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Monitoring the 12v battery

GMan

GMan

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Nevada
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Air Touring
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There have been a small number of Airs that have gone offline in random locations and random times because the 12v battery lost its charge.

2 Questions...

1) Is there a way to see if the 12v battery is depleting and at risk of going bad, so it can be replaced proactively? Or do people just change it out every 4 years?

2) Any recommendations for a small, light, portable battery jumper that could be keep in the car? I have a great one for ICE but it's a bit of a beast and if rather not lug it around.
 
 
I'm accepting that a proactive changing of the (is it TWO?) 12v battery is part of owning this car. Is there an easy way to measure health (hydrometer waiting) or just by time installed?

My 2019 I-Pace Jag left me alongside the road due to 12v failure so I learned to be proactive the hard way; it was more like 2-3 years battery lifetime and I'm recalling discussion of sub-optimal system design. The later model I-Pace reduced system to ONE 12v
 
SteveR said:
I'm accepting that a proactive changing of the (is it TWO?) 12v battery is part of owning this car. Is there an easy way to measure health (hydrometer waiting) or just by time installed?
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I have had the car for four years and have never had to replace the 12v batteries. The vast majority of owners do not have this problem.

Cars going 'offline' isn't due to the 12v dying, to my knowledge.
 
Look stupid BUT where is located that 12v battery and how you get to it on a Touring
 
borski said:
I have had the car for four years and have never had to replace the 12v batteries. The vast majority of owners do not have this problem.

Cars going 'offline' isn't due to the 12v dying, to my knowledge.
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The actual lifetime of 12v batteries vary greatly depending on usage and storage patterns. Letting batteries die in ICE cars is not that big of a deal. It’s pretty easy to change yourself even if you suffer the inconvenience of being stranded somewhere.

I would not want to be in that situation with an EV vehicle. They have complex high voltage battery management systems that expect to be always on. I will admit that I have zero knowledge of the implications of the car dying and the startup procedure when swapping out the 12 V.

I’ve had to change my Tesla 12 V batteries twice in 10 years, and it was great the car warned me that the batteries were going bad. I hope the Gravity does the same.
 
GMan said:
There have been a small number of Airs that have gone offline in random locations and random times because the 12v battery lost its charge.

2 Questions...

1) Is there a way to see if the 12v battery is depleting and at risk of going bad, so it can be replaced proactively? Or do people just change it out every 4 years?

2) Any recommendations for a small, light, portable battery jumper that could be keep in the car? I have a great one for ICE but it's a bit of a beast and if rather not lug it around.
Click to expand...
My car just went in today for its four year service. The service includes replacement of both 12V batteries. I've never had a problem with either of them but my car is garaged almost all the time and when we've traveled away from home it has always been in reasonably good weather.
 
They should last a lot longer. I think they change them proactively, as one going dead on an EV is a bigger problem than ICE.
 
They are a maintenance item, like wiper blades, tires, cabin filters. They provide "assurance" that displays, seat warmers, etc. operate - I replaced my ICE ones every 5 years, needed or not. Insurance they won't go bad after a number of seasons of freezing and hot temperatures. A part of total cost of operation - and they aren't cheap anymore! Batteries and tires - significant increase in prices over the last 20 years! WAAAY beyond normal inflation...
 
Buffalo Bob said:
I have an older version of this. I have used it on an ICE car, but never on an EV. One problem arises when you are traveling... If the 12v battery is dead, and the jumper is in the car, how do you unlock the car to get at it?

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I don't think those jump starters will work on these batteries. Starters of this type (at least the NoCo unit I have) do not engage until there is a substantial starting load applied to the battery. If the unit does not sense it, the power relay will not engage. I would suggest connecting any small 12v charger to the battery terminals to charge it back up. I would first use a volt meter on that battery to determine if it is low or dead. Normally that type of battery should indicate about 12.5v or more if it's healthy. It's my understanding that the car will automatically keep that battery topped off under normal circumstances. I'm almost three years in to an Air GT and have had no problems with it.
 
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