This was on the display this morning. The cars was plugged in so I thought the pre-heating was done with the house current.
![Image]()
Time For A New 12V Battery?
Will DaBeast
21 - 38 of 38 Posts
Joined
·
1,193 Posts
Nope. Start up was normal, just the warning box on the display.Did you get rapid clicking from the contactors and driver display not illuminating? I had the 12v go dead once. I believe it was an issue with the software. Version would have been pre 2.0.
12V battery issue
Have been reading the polestar.fans with the dodgy German to English translations and there seems to be a few people having issues with the 12v battery running low and getting a warning, and at least one person finding it was to weak to 'start' the car. Polestar took it away and applied a...www.polestar-forum.com
My really dead was no infotainment and all the interior lights flickering. Sitting down in the seat would kill everything when it attempted to flip the contactors on. Infotainment would run for a bit after attempting to charge it, but still sitting down would kill it.
They replaced mine at 10 months because the car won’t go into gear so I had to jump start it
Joined
·
1,193 Posts
Good thing I have one of those jump packs
Polestar 3 Launch, Dual Motor, Magnesium, Pilot, Plus, 22" Sport Wheels, Charcoal MicroTech
Joined
·
449 Posts
Oh? do you have a link to one? might be handy to have
Battery Tender ODB-II adapter
I don't use one of these personally yet but I might actually buy one while I am thinking about it.
With some batteries, e.g., the Li battery used in some 911 models (required for the rear axle steering), having a tender is a must If not driven regularly. Number of of Porsche folks have had their new batteries go dead, and per the warrenty on the battery, Porsche can refuse to replace if it’s shown that you either didn’t drive the minimum number of miles per year, or put on a tender. The cost of the Porsche Li battery is around $3K. As you might expect, this is a hotly discussed topic on the forum.
I have an ICE in my driveway that doesn't get driven, it's on a tender all the time, but it's so infrequently use I actually have the tender permanently installed and keep the 120V cable hanging out from under the hood.
Especially in colder regions, very smart thing to do/have.
The other thing wonky with the Porsche, should your battery go dead, it’s a major hassle to get into the frunk (where the battery is) because they use an electronic opener/relay…so if the battery goes dead, it’s now become far more difficult to access your battery. Not impossible, just a pain. Luckily, Polestar uses the old fashioned mechanical/cable way to access the frunk.
Going all electric/software controlled isn’t always better.
Joined
·
1,193 Posts
I had a battery tender on my BMW R1200GS, which I loved, but gave up when I finally realized I couldn't stay out of the emergency room, LOL. The tender is now on my lawn tractor.
May want to consider Sta-Bil or equivalent to keep your gasoline from deteriorating if you don't drive your ICE to empty over more than a couple months. Add it while filling up and the couple miles you drive on the way home will get it into the fuel lines. I have two cars on tenders and Sta-Bil, and just move them a few inches every once in a while to avoid flat spots on the tires.
For the Polestar, if concerned about the 12V, perhaps an easy way to check it is with a plug-in like this https://www.amazon.com/Zeltauto-Cig...garette-Lighter-Digital-Voltmeter/dp/B00VL9JZ0K/ref=psdc_15729811_t1_B00UCEAKYU
It will only read the "running" voltage as the cigarette lighter socket is switched. Obviously we don't have alternators but seems the Polestar adheres to standard resting/running voltages with the 12V system, whereas on my Volvo the hatch socket is happily unswitched so can check both voltages. The Polestar socket was 13.7V when I tested it the other day with a multimeter, which is within the 13.5-14.5 standard range.
Although you still have to do stuff (@Will DaBeast), opening the hatch and plugging it in is easier than pulling panels in the frunk, and you can even pull up a chair and do it sitting down, with a refreshment in one hand
. If the voltage is out of range, the 12V may have an issue. However, if the traction battery forces the running voltage to spec regardless of the 12V battery's condition, then this method may not be of use and you'll still have to check the resting voltage at the 12V's terminals, which should be ~12.6.
For the Polestar, if concerned about the 12V, perhaps an easy way to check it is with a plug-in like this https://www.amazon.com/Zeltauto-Cig...garette-Lighter-Digital-Voltmeter/dp/B00VL9JZ0K/ref=psdc_15729811_t1_B00UCEAKYU
It will only read the "running" voltage as the cigarette lighter socket is switched. Obviously we don't have alternators but seems the Polestar adheres to standard resting/running voltages with the 12V system, whereas on my Volvo the hatch socket is happily unswitched so can check both voltages. The Polestar socket was 13.7V when I tested it the other day with a multimeter, which is within the 13.5-14.5 standard range.
