"New" 12V Battery Jump Start process update from Rivian

[Dark-Fx]

I'm a newbie with a question. How to tell if my 3-week-old R1T has an older 2 12v battery system or does it have just the one and a capacitor? The nice guy that hauled it out to me didn't really answer that question. He just showed me where to get to the leads beside the hitch in the rear. So if it now only has one 12 v battery, where is it?

I believe it looks the same on top, but both of mine have dual batteries so I can't take photos of the difference.

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[Joel]

More than anything, it would seem like the new battery+capacitor system might allow the full system to come up from the jump leads in the back rather than having to charge both batteries separately.

It does not until the main battery is charged close enough to proper voltage. I recently had this issue and ended up having the battery replaced.

 

[Joel]

I believe it looks the same on top, but both of mine have dual batteries so I can't take photos of the difference.

There is a slight difference. The main one being screws in the top corners of the capacitor.

 

[Joel]

It needs to be capable of maintainining 30A output to power all of the 12V electronics in the truck in the case where the DC-DC power unit is not working properly.

Depending on the discharge state of the battery in can take 30-60 minutes of charging before that happens. In my case it was about 2 hours and then getting the system to go to sleep to return. What my truck did when the battery died and I was in the process of jumping it, the truck thought it wasn’t in park. With it thinking it’s not in park is soft and hard reset do not work. Rivian definitely has some more processes to work out related to battery.

 

[Joel]

I was told the reason for the split power and dual battery was from the original design and a requirement for full level 3 autonomous driving.

 

[Fred6v]

It needs to be capable of maintainining 30A output to power all of the 12V electronics in the truck in the case where the DC-DC power unit is not working properly.

Yup. https://www.hulkman.com/products/alpha85s

 

[DTown3011]

We carry this in our ICE vehicle - would it be sufficient to charge the Rivian batteries if need be? Just deciding if I should put it in the car for road trips, camping, etc:

Amazon.com: Car Jump Starter, SUNPOW 2000A Peak 20000mAh Lithium Jump Starter Battery Pack(Up to All Gas and 8.5L Diesel),12V Battery Booster for Cars, Trucks, SUV, Portable Power Pack with LCD Screen & LED Light : Automotive

 

[Feetdry]

We carry this in our ICE vehicle - would it be sufficient to charge the Rivian batteries if need be? Just deciding if I should put it in the car for road trips, camping, etc:

Amazon.com: Car Jump Starter, SUNPOW 2000A Peak 20000mAh Lithium Jump Starter Battery Pack(Up to All Gas and 8.5L Diesel),12V Battery Booster for Cars, Trucks, SUV, Portable Power Pack with LCD Screen & LED Light : Automotive

I, too, have that charger. I'm afraid mine lacks the necessary "staying power" to recharge the 12volt.

 

[DTown3011]

I, too, have that charger. I'm afraid mine lacks the necessary "staying power" to recharge the 12volt.

Looks like it's not "strong" enough looking at the specs.

 

[SoCal Rob]

Maybe someone will make an off-grid 12V backup kit for remote use. I envision a 12V car battery mounted securely in the frunk and wired up to the Rivian’s battery/batteries with a rugged weatherproof switch accessible from the fender liner.

You’d keep the 12V car battery charged at home and when ready for off-grid adventure place it in the frunk and connect it. If you‘re in the middle of nowhere and the high voltage battery has plenty of power but the Rivian’s 12V dies, then reach into the fender liner, turn on the switch and you’ve effectively got a car battery jump-starting the Rivian. Once the Rivian 12V systems come back online, turn on the Rivian (step on the brake) and turn off the connection to the jump start battery. Immediately drive to civilization since this could be your one chance to get out under your own power.

It seems silly to have to contemplate such a kludge, but for people going to very remote places it may be worthwhile. Plus, it’s not so far off the dual-battery systems some use for camping or to power a winch.

 

[NDIrish]

So a tip from my wife's Tesla that I did for my Rivian (haven't needed to use yet for Rivian). Buy an A23 battery and zip-tie it to the jump start lead wires. This easily gets you into the frunk when the battery is dead. On the Tesla it pops the frunk, not sure exactly what hooking it up on the Rivian would do, sounds like it powers everything 12V?

https://www.amazon.com/Duracell-MN2...kZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&smid=A1Z74S8KTUFMH9&th=1

 

[NoGoingBack]

So just out of curiosity I pulled my hitch cover to check my jump wires. Should there be voltage on these wires at all? There was none on mine. This has me wondering if these wires are a connection to the battery or a connection to an onboard 12 charger.

 

[Dark-Fx]

So just out of curiosity I pulled my hitch cover to check my jump wires. Should there be voltage on these wires at all? There was none on mine. This has me wondering if these wires are a connection to the battery or a connection to an onboard 12 charger.

No, wires are dead until you apply voltage to them. Jumper pack needs an override mode because of this, typically they look for proper polarity after being hooked up.

 

[CodemanCMC]

So a tip from my wife's Tesla that I did for my Rivian (haven't needed to use yet for Rivian). Buy an A23 battery and zip-tie it to the jump start lead wires. This easily gets you into the frunk when the battery is dead. On the Tesla it pops the frunk, not sure exactly what hooking it up on the Rivian would do, sounds like it powers everything 12V?

https://www.amazon.com/Duracell-MN21-Replacement-Battery-Combo-Pack/dp/B071KCPMZZ/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?keywords=12v+23a+lithium+battery&qid=1691178486&sprefix=12v+battery+23A+lithi,aps,135&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&smid=A1Z74S8KTUFMH9&th=1

Very interesting solution wonder if it works? Might be worth grabbing a couple and putting them in one of those under-car locker boxes, if you can find some steel to stick it to that is...haha.

 

[NDIrish]

Very interesting solution wonder if it works? Might be worth grabbing a couple and putting them in one of those under-car locker boxes, if you can find some steel to stick it to that is...haha.

I bought a 3 pack when got one for wife's Tesla .. tested with 1 (worked on Tesla), already zip tied the other 2 still in thebpackages to the wires both out cars... If I need to use one for the Rivian I'll post back here

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