Testing a Dead I-MIEV

[michael8554]

I already have an I-MIEV, I'm looking at buying a dead I-MIEV as a project.
It was being driven back home from a MOT (UK road-worthiness test).
The owner pulled over and switched off to "retune the radio" - the 12V battery has been replaced, perhaps during the Test ?
The car wouldn't start after that.
It was towed back to the owners home.

The dash lights up and shows:
About three-quarters full on the "petrol gauge"
32K miles
The red handbrake symbol
The red 12V battery symbol
The yellow Electric Motor Unit Warning symbol (a car with an exclamation mark)

Thoughts:
Will the battery volts going up / not going up to 14V on powering mean anything ?
Might an orange cable have been made intermittent during the underside inspection ?
Does able to / not able to AC slow charge indicate anything ?
What checks can I make at the owner's home ?

I have an iCarsoft JP V3.0
A tablet with OBDZero and CanION
A Digital Voltmeter
12V Jump Leads
Spanners, sockets, screwdrivers etc

 

[kiev]

Use voltmeter to check the 12V battery voltage, if it hasn't been kept charged up then it is likely dead. An old, weak or worn out battery can cause a multitude of issues for an EV such as ours.

When battery is good and fully charged, then plug in the dongle and use canion or obdzero to read the cell voltages of the pack when the key it turned to ACC or ON position.

When trying to start to READY, listen for clacking sounds of relays and contactors, or not.

If it doesn't make 14.4V when in READY, then suspect the 20A fuse in the MCU. But if it doesn't go to READY, then use whatever scan tools you have that will read the DTCs, then post up here if you need help to decode them.

Good luck, have fun with the project.
kenny

 

[MickeyS70]

Will the battery volts going up / not going up to 14V on powering mean anything ?
Might an orange cable have been made intermittent during the underside inspection ?
Does able to / not able to AC slow charge indicate anything ?
What checks can I make at the owner's home ?

If the dash shows bars then the HV battery seems OK.
If the car doesn’t go to Ready the OBD isn’t charging the 12V aux.
The orange cables should be well protected, don’t think anyone in their right mind will disconnect them during inspection.
If it’s not charging using AC and doesn’t top up the 12V aux the OBC is suspect but as @kiev mentioned, check the fuse first.
Even with the car not going to Ready you should still be able to look at the cell balancing and SOH..

 

[michael8554]

Thanks Kenny and Mickey.

I'll report back if I find the car worth repairing.

Michael