First long run...... Disaster

[pollenface]

I work away from home. My cars are left unattended for 2wks at a time. My cheap insurance is a solar panel charging the 12v battery. I just put the panel on the dash and remove it when i get home. Haven't had a flat 12v battery for 15+ years.

 

[Ruislip Resident]

I work away from home. My cars are left unattended for 2wks at a time. My cheap insurance is a solar panel charging the 12v battery. I just put the panel on the dash and remove it when i get home. Haven't had a flat 12v battery for 15+ years.

Good idea. How do you connect it the battery.

 

[pollenface]

Good idea. How do you connect it the battery.

alligator clips,

But you can use crimp on lugs or get an OBD2 power adapter,

I use a Victron Smartsolar 75/15 charge controller, it's important that the battery is always connected to the charge controller before the solar panel, otherwise it will try to charge it to 24v

 

[Hotlush]

[Edit] didn't read first post properly

 

[Kay]

How often did you check in on the car using the MG app whilst you were away?

Can ypu explain what the MG app is? I clearly don't have this, but sounds useful.

 

[andymgzs]

The traction battery is probably still at 60%. It's just the 12V battery that has gone dead.

I keep a 12V jump starter in the car for just that eventuality, but I haven't needed it so far, even after 2 weeks of the car sitting at an airport. Either I got lucky, or you were unlucky. Maybe a bit of both...

A recurring fault with the ZS EV. Happened many times to ours. Once sat in a drive through. Often at home. When left at friends for a few days.
Seems to consume the 12v battery for no reason and then it is completely dead.
Always have a 12v charger to hand.
AA are well aware and get you back on the road.

 

[Gadget Geek]

MG iSmart in the app store, presuming you have the mk II model.

 

[Ruislip Resident]

A recurring fault with the ZS EV. Happened many times to ours. Once sat in a drive through. Often at home. When left at friends for a few days.
Seems to consume the 12v battery for no reason and then it is completely dead.
Always have a 12v charger to hand.
AA are well aware and get you back on the road.

What 12v charger do you have.

 

[Tim Green]

Well I don't think it is acceptable. You would never put up with a £30k BMW or Merc ICE where the battery keeps going dead. It needs sorting and it won't be if you keep using a booster pack!

 

[jollyman]

You must make sure you switch of the car with the door button ,I forgot one afternoon in the morning the 12volt battery wouldn’t even open the door it was that flat,so I had to get the A.A ' in lesson learned if it helps

 

[Mack1410]

The traction battery is probably still at 60%. It's just the 12V battery that has gone dead.

I keep a 12V jump starter in the car for just that eventuality, but I haven't needed it so far, even after 2 weeks of the car sitting at an airport. Either I got lucky, or you were unlucky. Maybe a bit of both...

I carry a 12v jumper kit too, lifesaver.

Many thanks all, just in our last top up before the final stint home.

The car is leased and fully maintained so will be heading to the dealers for a new battery (or an explanation as to why not...) in the next few days.

I'm 100% sold on the booster pack idea, at this stage is rather try that than wait hours for the AA. Just need to hunt a suitable unit.

Regarding using the app, in all honesty, we tried it the first day once, after that it wasn't touched till early this morning, to try and heat the car up, at this point noticing that the app wasn't connecting, so it certainly wasn't battered.

This is the one I got from Halford, excellent. Halfords Advanced Lithium Jump Starter - Up to 2L | Halfords UK

 

[Lovemyev]

What 12v charger do you have.

A lot of people in the trade have these units.
They are on offer until the 16th November, but be quick !.
Personally I would go for the larger unit myself, but the smaller unit is more than capable of the job.
The larger unit will pretty much jump start almost any petrol / Diesel ICE car multiple times without any problem.

Offer price :- £57.99 for the smaller capacity unit and £70.49 for the larger capacity battery.

A LOT of peace of mind for less than £60.00.

Portable JS1500 Car Jump Starter Battery Booster Pack 10000mah Charger Power Box | eBay

Alongside a UL2734 certification, this car battery jump starter boasts 6 built-in smart protections against reverse polarities, short circuits, over currents, and more. You even get a heavy-duty Nylon storage bag as a gift!

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TOPDON JS2000, When Getting Stuck is No Longer An Issue! The ultra-bright LED flashlight has 3 illumination modes: Steady, SOS, and Strobe, for you to easily check and work in the engine bay in the dark.

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[Gizmo1863]

Interesting thread.
Have had our Mk1 ZS for about 2 years with no problems whatsoever until this spring. Put on overnight charge at a hotel chargepoint. Came out in the morning to a dead 12v.
Got a jump and drove away, faultless ever since. Battery charging and holding fine even over 2-3 week breaks.
Just 1 instance for one morning only and still using the same battery 8 months on too.

 

[Roldorf]

Just purchased a Norauto Start Micro from our local car parts shop (ATU). 84 Pounds.
Complete with all the cables and adaptors. Supposed to be able to start Diesel up to 2 Litres and Petrol up to 3 Litres. Car is now 1 year old, so thought it was time to get some backup.