Overseas charging issues- 12V and the main battery

[Ingo]

I got myself into a new challenge. Having transported my Rivian overseas for some winter adventures I found out upon arrival the 12v was completely dead and the main battery was at zero. This must have happened during transportation. I managed to connect the rear bumper 12v plugs to a basic charger to get the screen to respond and then plug the vehicle to the standard vehicle charger that comes with the car. The car responded by turning on the lights on the drivers side, the light on the charger turned white, but it did not begin to charge the main battery. No green light and the main battery still is unresponsive. My guess is that the 12 v is completely gone and needs more than an awakening. My next bet is to have it fully charged or restored and then try again to connect the main battery to a charger to get some juice on.
I understand that some of you may suggest the car be transported to a RIVIAN service center. This is not an option for now. I chose to stay adventurous with my transportation overseas any ideas and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Sponsored

 

[Count Orlok]

buy one of these: https://www.ohmmu.com/product-page/12v-lithium-battery-for-r1t-r1s

instructional video is included on that site. unsure about importing the battery to Iceland or Mongolia or wherever you are adventuring this week.


ETA: perhaps some ideas from this thread: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/what-i-learned-from-my-12v-battery-swap.13739/

 

[VSG]

You need to jump the other 12V to get the passenger side working. Might have to replace both if they've been completely drained and can't hold a charge.

The ohmmu wouldn't help here would it, because the conditions that drained the 12V batteries would have also drained the ohmmu ...

 

[Ingo]

buy one of these: https://www.ohmmu.com/product-page/12v-lithium-battery-for-r1t-r1s

instructional video is included on that site. unsure about importing the battery to Iceland or Mongolia or wherever you are adventuring this week.


ETA: perhaps some ideas from this thread: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/what-i-learned-from-my-12v-battery-swap.13739/

Thank you Count Orlok

 

[Ingo]

You need to jump the other 12V to get the passenger side working. Might have to replace both if they've been completely drained and can't hold a charge.

The ohmmu wouldn't help here would it, because the conditions that drained the 12V batteries would have also drained the ohmmu ...

Thank you VSG

 

[Count Orlok]

You need to jump the other 12V to get the passenger side working. Might have to replace both if they've been completely drained and can't hold a charge.

The ohmmu wouldn't help here would it, because the conditions that drained the 12V batteries would have also drained the ohmmu ...

I was suggesting replacement as the solution.

 

[SparkyR1t]

Wow. So the others are correct if the standard batteries were completely drained they will most likely require replacement but first I would disconnect them and charge them individually and see if they have any life left As you are probably aware Rivian powers each side of the vehicle separately and you need both batteries to be charged but there is an exception as the newer vehicle have one battery and the other battery case that looks like a battery is actually a capacitor. ( this is per Rivian service).

The Ohmmu battery system is probably the easiest to acquire but Li-On batteries are not allowed as cargo on airlines so they would have to come by ship?

As to the main battery it may have been bricked and no longer usable if it has been taken completely to zero. Maybe try connecting it to a level 2 charger with the supplied vehicle adapter ??

good luck

 

[Ingo]

Wow. So the others are correct if the standard batteries were completely drained they will most likely require replacement but first I would disconnect them and charge them individually and see if they have any life left As you are probably aware Rivian powers each side of the vehicle separately and you need both batteries to be charged but there is an exception as the newer vehicle have one battery and the other battery case that looks like a battery is actually a capacitor. ( this is per Rivian service).

The Ohmmu battery system is probably the easiest to acquire but Li-On batteries are not allowed as cargo on airlines so they would have to come by ship?

As to the main battery it may have been bricked and no longer usable if it has been taken completely to zero. Maybe try connecting it to a level 2 charger with the supplied vehicle adapter ??

good luck

Thanks for the reply SparkyR1t

 

[SparkyR1t]

Thanks for the reply SparkyR1t

Just FYI. You need the 12 volt batteries up and operating before you will be able to attempt to charge the main traction battery as the 12 volt system powers all of your control circuitry.

 

[Joel]

You need to jump the other 12V to get the passenger side working. Might have to replace both if they've been completely drained and can't hold a charge.

The ohmmu wouldn't help here would it, because the conditions that drained the 12V batteries would have also drained the ohmmu ...

This is not necessarily true as the ohmmu has a feature that protects itself from too low of battery discharge. This has helped me when my R1 decides to have a brain fart and not charge the 12v.

 

[Antonio]

I was suggesting replacement as the solution.

Did you just actually use “I” ?

 

[Riviot]

Having transported my Rivian overseas for some winter adventures

I gotta ask, did you only take it to Iceland for winter, or do you live there year-round?

As others said... open the frunk, pull off the cowling, connect directly to both batteries with a running vehicle, let it sit like 30 minutes. It needs more amperage than a sitting battery.

 

[R1Thor]

I had put in a cautionary tale here regarding another owner (in another forum) having their warranty denied by Rivian for switching to the Ohmmu battery.

Not trying to start anything; just trying to make sure everyone is aware of that risk. I'd probably call Rivian and ask them their advice before using a battery if they truly won't support it.

That post was deleted because...? I guess I'm not allowed to mention competing forums by name. Sorry about that MODS. PS: you really need a way for us to be able to respond directly to you instead of this nonsense where I can only see your comments in the "Alerts" Section.

 

[pc500]

I'd trickle charge the two 12v. Then disconnect and reconnect.

Then plug in to see if the HV will take a charge.

 

[fredgass]

I got myself into a new challenge. Having transported my Rivian overseas for some winter adventures I found out upon arrival the 12v was completely dead and the main battery was at zero. This must have happened during transportation. I managed to connect the rear bumper 12v plugs to a basic charger to get the screen to respond and then plug the vehicle to the standard vehicle charger that comes with the car. The car responded by turning on the lights on the drivers side, the light on the charger turned white, but it did not begin to charge the main battery. No green light and the main battery still is unresponsive. My guess is that the 12 v is completely gone and needs more than an awakening. My next bet is to have it fully charged or restored and then try again to connect the main battery to a charger to get some juice on.
I understand that some of you may suggest the car be transported to a RIVIAN service center. This is not an option for now. I chose to stay adventurous with my transportation overseas any ideas and suggestions are welcome. Thanks.

Hello there
I ran into the same issues since I also transported my Rivian R1T 2022 from Los Angeles to Gabon, my home country. Everything was dead. Both 12V batteries and also HV battery. I managed to jumpstart the 12V batteries to get the displays on. It worked but I believe they were really not good because they died a hour after. So I bought some new ones. Another thing regarding the main battery. I had to call my electrician to adapt the connector of my portable charger to have the Nemo 14 50/240V work right. When I tried with the 220V connector with an 110 to 220V adapter it wasn’t working. You got to have the right current in order to charge. Now it works. But the main issue I have to solve is to get the displays back !! And I tried most of the proposals I had on the forum. Still nothing . But I have faith because it’s a great vehicle ?

Sponsored