2012 I Miev Problem (12v, Wrong Key, Shifter Lube)

[Toonarly]

I just recently purchased an I-Miev (2012). It has 11k miles on it and is in "showroom" condition. I received it yesterday with a depleted main battery and a very low accessory battery. I charged it up with the stock charger on 120v for over 24 hrs and achieved a "full charge". I disconnected the charger and got in, I was able to start it and drive around the neighborhood, about 5 miles or so to test it out. I had no problems. The indicator never went down from the full status and I Returned home. I turned the car off, and went inside for some paperwork to register it and insure it. On returning I could not start the car, It only would show a red "battery" icon which I later discovered was a now totally dead accessory battery. It was the original factory battery. I went to the local O'Reilly auto parts and was able to get a match battery for it, same size and everything. I installed the battery and all the accessories function well, however I still cannot start the car? I keep getting the red battery icon and if I attempt to "start" the car I get the Auto Icon with exclamation mark as well. I can't for the life of me figure out what "changed" other than the battery itself. I even tried a jump start to be sure amps were good.

Is it possible that the replacement battery is the wrong kind in some way? I assume it must be 12 volts which it is, but is there other parameters that must be met to allow the cars system to "see" it?

Is it another issue altogether? Like maybe a fuse or relay that got fried with the new battery?

I looked for a "reset" but found none, I know on most cars one can unplug all power from the on-board computer to force a reset of a sort, or unplug the units in the rear of the I-miev to see if something gets reset??

Any ideas would be helpful and most appreciative. I'm limited to "dealerships" here in McPherson Kansas and actually bought it through a dealer in Kansas City MO and had it shipped to me.

Has anyone had this issue before? I'm totally locked out from starting the car, but I can run everything else???

 

[Don]

Welcome to the forum!

Odd to say the least! - It won't start if it's not in Park and it won't start unless the charge port door (the little black plastic flap inside the metal one) is securely closed. Probably a couple other conditions that skip my mind right now. Your new battery shouldn't have anything to do with it . . . . so long as it's fully charged

I would plug the car back into the EVSE for an hour or so and try it again to see if that helps

Don

 

[JoeS]

Toonarly, welcome to the forum. That's an OUCH! Sorry for the disquieting introduction to your new car.

Trying to activate the car with the J1772 connector plugged in is a common oops, but I don't recall any warning lights...

Any old 12v battery will work, so your new one is not a problem - but strange that the old 12v battery went dead so quickly, as simply the act of charging the car and driving around should have re-energized it.

Just how badly depleted was your main battery pack when you received the car? Three or four bars (on the fuel gauge) would actually have been a good charge level for shipping.

About the only thing I can suggest is to disconnect the 12v battery and let the car sit de-energized for a while before re-attaching the battery and trying again.

Maybe someone can comment on which fuses to check and where they're located? I've never had a fuse blow so haven't poked around in that area. Any chance that the (+) 12v lead touched the chassis while you were swapping batteries?

Perhaps contact the Mitsu dealer you purchased the car from and describe your symptoms...?

Good luck, and please do keep us informed.

 

[Aerowhatt]

There are three fuses built into the positive battery connection. Seems that would be a good place to start given the description of events leading up to the issue.

Aerowhatt

 

[veimi]

I had the same problem which took me some time to figure out.

I also couldn't start my car and also thought it was the battery.

While trying to get it going one evening, I noticed that the gearshift position indicator which is beside the main battery gauge was indicating that the car wasn't going into Park, even though the shift lever was in the correct position and the sprag was engaged.

By pushing the gear selector hard in the forward direction while in the Park position, I was finally able to start the car.

There is a cable connecting the gearshift lever to the left side of the transmission housing at the rear of the car and I suspect that the cable has stretched and has to be reset. Others have said that the cable needs to be lubricated.

The adjustment is apparently trivial.

On cars older than 2012 there are two adjustments which must be made.


A manual for a 2012

http://mmc-manuals.ru/manuals/i-miev/online/Service_Manual/2013/index_M1.htm

For the 2012 the adjustment procedure consists of inserting a metal rod through both the control lever and position switch housing to align them when the shift lever is in the neutral position.

In the manual for Shift Position Adjust go to Transmission-Shift Position Switch-Shift Position Switch Adjustment

1.Set the selector lever to the N (neutral) position.
2.Set the control lever to the N (neutral) position.
3.Loosen the shift position switch mounting bolts and turn the shift position switch so the hole in the control lever and the hole (cross section A-A in the figure on the left) in the shift position switch are aligned.
4.The shift position switch can be aligned by inserting the special tool inhibitor switch adjusting gauge (MD999576) into the hole in the control lever and the hole in the shift position switch.
5.Tighten the shift position switch mounting bolts to the specified torque. Be careful at this time that the switch does not move.
Tightening torque: 11 ± 1 N·m
6.Check that the special tool inhibitor switch adjusting gauge (MD999576) can be inserted into and pulled out from the holes in the control lever and the shift position switch smoothly.
If it cannot be done smoothly, return to step 3.
7.Check the shift position service data.

Below is a link to a picture of the older transmission housing which has two shift position sensors.

http://media.caranddriver.com/images/10q1/335484/mitsubishi-i-miev-transmission-photo-335602-s-original.jpg

 

[Toonarly]

Update:

I finally figured out the issue!! It is SO dumb too! It was the key itself!. I have two keys that came with the car, One I found out has the "chip" in it to activate the start sequence, the other does NOT!. For some weird reason I had switched keys from time to time and used the one that had NO chip, hence NO start!. After figuring this out the car starts every time. It was really frustrating because nothing was actually wrong with it except for the accessory battery and I didn't really notice the key change until I just thought "I wonder if?".

That battery was original equipment (2012) and the car sat for a long time (only has 11k on it) and I had the battery tested at the local O'Reilleys and it was defective. I'm good now. Just had the widows tinted 35% dark and now working on different wheel configurations to get a nice "look" for the car other than the stock ones with plastic hubcaps. I'll post my findings as time goes by. Thank you so much for all the advice and ideas as to my problem!

Update: Found a "cool look" for wheels, Its a bit off the page, but if your into a custom look check out my wheel upgrade post.

 

[JoeS]

Toonarly, delighted you found the well-camouflage problem, and thank you for following up and sharing with us!

...On returning I could not start the car, It only would show a red "battery" icon which I later discovered was a now totally dead accessory battery...

This week I discovered that trying to 'start' the car in Neutral produces the same symptom. :shock:

All the best in now enjoying your 'new' car!

 

[SyCo]

I had the same problem which took me some time to figure out.


There is a cable connecting the gearshift lever to the left side of the transmission housing at the rear of the car and I suspect that the cable has stretched and has to be reset. Others have said that the cable needs to be lubricated.

The adjustment is apparently trivial.

I've also had an issue wit the shift lever. Almost every time I put it in reverse, I was getting RBS light + the exclamation mark. Then I needed to cycle the ignition so it can return to normal. My wife also got it once in drive and she got RBS light with also the turtle. I noticed that the shift indicator in the dash was not showing the correct gear.

I went under my i-Miev at the transmission, disconnected the shift cable, cleaned and lubricated everything. It was working a lot better but I also needed to slightly adjust shift sensor as per the manual.

Everything is find now ! I must say that where I live , the put a lot of salt on the roads in the winter.