Broke down

[joemm210]

Its -34 today and -40 with windchill my car broke down with 10km still showing on the dash first it went into turtle mode then it started slowing down until it shutdown.

Checking my soc shows 16% still so not sure why it would not keep going. The 12v battery light comes on but it is a new battery 2 months old.

I am not near the car anymore so can't really check anything just waiting for it to get towed just wondering if it's normal for it to die with battery left if it's this cold out.

 

[MickeyS70]

Hi
Sorry to hear about your troubles. Looks like one (ore more) cell(s) are dropping below the safety threshold voltage under load but recover once the car is stopped. The cold makes things worse as battery capacity is reduced overall

Get yourself an OBD dongle and read out the cell voltages with one of the dedicated apps (CanIon/OBDZero/HobDrive) before you plug in again (best to post a pic), also make sure your 12v battery is fully charged.

 

[joemm210]

I was logged into my car via obd2 when it shutdown so its showing the last voltage as 285 so does this confirm the problem that it needs more battery? since it should be 330v?

 

[MickeyS70]

I was logged into my car via obd2 when it shutdown so its showing the last voltage as 285 so does this confirm the problem that it needs more battery? since it should be 330v?

Correct; 285V will give you an average of 3.2V/cell that explains the tortoise, however I’d say some of the cells are even lower and caused the car to shut down. You may have some undetected battery cell issues that have only came to light due to the cold I’m afraid.

 

[joemm210]

an update on this one, took a few days to get it towed since lots of cars were stuck with issues in -40c weather. I charged it back no problem and did not attempt to go down past 25% when it was still -40c out. I did drive down to 0km again to test it when it was -20c out so it seems as though the issue is just during extreme cold temperatures and that is fine for my normal commute since it is just 8km so even in -40 weather its more than fine and its good now that I know not to bring it down below 25% battery during those cold times.

 

[jemsnixon]

An update on this: It took a few days to have it towed because many automobiles were stranded with problems in the -40°C weather. When it was still -40 degrees outside, I had no trouble charging it back and did not try to dip below 25%. It appears that the problem only occurs during extremely cold temperatures because I drove down to 0 km to test it again when it was -20°C outside. Since my daily commute is only 8 km, even in -40°C weather, it is more than fine, and it is good that I now know not to drive it down below 25% battery during those cold times.

 

[JoeS]

@jemsnixon, are you the same person as @joemm210? If so, I had tried contacting you regarding the Remote so please PM me if you're still looking for one.

I wouldn't expect anything with a battery or electronics to work 'normally' at -40°C :shock:

 

[PV1]

I wouldn't expect anything with a battery or electronics to work 'normally' at -40°C :shock:

I can't imagine most anything would work properly at -40. Coldest I've experienced was -23 C (-10 F) and it took everything the I-MiEV heater had to keep the cabin bearable (and that was a few years ago when I was accustomed to cold weather). I would've suggested manually heating the pack but I doubt there was any heat to spare.

As these packs age, the power output at low temperatures is going to suffer more and more because of voltage sag. I've noticed a fair difference even between 50 F and 70 F in power, range, and pack voltage.