Range Extender Error Message

[johnnyboymiami]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone knows why this message came on my i3 Range Extender:

"Possible to continue your journey. Maintenance cycle required due to prolonged period of non-use. Activation currently not possible due to low fuel level or battery charge"

The fuel is full and my battery is fully charged, any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

[BrianStanier]

I assume it means that the battery charge is too high. Here in the UK Rex cannot be engaged when the SOC is > 75%.

 

[Jeffj]

The REx is programmed to run periodically to ensure its always working. If you haven't run it in awhile (maybe 6 weeks?), then it will try to run an auto-cycle for a few minutes. In your case, however, it couldn't run the auto-cycle because the SOC was too high. Not sure if it just skips the auto-cycle or just waits until the SOC is below 75% to run.

 

[johnnyboymiami]

Thanks for the clarification, that makes alot of sense as I haven't used the REX in around 2 months.

 

[WoodlandHills]

Given the cushion maintained above "full" charge for just this sort of event, why can't the REx run for a few minutes when the charge is showing 100%? And if the charge was at 99% or below a short run cycle should not put enough charge into the battery to matter. If you are not in NA I would try to manually start the REx once your SOC dropped below 75% to see if it was a real fault or just a glitch, it would be a shame to really need the REx and have it just flash an error message..... If you are in NA you could do the same thing at 6%, but I wouldn't try it too far from home!

 

[i3atl]

It means you should've bought a BEV

 

[jadnashuanh]

Given the cushion maintained above "full" charge for just this sort of event, why can't the REx run for a few minutes when the charge is showing 100%?

One reason there's a cushion at the top end is to provide some room for regen. Fill it up by running the REx, and then it has to use the brakes to slow you down, and the difference in feel can be annoying, not counting the loss in overall efficiency.

My guess is that if the OP had continued to drive, the REx would have tried to come on later in the trip for that maintenance cycle after the SOC had dropped enough, or, if it reached that trigger point, probably after turning it off then back on again.

 

[mindmachine]

Given the cushion maintained above "full" charge for just this sort of event, why can't the REx run for a few minutes when the charge is showing 100%?

One reason there's a cushion at the top end is to provide some room for regen. Fill it up by running the REx, and then it has to use the brakes to slow you down, and the difference in feel can be annoying, not counting the loss in overall efficiency.

My guess is that if the OP had continued to drive, the REx would have tried to come on later in the trip for that maintenance cycle after the SOC had dropped enough, or, if it reached that trigger point, probably after turning it off then back on again.

I have the Rex and it definitely keeps trying to run until the conditions are right. It is actually annoying if you have a full charge and just a few short trips to make as it just keeps annoying you with the same message over and over. I certainly would think it could run at even 90% and not be a problem as long as you are driving as it does not appear to be adding any charge when it kicks in at 75% at least my SOC has never gone up when it run the maintenance cycle.

 

[cbelanger]

We also got warning messages about Range Extender because we haven't drive it during more than 2 months (during winter).
It was due to a pretty low level of gas, we figured out how to open gas flap by force (using green wire under the hood) and we filled the 7 Liters tank with Premium gas. After that, our 2015 BMW i3 was happy and she activate the Range Extender !

Warning display in the car (both LCD screen and Cluster) in french was:
"Range Extender: marche d'entretien nécessaire en raison d'une mise à l'arrêt prolongé, activation impossible en raison d'un niveau de réservoir faible ou d'un état de recharge"
and "Range Extender. Entretien impossible"
and "Préparation ravitaill. établie ..."

The State of Charge (SOC) was under 25% but the gas tank was also under 25% so just fill the gas tank to get rid of this problem.

 

[jadnashuanh]

First off, running any ICE for only a short time is detrimental to its overall life. You MUST let it run long enough to fully warm up (on the REx, I think that's a minimum of around 13-minutes) to ensure you've burned off any byproducts of combustion (mostly water), otherwise, it will just sit there, corrode things, potentially turn acidic, and eat up your muffler in addition to damaging bearings, etc. So, since while running, it is also generating current and pumping power into the batteries, they must be at a low enough charge so you don't cause more harm than good.

This cycle is to reoil things, burn out any condensation that may have accumulated, and verify that it CAN start, should it be needed at some later timeframe. You really don't want it to short-cycle, and that means, let the SOC drop enough so it can run its full maintenance cycle; i.e., <=75%. And, if your trip is short enough, it might just continue to run once you've stopped to complete its cycle, so you should be cautious of parking it in an enclosed area (I'm not sure on that last point).

 

[cyr21k]

hmmm...
Well, I guess it's important that I run the extender and not be concerned of over usage...

 

[jadnashuanh]

Once the REx does turn on, it likes to run at least 10-minutes so that it is about as fully warmed up as needed to ensure it can burn off any moisture that may have accumulated in the oil and purge the muffler of any condensation. It takes that long before it will also allow full throttle, if it is actually needed to help hold or recharge the batteries.

Some of the early issues with the REx were related to moisture accumulation in various bits. Possibly from lack of use which then prevented it from actually starting up if needed. Whether that would be an issue in some places (dry desert of say AZ) or not, can't say. It would seem maybe to be more an issue for people living near the coast, especially where it is hot and humid.