Although you still have to do stuff (@Will DaBeast), opening the hatch and plugging it in is easier than pulling panels in the frunk, and you can even pull up a chair and do it sitting down, with a refreshment in one hand
. If the voltage is out of range, the 12V may have an issue. However, if the traction battery forces the running voltage to spec regardless of the 12V battery's condition, then this method may not be of use and you'll still have to check the resting voltage at the 12V's terminals, which should be ~12.6.
Joined
·
1,193 Posts
It's been behaving itself since that one time. At this point I'm not worried about it.
Do what I did before we went away for 3 weeks to Scottland…I got a 12v battery monitoring system from Amazon (about $30), that will monitor and record the battery voltage for up to 30 days. This particular model uses BlueTooth, so have to be nearby to capture the data…but I bet they also make WiFi one that you can monitor anywhere that you are connected to WiFi. I just used a couple of zip ties to fasten it to the battery. Very simple.
The data logger captured an event, while we were away, where the traction battery kicked in while I was away and re-charged the battery. The voltage initial spiked to around 14.5v and stayed around that level until the traction battery was disconnected from the 12v battery, and then very slowly settled back to around 12.8V…
PS - Once you have a good idea how quickly your 12v battery discharges, and even if you don’t trust the traction battery to automatically re-charge the 12v, you can always use your WiFi connection to manually turn on the “climate” for 30 mintes. That will re-charge your 12v battery. See my screen shot below, where as soon as I turn on the climate (nothing plugged in), the traction battery is connected to the 12v battery and at about 13:26, the battery voltage goes from 12.8v to about 14.5v. It’s pretty cool feature that isn’t talked about much on this Forum. And one of the advantages of an EV car.
Of note, this owner's 12V woes were due to a "a failed Current Measuring Sensor", from this article: https://cleantechnica.com/2023/01/18/polestar-goes-the-extra-mile-to-repair-polestar/
Not a simple procedure to replace, but at least they found the issue.
Not a simple procedure to replace, but at least they found the issue.
One reason I would highly recommend getting a battery monitoring hardware that records weeks of battery status (around $30 and easy to attach to battery)….that way can see if there‘s any issues with your 12v battery system, before the battery gets too low to use.
For example, if you don’t see the voltage level periodically going up, after driving, charging, or conditioning, etc, like the attached image…then you know you have a problem. You don’t have to monitor in real time (the beauty of recording 30 days of data)…review the state of health of your 12v battery whenever it’s convenient, from BlueTooth connection to the app.
Attachments
I would suggest a jump starter, because the 12 volt battery may drain in 10 minutes and no monitoring can help with this.
My Hyundai Ioniq EV did this as I was vacuuming the car doors open. I had a bluetooth connected monitor in place, but it did no good. This car would charge the battery several times a day , but the battery is just so darn small and I apparently managed to put the car electronics in a state it was not designed. The original(?) version of the Hyundai software did once a day charge, but this resulted dead 12 volt battery in too many cars. Another known example is Toyota hybrid technology, which can kill the 12 volt battery while going through a car wash - the kind where you have to keep the car in neutral and on to prevent parking brake engaging.
My Hyundai Ioniq EV did this as I was vacuuming the car doors open. I had a bluetooth connected monitor in place, but it did no good. This car would charge the battery several times a day , but the battery is just so darn small and I apparently managed to put the car electronics in a state it was not designed. The original(?) version of the Hyundai software did once a day charge, but this resulted dead 12 volt battery in too many cars. Another known example is Toyota hybrid technology, which can kill the 12 volt battery while going through a car wash - the kind where you have to keep the car in neutral and on to prevent parking brake engaging.
That goes without saying…and anybody that has owned, or owns an ICE car, should have a jump starter.
That said, in all my years of owning many different brands of cars, I’ve never had a battery working fine one minute, and then go dead 10 minutes later. For me, anyway, they always fade, get weaker over time, and that time period of being able to hold a charge gets shorter and shorter with age….but for me, it’s gradual, and not all of a sudden.
Monitoring will give you some heads up, time, that your battery isn’t holding a charge…and time for you to take corrective action. If you don’t, well, that’s just pure stupidity.
Not my experience with Polestar.
21 - 38 of 38 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
