OV9

Made it to Wigan and back from Pudsey without too much trouble, other than no AC clutch so had the windows open a crack the whole way there and back.

No problems other than when I got back into pudsey and the dash lights for the indicators stopped working (indicators were still working).

Once I got home, pulled over, and whoops, forgot to tape off the other wires, so they'd got back in contact with the bus bar

I've got a long weekend (mostly because I don't suffer constant company well - and the company meeting is constant company from 9am to past midnight for a couple of days - they know, they're fine with it) so I'll drag out the INPA gubbins and see what I can find out and see if I can pin down exactly what's shitting itself.
Edit: Also a nice just-over-30mpg door to door, including crawling through bradford and the shithole that is the manchester ring road thing, both of which are just fucking annoying to put up with.

GG. wrote: Wed Nov 22, 2023 10:57 am There's one doing a similar job (but in a much worse condition) round the corner from us.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/NKcH4FWLQnQevKQXA

Ooh, steel wheels and flush trims

Smarts, you can park them anywhere;

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2023 9:45 am It failed on wiper blades. That’s all

Frikkin wiper blades. LOL.

Now they've both got a ticket, you know what needs to happen;

I got the Model 3 all fixed and it’s been a few days now without it catching fire or sending any error codes so the end result:

A little digital speedo. Utter bastard of a job on a RHD car and I was plagued by an unfortunate 12v battery error upon reconnecting the battery.

The 12v battery as I found out controls a pair of contacts which engage with the high voltage battery - these are sprung open so the 12v applies a constant voltage to close the contacts - this seems to be a regulatory safety thing and the 12v has a cable going round the perimeter of the car - so if you’re in an accident and the jaws of life are used it acts as a kill switch and isolates the car. So this is why a dead 12v battery on an EV = dead car.
With the 12v removed the in car electronics all function normally as the high voltage battery supplies them and there’s another plug under the rear seat which you pull to kill those - in effect this is how you do a complete computer reset to erase error codes.

So in my case the car thinks the 12v is degraded but it’s at 12.59v, so I take it out the car, reset the entire car, same error, do this another 2 times still no different. Remove battery, test it and tester says it’s good

Fully charge it on the bench, reinstall into car, reset car, still same error.
I’m thinking I’ve fucked the ”VCFRONT” module somehow which is bad, it’s expensive and needs coding to the car which only Tesla can do.
Last attempt to fix it myself is to buy a new 12v, new Varta battery is only £75 although reading the Tesla forums if you do not pay Tesla £300 to fit the official Tesla supplied battery then your car will catch fire, your dog will die and Elon won’t make love to you. They’re a special bunch.

New Varta battery installed and the fucker is happy. It must be doing some kind of more advanced battery health test but in hindsight I think the original 12v was bad, the car was consuming about 10 miles of range just parked up overnight but this has now gone down to just a few miles per night. It must have been relying mainly on its lithium pack before.

Ended up making a few other improvements to the car, actually just refitting shit which Elon probably thought was unnecessary. Fuck you elon. You twat.
Frunk before

Frunk after

There’s a set of door seals around all the doors.

I insulated the crap out of the car, there was no insulation in the boot at all apart from a foam piece over the motor so it just amplified all the noise so I put down some dynamat type stuff then went over it with a foam type thing.


Did the same to the are under the rear sets and arches, then when I ended up pulling the area under the dash/footwells to bits I did all of that too.

New Hankook Ion Evo tyres - as fitted to the new Model 3. These are amazing in terms of ride comfort and quietness, the car feels like it’s on a different suspension. There’s no steel in the tyre wall, it’s just plastic and they claim to give 10% more range than PS4S - after 1000 miles this seems to be an accurate claim. Car is like new in terms of range again! I’d go as far as to say that most of the ride improvements in the new Model 3 are probably down to these tyres.

Did some other small things too but it was a pretty busy weekend. As for the car it’s much better overall. So much more quiet it’s incomparable to how it was before.

@Mito Man none of the pictures are showing.

I’ve looked from another browser and it’s showing so I don’t think it’s from my end?

Pics visible for me

How much difference does the insulation/dynamat make? The Up, being a cheap car has barely anything - but dynamat is not cheap stuff to buy either!

I used Noica which I had left over from another project, identical to Dynamat from what I can tell but much cheaper because it’s Russian. Hard to separate out exactly how effective one item is on its own as I did all the insulation stuff and door seals together. Only thing with the bitumen based sound deadening is that it weighs a tonne so it’s easy to add 15kg+ on a small car, so maybe just the foam based one would be better for those.

Mito Man wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2023 10:23 pm I’ve looked from another browser and it’s showing so I don’t think it’s from my end?

