CyberBeast VIN#29 – Complete Power Loss, Tow Experience, and Lessons Learned

[JackCypher]

The hazard flashers do not work on any car with a dead battery.

When the MV battery fails, the contactors will open on the HV pack, and there will be no power. (The manual suggests that the HV pack will stay active until the vehicle turns off, but it cannot start again without MV power.)

When the HV pack fails, the MV battery will operate pretty much everything other than the drive motors, but it will not last long.

IMHO, when the HV pack has failed, the vehicle should drop into a "power conservation" mode (no climate, infotainment, outlets, lights, cameras, GPS, WiFi, etc.) so that the MV battery will have maximum runtime. Once exhausted, the truck cannot be placed into Tow Mode, nor can the doors be opened. It must be jump-started at that point.

I also stated " I find it very, very odd that the hazard lights fail, and are not an an alternative system. How can DOT not require this?. "

On a ICE vehicle when the battery dies - the lights don't work.
However, on an standard vehicle:

1. When the engine dies - the lights DO WORK
2. When you run out of gas - the lights DO WORK

Only ONE out of 3 major failures kills the lights on a standard vehicle.

On electric:
A. If main drive train control fails - as HE STATED - he had no lights.
B. If the 12V control battery fails - the drivetrain faults out.

You also cannot, open the doors, or roll the vehicle.

What would be the harm in putting a standard 'Anderson' plug on the front or rear bumper - So the Tow can power the doors, windows and allow the vehicle to roll?.

Sponsored

 

[EVnewbie]

Go ask people who work in dealership service what the current rate is. It will shock you.

Tesla is the most reliable automotive brand on the planet right now.

I don’t deny there are a lot of warranty issues on new vehicles, I’ve experienced plenty on my former F-150 and on my wife’s Grand Cherokee. HOWEVER, these are not things where the whole car just takes a dump and leaves you stuck on the side of the road out of the blue or in a parking lot at night or your garage in the morning.

 

[UTECHPIA]

I also stated " I find it very, very odd that the hazard lights fail, and are not an an alternative system. How can DOT not require this?. "

On a ICE vehicle when the battery dies - the lights don't work.
However, on an standard vehicle:

1. When the engine dies - the lights DO WORK
2. When you run out of gas - the lights DO WORK

Only ONE out of 3 major failures kills the lights on a standard vehicle.

On electric:
A. If main drive train control fails - as HE STATED - he had no lights.
B. If the 12V control battery fails - the drivetrain faults out.

You also cannot, open the doors, or roll the vehicle.

What would be the harm in putting a standard 'Anderson' plug on the front or rear bumper - So the Tow can power the doors, windows and allow the vehicle to roll?.

Hi Jack, thank you for your reply. My hazard lights were still functioning while I received the alert and was pulling over. However, after I parked and a few minutes passed, I suddenly lost power completely and the entire electrical system shut off. At that point, the hazard lights were no longer operational.

 

[syburtruck]

Just so I am clear, did you try the steps covered in the manual for jump starting the truck from a 12V source?

https://service.tesla.com/docs/Publ...UID-BC28BE8A-5596-498C-8D4A-A6BB75096A81.html

And for opening the frunk with no power:
https://service.tesla.com/docs/Publ...UID-4EC0FD18-0503-40FD-8C97-0F6BB39DA79D.html

 

[CyberTrk]

Hi Jack, thank you for your reply. My hazard lights were still functioning while I received the alert and was pulling over. However, after I parked and a few minutes passed, I suddenly lost power completely and the entire electrical system shut off. At that point, the hazard lights were no longer operational.

The low voltage might not been complexly drain and may have been in Stand By mode.

I had a similar issue and everything seems dead.
However with my phone App I was still able to connect using Bluetooth.
With the Climate menu I was able to click the Vent icon to crack the windows.
Then using a little stick I was able to reach one of the doors inside buttons to open a door.
I don't know why the outside door buttons were no opening the doors.

Please keep us informed about the problem found by the Service Center.

 

[UTECHPIA]

Just so I am clear, did you try the steps covered in the manual for jump starting the truck from a 12V source?

https://service.tesla.com/docs/Publ...UID-BC28BE8A-5596-498C-8D4A-A6BB75096A81.html

And for opening the frunk with no power:
https://service.tesla.com/docs/Publ...UID-4EC0FD18-0503-40FD-8C97-0F6BB39DA79D.html

Thanks for sharing these instructions!

