BMW i3 charging problem

[glennjamin]

Afternoon all, My neighbour has got a BMW i3 that won't charge charger indicates red and full charge but car battery is empty. I thought someone on this forum will have more info hopefully,Any ideas ?

Thank you in advance 😀

[essayer]

12v battery ok ?

[glennjamin]

No it's the 42kw battery

[glennjamin]

Neighbour bought it secondhand and has just run out of warranty,

[PSRG]

I think the point is that if the 12v battery is flat / low on charge then a number of the cars systems, which might include the charging hardware/software for the main battery, might not function correctly

[TooLateForAName]

Has he tried another charger / cable? 1st thing would be to identify if the problem is the car or the charger/cable.

Any errors on the car?

[glennjamin]

No errors on display and has been to charge station and wouldn't charge at local station

[ZesPak]

If possible, have they tried a fast (DC) charger?
If that works that could narrow it down to an issue with the converter.

[TownIdiot]

glennjamin said:

No errors on display and has been to charge station and wouldn't charge at local station

They need to check that the normal car battery is working - if it's dead or even a bit dodgy it causes problems, including not charging the battery that drives the motor.

I haven't got mine anymore but I don't think it's very simple to do as it's hidden away.

[TheRainMaker]

The battery is very easy to get to; it is just under one of the panels under the bonnet.

Could be worth making sure it is working properly.

Other than that, I don't think there is much to check TBH.

[caseys]

Could be the inverter. Could be the 12v. Could be the cable.

Go on YouTube to see how to get into the service menu on the small display behind the steering wheel. IIRC you can see max battery State of Health and current State of Health which would give you an indication of what the Battery Management System thinks the battery pack could charge to (it wouldn’t tell you why it’s not charging though).

How many red flashes does he get when plugging it in?

Sorry not sure on much else to advise beyond that for now.

[Danm1les]

It will 90% be the 12v battery. I imagine its the original and they are prone to throwing up all issues and errors under the sun.

Can be changed on the drive, fairly easily.