BMW i3 will not charge

[Ebutterworth]

Hey there,
I was hoping I could get some help with my problem here. My BMW i3 refuses to charge at home or any of the available charging stations around. The charger shows an orange power light then the power fault light and the charging fault light blink red. I have looked everywhere for an explanation with no luck and was hoping I could find an answer here. I really appreciate your help. Thank you.

 

[EvanstonI3]

What year is your car?
When did this issue start? Have you had problems in the past?
do you get any error messages on the dash?
You should get the BimmerLINK app and an appropriate WiFi OBDII adapter to read the car's error codes for further information.

 

[Ebutterworth]

Thank you for replying!
Its a 2013 i3 and there was no messages on the dashboard. I bought a reader and plugged it in but it wouldn’t give a read. The car unfortunately is dead right now so I am out of ideas.

 

[EvanstonI3]

If the car is "dead" and the reader won't work, it sounds like the 12v battery is dead or discharged to the point where it cannot allow the car to function properly. A decent 12v battery is needed for the rest of the car to work. It won't charge if the 12v won't allow it to.

You could try popping open the FRUNK, removing the Frunk Tray (TORX25 screwdriver) and charging the 12v battery, but if the battery is no good, it will not accept a charge and will need to be replaced.

 

[Ebutterworth]

Thank you sooo much!
I went ahead a purchased a 12V battery and will install it once it gets here. Fingers crossed
Thank you again for your help

 

[Sahadeva3]

Any tricky parts to replacing the 12 volt battery? I have worked on my own cars all of my life

 

[mojo]

I suspect that the only step that you would be unfamiliar with is the need to disconnect the HV battery beforehand and reconnect it after. Everything else is pretty much the same as any other car with a 12V battery.

 

[Mondomensch]

Based on others’ past posts, make sure to fully charge the new battery before installing it. You may want to register it with the car using bimmercode(?) and probably worth watching some YouTube i3 battery install videos to see the details of access, vent tube attachment, etc.