rarely the car doesn't go to READY mode -- what's up?

[RogerHalifax]

Hi,

Just a few times when I turn the key nothing happens. The battery red image is illuminated. Then, after a few tries it does go
to READY mode. Is there advice as to what is causing this?

Other than that, our 2014 iMiev has been terrific! Perfect as a city car, even in Nova Scotia winter. And we are pleased to see that
the battery has lost almost no capacity.

Thanks to any who can offer an explanation for the start issue.

Roger

 

[Don]

*Sometimes* if you pause a tiny bit turning the key between ACC and READY, it fails to start. *Usually* if you go from OFF to READY all in one swift turn, it will start most every single time - Very rarely do I get a hiccup doing it this way

Don

 

[kiev]

i suspect that the 12V aux battery is worn, weak or too old to hold a charge and start the car anymore. Better to get it checked and be safe than sorry and stranded on the side of the road. Especially if it is the OEM battery ==> 6 year old or older, time for some preventative maintenance.

 

[curraheeeasyc]

Mine is having this exact problem! Once I turn the key, the 12v battery light stays lit and although the car is "on", I can't drive in any gear. At first this affected charging too, and it wouldn't charge. I replaced the 12v battery, and now it happens 50% of the time or more, and if I try over and over it will eventually just work (but charging is no longer a problem). I don't believe I'm pausing or doing anything different during the key turning process.

Any tips? My nearest mitsubishi dealer is about 50 miles away so I"m not keen on trying to get there just to find it's something I could have fixed myself, and I don't have confidence they'll fix it in short order either.

 

[kiev]

Did you charge the "new" 12V aux battery before installation? Or can you verify that the voltage goes up to 14.4 when the key is turned to start and car goes to READY?

If you have the red battery lit then there is an issue that has not been resolved. The car will not start or run with a low voltage aux battery. Do you have a voltmeter--battery measurements/readings are needed to understand what is happening.

Do you have any equipment to read out the DTCs (diagnostic trouble codes)? Where are you located--maybe someone is close by with a scan tool.

 

[curraheeeasyc]

No I didn't charge it first and I don't have anything to test it with, but I have an update.

I read on other threads about how the shift selector sticking and not registering park can cause some issues, and mine has been sticky and I had trouble getting it to register Reverse. And I live in Louisiana and haven't driven much lately due to Covid etc, and it has been very wet and humid this summer (the first summer I've owned it). So, I applied lubricant to the appropriate shift cable areas, and shifted through all the gears etc. That seems to have helped both the shifting and the battery issue. But not totally. Here's the situation now.

If I got out and crank it goes to ready fine, no issues. All day, with several stops, of 10-30 mintues, this was the case. So, that's great!
Now, it only does the "12v battery stays lit and won't go to ready" if I turn off the car and immediately try to crank it again. This is easily resolved though, but switching off, then immediately cranking again. Then it's fine. In fact, I don't even have to switch off, I can just re-turn it to the on position without even turning the car off and the 12v icon will go away and the car goes to ready.

So at this point, I'm wondering, is it resolved? Maybe it's normal to not go to ready if you switch off and back on immediately due to some battery stuff that happens in that space of time. Like I said, 10 minutes or so and it doesn't happen now, just if I switch off and on right away.

 

[kiev]

...
Now, it only does the "12v battery stays lit and won't go to ready" if I turn off the car and immediately try to crank it again.
...
So at this point, I'm wondering, is it resolved? Maybe it's normal to not go to ready if you switch off and back on immediately due to some battery stuff that happens in that space of time. Like I said, 10 minutes or so and it doesn't happen now, just if I switch off and on right away.

So this is an electric car with lots of safety features; when you turn the key to START you should hear a bunch of clicking and clacking from both in front and rear or underneath the car. This is the relays and contactors going thru their start up sequence. It is not as noticeable but there is also a sequence at key to OFF, but it is not as noisy. There is a certain amount of time needed for these to occur, and the car doesn't like to be interrupted or hurried during this time.

i think if you are twisting the key to OFF and then immediately back to START that the car doesn't like the interruption of the shutdown sequence and voltage bleed-down that it is expecting. This is not a normal way to drive any car, much less electric, so why would you want to do this?

 

[curraheeeasyc]

Ha, thanks for the info. I definitely don’t want to switch it on and off and I don’t normally, I just identified that during my trying to figure out if the issue is solved

 

[Reglissenoir]

I had that problem no ready and no charging my problem was the shifter was not totally on park,

 

[Don]

I had that problem no ready and no charging my problem was the shifter was not totally on park,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for adding to the knowledge base on this issue - One other thing to check beside the 12 volt battery for this problem

Don