[greyt]

I can often leave my car for 3 months at a time. With an ICE I would leave the car battery connected to a trickle charger…

Does anyone know 100% how the iX3 works :-

I think trickle charging the 12 volt battery isn’t recommended and is hard to get to?

I have read that Teslas will stop charging the 12v battery when the car is connected to an EV charger for long periods. The 12v eventually goes flat so you cannot even unlock the car. Does the iX3 do the same?

I am getting a sync ev charger with its pulse charging function to keep the car awake. Wondering if this feature could force 12v battery to keep charging, or if it would actually drain the battery…

[FMIB]

The 12V auxiliary battery going flat seems to be an issue on many EV vehicles.
I came across this video on another EV forum which may be of interest.

Modern cars seem to have a lot going on even when turned off which will slowly drain the battery. The iX3 may suffer similar issues when not used for long periods, more so in cold weather.

[GDEvans]

You can't bump start them like we did in the old days!

[DaveCV]

The i3 will go into a 12 volt battery protection mode if left with no human intervention. BMW recommends leaving the car plugged into a FAST charger if the car is to be left for a long period of time. The DC to DC converter will then kick in as required to top up the 12 volt battery. On the i3, the simple act of unlocking/locking a door with the remote will activate the converter for about 30 minutes. Moreover, a flat 12 volt battery isn’t a showstopper. You will also be notified if the 12 volt battery is having issues.

Plugging the i3 into a FAST charger and then doing nothing for c.45 minutes adds some charge to a flat 12 volt battery. The car can then be started and driven in the normal way.

I confess that I have absolutely no idea whether the iX3 works in the same way but I would be surprised if it didn’t. Technical detail on the iX3’s systems is somewhat lacking.

[Hud78]

The user manual says...

If possible the iX3 should be left with a fully charged high voltage battery if it's to be left for several weeks.

It shouldn't be left for more than 14 days when the electric range has been used up.

For periods of up to 3 months leave it plugged into a power source to ensure it's 'virtually fully charged'.

[that_dude]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

You can't bump start them like we did in the old days!

My Hyundai Ioniq went flat at 4am one night, triggering the horn somehow, waking pretty much our whole street.

Next day a lot of research ensued and I bought a booster battery to cover the eventualities!

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by that_dude

My Hyundai Ioniq went flat at 4am one night, triggering the horn somehow, waking pretty much our whole street.

Next day a lot of research ensued and I bought a booster battery to cover the eventualities!

That's more jump starting than bump starting. I was thinking of the days when none of us had jump leads, and you would get your mates to push you down the road to get you going. Probably won't work with an EV!

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by greyt

I think trickle charging the 12 volt battery isn’t recommended and is hard to get to?

Would one of the solar panels that plug into the cigarette lighter socket work?