How to Wake-Up a Bricked Roadster

By Pete Gruber | November 21, 2019 |

If your Roadster is in the advanced stages of bricking, it will no longer wake up on its own. The cause is a dead 12 Volt battery which is no longer being charged from the main ESS battery pack DC-DC Converter in a 2.x Roadster

Tribute to Early Roadster Engineers

By Pete Gruber | July 9, 2019 |

Buried deep inside most Roadster firmware, is a tribute to three early Tesla employees and pioneers.

PEM Upgrade and Aging Issues

By Pete Gruber | June 23, 2019 |

As first generation Roadsters continue to age, some of the Power Electronics Modules (PEM) are reaching 11 years of age. There are components in this large electronics module that have deteriorated and are end of life, and overdue engineering change orders that if left unresolved, can cause failure or damage to a major sub-assembly no longer in production.

What to Do When Your Roadster Gets Bricked

By Pete Gruber | January 7, 2019 |

If your Roadster does not get charged for 2-3 months, it can drain the battery sufficiently to where the charge port will no longer allow you to charge, and a condition known as a “bricked” battery occurs.

Pulling Log Files from your Tesla Roadster

By Pete Gruber | April 23, 2018 |

The Tesla Roadster maintains a log file of events and activity that helps service staff understand how the cars are being used and how they are performing. A copy of this log file can be retrieved from the car using a USB thumb drive.
This log file is highly useful when diagnosing faults and is the first item we request during a Roadster service event.

Starman Comes Home

By Pete Gruber | April 1, 2018 |

What has become the most famous automobile in history, is coming back to earth with Starman, but not for long.

Bricked Roadster Battery Recovery

By Pete Gruber | February 23, 2018 |

As first generation Roadsters continue to age, we are seeing a huge uptick and interest in our ESS battery pack recovery services. Roadsters easily reach a dangerous battery state called a bricked condition if the charge routine is disrupted for a length of time, and the result is a battery that can no longer be charged through the charge port, rendering it dead or bricked.

Roadster Paint Codes

By Pete Gruber | December 23, 2017 |

The finish on any car is under constant attack. Between road rash, rock chips, and parking lots, even the most well preserved car is going to end up with blemishes.

Diagnostic Screen Functions

By Pete Gruber | November 23, 2017 |

This month we will dive into the unknown, the diagnostics menu reserved for the Service Center technicians. You may remember a previous newsletter were we gave the code to get into the hidden menu.

Roadster Valuation 2017

By Pete Gruber | October 23, 2017 |

The number of Roadsters for sale seems to be increasing. With more cars available, cars sit longer waiting for buyers, and prices are declining. Supply is up, demand is down, and this may be why: The Lithium Ion cells in a ESS Battery Packs are End of Life (EOL). Let’s not forget Tesla originally projected…