possible or hybrid problem

Hopefully a battery load test would disprove that?

 

if you can find a dealer who knows how to do one.

 

I would think so!

 

And IF they will go through the trouble of doing it.

 

any full service auto parts store that sells batteries will have a battery tester, and quite often a battery test is free. If you are lucky (or the appropriate gender!) they may even take the battery out of the vehicle and put it back in later.

 

possibly. i'm sure there are mechanics who know how to test a battery. all too often, they hit the power button, if she fires up, the battery is fine. if you can watch them test it and get the results, that would be helpful.

 

Checking the battery is pretty easy to do yourself with a multimeter.

12-volt battery
Open voltage at 68 °F (20 °C): Manual page 567

12.6 - 12.8 V Fully charged
12.2 - 12.4 V Half charged
11. 5 - 11.9 V Discharged
(Voltage is checked 20 minutes after the system and all lights are turned off.)

I have some test leads routed to the back seat so I can have the meter connected and read it through the window after the 20 minutes. That way there is no load except the usual very small 35 ma or so that runs the computer.

 

Cheanko,

My suggestion is to purchase a battery tender for about $50 and use it on a regular bases. Minimum once a week. Also has any lights been left on that may have drained it? Good luck and let us know.

 

Hey California Bear,

I love your idea about the meter. Would you post pics please? Thx. I connected pig tails for both our PIPs so I can plug in charger in easily. Only need 1 charger to swap between them.

 

Not much to show.
Clips on the battery terminals, wire routed to the back seat.


Double ended banana plug leads, be sure to plug into the meter first.


Back windows are tinted so I have to view the voltage with a flashlight in the garage. This
reading is a little low because it was made without waiting the 20 minutes and door was open
so dome lights were a draw on the battery. My readings are typically 12.6 to 12.77

 

Thanks, very nice.

 

Thanks for this, I haven't driven the PiP in several weeks, and you prompted me to check the 12V batt voltage. 12.29, a bit low. We'll be taking it for a drive today!

I happened to look at the specifications section for the 2014 (and 2015!) PiP. I believe Open voltage means with at least one of the battery terminals disconnected, as you might expect if a battery tester is being used. [Suggest you pull the + terminal!] (Different than those posted by California Bear, especially, discharged is < 11V.)

12-volt battery Open voltage*1 at 68F (20C):

Fully charged 12.5 V or over

Half charged 11.0 - 12.5 V

Discharged Under 11.0 V

Charging rates 5 A max.

*1: Voltage is checked 30 seconds after the hybrid system and all lights are turned off.

 

all the best!

 

you may need to do that so they observe the ev estimate jumping around. it would be well worth it.

 

I think the world awaits for a better charge indicator. In a wet lead-acid cell, a hydrometer can measure the state of charge by reading the density of the electrolyte. Perhaps someone will come up with an internal sensor which can more accurately measure the amount of usable electrical energy in a hybrid battery.

 

IIRC, for a brief period of time, HP had a calibration program which load-tested the laptop battery by completing a discharge-charge cycle on the battery. This was designed to make the battery-level indicator more accurate, but it wasn't very successful as I recall. Also, deep-cycling is hard on lithium-ion cells, degrading their longevity.