A post yesterday on FB illustrated the advantages of vehicle owners carrying their own jump starter. A BYD Atto 3 owner reported that their car got the "ev power limited" message and they couldn't change into gear. They phoned the BYD 0800 number and a person arrived to help, but he wouldn't jump start the vehicle because he said it would void the new car warranty. So a tow truck was called to tow the vehicle away.
Another owner when replying to the above, said that their car also broke down, but roadside assistance said that the battery was only measuring 12V, but it needed to be 12.4V to start the car. Their car was also "locked in P" and couldn't be moved and was also towed.
So, these posts raise a few issues about when jump starting can be used.
I agree with the sentiment that some EV's do a lousy job of charging the 12v battery. My Leaf slowly runs the 12v battery down, possible because my commute isn't long enough to thoroughly recharge it (?) and I use the charge timer, so the EVSE is plugged in for hours while being inactive. This could also be the same for other EV's.
I've had trouble with the Leaf not starting in the past (yes, also used a lithium jump pack). I now top my Leaf's 12v battery up with a manual charger approx monthly and don't have issues. Quite often when I put the charger on I find the battery is down to 12.3v confirming that it is run down and due a top up (it should ideally be 12.6 - 12.8v when the car is off, and anything under 12.0 v is dipping into risky territory. The voltage will rapidly drop from 12v to 10v at which point a Leaf won't start and the dash lights go schizo).
IIRC the Japanese Leaf's have a "Telematics" radio module that talks to the Nissan Japan network via cell service. Possibly when outside Japan the poor thing is running maximum RF power out trying to connect to a system that's just not there. This slowly drains the 12V battery.
It may be possible to cure the problem by disconnecting the telematics module, or pulling Fuse 34 in the fuse box beside the battery under the bonnet.
The 'G' trim level cars have the solar panel in the rear spoiler to keep the 12V battery charged up so this problem doesn't affect them so much (aside from the lower output of the panel due to the plastic covering changing colour in the sun).
I and I expect all BYD Atto 3 owners in NZ will now have received OTA update:
Third Update V 1.1: Changes to the AC & Ambient Lighting software Changes to the power supply of the 12v battery Optimising temperature alarm Upgrades to DC Changing software
I've been continuing to monitor my 12V battery health and can definitely see the improvement after installing the update. Thresholds and charging durations are now such that my battery never drops below 12V. I believe BYD have fixed the problem for Atto owners, and if anyone still has problems it's likely to be due to a battery weakened in transit now prematurely at EOL. Dealers should replace these under warranty.
But there is a wider issue that EV 12V batteries are low capacity, and various operational aspects of the cars can place a steady draw on them. Owners should be aware of this for their particular models and take steps accordingly. For me an easy contingency plan is to have ready access to a lithium jump starter. It's worked for me before, and I may need it again - whether for me or to rescue a stranded ICE.
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