A YouTuber and mechanic took on the challenge of fixing a 2014 Tesla Model S that had done 100,000 miles, and it was assumed that the car needed an expensive new battery installed. However, as he found out, the actual problem was far easier to fix.
YouTube channel OGS & Mechanics shared a video going through the Tesla and what was wrong with it. According to the main mechanic, the biggest problem was that there was an HV battery block imbalance, giving readings of around 3.5 and 3.0 volts.
An imbalance like that would normally suggest that there was a problem with the battery and that the best thing to do is replace it. But that would be incredibly expensive and time-consuming, and it isn’t something that everyone can afford. So it is always worth digging deeper to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
A video like this could be beneficial to a lot of people. If you have a Tesla of a similar vintage and it has issues that are the same, or close to the same, then it could save you a huge amount of money. No one wants to spend hundreds repairing their car if they don’t have to.
What Was Wrong With This 2014 Tesla Model S?
The YouTube channel said that the Tesla, which had done around 100,000 miles, had a battery cell imbalance. In short, that meant that the cells inside the battery pack were holding different amounts of capacity. It meant that the Tesla would only go as fast as the lowest of those cells, as a weak single cell can limit the performance of the entire car and battery.
With that in mind, it is easy to see why a new battery might seem like the obvious answer. Just swap it out for a brand new pack, where all the cells are balanced, and off you go. But that is an expensive undertaking and a complex job, and it would require a car going to a mechanic or dealership and probably lead to quite a big bill. But this mechanic thought the solution was much simpler.
In fact, he felt that there was just a minor wiring issue with this particular Tesla Model S EV. “Most likely inside the battery, the wires got disconnected and are giving a false reading,” George, the channel’s host, said. That meant they could strip the battery, but they wouldn’t need to replace it. “This is a simple car; it could run for ages – if repairs are done at the right time,” he added. That could be a huge relief for the owner of this particular Tesla.
Was This the Real Problem With the Tesla?
It turned out yes, it was the problem, and reconnecting the wires did the trick. That will have saved someone a monumental repair bill and a whole lot of stress. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people in the comments section were glad to now have this information. “You are the pioneer in EV repairs. Hopefully many young people are watching and learning,” said one YouTube viewer.
“This guy knows his stuff,” another said. There were a lot of happy viewers of this video. EVs, in many ways, are more complicated to fix because of how digital they are and how they rely on complex electronics for everything, including propulsion. Yet as this mechanic showed, if you can do a good bit of digging and research, you can work out that some issues aren’t quite as serious as they might first appear. Simply reconnecting the wires also meant this perfectly healthy battery wasn’t thrown out before it needed to be.