[Ayepace]

Update: the fault code is P0AA6-xx - Hybrid/EV Battery Voltage System Isolation Fault.

Insights into what this may be? Car will not charge beyond 93-94%. Is it a bad battery cell, faulty BECM software/hardware, or internal charger?

That would lead me to suspect a BECM or BEM issue. They need to use Pathfinder/TOPIx Cloud to go through the diagnostics. They must have been doing that or they wouldn't have been authorized to replace the AC compressor.

The BEM is a box with high voltage contactors, fuses, and various sensors. It sits atop the traction battery. The BECM is the controller module that is located between the BEM and the traction battery. Access to these is by removing the back seat, removing the floor covering, and removing the access panel. Do not do that at home (or anywhere else)! There are high voltage wiring involved and we don't want you to get the last jolt of your lifetime. Repair procedures involve the process to power down the vehicle and use covers to protect connectors and keep dirt out.

You can see a BEM disassembled in the video at this post: Car made a loud bang while charging at Electrify America...

 

[Cornea]

View attachment 6555

That would lead me to suspect a BECM or BEM issue. They need to use Pathfinder/TOPIx Cloud to go through the diagnostics. They must have been doing that or they wouldn't have been authorized to replace the AC compressor.

The BEM is a box with high voltage contactors, fuses, and various sensors. It sits atop the traction battery. The BECM is the controller module that is located between the BEM and the traction battery. Access to these is by removing the back seat, removing the floor covering, and removing the access panel. Do not do that at home (or anywhere else)! There are high voltage wiring involved and we don't want you to get the last jolt of your lifetime. Repair procedures involve the process to power down the vehicle and use covers to protect connectors and keep dirt out.

You can see a BEM disassembled in the video at this post: Car made a loud bang while charging at Electrify America...

Your wisdom with the Jaguar I-Pace is profound. 🙇

I’ll relay the information to Jaguar and see what they say. If the BECM or BEM is at fault, will the car be drivable? The service technician says the car drives fine, just won’t charge above 93-94% and throws a high voltage fault.

An interesting note, I do remember the car making a loud “bang” when I was driving 2 weeks ago. I thought it was a rock hitting the windshield, but didn’t see a pit/crack. No error code when it happened. Maybe red herring...maybe not.

 

[Ayepace]

I wonder what a health report for all 36 cells in the traction battery would find.

 

[Cornea]

I wonder what a health report for all 36 cells in the traction battery would find.

The service department said they’re re-evaluating that as well. It supposedly read “normal” when the first checked. What’s a normal voltage threshold?

I am starting to think the BCCM (Battery Charger Control Module) may be the problem based on this post:
Stuck initializing....

 

[Ayepace]

The battery cell health report will show them the state of charge for each cell. It would be fairly easy to find one or more cells not charging properly/fully. There are pictures of this in other threads.

 

[Slam08]

I wish the dealers had the same level of interest in the vehicle.

The dealer scheduled a “second look” after I had the car for a couple of weeks to make sure I knew everything. They sent out their I pace “expert”. I spent an hour talking to him and I think he learned as much from I as I from him.

I suspect many dealer techs don’t have the patience or interest to sit down and do things throughly. They get an error message the don’t understand and just send a message to JLR do for guidance, and then wait two weeks for a response.

 

[Cornea]

I wish the dealers had the same level of interest in the vehicle.

The dealer scheduled a “second look” after I had the car for a couple of weeks to make sure I knew everything. They sent out their I pace “expert”. I spent an hour talking to him and I think he learned as much from I as I from him.

I suspect many dealer techs don’t have the patience or interest to sit down and do things throughly. They get an error message the don’t understand and just send a message to JLR do for guidance, and then wait two weeks for a response.

Yeah, the recurring theme is there’s no sense of urgency to get the situation resolved. My impression of Jaguar as a premium brand is not exactly glowing right now. I think the lack of qualified EV technicians, supply issue, and tiki-taka communication between the service department and JLR TA makes the wait excruciatingly painful. This all needs to be addressed and optimized if Jaguar wants to be successful in a pure EV, luxury up-brand ecosystem by 2025.

For now, the wait continues... imagine Windows 95 spinning hourglass icon stuck in an agonizing loop.

 

[Cornea]

Update: Week #5

I was informed that one of the battery cells read “1-2” below when compared to other cells. No units (% or volt) given, so not entirely helpful. I was also told that JLR okay the technician to take down the high voltage traction battery to take a look for a bad cell.

Days were then lost because crew didn’t have the tools to work on the battery. Tools had to be loaned from another dealership and didn’t arrive until Friday. Now the car is undergoing a diagnostic test for a short (my guess is an isolation fault protocol) before the battery can be discharged and touched.

In short, I can’t even say if this is any progress compared to 1.5 weeks ago. Things are moving like sour molasses.

Is the lack of urgency and TA hand-holding mentality the standard of service for JLR? I’ve since tempered my expectation as we head into week #6. Many promises but nothing tangible delivered.

In the meantime, I keep driving the loaner Kia E-Niro--at least it works!

