So It seems I have to charge every day to keep my 12v Battery full!

[JuziWomble]

Yeah you read that right - currently I cant trust the 12v 'starter' battery to hold enough juice to actually allow the car to 'Start' - Had to Boost jump it yet again today - Not used the car for a single DAY - the previous day the car had been used for my regular 60 mile daily journey & I did not charge it.... My error clearly.

So note for myself - Granny charger plug in ALWAYs When not planning on using - WHICH IS WRONG

Something is clearly draining the 12v - even though the car is 'turned off'? - I'm questioning if the car needs a larger battery pack ?!

Incidentally car is with dealer tomorrow for regen leak 'mod' & have asked for them to check on the above - Not expecting much as battery will be showing as fine 'as I've driven it drr'

 

[Kithmo]

Yeah you read that right - currently I cant trust the 12v 'starter' battery to hold enough juice to actually allow the car to 'Start' - Had to Boost jump it yet again today - Not used the car for a single DAY - the previous day the car had been used for my regular 60 mile daily journey & I did not charge it.... My error clearly.

So note for myself - Granny charger plug in ALWAYs When not planning on using - WHICH IS WRONG

Something is clearly draining the 12v - even though the car is 'turned off'? - I'm questioning if the car needs a larger battery pack ?!

Incidentally car is with dealer tomorrow for regen leak 'mod' & have asked for them to check on the above - Not expecting much as battery will be showing as fine 'as I've driven it drr'

Sounds like a duff 12v, get it replaced while it's still under warranty.

 

[JuziWomble]

Sounds like a duff 12v, get it replaced while it's still under warranty.

Thats my aim tomorrow ... But I suspect they will 'drag' it out - needing to 'check' with papa bear if they can make the charge under warranty - & thats If they can even find an issue to justify the claim - regardless of my experience ...

 

[AdyC]

Not unheard of a duff battery. I had a delivery mileage VW a few years back with one. Transpires a whole batch were faulty.

 

[Ian Key]

Check the 12v battery terminals are tight.

 

[bowfer]

Thats my aim tomorrow ... But I suspect they will 'drag' it out - needing to 'check' with papa bear if they can make the charge under warranty - & thats If they can even find an issue to justify the claim - regardless of my experience ...

So just buy a new battery yourself… ?
I get that it’s covered by warranty and you’re ‘technically’ entitled to a new one, but I will never understand why people will put themselves through grief for parts that really don’t cost much to replace yourself in minutes.
£70 maybe…ish..?
Is it worth the stress of what you’re dreading for that?
As long as you’re sure it’s the battery of course and not some parasitic drain issue.

 

[CarlMG4]

If your battery is reading 12.6v after being charged fully, then I'd probably rule the battery out and say your likely issue is a parasitic battery drain.

I'd be inclined to ask the dealer in question, to diagnose and fix the battery drain.

It's very simple to find out if you have got a battery drain in general. And it should be no trouble for a service technician, then they can go through the usual process of elimination to find the drain, and fix it.

Had a similar problem on my wife's Alfa Romeo, thought it was the battery, turned out to be the Bluetooth module draining the battery.

 

[Macadoodle]

Thought the car has the ability to close the main HV contactors on the fly to power the DC/DC convertor to boost the 12v when needed ?

 

[Ayoull]

Thought the car has the ability to close the main HV contactors on the fly to power the DC/DC convertor to boost the 12v when needed ?

Depends on level of charge and temperature, as cars designed to sacrifice the LV battery to protect the HV.

If you're driving it every day there is either something wrong with the DC-DC converter or the battery is duff, as the converter floats the voltage at 13-14.6v while the car is on and "ready"

 

[JuziWomble]

If your battery is reading 12.6v after being charged fully, then I'd probably rule the battery out and say your likely issue is a parasitic battery drain.

I'd be inclined to ask the dealer in question, to diagnose and fix the battery drain.

It's very simple to find out if you have got a battery drain in general. And it should be no trouble for a service technician, then they can go through the usual process of elimination to find the drain, and fix it.

Had a similar problem on my wife's Alfa Romeo, thought it was the battery, turned out to be the Bluetooth module draining the battery.

Yeah Going to ask re Battery Drain as AA man said there was one ...

Depends on level of charge and temperature, as cars designed to sacrifice the LV battery to protect the HV.

If you're driving it every day there is either something wrong with the DC-DC converter or the battery is duff, as the converter floats the voltage at 13-14.6v while the car is on and "ready"

Every day drive - Charge every day - Need to have full range options due to personal reasons - App Shows battery 12.7v currently ... (Car is Off - Haven driven to work)

 

[daps]

When will the car charge the 12 Battery ? It won't charge when plugged in? only when it's "on" and driving ?

 

[Ian Key]

My 12v battery charges when charging the main battery is charging.

 

[CarlMG4]

When will the car charge the 12 Battery ? It won't charge when plugged in? only when it's "on" and driving ?

Charges whilst charging the main battery and whilst driving/in ready mode - in a similar fashion to charging via an alternator in a fossil fuel car.

 

[daps]

Ah sorry, there is also another thread where that is mentioned. So:

• Charges when car is in "Ready" mode
• Charges when is plugged in. Do you know If It HAS to be putting energy into the main battery to also charge the 12v? Imagine it's already at 80% limit, will It keep providing charge to the 12v?

Is there an indicator somewhere saying it's charging the 12V battery? On the Smart app or something?

 

[Ian Key]

If you look at the vehicle status on the iSmart app if the battery is being charged it will show battery voltage as 14+ volts.

 

[RobQuads]

So just buy a new battery yourself… ?
I get that it’s covered by warranty and you’re ‘technically’ entitled to a new one, but I will never understand why people will put themselves through grief for parts that really don’t cost much to replace yourself in minutes.
£70 maybe…ish..?
Is it worth the stress of what you’re dreading for that?
As long as you’re sure it’s the battery of course and not some parasitic drain issue.

If you do this make sure the specs are exactly the same. The battery may also need coding so just replacing the battery might not be the simple or cheap task you expect.
Any variation from the manufacturer battery and its then again scope for them if you have any electrical problems in the future to say its no longer covered. Thats why IMO its its covered by warranty you let them fix it unless its something very simple and easy to do with zero risk to anything. The battery doesn't fall into that one.

 

[JuziWomble]

If you look at the vehicle status on the iSmart app if the battery is being charged it will show battery voltage as 14+ volts.

Have seen that before on the App - Makes Sense..

I'm sure its a parasitic drain ... Over a Faulty/Duff battery - But I'll let the garage determine that - Added to the Fact that the AA MG main said there was a drain - and logged that ....

 

[tsedge]

Have seen that before on the App - Makes Sense..

I'm sure its a parasitic drain ... Over a Faulty/Duff battery - But I'll let the garage determine that - Added to the Fact that the AA MG main said there was a drain - and logged that ....

Are you seeing 13-14V reported when the car is READY? If so, very likely to be duff battery, if not then drain next most likely.

 

[JuziWomble]

Are you seeing 13-14V reported when the car is READY? If so, very likely to be duff battery, if not then drain next most likely.

I'll check - That's visible under the tyre pressure screen if I'm not mistaken ...

 

[JuziWomble]

So... Update - Dealership said when it was in last that the BMS was flashed and that should clear the issue .. Seems that since they did this - I can now leave the car for longer than 24 hrs and still start it .. So possibly promising