12-volt battery warning light needs a serious upgrade

Battery Warning Light

EV start batteries

I ran across a story from Inside EVs involving a Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle (EV) 12-volt start battery failure that also failed to produce any battery warning light. The owner stepped out of her running vehicle leaving an infant inside and the car simply died. The car locked itself as well.

There is no mechanical back up entry system, but that is an item for another day.

A few weeks ago, the owner of a Tesla Model Y began behaving very badly throwing a number of confusing warnings that DID warn of a “low-voltage” battery issue. She managed one last ride to a Tesla service center and received a replacement 12-volt start battery. We posted on that here.

ICE batteries

Both of these incidents took me back 15 years and 7 years and two different internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. The first car began to start hard, with no warnings issued on the instrument panel. In 48 hours the car died and a new battery was needed. No warning at that point either.

But this prompted me to be sure that the next time a car gave me the starting hint, I would act promptly. So, 7 years later, my car at the time, another ICE version, started hard. Memory prompted, and I chose to make one stop before heading to the parts store. The car refused to start on the very next attempt.

Again, no warning lights, no low-voltage announcements, dead or dying battery cell warnings, nothing.

This has to change!

A Friend in the Business

I am an experienced car guy and still got blind sided twice by failed, not failing, start batteries. I nearly had the second one but the general public doesn’t stand a chance. Note that the Tesla owner called me while in a near panic. She saw a “low-voltage battery warning” and it meant only that the battery in her EV was failing! What I know as the main, high-voltage battery.

I am in no way an expert on what prompts a battery warning, but I have to believe that something was happening in all four of these cases that could have been read, prompting a warning to the driver. The Tesla warning was just in time, but an owner without a friend in the business would likely still to have been stranded.

The Tesla warnings need to be clearer. Clear enough for the average person to fully understand.

And every other manufacturer of any vehicle, ICE or EV, needs to somehow find a way to warn of impending battery failures.

——————————————————————-

Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.

These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.

Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing could be more true.