 

[Slam08]

It sucks that dealerships have to share something like tools.

shows how low volume this vehicle is

 

[Cornea]

Week #6: JLR TA advised the service department to order and replace the charging cable/connector. Can this be the culprit behind the high voltage system fault and the battery not wanting to charge beyond 93-94%? I am not an electrical engineer, but my hypothesis is that if the cable is at fault the car would either charge intermittently or not charge at all irrespective of SoC. My suspicion is still on a battery cell gone rouge triggering the POAA6 fault, but in speaking with my service guy JLR TA doesn’t want to open up the traction battery yet until they do a thorough isolation test, which I wish they would do when the car was first brought in.

I hate to spend another several weeks chasing down a rabbit hole like we did with the AC compressor. I am just fed up and my wife is starting question JLR as a brand and their ability to find a solution. She has been asking if we should look at the BMW, Audi, MachE, or Polestar instead.

 

[sciencegeek]

Your wife is asking legitimate questions given the experience.

Ask your dealer to give you the pathfinder output of the battery report, where the quality of each 'cell' (which really is a module of 12 cells) is listed, and post it here. If they give you some runaround, just politely insist. They just don't want to do it because it takes a couple of hours to generate while the car is connected to the pathfinder tool.

 

[Cornea]

Your wife is asking legitimate questions given the experience.

Ask your dealer to give you the pathfinder output of the battery report, where the quality of each 'cell' (which really is a module of 12 cells) is listed, and post it here. If they give you some runaround, just politely insist. They just don't want to do it because it takes a couple of hours to generate while the car is connected to the pathfinder tool.

I will call in tomorrow and ask. If no answer, then I will go to the dealership and politely ask. Fortunately, the dealership is only 5 minutes from home.

To insert some levity, I received an invite from JLR to attend an owner’s meet and greet event in LA to talk about my EV experience and how to make the brand better heading into the EV future. How funny would it be if I rolled up in my Kia EV loaner. 🤪😂

 

[Cornea]

Another update:

After waiting almost an hour on the phone to speak to my service representative, I decided it was best that I air my frustration and disappointment in person. So off I drove to the dealership. After waiting another 15-20 minutes, the conversation led to this:

1) JLR TA is not authorizing the service department to take down the high voltage traction battery to check for a bad cell. Instead, they want to replace the internal charging cable...thinking that's the problem. The service department director and shop foreman doesn't believe this will resolve the issue because the car charges just fine up until 93-94% before it craps out and throws a code. To get the charging cable replaced would take 6 additional weeks--3 because it's back ordered from the UK and another 3 for transit and installation. I politely countered that this is unacceptable and that we would be looking at multiple leads instead of chasing down a singular hypothesis and potentially wasting more time. From my investigation, a P0AA6 High Voltage Isolation Fault stems from: #1 bad traction battery, #2 BECM/BEM module, #3 DC/DC inverter or convertor, or #4 AC compressor (replaced and didn't fix the problem).

2) This led to the discussion of lemoning the car for a buyback or replacement. I live in California and the car qualifies to be lemoned based on the clauses from the state's attorney general's office:

• (checked) Two or more times for the same problem, if that problem is big enough to cause death or serious injury, and it still is not fixed, or
• (checked) The vehicle has been out of service for repair for more than 30 days (the 30 days do not need to be in a row).

Sadly, I don't have much faith in JLR to get their act together to fix my car expeditiously. What is the buyback process like? If replacement is pursued, what is the chance they can find me a similarly equipped Portofino Blue/Caesium Blue I-Pace with Sienna interior?

3) The only positive nugget from today's disappointing encounter is that a corporate EV engineer is coming on site tomorrow to look at my car. I was invited to follow along, which I gleefully accepted. Will see if he can turn a turd into working car again.

Popcorns anyone?

 

[sciencegeek]

My recommendation is to firmly pursue the buyback under lemon law (assuming you qualify, which I have not double-checked). They will cut you a check; you're going to be on your own finding a replacement.
Have you opened a case with JLR corporate?

 

[Cornea]

My recommendation is to firmly pursue the buyback under lemon law (assuming you qualify, which I have not double-checked). They will cut you a check; you're going to be on your own finding a replacement.
Have you opened a case with JLR corporate?

Yes, I have a case number with corporate.

 

[Cornea]

Week #7 update:

Corporate engineer believes the problem is the BECM and charger harness. Both parts are ordered to be replaced. ETA - who knows.

 

[sciencegeek]

Oh great. Harness. Made in Ukraine.
Arg, sorry about your trials and tribulations.

 

[Cornea]

Oh great. Harness. Made in Ukraine.
Arg, sorry about your trials and tribulations.

I think Jaguar is diverting all available parts to making new cars and leaving current owners marooned. Ukraine...great. ETA...when the war is over.

 

[Cornea]

Update: Charger harness and BECM parts on back order until December.

I am lemoning this turd. Unbelievable. I hope the buy back process is smooth and seamless, but I doubt it will based on my experience with JLR. Since this is a brand new car (purchased in November) and out of commission since February, will I get full reimbursement plus compensation for the time loss and payments made on the vehicle while it was inoperable?

 

[sciencegeek]

Are you in CA @Cornea? Feel free to DM me.