Greatest fear came true this morning - The Brick

[therealhoff]

Unless they changed them, they appear to be C&D DCS+ VRLA (valve regulated lead acid).

Well that's just weird. I totally believe you if that is a pic from the battery itself. I'll try to snag some pics of the existing "bad" batteries in my R1T when they pull them to put the question to bed 100%. Thank you for posting.

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[therealhoff]

For the sake of knowing, it would have been very interesting to know if an ICE jump or a starter battery pack (NOCO?) would have gotten things going again.

The answer is "no". The technician put a jump pack on the cables and though the frunk opened, the vehicle did not boot from that point. There is some other procedure for a "hard reset" but after testing the batteries, the tech said there isn't a point because they aren't putting out sufficient voltage to operate the vehicle. Apparently even after a full charge, they still wouldn't put out sufficient voltage (only 8v is what was stated). I'm not sure I believe him as far as the root cause. There are two batteries and they died in precisely the same way simultaneously? What are the odds that both batteries went bad at the same time? Seems fishy. I asked what were the next steps if they replaced the LV batteries and it died again. Towed off to a SC and whatever surgery was the answer. When they get to the bottom of it, I'll definitely update.

 

[bael]

The answer is "no". The technician put a jump pack on the cables and though the frunk opened, the vehicle did not boot from that point. There is some other procedure for a "hard reset" but after testing the batteries, the tech said there isn't a point because they aren't putting out sufficient voltage to operate the vehicle. Apparently even after a full charge, they still wouldn't put out sufficient voltage (only 8v is what was stated). I'm not sure I believe him as far as the root cause. There are two batteries and they died in precisely the same way simultaneously? What are the odds that both batteries went bad at the same time? Seems fishy. I asked what were the next steps if they replaced the LV batteries and it died again. Towed off to a SC and whatever surgery was the answer. When they get to the bottom of it, I'll definitely update.

A few months ago, there was a software bug that didn't tell a module to trickle charge the 12V from the HV. That's what service told me anyhow when mine died and they were evaluating. They had seen a couple at that point and it was called out in a subsequent update.

 

[jerseyff]

The answer is "no". The technician put a jump pack on the cables and though the frunk opened, the vehicle did not boot from that point. There is some other procedure for a "hard reset" but after testing the batteries, the tech said there isn't a point because they aren't putting out sufficient voltage to operate the vehicle. Apparently even after a full charge, they still wouldn't put out sufficient voltage (only 8v is what was stated). I'm not sure I believe him as far as the root cause. There are two batteries and they died in precisely the same way simultaneously? What are the odds that both batteries went bad at the same time? Seems fishy. I asked what were the next steps if they replaced the LV batteries and it died again. Towed off to a SC and whatever surgery was the answer. When they get to the bottom of it, I'll definitely update.

So if the low voltage battery system was depleted, and the jump terminals did not assist, that bets the question, what specifically is their specific use case? When would it be a useful and successful jump situation? I'm not sure we have seen any reports yet of "successful jumpstarts".

 

[SFsoundguy]

I could be wrong but I think I remember the first Audi ETrons having a similar issue. Apparently some older generation 12v lithium batteries would "protect" themselves if they went below a certain voltage they would just stop working. Yes they will take a charge buy they will no longer deliver the correct output even when fully charged. In these cases the batterie must be replaced.

 

[therealhoff]

So if the low voltage battery system was depleted, and the jump terminals did not assist, that bets the question, what specifically is their specific use case? When would it be a useful and successful jump situation? I'm not sure we have seen any reports yet of "successful jumpstarts".

Right?! At minimum it allows you to open the frunk because I watched him do that and though I didn't test it, I bet you could open the doors. I'll ask about the latter when the tech comes back. Opening the doors is a big use case.

 

[teamblake1023]

Woke up to go to work, and Rivian was 100% dead in my driveway. I parked it there at 80% SoC on Thursday evening, went out of town for the weekend, back yesterday, went to drive it this morning, and it's completely dead. I considered taking the truck on my trip but thank God I didn't. I'm hoping it's one of the known issues with the 12v system and easily fixable. Now I get to review the Rivian Service when they have a real problem out there.

