[Imacargeek]

I just acquired a dead 2014 500e with 48,000 miles.

The previous owner said one day it would not charge using the OEM EVSE. At some point they installed a new 12v battery which did not solve it but might have been the beginning of all this. Then...they let it sit for 10 months.

Details:
Will not ready - turtle. Will not shift into drive
Attempting to charge gets goal posts
Contactors do not seem to be closing - no audible clicking when opening door or turning key
OEM EVSE is showing all 4 green lights
BPCM is setting codes P1E25 and P0A1F and they will not clear using alfaobd (or they are immediately resetting)
12v battery is stable at 12.5 - 12.6 volts
Recall U69 has NOT been completed
Humidity sensor is unplugged
12 volt battery had been disconnected for a period of months before I acquired
"Enabling Contactors" using alfaobd does not seem to work - cannot hear contactors, nothing changes
All 12 volt accessories seem to work normally such as radio and lights
I am suspecting it is a failed HV battery, I am right at 8 years so I am not sure if I could score a battery under warranty.

Any suggestions/thoughts/opinions?

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

...they let it sit for 10 months...
Contactors do not seem to be closing - no audible clicking when opening door or turning key...
"Enabling Contactors" using alfaobd does not seem to work - cannot hear contactors, nothing changes...
I am suspecting it is a failed HV battery, I am right at 8 years so I am not sure if I could score a battery under warranty...

The HV pack is likely ruined, since it loses about 12%/month, times 10 months is 120%, so even if it started with a full charge it would be so far past 0% that the cells will have dropped damagingly low. A terrible waste, if was just the contactor glitch that could have been fixed for $20 & a few taps on an app.

If you're PAST 8 years from the day of initial purchase then warranty almost certainly won't work.

If you're under 8 years then you should make a claim immediately but do NOT tell them it sat for 10 months, because the manual says leave it plugged in for long-term storage. I might tell THEM "failed", but "killed" would be more accurate. I'd likely just say: "It won't start or charge. Here's the keys. Call me."

Then they'd diagnose it with a failed pack that Fiat would have to pay them to replace. They'd try to make you replace the perfectly-good PIM first, but we'd help you cross that bridge if you're lucky enough to get that far.

When you try to enable the contactors, does it show "completed" like this? (click to enlarge):

Are you able to access "battery management"?:

Where you could check for Max/Min voltage:

& I believe somewhere on that long list of battery data it shows something like "Contactors: enabled".

 

[vladifresh]

I’m in the same situation except it’s been closer to 2 -3 years left unattended. The alfaOBD is showing process complete, but I don’t hear the clunks. Would be nice to find a way to trigger the contactor (clunker) manually or with a 12v external signal. I really don’t want to drop the hv battery

 

[fraktclassiclimo]

There is still hope for batteries left unattended for <1 year. I'm actually looking for a shop that refurbishes the battery pack.

Fiat 500e – My Website

mandmwaddle.ca

 

[twinturboz]

There was a period in time during my layoff in 2020 where the car sat unplugged and sitting for months and the pack only lost like 3% from 81% to 78% when I went to the market are you sure the car loses that much charge a month?

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Someone reported losing more than 3.3%/week, averaged over 2-3 months.

I checked mine, & parked unplugged at 60% it lost about 3%/week at around 70F, based on my max cell voltage dropping 15mV in 3.5 days.

From full charge* to dead** is about 1000mV, divided by 100% is 10mV for each 1%. So 15mV is 1.5% in 3.5 days which is 3%/week. It's not linear though, & long-term it seems to lose more than that. So maybe it loses significantly more at low % & less at high % (like 78 - 81%).

*~4100mV
**~3100mV

 

[twinturboz]

Someone reported losing more than 3.3%/week, averaged over 2-3 months.

I checked mine, & parked unplugged at 60% it lost about 3%/week at around 70F, based on my max cell voltage dropping 15mV in 3.5 days.

