mothballing my iMiEV

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nuggetgalore
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by nuggetgalore »

Hi ,
I am going away for three months and wonder what precautions I should take to keep my 2010 iMiEV happy.
What SoC should I leave the power-pack ?
Should I remove the auxiliary battery to keep it trickle charged .
Any hints greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Last edited by nuggetgalore on Thu, 20 Apr 2017, 03:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Johny
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by Johny »

OK I'll dive in. In the Outlander PHEV Service manual it states not to disconnect the 12V battery even if leaving the vehicle in storage for a long time. Maybe someone with the iMiev service manual could chip in here.

What I would do...
I'd leave the traction pack at about 30% SOC and get a FLOAT charger NOT a trickle charger and connect it to the 12V battery - leave the 12V battery in and connected to the vehicle.
mikedufty
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by mikedufty »

I've tried to not recharge after the last trip before going away. I did end up with a flat aux battery after a 1 month trip recently, not sure if something was left on or if that is to be expected. Not a big drama just had to connect a jumpstarter battery for a few seconds to allow the mains charger or traction battery to connect. Lost bluetooth settings on the stereo was the biggest hassle.
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Richo
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by Richo »

Depending on what is connected and the health/age of the aux battery 2-4 weeks is pretty common before you'll run into problems.
There are solar panels that plug into the cigarette point but most of the newer cars wont accept a charge through this anymore.
I have 3 cars and regularly have to trickle feed the 12V battery.
But I use a lab power supply.
I haven't tried it yet but one the Meanwell HLG-40H-15A should do it.
Otherwise an off the shelf plugpack SLA trickle charger should be ok.
So the short answer is NO but the long answer is YES.
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Johny
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by Johny »

Richo wrote:Otherwise an off the shelf plugpack SLA trickle charger should be ok.
Just be careful to ensure that the "trickle" charger stops charging at 13.8 volts or so. A cheapo 12V trickle charger can overcharge a battery and destroy it pretty easily over a long length of time. A float charger is a more reliable way to look for one of these devices.
This would be a good one:
http://www.supercheapauto.com.au/Produc ... om=1021517
nuggetgalore
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by nuggetgalore »

Thank you all for your replies.
I probably would have left the traction battery at 80% but if it is better at 30% I will do that.
As far as the auxiliary is concerned, I have more 12V LA batteries to keep at the right voltage. I can connect them together on a voltage regulated solar panel.
Cheers
aldorone
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by aldorone »

Got a trickle charger and I have no complaints with it.
Peter C in Canberra
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by Peter C in Canberra »

I would leave it at 80% rather than 30%. I doubt there is much difference for battery longevity but 80% leaves you with a much bigger margin if there is some small drain.
Another option would be to ask a neighbour to drive and charge up the car once a week.
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offgridQLD
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by offgridQLD »

I let our Imiev sit for 5 weeks. Traction pack was around 50% (8 bars) parked in the garage. When we got home it was showing 8 bars and booted up up no issues.

I'm sure there is some small load on the 12v battery along with the normal losses you see over time in a lead acid battery but not enough to drain it to a point where it cant boot the cars traction pack to life over that time.

If your concerned with the health of your starting 12v lead battery or want to baby the battery. Perhaps put a little 12v charger on a little $15 7 day timer to cycle once a week for a few hrs.

Last edited by offgridQLD on Wed, 31 May 2017, 15:40, edited 1 time in total.
nuggetgalore
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mothballing my iMiEV

Post by nuggetgalore »


Thanks for this, yes a friend will start the iMiEV every so often and makes sure the 12 V LA stays alive.
I also talked with some more EV owners who all thought 30% is rather low.
So it will be somewhere between 50 and 80 .
We're off tomorrow.......
Last edited by nuggetgalore on Wed, 31 May 2017, 18:01, edited 1 time in total.
nuggetgalore
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Re: mothballing my iMiEV

Post by nuggetgalore »

nuggetgalore wrote: Thu, 01 Jun 2017, 03:59 Thanks for this, yes a friend will start the iMiEV every so often and makes sure the 12 V LA stays alive.
I also talked with some more EV owners who all thought 30% is rather low.
So it will be somewhere between 50 and 80 .
We're off tomorrow.......
I am back in cold Melbourne now. The 12 V battery did hold the charge for up to two weeks but did go dead once in 3 three weeks not being recharged. I will have to invest in a new one.
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