So far, called them at 8:00am, they requested some pictures of the location of the vehicle, and I provided them via email around 8:15am. They texted almost immediately to say the pictures were received. I called back at 1:00pm since I hadn't heard anything, elected to speak to "Service" instead of "Roadside assistance", and they said "the repair plan is in the ticket" and they are "working on scheduling towing". They also asked if I needed temporary transportation, which I don't at the moment, so I declined. However, if this goes on for awhile, I'll probably take them up on it to see how that works as well.

Fingers crossed.

I had the same thing happen. Make sure they check the drive train as well. Apparently, my drive train is kaput which (somehow) turned into a complete battery malfunction. Both have to be totally replaced (truck is 2 months old with 1500 miles).

 

[therealhoff]

I had the same thing happen. Make sure they check the drive train as well. Apparently, my drive train is kaput which (somehow) turned into a complete battery malfunction. Both have to be totally replaced (truck is 2 months old with 1500 miles).

Oh boy. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you and I really hope it doesn't happen to me. What was the process for remediation for you and how long have the steps taken thus far? Sounds like you're using future tense for the drivetrain and battery replacement....still ongoing?

 

[teamblake1023]

Oh boy. I'm sorry to hear what happened to you and I really hope it doesn't happen to me. What was the process for remediation for you and how long have the steps taken thus far? Sounds like you're using future tense for the drivetrain and battery replacement....still ongoing?

In week 2 with no timeline given. This is a major overhaul.

 

[Boomkanani]

If they're SLAB instead of LION, getting that low in voltage can make the battery unusable. Once the vdc gets to a certain point, the capacity can't be recovered. That's a major benefit of LION; you get more usable voltage.
I would think you're right in thinking both batteries wouldn't go bad at the exact same time and drained to the exact same voltage. You sure you didn't leave a door cracked over the weekend?

 

[therealhoff]

If they're SLAB instead of LION, getting that low in voltage can make the battery unusable. Once the vdc gets to a certain point, the capacity can't be recovered. That's a major benefit of LION; you get more usable voltage.
I would think you're right in thinking both batteries wouldn't go bad at the exact same time and drained to the exact same voltage. You sure you didn't leave a door cracked over the weekend?

I'm pretty certain everything was shut tight but that's a good suggestion to evaluate. I'll double check. No one has touched the truck save myself and the tech since it went kaput.

 

[Dirty_B]

You joke, but the current implementation is a fail. Notice the screw driver in the picture and the "taped up connectors". WTH. You know how many screwdrivers I've had to use to jump an ICE vehicle in my life? Zero. The trailer hitch cover should be implemented to be tool-less to open. Also the connectors shouldn't be some dangly tape job things. Make that access hole a more robust pull down, rectangular, with an actual element sealed box behind it like any outdoor electrical box. Have two standard 12v battery poles in there, separated by a plastic divider to reduce potential for accidental shorting, and plenty of space to use the standard sized alligator clips that come on 99% of the jumper cables out there. If the implementation was that, I would have messed with it. As it is, going to let the Rivian service guy deal with it. The service ticket says they are coming to replace the 12v battery. I'm hoping that is the culprit and not something wonky in the low voltage charging system or some other computer or system issue.

Oohhh you wanted the luxury R1T option....that's been pushed off to... s00n. All those features will be in that option package.

In the mean time, don't damage a cable/wire, don;t forget to re-wrap the tape to keep the live 12v wires dry when fording rivers up to 3 ft...and by dear god please don't let the battery die when you're doing so cause you'll need a mask, snorkel and screw driver.

 

[therealhoff]

I'm pretty certain everything was shut tight but that's a good suggestion to evaluate. I'll double check. No one has touched the truck save myself and the tech since it went kaput.

Double checked everything. It was closed up tight.

 

[mini2nut]

The R1T must have one hell of a wiring harness.

 

[spaetzelspiff]

A dollar coin worked fine for me no issues!

Although... I think I'm more likely to have a screwdriver, socket wrench and 6 node Torx security key in my pocket than a dollar coin.

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