I didn’t know about this until after the incident. Unfortunately, the tow truck driver should have known these instructions… But, he didn’t know about this either.

 

[UTECHPIA]

The low voltage might not been complexly drain and may have been in Stand By mode.

I had a similar issue and everything seems dead.
However with my phone App I was still able to connect using Bluetooth.
With the Climate menu I was able to click the Vent icon to crack the windows.
Then using a little stick I was able to reach one of the doors inside buttons to open a door.
I don't know why the outside door buttons were no opening the doors.

Please keep us informed about the problem found by the Service Center.

oh man!!! I think you’re right! Wish I knew this! When I shined a flashlight on the “dead screen” I think I saw the display on, without the backlight!

 

[Merc_s55]

I spoke to a tow truck driver in Winnipeg that was familiar with Teslas. He tows when illegally parked.
He has 4 plastic pads that he puts in front of the tires, pulls the vehicle onto them, then removes the blocks and the Tesla skids onto the flatbed while riding on the plastic pads. The wheels only have to skid a few inches onto the pads.
His company was burnt damaging a Tesla, so he learned the hard way---Don't skid the tires too far.

 

[UTECHPIA]

I spoke to a tow truck driver in Winnipeg that was familiar with Teslas. He tows when illegally parked.
He has 4 plastic pads that he puts in front of the tires, pulls the vehicle onto them, then removes the blocks and the Tesla skids onto the flatbed while riding on the plastic pads. The wheels only have to skid a few inches onto the pads.
His company was burnt damaging a Tesla, so he learned the hard way---Don't skid the tires too far.

Great, info! Thanks! My Tow Truck Driver should have tried to start the computer and get the truck into tow mode, but given the fact that he didn't know how, he did tow correctly using the skids.

With Regards,
David

 

[SlegMD]

a

Agree, Lemon Law in CA at least is 3x incidents or in repair for weeks of time. This single incident is not a Lemonable offense.

That said, it IS a concern as it was unusually traumatic. I find it very, very odd that the hazard lights fail, and are not an an alternative system. How can DOT not require this?. IMO, the drive train and hazard lighting system should not be connected. They are not in an ICE vehicle.

A friend's wife had the brakes completely fail on a new 'German' car. She absolutely refused to ever drive it again. They worked out a deal to buy it back.

Thanks for sharing your experience, it was interesting to see it happen in real-time.

In my personal experience when a car breaks down it happens almost instantly. At least way quicker than what I saw for your Cybertruck. On one hand its nice to see it slowly ramp down, on the other hand that ramp down is clearly programmed in and it could go further if they wanted it to.

To me it looks like the failure caused a lost of redundancy, not a loss of capability.

I would like for a more robust or alternative redundancy for power loss in these type of situations. Seems they could improve here for peace of mind.

 

[AlDente]

My new mantra:

If you can't say anything positive or helpful, don't say anything. If you can't say anything positive or helpful, don't say anything ...

 

[alpha42]

One important thing I discovered is that if the Cybertruck loses all electrical power, the emergency hazard lights will not function.

After reading this, I decided my time would be better spent skipping the vids if this was the type of insightful knowledge they were going to contain.

 

[UTECHPIA]

After reading this, I decided my time would be better spent skipping the vids if this was the type of insightful knowledge they were going to contain.

Hi alpha42, I understand your point. What I was trying to explain is that the hazard lights continued working while I was pulling over, but once the truck completely lost electrical power, the entire system shut down and the hazard lights no longer functioned. That distinction wasn’t obvious to me until I experienced a full power loss, so I shared it in case it helps someone else in a similar situation.

I also agree that it would probably be best for you to skip my videos. My videos are fairly high-energy and tend to have a higher ratio of entertainment than technical information. For someone who is technically focused, such as yourself, the videos may be difficult to watch — I might even say unbearable. So skipping them would likely be the best use of your time.

With regards,
David

 

[UTECHPIA]

My new mantra:

If you can't say anything positive or helpful, don't say anything. If you can't say anything positive or helpful, don't say anything ...

I love that mantra, thanks for sharing, my friend! Have a fantastic day!

 

[cbrtrckrsrvd112219]

... and CT/Tesla/Elon bashing articles are gonna show up is 3.. 2.. 1.. GO!

Sponsored