From full charge* to dead** is about 1000mV, divided by 100% is 10mV for each 1%. So 15mV is 1.5% in 3.5 days which is 3%/week. It's not linear though, & long-term it seems to lose more than that. So maybe it loses significantly more at low % & less at high % (like 78 - 81%).

*~4100mV
**~3100mV

So my next question is if Fiat has a bunch of these HV battery store in their warehouse what’s the charge state are they in and do they keep them charge it up because they sat there for a year before being sold your pretty much getting a dead battery

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

That's a very good point, so I looked up the closest specs I've been able to find (the very-next-gen Samsung SDI after ours: 94Ah) & self discharge is less than 3.3% in TWO HUNDRED DAYS !

Of course it's possible our 1-gen-prior cells have much worse self discharge, but 30 times the loss seems unlikely. It seems like something else is going on.

 

[DD500E]

My 2013 sat recently for about two months while I shopped for a part. I had the 12v battery disconnected and the main disconnect removed on the high voltage battery and it didn't even drop 1% (started at 40% and still registered the same when I reconnected everything and plugged it in to the charger).

That could be due to it just putting up the original value since it was disconnected (this happens over time if you don't ever discharge it to a low level), so I'll probably find out before too long if I have a long day. If the charge level drops rapidly to catch up then I'll have a better idea of how far off the percentage was. I've had a few times that my charge showed near dead and it had another 10+ miles in it so the opposite may have happened in this case.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

That seems like a great tip: If you can't leave it plugged in for long-term storage, at least remove the HV fuse under the back seat bottom.

In case you didn't already know, 0% on the gauge with 10+ miles left is usually fixed by discharging to motor shutoff:

Regain Lost Range for Free!

Edited 10/12/22 based on all info to-date (that I know of): If you think you've lost some range, it's likely just the % gauge needing calibration. Over time, the gauge reads progressively lower than the true reading. So it makes you stop before you really need to, thinking you've lost range...

www.fiat500owners.com

 

[vladifresh]

Just resurrected my 2013 500e that I bought at auction with a dead battery. Had the dreaded 47% and goal post lights when wall charger was plugged in. I used the same process as Husam Hamza on FB 500e forum, by dropping the battery and charging the 18 individual modules with a power supply followed by lithium scooter chargers. I believe the car sat for 3 years uncharged (had 3 (almost 4) years of back fees) 😜. Range doesn’t appear to be compromised, but I still need to drive it more to see if it improves from 60 to 80. My other 500e has 17” abarth wheels and seems to get about the same range.

 

[vladifresh]

 

[twinturboz]

Isn’t there a Freon line that goes to the pack? How did you refill it? I heard it takes a special kind of ester based oil for electric compressors not sure of refilling is the same as a regular car. I’ve always wondered on this car. Those compressor cost like $5k so I’m not going screw up and take that out lol

 

[vladifresh]

Freon? No ! There is pink coolant that cycles through the battery. There is a separate coolant reservoir for the AC.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

@twinturboz & anyone else interested: To chill the battery pack, A/C fluid doesn't go to the pack, it just chills the battery coolant. You can see the A/C & coolant tubes going through a little heat-exchanger right behind the 12V starter battery. Click to enlarge:

 

[DD500E]

Just to throw this out there (and please correct me if I'm wrong). I'm attaching a pic highlighting where the much talked about contactors are hiding in the HV battery pack for any future tinkerers that are hesitant to dig this far in going blind.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

I don't think that's them. Click to enlarge:

 

[DD500E]

I don't think that's them. Click to enlarge:
View attachment 112811

I wish I had the forsight to take a screenshot of the ones I saw on eBay. It appeared to be that box that I highlighted, and all of that was under the orange slitted cover (it just pops off). I definitely may be wrong since I havent seen them in person. I'll do some more digging to see if I can find any other images to piece it together.

 

[DD500E]

Got lucky and found a pic that ties them together. This shows the cover off revealing what appears to be the details you showed in your image. Do you think that looks like them?

I don't think that's them. Click to enlarge:
View attachment 112811

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Okay, so that IS them, under the orange cover. Well done!