What fan is running ?

[guernsej]

Most EV's are designed in a similar fashion.

I'm not aware of any other EVs that use this much power to maintain such precise environmental conditions for the battery pack.

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[Brewbud]

My fan is very loud. It only got up into the low 70s today, but it still let me know it was unhappy. A few days ago my truck was parked on the street and a neighbor came to the house to tell me it had a loud fan running.

 

[RivianBowerbird]

Figured an interesting behavior. I do not have my wall charger yet but am using the travel charger in the meantime. I have it plugged into the wall next to the R1T. I have plenty of charge so it is just plugged into the wall, not the vehicle. Noticed this AM when I got up and did not have phone/keys with me, went out into the garage and the fan was running. Assuming it was running all night. Drove it this AM and parked it back in the garage. Fan was running all morning. Wondered if wall charger had anything to do with it so I unplugged the travel charger from the wall. Fan did not turn off. Pulled the vehicle out of the garage then back in. It auto-locked and fan turned off. Hmmm. So, repeated the test, plugged the charger back in, out/in the garage, fan on. Unplugged charger, out/in the garage, fan off. Interested if anyone can repeat the behavior. I will continue to test as well.

The fan will keep running if the car is unlocked. Lock it and you'll hear the climate instantly turn off. There are some fans that sometimes kick on when charging, but they are very quiet.

 

[Dark-Fx]

The fan will keep running if the car is unlocked. Lock it and you'll hear the climate instantly turn off. There are some fans that sometimes kick on when charging, but they are very quiet.

My observation is a coolant pump that sounds like a fan that seems to run continuously when the truck is not in sleep mode. I would bet dollars to donuts that anyone with a significant vampire drain would make the same observation.

 

[trez63]

My observation is a coolant pump that sounds like a fan that seems to run continuously when the truck is not in sleep mode. I would bet dollars to donuts that anyone with a significant vampire drain would make the same observation.

I haven't been able to detect any real pattern as to why the fan stays on sometimes. I always, without fail turn off the HVAC and pause any audio before leaving the truck. And I always lock the truck. About half the time the loud fan comes on randomly even after a full day of sitting there with no use (not charging either). Other times it's quiet as a mouse. I've decided to not worry about it and just wait until enough people report it to get the software updated. This running fan was likely the reason my 12v batteries got replaced at 7 weeks.

 

[okplayer]

I'm not aware of any other EVs that use this much power to maintain such precise environmental conditions for the battery pack.

I spent the previous 10 years working at/on Teslas, and the thermal systems management is similar to Rivian's. You will hear the condenser fans running (sometimes very loudly due to the high duty cycle requested by the BMS) when ambient temperatures rise.

 

[jjswan33]

I spent the previous 10 years working at/on Teslas, and the thermal systems management is similar to Rivian's. You will hear the condenser fans running (sometimes very loudly due to the high duty cycle requested by the BMS) when ambient temperatures rise.

These fans run randomly all the time in my experience. While sitting in my insulated garage, not charging or anything. Ambient temps in my N facing garage in Oregon rarely get above the low 70s.

In fact, as I have reported here, I see 3-4kWh/day of drain from my idle car in that insulated garage... Other folks are seeing more when using gear guard and I suspect with more thermal management like you describe

 

[okplayer]

As they say, your mileage may vary. I've seen fans on in ambient temps as low as 64 degrees F. There are myriad different reasons why the fan engages, but do keep in mind that the HV pack also supports the 12V batteries. Which operate all low voltage electronics on the vehicle. Whether the truck is "On" or not, charging or not. That support creates heat, and that heat eventually must be removed. Long story short, the fans basically run whenever they need to.

 

[jjswan33]

As they say, your mileage may vary. I've seen fans on in ambient temps as low as 64 degrees F. There are myriad different reasons why the fan engages, but do keep in mind that the HV pack also supports the 12V batteries. Which operate all low voltage electronics on the vehicle. Whether the truck is "On" or not, charging or not. That support creates heat, and that heat eventually must be removed. Long story short, the fans basically run whenever they need to.

Maybe I should clarify. I could care less if the fan needs to run for whatever reason. What I care about is energy drain while not driving the vehicle, that is why posts like this are here. Us owners are trying to understand why the truck is using so much energy while idle.

 

[okplayer]

Ok, I understand what you're asking. Sorry for the confusion. I wouldn't say 3kWh/day is excessive. On really hot or really cold days above (above around 90 degrees F or below around 40 degrees F) you could see much more than that being consumed. But again, this is in line with other EVs in similar conditions.

 

[jjswan33]

Ok, I understand what you're asking. Sorry for the confusion. I wouldn't say 3kWh/day is excessive. On really hot or really cold days above (above around 90 degrees F or below around 40 degrees F) you could see much more than that being consumed. But again, this is in line with other EVs in similar conditions.

Well I hope others at Rivian don’t agree with that assessment. In ideal conditions (70F +/- 20F) my expectation is idle drain should be negligible.

Currently that is not the case for a Rivian or from anecdotal reports on other threads a Tesla (at least to a lesser degree). Other anecdotal reports from different EVs suggest idle drain is not an issue and also was the case in my observations with a Kia EV6.

I mean a MWh of energy lost every year is nothing to be ignored and IMO makes the R1T look very environmentally unfriendly. I guess it‘s all a matter of prospective.

 

[okplayer]

I'm sorry that you're not 100% happy with your truck. In that case, may I suggest you schedule an appointment through your app if you feel there is an issue that needs to be addressed. I am a Rivian technician and owner, but I'm on this forum only as an owner. I can help with common questions and maybe dispelling a few myths, but any more than that I would advise an appointment. That way we can address any potential issues properly, and get you back to enjoying your R1.

 

[guernsej]

But again, this is in line with other EVs in similar conditions.

Besides earlier Tesla's, which EVs use 3-4 kWh overnight?

 

[Max]

I spent the previous 10 years working at/on Teslas, and the thermal systems management is similar to Rivian's. You will hear the condenser fans running (sometimes very loudly due to the high duty cycle requested by the BMS) when ambient temperatures rise.

Thanks for sharing what you know. Your insight can be priceless on the forum. If you believe power loss in R1 (and may be in Tesla's) are acceptable. Would you say there is something significantly inferior, dangerous or damaging with BMS and other systems in all other EVs that do not have such a loss?

 

[jjswan33]

I'm sorry that you're not 100% happy with your truck. In that case, may I suggest you schedule an appointment through your app if you feel there is an issue that needs to be addressed. I am a Rivian technician and owner, but I'm on this forum only as an owner. I can help with common questions and maybe dispelling a few myths, but any more than that I would advise an appointment. That way we can address any potential issues properly, and get you back to enjoying your R1.

Thats completely fair and honestly surprised you even said as much as you did, obviously your opinion/experience and not an official response from Rivian.

I would totally report to service if I thought that 3kWh is unique to my truck but as others have reported similar in ideal conditions, and as your a senior service tech I think we both know what I would be told.

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