Oh. Then I guess it is my problem.

Pollen filter cover wasn't on properly, allowing it to become waterlogged. There was a slug living in there

Got my car's first MOT at Sheffield Porsche this week. I also extended the guarantee, Porsche assist etc for two years too. Today a pair of Porsche gloves, some interior detailing polish and a cloth arrived in the post the day before my birthday. Top people and highly recommended.

My war on terror is in full swing now.

Mito Man wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2023 8:44 pm Tesla stuff.

Good work
What's the background with the seals, a development on later cars you've retrofitted, region specific, dodgy build?

I had a read up on the Hankooks, no doubt you've already seen this; https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre/Hankook/iON-Evo.htm

nuttinnew wrote: Fri Nov 24, 2023 8:21 pm

Mito Man wrote: Thu Nov 23, 2023 8:44 pm Tesla stuff.

Good work
What's the background with the seals, a development on later cars you've retrofitted, region specific, dodgy build?

I had a read up on the Hankooks, no doubt you've already seen this; https://www.tyrereviews.com/Tyre/Hankook/iON-Evo.htm

That’s a new review, there were no reviews when we ordered the tyres but good to see the review back it up. They don’t have as much grip ultimate grip or feel as the PS4S, softer tyre wall and harder tread compound would do that, but perhaps the first EV tyre which isn’t totally rubbish and can easily handle 500bhp. Also in terms of comfort and quietness they make the Michelin’s feel like budget tyres.

As for the door seals I think Tesla forgot about them when designing the car, then just used a cheap door seal which they attached with only double sided tape. There’s no proper mounting points so they just end up falling off/sliding out of position.
Here’s a short thread showing the problem
https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/thread ... ff.208452/
They’re pretty much disposable and you need a set per year, but the after market ones are better and you get 2 rows of door seals like on a more premium car.
New cars must be better as it just cost them a fortune in warranty claims with a technician coming to your house every year to change them

Smart Smart blah blah Smart.

I'd not even looked under the car before the MOT, I was expecting the worst, and figured I'd pick up the pieces afterwards. Getting stuck in today I'm not totally sure it deserved a pass I shan't complain though.

It's even more crusty than Gav's car - and that's saying something. One of the main things I'd noticed driving it was that the ABS was unnecessarily pulsing at low speeds. This could be it - both of the rear reluctor rings are broken. It's a common problem on Smarts and they're separate parts that are replaceable. Usual deal though: cheap part (£10/pair), lots of labour. I can do that.



I think it's well established by now that I like to LIVE DANGEROUSLY but I do have limits and the state of the tyres was too much. It's surprising to me that these are OK for an MOT - it seems that if they've got tread, and there's no cords showing, it's all good. So obviously not wanting to do things properly and buy brand new tyres, I've rolled the dice once more and got me a set of part worn Conti winters for just under £100. I'll fit them myself.



Finally, some easy quick winning with the headlights. Thorough rub down with 2000 wet & dry then machine polished* with Meguiar's Plast-RX although I'd previously used Autoglym Paint Renovator and it seems to do exactly the same thing for cheaper. I only bought a bottle of Meguiars because it was specifically recommended for plastic. I also put LED side light bulbs in.



I also did an initial engine oil flush (drain & refill, it's only two litres), and also changed the gearbox oil which looked like it was the 20 year old original fluid. The spec is (AFAIU) Dexron II, which is clear and red, the stuff that came out was very definitely neither. I'll do them both again once it has a few miles under its belt.


Other minor fun:

Our friendly local Hermes / Evri delivery bloke that I often chat to was very taken with the car and insists he wants to buy it.

On a test drive tonight I maxed out the speedo. Which would be impressive on any of the other cars, but on the Smart it only goes up to 80mph


* A small Sealey jobbie, I got mine as part of a set that I've been very happy with, but for reference it's one of these

Things I Should Have Bought Sooner: a proper tap for the 20 litre oil drums instead of just pouring it in which always goes wrong.

I thought that was beer keg on first look. And second look.


Does your Evri driver only deliver tiny parcels?

Jobbo wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2023 7:53 am
Does your Evri driver only deliver tiny parcels?

It's Evri, they just sell the packages on ebay, no need for a delivery vehicle

Jobbo wrote: Sat Nov 25, 2023 7:53 am I thought that was beer keg on first look. And second look.

Does your Evri driver only deliver tiny parcels?

Funnily enough the delivery in question was those two taps

He doesn’t seem like the average Evri driver. Slightly older chap, never in a hurry, always likes a chat. Possibly only works part time as we do get other drivers sometimes. Do they get to pick & choose their deliveries to some extent ?