Another dash sign

[Bernard Foy]

Yesterday morning the windscreen was covered with thick frozen snow. So I started the car and the ice cut in almost immediately as usual in cold temperatures. So I turned on the fast demisting, front windscreen demisting, and heated rear windscreen & mirrors to thaw them also. So I also noticed that the tyre pressures sign was on, after the car had thawed out I noticed a rectangle warning orange sign on the dash. It said “Traction Battery Needs Protecting”, and it disappeared almost immediately. So the ice was still running all the time, I decided to check the tyre pressures in view of the warning light. So I got my small compact compressor which is powered by the cigarette lighter socket in the car and each one of the tyres required 3-4lbs of pressure. And while I was doing this the same warning sign again appeared on the dash in a bigger format “The Traction Battery Needs Protecting”. At no juncture did the level of charge in the traction Battery go below half full. Anyone else experienced this??. The car continues to run normally.

[john p williams]

Brian Cox will tell you that its PHYSICS Bernard. No need to worry.🤣

[Roy124]

The traction Battery needs to be warm but not hot.  

You used a plug in inflator which implies your door was open.  Your cold traction Battery was getting no help from the car heater. 

[flash22]

It's cold and complaining - like most people, they don't work very well in the cold, once warmed sufficiently the ability to operate increases

 

Cold air is dense, hence the drop in pressure

[Bernard Foy]

2 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

The traction battery needs to be warm but not hot.  

You used a plug in inflator which implies your door was open.  Your cold traction battery was getting no help from the car heater. 

 

1 minute ago, flash22 said:

It's cold and complaining - like most people, they don't work very well in the cold, once warmed sufficiently the ability to operate increases

 

Cold air is dense, hence the drop in pressure

Nope doors fully closed. I think that although the ice was running, the traction Battery was struggling to replace what was being taken out of the 12volt Battery.

[Cyker]

Not had that yet, but I suspect it's just telling you the full power of the Battery will not be available until it warms up (So no drag racing people at the lights until it warms up a bit!  )

[preperationlaunch]

Did you by any chance leave the car in neutral when the message flashed up?

The car will grumble that it can't charge the Battery when you've got the gearstick in neutral. All power to the motors is cut, so it can't start/stop the engine either.

[TonyHSD]

That is interesting and new. If the car was left in N very likely to be the issue, but usually the message will be “ hybrid Battery low- shift to P”. Anything in the book about that ? 

[Cyker]

Nah, that's clearly a different message. I reckon it's just the Battery is sub-zero and so it's limiting power draw; Even EVs do this, as if you try and pull too much power out of any Battery outside its safe operating range they will be damaged.  IIRC the lowest temperature you can safely do things to a lithium Battery is something like -20C so, I assume the warning kicks in when you approach that sort of temperature - We'd be very unlikely to ever see it in the UK!!

[flash22]

The inverter is also water cooled and has internal sensors, it won't freeze, but it might get a wee be colder than ambient as it's a big alloy casting

[Cyker]

One thing I thought was clever with Tesla is they static drive the motors when the car is cold - Normally this is really bad for electric motors as they get very hot and burn out their windings (I found if I hold my Mk4 on a hill with the electric motor it complains about it a lot, probably for this reason!), but as they are part of the cooling loop that heat gets transferred to the Battery pack to warm it up without needing a separate heating element, so saving some weight and complexity. I do like elegant engineering solutions like that.

 

[Bernard Foy]

18 hours ago, preperationlaunch said:

Did you by any chance leave the car in neutral when the message flashed up?

The car will grumble that it can't charge the battery when you've got the gearstick in neutral. All power to the motors is cut, so it can't start/stop the engine either.

8 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

That is interesting and new. If the car was left in N very likely to be the issue, but usually the message will be “ hybrid battery low- shift to P”. Anything in the book about that ? 

I think that you guys have the answer, I did have the car in N. 

[Bernard Foy]

8 hours ago, TonyHSD said:

That is interesting and new. If the car was left in N very likely to be the issue, but usually the message will be “ hybrid battery low- shift to P”. Anything in the book about that ? 

So, lesson learned guys thanks to you. When using any ancillary from the cigarette lighter socket I will have the car in P and car in ready mode, allowing the ice to keep traction Battery up. Every day can be a school day even for older guys like me 🤣😂👍

[Cyker]

Huh, I stand corrected - Learned something new! It's so weird that you got that message instead of the other one - My Mk4 literally nags me to put the car in D or P if I put it in N for any length of time!

[Bernard Foy]

57 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Huh, I stand corrected - Learned something new! It's so weird that you got that message instead of the other one - My Mk4 literally nags me to put the car in D or P if I put it in N for any length of time!

Yes no wonder the car told me that the “Traction Battery Needs Protecting”. Protecting from idiots like me I presume 🤣😂👍

[john p williams]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

Huh, I stand corrected - Learned something new! It's so weird that you got that message instead of the other one - My Mk4 literally nags me to put the car in D or P if I put it in N for any length of time!

If one does not consume the Handbook, one simply does not know.

[Big_D]

Quote

If one does not consume the Handbook, one simply does not know.

It is a mighty big meal though 😀

[Catlover]

14 minutes ago, Big_D said:

It is a mighty big meal though 😀

Chew over it slowly, digests easier. 😺

[Cyker]

Oh dear... does it at least come with some ketchup or something??  

[Big_D]

2 minutes ago, Cyker said:

Oh dear... does it at least come with some ketchup or something??  

No, only a Navigation and Multimedia systems manual for desert 😁