12 volt battery is important!-maybe an issue summary for error messages?

• the 12 volt battery runs all the gauges and computers and is used to start the LC
• the traction battery (hump in the rear) powers the drivetrain motor and not the cars electronics and gauges and starter
• there is no alternator. The 12 volt battery is charged by the traction battery, but ONLY after the car starts up.

1. Page 112 - the electric boost gauge/“MAX” gauge - everyone, myself included, thinks that battery level is the traction battery. See page 112 of the manual…it is NOT…it is one of the 12 volt battery gauges. You can also see the 12 volt battery level on the Auxilliary gauges (see page 111). I can’t find anywhere in the manual that shows where one can view traction battery level. REMOVED THIS PAGE AND REFERENCE SINCE CONSENSUS IS THE MANUAL HAS A TYPO.
2. Page 228 - don’t play with settings when the hybrid system/engine isn’t on. Like me, we all spend lots of time trying to figure things out and adjust our settings. We do this sitting in the driveway. We think, “it’s a hybrid” so the engine doesn’t need to run. I would hazard to guess that 12 volt batteries may be running down when people play with their LC settings for too long while in ACC mode instead of doing it with the engine ON and there are many scenarios where this can happen. Wake up the next morning to start the car and it won’t start because the 12 volt battery is discharged. Make sure the car is ON if you want to view and adjust settings!
3. Pages 622-623 - posted in another thread already, but worth repeating here. These are the “jump” procedures to boost the 12 volt battery when discharged. Everyone should know this. I would bet that when people get those billions of scary error messages and the car won’t start, instead of getting towed to the dealer, they should try to boost the 12 volt battery first to see if a charged 12 volt battery gets things going again. My gut tells me a simple boost solves the issue and gets them back on the road again. Still check the 12 volt, but I would be willing to bet this will get you going again.

McCloud_Rainbow said:

The 12 volt battery is charged by the traction battery, but ONLY after the car starts up.

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chancellor said:

I have been watching that Max guage pretty closely on my LC, and I am pretty confident that it shows the charge level of the hybrid battery. Long slow braking down a hill, that bar fills up.
Drive low speed when the engine clicks off, watch the max bar fill up on acceleration and the battery level drop

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Captain Trips said:

I just disabled the ACC option. That way either everything is off or everything is on. There is no accessory mode. This way when you push the button once the hybrid system is on. The ICE will only start if your foot is on the break.

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McCloud_Rainbow said:

Thought I would start a new thread since this keeps coming up for people. I think I have a decent summary after reading the manual and all the various threads about error messages and the car not starting and being towed.

12 volt battery charge and health is extremely important to make sure the car starts and works properly!

• the 12 volt battery runs all the gauges and computers and is used to start the LC
• the traction battery (hump in the rear) powers the drivetrain motor and not the cars electronics and gauges and starter
• there is no alternator. The 12 volt battery is charged by the traction battery, but ONLY after the car starts up.

Below I am attaching a few pages from the manual that I found helpful re. 12 volt battery health:

1. Page 112 - the electric boost gauge/“MAX” gauge - everyone, myself included, thinks that battery level is the traction battery. See page 112 of the manual…it is NOT…it is one of the 12 volt battery gauges. You can also see the 12 volt battery level on the Auxilliary gauges (see page 111). I can’t find anywhere in the manual that shows where one can view traction battery level. REMOVED THIS PAGE AND REFERENCE SINCE CONSENSUS IS THE MANUAL HAS A TYPO.
2. Page 228 - don’t play with settings when the hybrid system/engine isn’t on. Like me, we all spend lots of time trying to figure things out and adjust our settings. We do this sitting in the driveway. We think, “it’s a hybrid” so the engine doesn’t need to run. I would hazard to guess that 12 volt batteries may be running down when people play with their LC settings for too long while in ACC mode instead of doing it with the engine ON and there are many scenarios where this can happen. Wake up the next morning to start the car and it won’t start because the 12 volt battery is discharged. Make sure the car is ON if you want to view and adjust settings!
3. Pages 622-623 - posted in another thread already, but worth repeating here. These are the “jump” procedures to boost the 12 volt battery when discharged. Everyone should know this. I would bet that when people get those billions of scary error messages and the car won’t start, instead of getting towed to the dealer, they should try to boost the 12 volt battery first to see if a charged 12 volt battery gets things going again. My gut tells me a simple boost solves the issue and gets them back on the road again. Still check the 12 volt, but I would be willing to bet this will get you going again.

In any case, hopefully this helps void some of the issues folks have been reporting.


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Nick said:

Thank you so much for that. I hope I never have to use it.
So I went out to investigate it and to make sure my Noco jump starter cables would reach both the battery and ground bar and it looks like it will but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get that cover off the battery. Would you mind showing me how? I searched and looked at online owners manuals and I can't find it. I'm sure it's just me having a brain fart. I do know if I had not read your post I would have never guessed where the battery is because you can't see it.

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EOD Guy said:

The smaller (horizontal) portion of the cover pulls straight up from the backside (closest to the fender) and hinges right at the junction where the vertical (largest portion), the using a pick tool you can undo the very small catches.

Me I cut the smaller area (covering the battery posts) from the vertical area. Now the post cover just pops straight up allowing access to the actual post clamp.

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Nick said:

Thank you. I had a feeling that was the way it came out. I used one of them skinny little screwdrivers made for real small screws.
I thought I was gonna find the battery under there and was ready to call 911 for a battery theft but then I saw that tiny little red cover with the positive sign on it.

Glad to know a little NOCO charger or equivalent will reach positive and negative. Hopefully I'll never need to find out all one two of my brand new vehicles over the years I had a dead cell and two different batteries within the first six months.
I guess the battery back behind the left side cover in the cargo area is strictly for the electric motor and we never need to mess with it?
happens
Thanks for your help!
PS. This thing is so damn technically advance. Now I just have to find the wings that fold out so I can fly over traffic jams.
Maybe that was an upgrade I didn't pay for.

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EOD Guy said:

The 12v battery, cargo area (what I thought we were talking about) runs everything in the vehicle. The jumper points under the hood in the passenger side fuse box is just that, a jumper point and is connected directly to the 12V battery in the cargo compartment via a large cable. The 12v battery must have "X" volts in order to bring all the computers online, once they are on line and the vehicle starts, the hybrid battery will recharge the 12v battery via the hybrid inverter. If you need to jump start it, once the computers come online it'll start etc.....

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