SOS - R1T bricked during aftermarket horn install (horn not at fault)

[SoCal Rob]

Also, I'd be absolutely stunned if they don't warranty cover with $0 cost. The tech will "get it" and they've done a ton of these. You got hit with what's called spurious correlation. That is something happened when another thing happened and they aren't related at all! Just bad luck on the timing. Good luck!

I think you’re exactly right. While unfortunate that this happened after the horn install, @freshpow should be able to reasonably point out that given the number of 12V battery issues it is unreasonable to assume the aftermarket horn caused the problem without proof from Rivian.

I haven’t seen the kit from the vendor, but assuming it uses relatively thin wire and includes a fuse on the positive battery side, I cannot imagine how this setup would quickly kill a healthy Rivian battery.

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[freshpow]

I ended up buying a battery charger and fully trickle charged my 12v to where it's now measuring ~13v. Only problem is I noticed what looks like a red liquid that seems to have leaked out of the positive terminal during the trickle charge session. I tried to wipe it up but it's completely hardened.

What is this/is it something I need to be worried about? I'm planning to hook everything back up in the morning to see if I can unlock the car and maybe get it started, but am concerned by this leakage.

 

[ksujeff99]

I ended up buying a battery charger and fully trickle charged my 12v to where it's now measuring ~13v. Only problem is I noticed what looks like a red liquid that seems to have leaked out of the positive terminal during the trickle charge session. I tried to wipe it up but it's completely hardened.

What is this/is it something I need to be worried about? I'm planning to hook everything back up in the morning to see if I can unlock the car and maybe get it started, but am concerned by this leakage.

I kind of think you’re just playing us now.

That’s what the batteries look like. https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/what-i-learned-from-my-12v-battery-swap.13739/

 

[White Shadow]

Sorry about your experience. I don't know enough to comment on your plight.

That said, it's not ringing true to me that safety reasons drove the horn upgrade. Don't get me wrong, I do understand that you justified the upgrade with safety to yourself, but in 45 years of driving and riding motorcycles on public roads I can't say my horn has ever saved my bacon. Oh, yes, I've honked it, not frequently, but many times over the years. But it was always to tell another driver they did something bad, or to tell them to get out of my way so I could get through, never to save my bacon.

As a motorcyclist, I know not to trust other drivers, and that includes not honking my horn to prevent an accident. I take evasive action, two wheels or four, it doesn't matter. I'm the only one that can save my bacon. Because, by the time I see a problem developing, and honked my horn, and the sound travelled the distance to the other vehicle, they heard it and responded, well, I would have been better off just taking evasive action to begin with! In this situation I might do both, honk and take evasive action, but the honking is just to tell them they messed up, it's not going to help me save my bacon.

All very true, but nobody wants a Toyota Corolla horn on a truck or SUV. That's likely the real reason why people are adding the second horn. It's almost embarrassing to honk the horn on a vehicle like the R1 and hear a meager little toot. But I agree---any horn will still get the job done to alert others of whatever situation has arisen at the time.

 

[White Shadow]

Probably a stupid question but I was getting ~2.5v at each post on the battery - do we add them up or it just is what it is?

I'm inclined to wait for service and see how that process goes. If they try to stick me with a $1k+ bill, maybe I'll explore the aftermarket options.

No offense, but if you don't already know the answer to that question, then you probably shouldn't have been doing any kind of electrical installation on your vehicle. For what it's worth, the 12V battery is DC, so you measure across the terminals to get your nominal voltage reading. One post is positive and the other is ground. You can't measure voltage at each post individually. If you swap the position of the leads, you're just changing the polarity, so the reading on your meter will show positive voltage and negative voltage.

 

[Count Orlok]

perhaps lost, but how did the aftermarket horn sound? did it meet expectations?

 

[PBRAZ]

It should auto detect and choose for you. If not, 12v agm will be fine. It'll likely start the battery desulfate automatically. And it won't likely work from the rear to trickle charge (vs a jump).

Also, I'd be absolutely stunned if they don't warranty cover with $0 cost. The tech will "get it" and they've done a ton of these. You got hit with what's called spurious correlation. That is something happened when another thing happened and they aren't related at all! Just bad luck on the timing. Good luck!

Would normally agree but given OP's lack of familarity/skill with electrical systems I would not rule out him inadvertently shorting something or merely having the frunk open too long and draining the 12v (not sure if that's actually a thing, but something left on or open).

 

[Zoidz]

100% agree. Everyone should be required to ride a motorcycle before driving a car. There would be 95% fewer accidents. Those that didn't learn would never make it to a car. Defensive driving 101.

I have said the same thing for years. Being a rider teaches driving situational awareness like nothing else.

With that said, it's an ignorant statement in a previous post that use of a horn is of no benefit. I can recall 3 or 4 instances in my past as a cage driver where someone was obliviously making a lane change "into my bacon" and a blast on the horn woke them up and alerted them I was there, avoiding an accident.

 

[Count Orlok]

I have said the same thing for years. Being a rider teaches driving situational awareness like nothing else.

With that said, it's an ignorant statement in a previous post that use of a horn is of no benefit. I can recall 3 or 4 instances in my past as a cage driver where someone was obliviously making a lane change "into my bacon" and a blast on the horn woke them up and alerted them I was there, avoiding an accident.

offtopic but what do you think of this minihorn on the Grenadier?

 

[Zoidz]

I ended up buying a battery charger and fully trickle charged my 12v to where it's now measuring ~13v. Only problem is I noticed what looks like a red liquid that seems to have leaked out of the positive terminal during the trickle charge session. I tried to wipe it up but it's completely hardened.

What is this/is it something I need to be worried about? I'm planning to hook everything back up in the morning to see if I can unlock the car and maybe get it started, but am concerned by this leakage.

I kind of think you’re just playing us now.

That’s what the batteries look like. https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/what-i-learned-from-my-12v-battery-swap.13739/

Perhaps OP just never noticed it until after charging.....? OP has said this is not his wheelhouse.

Even if you did get a charge into the battery, it's highly unlikely to hold a charge for long since it was down to a few volts. Big lead acid batteries can sometimes be recovered, but these little guys have no tolerance for abuse, especially what appears to be a bargain basement brand that Rivian used.

 

[Zoidz]

offtopic but what do you think of this minihorn on the Grenadier?

With the picture of what looks like a bicycle, does it sound like this?

 

[Count Orlok]

With the picture of what looks like a bicycle, does it sound like this?

mostly. the "real" horn is very aggressive. this is more like a gentle breeze on a spring day in tinpan alley.

 

[freshpow]

I kind of think you’re just playing us now.

That’s what the batteries look like. https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/what-i-learned-from-my-12v-battery-swap.13739/

Thank you. I wish I was playing but I honestly did not notice that when I first looked at it.

 

[freshpow]

Would normally agree but given OP's lack of familarity/skill with electrical systems I would not rule out him inadvertently shorting something or merely having the frunk open too long and draining the 12v (not sure if that's actually a thing, but something left on or open).

Shoot you're probably right. I guess everyone else who did the install got into the frunk with a headlamp and then closed it to do the install.

 

[PBRAZ]

Shoot you're probably right. I guess everyone else who did the install got into the frunk with a headlamp and then closed it to do the install.

...or maybe they didn't take as long. I don't think it takes much to drain the 12v battery, sadly.

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