On Vacation 30 days and Car is Completely Dark

[pluggedin]

Left the car plugged in to the charger while on vacation for 30 days. Unplugged the car, got in and the dash was lit but when I hit the start button the car went dark and I can't even open the trunk. The light ring is not lit.

 

Hooked up the charger to the 12V and it shows charged.

 

This happened once before in 2013 but it came back to life. Now I can't remember why it came back to life.

 

Anyone else experience this issue?

[murphy]

Your 12 volt battery is not charged.  When you pushed the button to start the car it attempted to close the contactors to connect the HVB to the car and the 12 volt battery voltage dropped to zero.  There is no way that a car left for 30 days still has a charged 12 volt battery.  It has probably been damaged by being discharged.  Connect a good fully charged 12 volt battery to the jumper terminals under the hood and the car should start.  That will let you open the trunk.  Once the trunk is open turn the car off and disconnect the jumper battery.  Remove the battery from the trunk and charge it and have it load tested.

 

The fact that it was left plugged in does nothing.  Once the initial charge process completes it never restarts.  It would have been preferable to leave a trickle charger connected to the 12 volt battery.

Edited January 9, 2017 at 12:06 AM by murphy

[pluggedin]

Thanks Murphy. I have a battery charger, can charge the 12V battery with that? I can see the positive terminal under the hood but can't see or remember where the negative terminal is. Can you point me to it?

[pluggedin]

I  am pretty sure I found the negative post location thru another thread.

[murphy]

I  am pretty sure I found the negative post location thru another thread.

It's directly behind the red terminal toward the back of the car.  It is a bolt sticking up out of the shock tower.

[JATR4]

It happened to me today.  Hadn't driven the Energi for about 10 days and the 12v battery was dead today.  Tried using a trickle charger but didn't seem to work.

 

Checked the internet and found this one at Harbor Freight Tools:

 

3-in-1 Portable Power Pack with Jump Starter by Cen-Tech (item 62376)

 

Only $47.67 including tax.

 

Worked immediately.  Drove the car a few miles and then plugged it in to the 240 EVSE.  Hopefully the 12v battery will be fully charged at the end of the cycle.

 

Thanks to Murphy for the location of the negative terminal under the hood.  The positive terminal has a red boot covering it and the negative terminal is 6 1/2 inches to the rear of the vehicle.  The positive cable connection was a little tight but manageable.

 

Now to install the rope to open the trunk in case of future failure.  Will be expected since it is a 2013.

[JATR4]

So I bought the jump starter battery pack as stated in the previous post.  Since my battery will likely die in the near future (2013 FFE) I plan on carrying the jump starter in the trunk.  But that won't do much good if I am away from home, the battery dies (or the key fob battery dies), and the car is locked.  I need both a way to get into the vehicle and a way to open the trunk.  My FFE has the push button start so no immediate way to get into the car.

 

Here is a youtube video of how to access the emergency access key contained in the key fob:

 

 

But once in the car I still can't access the trunk so I installed a piece of rope from the emergency trunk opener in the trunk through the back seat.

 

Problem solved.

Edited January 15, 2017 at 05:21 PM by JATR4

[wazer]

So I bought the jump starter battery pack as stated in the previous post.  Since my battery will likely die in the near future (2013 FFE) I plan on carrying the jump starter in the trunk.  But that won't do much good if I am away from home, the battery dies (or the key fob battery dies), and the car is locked.  I need both a way to get into the vehicle and a way to open the trunk.  My FFE has the push button start so no immediate way to get into the car.

 

Here is a youtube video of how to access the emergency access key contained in the key fob:

 

 

But once in the car I still can't access the trunk so I installed a piece of rope from the emergency trunk opener in the trunk through the back seat.

 

Problem solved.

I keep my jump start battery pack in the back seat to avoid having to get the trunk open. Knock on wood, my 12v battery has yet to die! Also, fortunately the new keyfob for 2017 makes it much easier to access the physical key.

Edited January 15, 2017 at 05:29 PM by wazer

[murphy]

My jumper battery and cable is in the glove compartment.  It's a 12 volt 7AH gel cell usually used in an UPS.  I've never needed to use it but I do remember to check its charge level periodically.