MackMooney
Pre-takeoff checklist
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oooohhhhh, here's some shiny : https://www.cadillac.com/electric/lyriq/v-series?rdt_cid=5064656327230723656&socid=redd
Mustang Mach-E
- Thread starter Bob Noel
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DaleB
Final Approach
Dammit. Why'd you have to go and say all that? Now I want one.
Mtns2Skies
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Well, time to drop a V8 in here.
Velocity173
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Just had 10,000 mile service done for $15. Pretty much rotate the tires. Everything else is an inspection. Was thinking of proactively replacing the 12V but I think it’ll wait til the 20K service.
You got an AGM in there? Or old school FLA?
Mtns2Skies
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AGM. Swapping my battery is why I have the frunk out in the above image.
Velocity173
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It’s AGM but owners report failure around 3 years. Some report failure without warning which makes getting into the car a challenge.
The trick is to buy a car that's known to eat batteries but came from the factory with FLA. Upgrade to AGM and the problems go away. But if it started with an AGM...
Yeah, with an ICE car you get slow cranking as a good cue.
I take it you don't have a good way to measure its condition beyond looking at the calendar?
Velocity173
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It’s not too hard to access. It’s in the frunk and you remove two plastic pieces. Easier than my model X. That was buried in the frunk and had to remove the tub to get to it. It failed at the 4 yr mark.The trick is to buy a car that's known to eat batteries but came from the factory with FLA. Upgrade to AGM and the problems go away. But if it started with an AGM...
Yeah, with an ICE car you get slow cranking as a good cue.
I take it you don't have a good way to measure its condition beyond looking at the calendar?
Like the X, I’ve heard two different stories. Some report it gave them a warning while others say they went to “crank” and got a 12V fail indication. My X actually gave me a warning and I drove it for a week before a roving tech came out to replace it. Would’ve replaced it myself but Tesla hardly charged anything for a battery replacement so I let them do it. I think a lot of these premature failures were cars that didn’t get much use and sat on the lot for awhile…which is what my Mach E did.
Larry in TN
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My first M3's lead-acid battery lasted the full 4y5m that I owned it. I had placed a small 9v battery in the tow hook area, to open the frunk, and a jump pack in the frunk, for the last year, or so, in case it failed while sitting at the airport while I was at work but never needed it. I did not expect it to last that long. I figured that the long airport sits increased the chance of having a failure without any warning.
I haven't heard of any of the 16v Lion LV batteries failing, though I'm sure there have been a few. I need to figure out if a 12v jump pack is still enough to close the HV contactor on the new car with the 16v LV battery.
FastEddieB
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I proactively replaced the 12v in my 2022 M3 after about 3 years. Tesla mobile service came by the house and it was only $85 dollars or so for the battery and a few dollars more for the installation. They let me keep the still functioning old battery, which I periodically charge on my bench as a spare or a handy 12v source. I found a tiny, common 12v battery (size 23A) about the size of a AA, that I tywrapped to the wiring in the tow hook area.
Larry in TN
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Yeah, that's what I used. I forgot that it was 12v.
I considered replacing the battery early but never did.
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I think it's kind of funny that the 12v battery in an EV has such a short service life.
It's almost like the plumber that has a leaky faucet at home or the electrician with a faulty switch.
It's almost like the plumber that has a leaky faucet at home or the electrician with a faulty switch.
Larry in TN
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It's the 12v lead-acid batteries that have a short life as do all lead-acid car batteries.
Starting in 2021, Tesla has switched to a LiIon 16v low-voltage battery with an expected lifespan of 10 to 15 years. I'm not sure what other EV makers have made a similar switch.
Going forward, the transition to 48v low-voltage systems has begun. Those will all be longer-lasting battery chemistries. A 48v system comes with a lot of additional benefits other than a longer-life battery.
Velocity173
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Well the Mach E has had some software issues that killed a lot of batteries. There was a recall on it. If the car is operated on a regular basis, it should last as long as an ICE battery. My car had only 8,000 miles in 3 years so I’m sure it sat on dealer lots.
