[chrisfioretti]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum as I just purchased a karma a few weeks ago. I love the car, but I've noticed that when the battery gets down to 10 to 15 miles left on a charge, the check engine light comes on. I had the code looked at by autozone and it came through as a P0A7B - decoded by the scanner as Battery Energy Control Module Requested MIL. With the battery still low, I had the codes cleared and the check engine light came right back on. The car works fine when it has a full charge on it in both stealth and sport modes. Before taking to the dealership, I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this code before. I sure hope I'm not looking at a battery replacement. The car has only two thousand miles on it.

 

[JCMorrill]

I have a weak cell that keeps me from getting Stealth miles 0-8 - which I'll fix someday. So, when my car tells me it detected a voltage variance issue basically once a week or when I get down below 20 Stealth Miles, I get that same code. I bought an OBDLINK device from Amazon for $69 and keep it in the OBD port (under the dash by your hood release) so I can whip my phone out and say "OK. Thanks. Now, please give me back my speedometer!!" I asked LorMax about those codes, and know that they are "livable".

I'm also hoping that the new Fisker might have some new options for us, regarding this.

Here's the link to the item I bought:


http://www.amazon.com/ScanTool-427201-OBDLink-Bluetooth-Diagnostic/dp/B00H9S71LW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1427765266&sr=8-2&keywords=obdlink

 

[chrisfioretti]

Thanks for your reply, JCMorrill...

So when you get down to 0-8 Stealth miles, does your ICE automatically turn on? What was weird was that the CEL came right back on after I had the codes cleared and my CEL light went away.

 

[AZDawg]

Ditto for me. I have one cell that isn't performing optimally. LorMax says i'll need to replace it at some point but there's no urgency. He showed me the computer readout that shows that the cell just isn't charging or performing like the rest. I sometimes get the check engine light with that POA7B code but it usually disappears.
Based on the upcoming potential news we may get in April regarding support to existing owners via the New Fisker company, it might be worth waiting to see what they unveil...

 

[chrisfioretti]

Ditto for me. I have one cell that isn't performing optimally. LorMax says i'll need to replace it at some point but there's no urgency. He showed me the computer readout that shows that the cell just isn't charging or performing like the rest. I sometimes get the check engine light with that POA7B code but it usually disappears.
Based on the upcoming potential news we may get in April regarding support to existing owners via the New Fisker company, it might be worth waiting to see what they unveil...

Does the Check Engine Light go away by itself after a full charge and drive or do you have to do a hard reset on the vehicle?

Thanks for you reply...

 

[JCMorrill]

I have to keep clearing the codes. It's the same ones P148B and P0A7B that show up (maybe once/twice a week). But, it's 10 seconds with my phone, and I get on with life.

 

[sherrillt]

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum as I just purchased a karma a few weeks ago. I love the car, but I've noticed that when the battery gets down to 10 to 15 miles left on a charge, the check engine light comes on. I had the code looked at by autozone and it came through as a P0A7B - decoded by the scanner as Battery Energy Control Module Requested MIL. With the battery still low, I had the codes cleared and the check engine light came right back on. The car works fine when it has a full charge on it in both stealth and sport modes. Before taking to the dealership, I just wanted to see if anyone had any experience with this code before. I sure hope I'm not looking at a battery replacement. The car has only two thousand miles on it.

As mentioned most likely a bad module (I personally had a similar issue). I recommend contacting FiskerPhilly and have him do a remote diag with is new scan tool he's shipping around and he can tell you exactly which (if any) module is bad in just a few minutes.

 

[Harleyguy]

Try this always start out in stealth mode when the battery left to zero gets around 15 left switched to ice . The battery won't drop below 15 miles when the HV battery gets low that's when the HV battery has the most stress on the modules. It's just a little pain since you have to keep an eye on the mileage .
But in the long run until,you replace the module the car will run better have less problems also as far as battery problems .

 

[JCMorrill]

Oh, wow. That's good to know. Thanks HG!!

 

[flying dutchman]

Some times, while driving in Sport mode when battery level is zero, my battery level still runs down very slowly causing all sorts of alarms to go off. Out of energy etc. My battery is fine. No problem with cells. It looks more like a software issue. Any one?

 

[FiskerPhilly]

2 likely causes.
1) A bad module will cause this. When the modules reach low state of charge a defective one will drop off to an irrevocable point and continue to drop lower and lower. The battery control module will stop GEN charging and you will continue to run battery down below the minimum.

2) an engine misfire caused by a worn GEN coupler will cause the engine to shut down in sport mode and never refire. Thus you run off of battery only and it goes beyond minimum level. Telltale5for this is your first message will be "reduced performance contact service center" and fuel gauge turns red.

In either case DO NOT KEEP DRIVING when you start to see red in the battery range meter. Pull over and turn car off, let it go to sleep (gearshift light out) then restart. It will begin charging again.
you WILL damage this battery if you run it down to the "out of energy" state.

 

[flying dutchman]

2) is not the case, engine is running.
1) is therefore most likely, although they checked the modules lately and they were all ok and same level charge. I will ask the dealer to check it again next time.
Thank you for the warning. Will stop next time.

 

[jcadam]

Hello,
I am new to this forum too. I had this same issue today. Has about 15km left and the check engine came on. I engaged sports mode myself to keep my battery level "ok" until my house to plug it back in and during the drive the battery range dropped quickly from 10km to 0km. Now is plugged in, charging, I locked the car.
Do you think the engine light will is a bad sign?

 

[FiskerPhilly]

Unfortunately I always get to deliver the bad news...rapid drop in range from 10 to 0 is a tell tale sign you have a bad module in the battery.

 

[Bert Yetman]

Just curious.....why did you lock the car? No garage?
The car will charge just fine with the doors unlocked.

 

[jcadam]

Unfortunately I always get to deliver the bad news...rapid drop in range from 10 to 0 is a tell tale sign you have a bad module in the battery.

Well ok. Tell what is the solution?

 

[FiskerPhilly]

Replace the module. PM sent

 

[chrisfioretti]

Hello,
I am new to this forum too. I had this same issue today. Has about 15km left and the check engine came on. I engaged sports mode myself to keep my battery level "ok" until my house to plug it back in and during the drive the battery range dropped quickly from 10km to 0km. Now is plugged in, charging, I locked the car.
Do you think the engine light will is a bad sign?

This does seem to be a very common issue on a lot of cars. After driving mine some more, here is what I notice. At 6 miles left on battery, my CEL comes on. At 3 miles left, it quickly goes to 0 and the ICE turns on. After I plug the car in at home and fully charge it, the CEL will still be on. This will go away after 3-4 starts and driving it a couple miles....no need to do a hard reset to clear the check engine light.

Over the weekend, I drove the car 30 miles until I had 14 miles left on the battery. Flipped it over to Sport mode and drove an additional 25 miles on gas. Battery charge held at 14 miles to empty and I plugged it in when I got home. As Harleyguy suggested...this is one way to avoid the CEL from coming on.

 

[Harleyguy]

If anything it allows to zero in on the problem some and see how far you can push the battery before a failure . Hopefully new modules will be available from Fisker and we can move forward with these battery repairs .

 

[JCMorrill]

Just curious.....why did you lock the car? No garage?
The car will charge just fine with the doors unlocked.

I suppose it might stop you from accidentally opening the doors while still charging. Something that is fine 99 times out of 100, but I keep hearing the 1 in a hundred blown electronics component stories. So, maybe not a bad idea.