GALLERY

This story replays a number of times each month.

We get a call from a frantic customer unable to charge their Roadster.  Sometimes it is an unwelcome surprise after coming home from a vacation, a long overdue visit to a storage facility, repairs being done at a body shop who forgot to keep the Roadster charged, or a prolonged repair effort at a service center, and the car won’t charge anymore.

In advanced cases like this Radiant Red Roadster, the wheels locked and the car no longer had enough juice to use the VDS screen to put it in Tow Mode.  Transport options are much slimmer with a dead and locked Roadster, but we work very hard to find someone to go get the Roadster, and winch it onto the transport vehicle.

This one arrived on a Saturday at noon, we applied 12 volts, and sent a CAN signal through our laptop to unlock the car.  It then came into our Service Center and was placed on immediate life support.

We nursed it over the weekend, adjusting charge rates, and by Monday morning, reinserted the service plug, and the Roadster woke up complaining about needing a charge.  We ran diagnostics, found healthy bricks, and a balanced pack.  The picture with the amber glow indicates this Roadster came back from the brink, and is now charging again.

From here, we start a series of charge/discharge sessions, test driving, and it looks like another successful Level 1 Recovery.

For more details about Gruber Motor Company, visit  and view our numerous videos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for updates.