All this wouldn’t be a problem with manual doors but with no door handles, the only way to get into the car is pop the frunk and “jump start” it. Well if there was a small child or dog in there, that could take awhile. You essentially might have to break the window to get in.
The fastest thing in the US in 1987 was the Ferrari Testarossa at 173MPH. There were some other blended exotics like the AMG Hammer, but for out of the factory, no aftermarket(Calloway vette) tuning the next thing to the Testarossa was the Porsche 928GT 5sp. 172MPH. The fastest Honda Civic is the type R at 170. Skidpad cornering for 928 is .887g. 928 0-60 was 5.5. type R is 5.4.
I've owned a Testarossa, and still own a 928GT, and there aren't any Civics that are going to do any smoking. The GT is climbing in value every year. The Civic - is a Civic.
Can one of you educate me, please?
How do you use such a small (size and power-wise) battery to unlock the frunk?
Larry in TN
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For those who are unfamiliar...
By "jumpstart" we're talking about using a jump box to provide 12v to the low-voltage system to close the high-voltage contactor and allow the high-voltage battery to power the car. When the car "goes to sleep", the HV battery contactor opens leaving only the LV battery to power the car's systems.
On Teslas, there are two wires behind the front bumper, behind the small round panel that covers the tow hook receptor. The only purpose of those two wires is to unlatch the frunk when the 12v/LV battery is dead. You apply 12v to them and the frunk will open if either the LV battery is dead or the car is unlocked. This prevents someone from maliciously opening the frunk on a locked car with a good LV battery.
flyingcheesehead
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I should really do that... My car is about 4.6 years old now, and I haven't replaced the LVB yet.
It's not any shorter than it would be in any other car, it's just that there's very little warning of it going dead. In a car, you'll notice it start to crank slower and you'll (hopefully) go and replace it at that point. It doesn't take nearly as much energy to get the contactor closed, so it'll work and work and work and then it won't. There is a warning that is supposed to come on, but I have heard of people having the battery die without the warning being triggered.
Hmmm. Is there any way to tell if I got one of those? I have a late-2021 LFP Model 3, one of the first batch of LFP cars.
FastEddieB
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My early 2022 has a conventional 12v battery.
I think if you pull the frunk cover the newer lithium battery is obvious.
Edited to add: found this…
Larry in TN
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Menu (Car) > Software > Additional vehicle information
Look for the line item lableled Low voltage battery type. It will say either Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion.
While you're there, you can also see if you have the older Intel Atom or the newer AMD Ryzen infotainment processor.
The situation a little bit more complicated than that. Older cars, ICE or otherwise, off means off. Except for running the clock, nothing was using the 12V battery. Tesla's have several sleep state. In all but the deepest, it will use the high voltage battery to charge the low voltage battery. But even in the deepest sleep state, it's still running the computer (albeit in low power mode), communicating over the cellular radio and listening to a few sensors. You'll actually go longer between 12V replacements by leaving it in Sentry-mode than deep sleep because lead acid batteries hate being in any sort of discharge state.
Other EV's aren't so smart about maintaining the 12V battery. In those cars, the *only* way for the car to charge it is in on/active/drive state or if it's plugged into the wall. If you have a short commute, only plug in when you get to 20% SOC and the car is running the active shutters, doing humidity control, pinging for firmware updates, etc while parked then you're going to be replacing the lead acid battery a lot more often.
flyingcheesehead
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Maybe that's why I've lasted this long. Sentry mode runs automatically any time I'm not home. I haven't turned it off *yet* but I may do so here soon because I'll be parked at the airport for a while...
Yeah, Sentry mode can come down to a decision as to whether you would rather drain the LVB or the HVB. Better first find out if you have a lead-acid.
Groundpounder
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Not bad for $45 at Harbor Freight. 
Groundpounder
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what is the size of the cargo carrier? I need one to hold a large cooler 47 x 25 in. Most of the ones I find are 22-24in wide
Tim
It is way less than that. The advertised width is 17.5, but with the bolts sticking out (in?) its more like 16.5.