Emergency Jump starter powerful enough for dead Rivian 12v

[dradam]

I'd prefer to use lifepo as the 12v backup as its much easier to keep the charge maintained as well as lighter. Close to home I may not keep the 12v spare in the vehicle. I have jumper cables and the primary plan would be to use the spare to jump the R1 and wake it so I can drive to a location for a permanent repair. I'm thinking of something like this which has same dimensions and provides the necessary 30amps continuous Rivian says a jump requires;

https://a.co/d/3Lxf0zI

Yes ideally to be the most foolproof I would like to figure out a simple adapter as well for that possibility that the original 12v has a short or something. I'd have a MRBF fuse on the spare so it should blow that first if the Rivian 12v has a dead short and protect the lifepo spare. I need to find the screw type that Rivian uses for the battery to make an adapter plate. Not sure exactly how to pull that screw out of my rivian 12v to test while keeping 12v power as I don't want to risk a bunch of error codes. The battery I linked above says it has an M5 screw so ideally if the rivian had a similar terminal might even be able to skip the adapter plate. From watching Ohhm install video it appears there is some flexibility in exactly where the rivian connections can be moved to line up with the 12v terminals.

I like your plan, did not think about needing a fuse. If you make it happen please post it. I was just thinking about travelling with the extra battery and jumpers on a long trip. I just dont want to dismantle mine to figure it out.

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[dradam]

Original battery specs are here EVP_DCS_DataSheet_08312022.pdf can't help you with dimensions for adapter plates but if you are capable of replacing the battery I'm sure you can figure out the terminal locations on the replacement, they don't have to be in exact same location just close enough to the originals. There are many on Amazon that looks to be close enough.

Disaster planning requires practicing so get a battery and swap it and figure out everything you'll need.

I personally just monitor vampire drain and sleep cycles to determine when those are on the edge, when you start losing more than 2% a night on a regular basis then you'll be living adventurous.

I check the 12v voltage about every other week through the RIDE menu. what are you using to monitor the sleep cycles?

 

[MacO512]

I check the 12v voltage about every other week through the RIDE menu. what are you using to monitor the sleep cycles?

I use electrafi.com

 

[dradam]

I use electrafi.com

thx will consider joining

 

[MacO512]

I like your plan, did not think about needing a fuse. If you make it happen please post it. I was just thinking about travelling with the extra battery and jumpers on a long trip. I just dont want to dismantle mine to figure it out.

The mbrf fuses bolt right onto the positive terminal so takes only a very tiny bit of space. It's a safety habit whenever having custom wires to battery terminals - but in this example might be good to also protect the spare BMS/cells.

 

[Nixapatfan]

I check the 12v voltage about every other week through the RIDE menu. what are you using to monitor the sleep cycles?

Home assistant

 

[CharonPDX]

Get one made for a diesel pickup. I have an old internal-lead-acid one I bought from Sears something like 15 years ago, some variation of this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJLP6 (Mine has an air compressor, too, but don't really need that with the Rivian.)

Would start my old 7.3 liter diesel in the dead of winter no problem (that also required two heavy duty 12V batteries) both getting the glow-plugs going and cranking the cold engine.

Mine doesn't hold the charge it used to, but it has started every other vehicle I've ever had to start. I throw it in the gear tunnel when I'm going to be "away from easy service."

 

[MacO512]

Get one made for a diesel pickup. I have an old internal-lead-acid one I bought from Sears something like 15 years ago, some variation of this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JFJLP6 (Mine has an air compressor, too, but don't really need that with the Rivian.)

Would start my old 7.3 liter diesel in the dead of winter no problem (that also required two heavy duty 12V batteries) both getting the glow-plugs going and cranking the cold engine.

Mine doesn't hold the charge it used to, but it has started every other vehicle I've ever had to start. I throw it in the gear tunnel when I'm going to be "away from easy service."

Looks like it's 18lbs vs a 7lb lifepo..... If we confirmed it could supply 30amps continuously for 30ish seconds I might prefer an off the shelf ready to go solution like this.

I just don't know how to verify it can supply current long enough that the Rivian needs to fully boot up.

I guess if someone who has one could hookup 400 watts on an inverter or something of that 12v load and confirm it's powered the whole 30 seconds that would prove it works.

 

[CharonPDX]

Looks like it's 18lbs vs a 7lb lifepo..... If we confirmed it could supply 30amps continuously for 30ish seconds I might prefer an off the shelf ready to go solution like this.

I just don't know how to verify it can supply current long enough that the Rivian needs to fully boot up.

I guess if someone who has one could hookup 400 watts on an inverter or something of that 12v load and confirm it's powered the whole 30 seconds that would prove it works.

I don’t have my 500W inverter with me right now, I’ll give it a go when I get home. But it supplied ~120 Amps for the diesel glow plugs for a good 15-20 seconds and still had enough to supply 800 Amps to crank the starter. And do that multiple times before needing to be recharged. (Yeah, I had weak 12V on my diesel pickup. It didn’t get driven often, and I often forgot to plug it into a maintainer.)

 

[usulio]

These types of things were solved by the ICE RV'ers and pickup truck people long ago. The typical solution is to have two batteries. A "battery isolator" installed inline will allow both batteries to charge but prevent the second from being used unless a switch is thrown. When the primary is dead, flip the switch.

Second option, a "battery protector" will disconnect a battery when a set low voltage is reached, preventing further drain and allowing the battery to retain enough to start (activate) the vehicle. This can be used in a single battery setup or in combination with a two battery setup.

Both seem like simple solutions to this Rivian problem but also still good sense solutions for a camping and off-roading rig.

Regarding the second option — isn’t the Rivian already monitoring the 12V charge and waking the vehicle to recharge it when needed? If that is failing the 12V may be too dead at that point anyway. I like option 1 or just carrying a spare charged 12V to swap I if needed.

 

[MacO512]

I don’t have my 500W inverter with me right now, I’ll give it a go when I get home. But it supplied ~120 Amps for the diesel glow plugs for a good 15-20 seconds and still had enough to supply 800 Amps to crank the starter. And do that multiple times before needing to be recharged. (Yeah, I had weak 12V on my diesel pickup. It didn’t get driven often, and I often forgot to plug it into a maintainer.)

Yeah if it can supply 120 amps for 20 second continuously that should likely be enough. I think the issue is many of these packs only supply current for a shorter time frame. Many of them wont supply anything until they see a bit of voltage from a batter to protect people hooking it up wrong.

 

[CharonPDX]

Yeah if it can supply 120 amps for 20 second continuously that should likely be enough. I think the issue is many of these packs only supply current for a shorter time frame. Many of them wont supply anything until they see a bit of voltage from a batter to protect people hooking it up wrong.

The advantage of having an old “dumb” one.

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