Power loss after charging Peugeot Ion

[theferdies]

Hi all

I'm hoping someone can help me with my Peugeot Ion. After I charge it, I can drive about 50 metres, but then the power drops. Simultaneously, I get a bunch of warning lights... a car with what looks like a stick going through it, a little tortoise-shaped thing and one that looks like a car skidding. I switch the engine off and wait a couple of minutes before switching on again. The warning lights all appear but I can drive another 50m or so before the power drops again.

Fortunately, the place where I charge the car is a large car park that's never full, so I can always nip into a parking space. I switch on and off about 4/5 times. Eventually, I can go about 100/200m before it drops down again, but I live very near the charging place, so I kind of limp home, stopping and re-starting in lay-byes and private driveways as I go! Not ideal.

The thing is, when I park at home and leave the car for an hour or so, it's perfectly fine when I switch on again (no warning lights), and I know from experience that I absolutely will not have the problem again - until the next time I charge up. I'm not sure what the minimum time is for leaving the car unused. I think that a few weeks back I left it for only 30 mins and it was fine.

It's so weird that it only happens immediately after charging. There are no experienced EV mechanics in my town, but I would at least like to take some ideas to my local mechanic, to help him discover the cause.

Many thanks!

[kiev]

Would you happen to have a voltmeter that you could measure the 12V auxillary starter battery voltage at the terminals under the hood, or a device that plugs into the accessory socket to read voltage? Measure with the key OFF, and then again with key ON, and car to READY if it will start.

A weak, old or worn out 12V aux can cause a multitude of faults in an electric cars, much more so than a gasoline car.

[JoeS]

theferdies, welcome to the forum, and so sorry to hear of your weird post-charging situation.

A few questions, if I may -

1) Do you have CHAdeMO and, if so, have you tried it with what results?

2) What year is your Ion and which battery pack size?

3) What is your Ion's mileage and have you measured the battery pack capacity in Ah?

4) Any correlation of this problem with ambient air temperature?

Please do stay in touch as we'd all like to follow your progress which will hopefully result in identifying the root cause of your problem and its solution.

[theferdies]

I don't have one, I'm afraid, but this is just the kind of suggestion I was hoping for. I can ask my mechanic to try that! Many thanks for your help.

[theferdies]

Many thanks for your response. I use the local Chademo all the time. It's the only charger I've ever used. The Ion is 2012, but I don't know what size the battery is. Finally, I don't think it's related to temperature. It started around August last year.

Sorry if I'm posting these replies in the wrong place. I'm as computer-savvy as I am EV-savvy (i.e. not!)

[theferdies]

Oh sorry....I forgot to say that the mileage is around 50,000 and I have never tested the battery capacity. The blurb about the Ion says that its top range is around 60 miles on a full charge. Mine is about 45 at best, so I'm assuming that battery is starting to feel its age.

[JoeS]

So, theferdies, if I understand you correctly you have ONLY used CHAdeMO (dcfc) for charging your car. Presumably, the car stops charging when the level reached 13-14 bars and never reaches 100% charge? If I were the battery, I would say OUCH! Charging using CHAdeMO is very hard on the batteries. Could you perhaps try charging the car using slow ac a few times and let us know the results?

[theferdies]

Oh....I see. I had no idea that using the Chademo was bad for the battery. Yes, I mostly charge it to 80%, but I sometimes do a second session to get it to 100%.

I am currently looking to buy a house that has a garage, (or even just off-road parking) so that I can install my own charger. For the time being, the only public charger in my little town is a Chademo. I guess I could drive to another town and try using a slow charger.....but goodness knows what I'll do for the 7 hours that it takes to charge!

[kiev]

...
After I charge it, I can drive about 50 metres, but then the power drops. Simultaneously, I get a bunch of warning lights...

The thing is, when I park at home and leave the car for an hour or so, it's perfectly fine when I switch on again (no warning lights), and I know from experience that I absolutely will not have the problem again - until the next time I charge up. I'm not sure what the minimum time is for leaving the car unused. I think that a few weeks back I left it for only 30 mins and it was fine.

It's so weird that it only happens immediately after charging.

Looking at this picture it appears to be a thermal issue during charging; the temperature of one or more cells has risen to a point that the power flow is limited by the EV-ECU control unit. Later when you have limped home and the cells have cooled back to normal limits, then you are able to start and drive with no problem.

If this car has lived it's lifetime mostly charging to 80% using the ChaDemo, then that indicates to me that ChaDemo was not really so "bad" for your battery pack. It may be that those extra charges to 100% were the limiting factor, but to get 50k over 9 years is quite impressive.