Charging cable removal issue

[LocoBill]

I came to use my i3 this evening and having unlocked the car tried to remove the charging cable which was not showing a green light, It was still locked. (last charging session finished at 05:30 this morning). I last used it yesterday and plugged in the charging cable for its overnight charge as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary noticed. I manually released the cable using the recommended method in the door frame ahead of the rear wheel arch. However, when I came to drive the car there was a warning on the dashboard, (not one that is covered or illustrated in the handbook,) which said “Unable to charge” The battery indicator is at 100% but the car won’t enter drive ready mode. Clearly the car thinks it is still connected to the charging cable, a fact possibly confirmed, as on removing the cable, I shut the flap and now it won’t open, even using the pull cord in the door frame.

Anyone any ideas, please?

 

[alohart]

Unfortunately, these emergency pull cables are fragile plastic and can break if pulled too hard. Hopefully, the charge door emergency pull cable didn't break. The charge door has an electric latch, so this could be malfunctioning.

The lock pin in the charge port can malfunction. I think that it usually won't extend, so the charge plug can't be locked to the port. Maybe it could also quit retracting which would keep the plug locked to the port. This lock pin is driven by a little motor than can corrode and stop working.

I believe when entering drive ready state is attempted while a charging plug is inserted, a message is displayed on the instrument panel explaining that the car can't be driven while a charging plug is inserted. If such a message isn't displayed, then the car might not be entering drive ready state for a different reason.

If you have an OBD scanner that understands BMW diagnostic trouble codes (e.g., BimmerLink), scan for DTC's. That might give you some clues.

 

[LocoBill]

Thanks Alohart, I tried again early this morning in case I had missed something in the dark last night and took photos of the dashboard warnings, but it was the same. I had the magic cup of tea and looked at you tube videos which may have indicated a low charge 12 volt battery. I went out to the car an hour later, all the 12volt bits worked as normal and it engaged drive. You tell me!!! I drove it, the only niggle remaining is the charging flap won't release, I'll do that manually rather than break the plastic emergency pull line.

 

[EvanstonI3]

With an intermittent problem like this, it is possible that either the 12v battery is failing or that the connections on the 12v battery have loosened. If you are checking the 12v battery connections, you may as well pull the HV disconnect, then disconnect the Negative terminal of the 12v battery for perhaps a minute, then re-connect it and re-engage the HV disconnect. There are some times when this resets some modules that are out of whack.