs about 15A of energy at 12V for about 2 minutes to initialize. My little 12A trickle charger just was not cutting it, so I may need to upgrade to something with more substance within the next 3-5 years (average lifespan of a Tesla 12V battery). The battery they use as of time of this writing is AtlasBX / Hankook 85B24LS 12V 45Ah.
I also inadvertently learned how to access my HEPA filter in reaching the 12V low voltage battery. When I’m ready to start replacing those filters, I have some memory of reaching them now. I also, in visiting the Tesla Service Center, saw a ton of Cybertrucks on the lot. I am open to Cybertrucks, but I am willing to wait to see when they either lower their price or are otherwise willing to deal for them. If they want more than I paid initially for my Model Y (which was more than current MSRP due to price fluctuations), then I will continue to run and maintain my current vehicle (at least until warranty is up).
So as of 1 PM yesterday, I had a massive, useless brick in my garage, and after a tow and 12V battery replacement at no cost (warranty), I am back in action.