Non-flat tow of Rav4EV?

[fred_dot_u]

I searched the forum and found primarily topics relating to towing things with the vehicle. In my case, it's the reverse.

With my inability to physically perform a charger replacement, I had considered using a neighbor's skill set as he is a Ford dealer professional mechanic.

Since that decision, nothing has been done or planned and I recently learned of a wonderful development. Rich Benoit of https://electrifiedgarage.com/ has a second shop in Ocala, FL about 80 miles away. I'm not able to manage such a drive and have been pondering the best answer to deliver the vehicle, if my conversations with the operation indicate willingness on the part of the garage.

To that end, my neighbor is a professional truck driver, but also owns a heavy duty pickup truck, previously used to transport a fifth-wheel camper. I'm confident he has the skill and the truck has the oomph.

I would not flat-tow my EV, unless it was necessary as a last-ditch effort to regen-braking-recharge. The next option is to use a towing dolly. These lift the front wheels from the ground and would prevent motor and drivetrain damage.

Is there a reason to not use a towing system of this sort? The local rental shop has plenty available and I expect the expense to be much less than hiring a U-Ship contractor for two trips.

 

[hokiematt]

The Electrified Garage folks should definitely be able to help you with your charger issue. If it is a fuse replacement, that should be an easy repair. If you want to repurpose a gen 1 Model S OBC, you'll either need to flash the RAV-specific firmware onto it, or transfer over the control board from your existing OBC.

There is generally no reason not to use a simple tow dolly for transporting your RAV, it would be no different than towing any other FWD car. If it's not much of a price premium, I'd probably recommend going for an open car hauler, as those usually include hydraulic surge brakes, whereas the single axle dolly usually doesn't. You might also potentially be over the rated weight capacity of the dolly, while the hauler is usually good for an additional thousand pounds or more of capacity above a dolly.

 

[fred_dot_u]

I appreciate the useful considerations. I noted that the one-way cost for the two wheel dolly is US$104, while the drive-on trailer is only US$138, not that much of a difference for the additional safety.

The charger problem has been determined to not be fuse related, thanks for Vlad and his diagnostic genius.

I have a used charger to match my unit and I'm hopeful EG people will install someone else's items.

 

[alflash]

I searched the forum and found primarily topics relating to towing things with the vehicle. In my case, it's the reverse.

With my inability to physically perform a charger replacement, I had considered using a neighbor's skill set as he is a Ford dealer professional mechanic.

Since that decision, nothing has been done or planned and I recently learned of a wonderful development. Rich Benoit of https://electrifiedgarage.com/ has a second shop in Ocala, FL about 80 miles away. I'm not able to manage such a drive and have been pondering the best answer to deliver the vehicle, if my conversations with the operation indicate willingness on the part of the garage.

To that end, my neighbor is a professional truck driver, but also owns a heavy duty pickup truck, previously used to transport a fifth-wheel camper. I'm confident he has the skill and the truck has the oomph.

I would not flat-tow my EV, unless it was necessary as a last-ditch effort to regen-braking-recharge. The next option is to use a towing dolly. These lift the front wheels from the ground and would prevent motor and drivetrain damage.

Is there a reason to not use a towing system of this sort? The local rental shop has plenty available and I expect the expense to be much less than hiring a U-Ship contractor for two trips.

By installing such a simple device

and turning on the "B" mode, you can charge the BB battery of your car by towing it in Ready mode
For example, see the charging current when braking https://youtu.be/dgD0bAwLxAw
For "sporting interest" we can record a video of the charging parameters of your car's BB battery during such towing.

 

[fred_dot_u]

I've heard back from the Electrified Garage. The technician said they could change the charger, but would be unable to reprogram the unit and would not be able to test it as a result.

I am concerned that I will not be able to convince the EG people to take on the task. I've watched the videos created by Rich Benoit from the Rich Rebuilds YouTube channel for some time. He has an open mind and flexibility I feel I can trust to do a good job.

I've also discovered that the two-way cost for the trailer is only US$55.00, a wonderfully lower price!

With respect to swapping chargers, is there any programming involved?

 

[alflash]

I've heard back from the Electrified Garage. The technician said they could change the charger, but would be unable to reprogram the unit and would not be able to test it as a result.

I am concerned that I will not be able to convince the EG people to take on the task. I've watched the videos created by Rich Benoit from the Rich Rebuilds YouTube channel for some time. He has an open mind and flexibility I feel I can trust to do a good job.

I've also discovered that the two-way cost for the trailer is only US$55.00, a wonderfully lower price!

With respect to swapping chargers, is there any programming involved?

1. Relatively easy to reprogram the charger when the donor is also a RAV4EV
https://youtu.be/85oQ5CRNq0U

2. Ability to reprogram for RAV4EV Charger from Tesla's depends on the actual hardware ID of the donor device
https://www.myrav4ev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2537&start=10

 

[hokiematt]

With respect to swapping chargers, is there any programming involved?

The RAV4 EV charger and the gen 1 Model S charger are identical, and have the same Tesla part number. However the firmware flashed into each OBC is different between the two: you can swap OBCs between different RAV4's without issue, but putting a Model S OBC into a RAV4 (or a RAV4 unit into a Model S) will trigger a firmware version mismatch error. This can be fixed by either a) reflashing the OBC with the correct version firmware, or b) moving the control board (containing the firmware) from the old charger to the new charger (this assumes there is no problem with the control board).

Is your replacement OBC from a Model S?

 

[fred_dot_u]

The replacement charger is a Tesla unit. I am hoping that the control board isn't the culprit, but I have no foundation for that hope. Does the control board decide to fail the charge from one to five times before allowing it or would that be another component?

I've not heard from EG since my last reply and I'm hoping that they will take on the project. Even if I have to pay a U-Ship to get it there, it's going to be less expensive than just about any other option, unless one of the forum's members want to make a few extra bucks and drop in!

That would really be the best answer, because I'd have someone with experience plus the ability to ask Vlad to connect in for confirmation and other actions as required.

Any takers?

 

[hokiematt]

Your odds of a successful repair are probably slightly higher using the Tesla charger and reflashing with the RAV4 firmware, rather than moving the control board over to the new charger. Either way though you're still taking a chance on electronics pulled from a scrap vehicle...

I did help an owner here in NC swap his OBC last year, that would sporadically stop charging. Even after the swap, the symptoms persisted (and across different EVSEs), which left the vehicle wiring harness and J1772 receptacle as the remaining suspects. He ended up selling the RAV4 before we could do further diagnostics.

Hopefully a charger swap is all you need

 

[fred_dot_u]

I haven't seen any references in the forum regarding how to flash the replacement charger. I'm inclined to go that route, as it allows the mechanical component to be accomplished only once.

The Electrified Garage people have ceased to reply to my email requests, which eliminates the flat/non-flat towing question completely.

As the weather cools, I'm considering to take the problematic Rav4EV out of service and slowly and gradually begin as much of the replacement process as I can. Even if it takes me three months to accomplish what could be done in a half a day, it's going to be faster than the current replacement process, which of course is nothing happening.

Is the flashing of the board something that Vlad can do with the Tesla software via the Mikrotek router?

I suppose I've hijacked my own thread; isn't that allowed?

 

[hokiematt]

Charger firmware reflashing is done via the Tesla Powertrain software app. I'll let him confirm, but I believe Vlad should be able to do that remotely.