"Electric drive not working" on 2021 1.4 e-Hybrid

[eddie_gordo]

My 2021 eHybrid estate (~64k miles) seems to have developed a fault, can someone help if they've seen a similar thing?

I was away for almost 4 weeks, HV battery was left at around 80% while I was away. Once I came back I plugged it in to charge it to 100% before driving it again, all was good. Went for a drive about 60 miles away and half way through I get a yellow triangle error with the message "Electric drive not working correctly. Please visit workshop".
I kept going to my destination, got there, parked the car and when I came back to it the error was gone.

This was on a Thursday - fast forward 2 days until Saturday and the same error comes up, first with yellow triangle, but eventually changed to a red triangle as the image shows.
Because of the long-ish drive (60 miles each way) the battery was down to 1% so I tried to plug it in to see if charging would solve the issue but it wouldn't start charging, the LED turns red.
I plugged in my OBD2 reader and the most relevant code seems to be P0AA600 (Hybrid/EV battery voltage system isolation fault).

Eventually with some trial and error I figured out that if I plug it in and turn the ignition on, it does charge, so I left it with the ignition on to charge up to 60% to see if it would help but the error is still there. Tried to clear it with OBD Eleven but it doesn't go away.

The car can still drive, both on electric only and hybrid modes, although I've refrained from doing so.

I called RAC who also weren't able to clear the errors. They tested the 12V battery and that seems to be OK. So I got the car recovered to Volks Auto so they could have a look and diagnose the problem properly.

Volks Auto then called me the next day saying they have tried to diagnose the problem but the test plan that they are meant to run to identify the issue requires them to use some specialist tools that they don't have and don't know where to get them from, and my best option would be to have the car recovered to a dealership. So the car is now booked in for the 23rd of December at JCB Seat in Ashford

While I'm waiting for this to happen, does anyone have any idea what it might be?

Thanks in advance

 

[James_R]

An isolation fault means that there is an issue on the high voltage circuitry somewhere, usually indicates some form of short circuit within the HV cabling or a HV component.

It's considered quite a serious fault.

 

[eddie_gordo]

An isolation fault means that there is an issue on the high voltage circuitry somewhere, usually indicates some form of short circuit within the HV cabling or a HV component.

It's considered quite a serious fault.

Thanks for the reply - any idea if this kind of fault is covered under the 8 years HV battery warranty?

 

[James_R]

If the fault can be traced to within the HV battery then there is a good chance.

 

[eddie_gordo]

If the fault can be traced to within the HV battery then there is a good chance.

Interesting, thank you - is this something that the dealer usually suggest on their own or more like something that I'll need to fight for?

Sorry about all the questions, it will be a few weeks until my car can even start to be diagnosed so I'm trying to prepare myself for what's to come. Ironically, bought the car 2nd hand in May this year and the 6 months warranty that came with it has just expired in November.

 

[James_R]

They'll have to narrow down the location of the isolation issue before they commit to any repairs.

I'd imagine that they'll ask for you to cover the diagnosis fee so that in the event that it's not the battery their time will be paid for.

 

[eddie_gordo]

Hopefully they can diagnose it fairly easily, I've read some stories of it taking weeks to get a proper diagnose

 

[James_R]

I'd book it straight in with a battery centre to avoid any unnecessary transfers.

 

[eddie_gordo]

I'd book it straight in with a battery centre to avoid any unnecessary transfers.

How do I know which ones are?

When I called the dealer in Ashford I mentioned that the car needs to be diagnosed by a dealership garage that is specialised in electric and hybrid vehicles and they didn't say anything so I'm assuming they are?

 

[James_R]

If it's JCB group, their battery centre is in Crawley.

 

[eddie_gordo]

If it's JCB group, their battery centre is in Crawley.

That's unfortunate, it is JCB yes. How did you find that out?

I actually initially called WJ King Sidcup which is the closest to me but they said the WJ King at Bromley would be the one capable of looking into the issue but they only had availability for the 11th of Feb So they mentioned the Ashford and Twickenham dealers as alternatives, so from this I also kind of assumed they would be battery centres.

Edit - I think I found where you got the info - https://www.thejcbgroup.co.uk/seat/electric-vehicle-battery-care-centre

Hopefully if it does require a transfer it will be smoothly.

 

[James_R]

Yeah I popped it in Google. A lot of franchise groups tend to only have one regional battery centre these days

 

[Shoveitpusher]

Just posted my update on a similar issue

 

[eddie_gordo]

I think your problem might be slightly different, looks like you had some indication about issues with cooling? Mine doesn't have any error related to cooling that I was able to see.

 

[Shoveitpusher]

I think your problem might be slightly different, looks like you had some indication about issues with cooling? Mine doesn't have any error related to cooling that I was able to see.

Must admit I can’t remember what the cooling error was about

 

[eddie_gordo]

I have to play the waiting game now. JCB only had bookings availability for the 23rd of December but because the car is already there they said that they may be able to look into it in between other jobs.

 

[Shoveitpusher]

I have to play the waiting game now. JCB only had bookings availability for the 23rd of December but because the car is already there they said that they may be able to look into it in between other jobs.

Mine was in the current garage 3 weeks before they could get to look at it. Diagnosis seems to happen between fixing, mines now waiting for parts to come in, then it’s back in the fix queue, which has priority over new jobs. They have one workshop bay and a couple of qualified technicians.
Problem with electric cars isn’t just the charging, it’s the ability to fix them, and that is the dealers not investing
A work colleague has had a car sent from Norfolk to Gateshead for a battery fault.

 

[James_R]

Mine was in the current garage 3 weeks before they could get to look at it. Diagnosis seems to happen between fixing, mines now waiting for parts to come in, then it’s back in the fix queue, which has priority over new jobs. They have one workshop bay and a couple of qualified technicians.
Problem with electric cars isn’t just the charging, it’s the ability to fix them, and that is the dealers not investing
A work colleague has had a car sent from Norfolk to Gateshead for a battery fault.

You'll find that the brands within VWG group have been very tactical with the placement of their battery repair centres, hence having to send vehicles miles away for repairs. Not every dealer can be a battery centre.
Each dealer has to have a minimum amount of high voltage technicians, they don't get a choice in that matter.

 

[Shoveitpusher]

You'll find that the brands within VWG group have been very tactical with the placement of their battery repair centres, hence having to send vehicles miles away for repairs. Not every dealer can be a battery centre.
Each dealer has to have a minimum amount of high voltage technicians, they don't get a choice i-at matter.

I do wonder how much leverage oem’s have these days. The dealerships are getting to a size where they start dictating. There are 2 big vag dealerships in the same town, yet my car is 50 miles away.

 

[James_R]

They might not have the infrastructure available to become BCCs (battery care centres), they might not want to become BBCs or maybe they are but they only cater for their own brands, for instance, you won't get a VW only BCC repairing a Seat, Skoda Audi etc.