[kabalah70]

I knew it was going to be a bad day for the Karma when I came into the garage and the car's fans were STILL running, which was confirmed by seeing that the car only got about a 50% charge.

Turning the car on, the seat and steering presets did not activate, to which I shut the car off and then back on which causd them to start working, except for the steering tilt. The steering extension and seat moving forward worked fine. I tried adjusting the tilt manually with no success. I turned the car compeltely off and allowed all the lgihts to go out and tried again. No luck. I tried plugging it back into the EVSE and unplugging. No luck. I plugged it back in and took my other car. I plan on seeing how things are when i get home tonight. Running 6.15 and plan on getting 6.28 when I hit my 5000 mile services in a few weeks, but if the steer column does not work, it will be going in for servicing ASAP.

 

[drliu]

In my experience the car is MUCH more buggy when I tried-- just once-- charging the car before it had fully shut down (which causes the fans to stay on).

I hope 6.30 (or whatever the next patch is called) will fix this issue! We should really be allowed to charge the car without causing major problems whenever it is parked and off, period.

 

[SoCalGuy]

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

 

[Raven]

Well, plugin in your charger while the car is awake has no effect on the steering wheel.
There has been some issues with the connectors under the drivers seat regarding this matter, gently wiggle them while operating the tilt switch to see if it has any effect.
If it does, have a service tech tighten the terminals on those 2 connectors.

 

[drliu]

In my experience yes! And I think other people have also recommended this.

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

 

[Travis]

I must be lucky, I hop out of the car at the end of the day, fans are running, plug the karma in (240 volt GE wall power point), let it charge all night (I assume the fans shut off at some point as they are not on in the morning).

100% of the time it has been fully charged the following morning and the car has worked perfectly. I have done this on all versions of software since I received the car (5000 miles now) with the same result.

Are people worried the fans will fail early or did I miss the primary reason to wait until they turn off?

Thanks.

-Travis

 

[Fabulist]

In my experience yes! And I think other people have also recommended this.

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

I consider it a "best practice" and still follow this procedure even though I am now running 628.

 

[Harleyguy]

In my experience yes! And I think other people have also recommended this.

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

I consider it a "best practice" and still follow this procedure even though I am now running 628.

You are correct Fab :thumbup:

 

[DNAGuy]

I have never waited for the car to go to sleep before plugging it in. Oddly enough, as soon as I plug the car in, the fans stop momentarially and then restart and continue on until the charge is complete. The care always charges 100% and have had absolutely no bugs 6.28. I have also read that others have avoided opening the car doors during charging...I have often opened the doors without adverse affect.

Buck

 

[dennis]

I have never waited for the car to go to sleep before plugging it in. Oddly enough, as soon as I plug the car in, the fans stop momentarially and then restart and continue on until the charge is complete. The care always charges 100% and have had absolutely no bugs 6.28. I have also read that others have avoided opening the car doors during charging...I have often opened the doors without adverse affect.

Buck

If you wait until the car has shut down (2 minutes) before plugging in many times the fans will not come back on.

 

[Sigurd]

I have never waited for the car to go to sleep before plugging it in. Oddly enough, as soon as I plug the car in, the fans stop momentarially and then restart and continue on until the charge is complete. The care always charges 100% and have had absolutely no bugs 6.28. I have also read that others have avoided opening the car doors during charging...I have often opened the doors without adverse affect.

Buck

If you wait until the car has shut down (2 minutes) before plugging in many times the fans will not come back on.

If I were as lucky as you and lived in paradise! But, here in Texas with 100% and humidity about there too, my fans come on and stay on even if I wait 5 minutes before charging. It didn't do that until the garage temp got up there. But, after 5-6 hours my car is fully charged and the fans are off.

 

[Nin ja]

I have never waited for the car to go to sleep before plugging it in. Oddly enough, as soon as I plug the car in, the fans stop momentarially and then restart and continue on until the charge is complete. The care always charges 100% and have had absolutely no bugs 6.28. I have also read that others have avoided opening the car doors during charging...I have often opened the doors without adverse affect.

Buck

If you wait until the car has shut down (2 minutes) before plugging in many times the fans will not come back on.

I'm still on 6.15 and the only times my CEL come on is when the door was open while charging and the fans have stayed on if I do not wait for the PRND lights to go off. I follow the procedure Harley Guy provided and the car has functioned properly. I still have the static in the BT and lose conection to the iphone music controls and lately i've seen a red indicator light go on and off momentarily when i swicth to sports mode.

 

[LonePalmBJ]

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

According to the FAQ that Fisker released this week:

Q. Can I plug in the Fisker Karma while the fan is still running?

A. The recommended practice is to let the car go to sleep (wait 2 minutes, PRND light turns off) before plugging in to the charger. Plugging in to charger while the fan is running will prolong the fan running time and reduce the efficiency of the charging cycle but will not harm any components.

 

[dennis]

I have never waited for the car to go to sleep before plugging it in. Oddly enough, as soon as I plug the car in, the fans stop momentarially and then restart and continue on until the charge is complete. The care always charges 100% and have had absolutely no bugs 6.28. I have also read that others have avoided opening the car doors during charging...I have often opened the doors without adverse affect.

Buck

If you wait until the car has shut down (2 minutes) before plugging in many times the fans will not come back on.

If I were as lucky as you and lived in paradise! But, here in Texas with 100% and humidity about there too, my fans come on and stay on even if I wait 5 minutes before charging. It didn't do that until the garage temp got up there. But, after 5-6 hours my car is fully charged and the fans are off.

Housing prices have declined in CA, so you should consider a move to Paradise.

 

[scottf200]

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

According to the FAQ that Fisker released this week:

Q. Can I plug in the Fisker Karma while the fan is still running?

A. The recommended practice is to let the car go to sleep (wait 2 minutes, PRND light turns off) before plugging in to the charger. Plugging in to charger while the fan is running will prolong the fan running time and reduce the efficiency of the charging cycle but will not harm any components.

These sort of things really make me think about whether a Fisker in in my future. I think this sort of thing is ridiculous. Implies they either have limit quality, quality inspection, technical skills, or user centric design. I want to come home, plug in and go in the house. That is what I do today in my early '11 Volt. As well I've open the car door while it was charging, started it, ripped CDs, etc, etc, without any issues. This is very basic testing.

 

[Sigurd]

Dennis, 2 weeks ago we were in Sacramento and Napa, and you are absolutely right, this is a good time to buy a house and move to NorCal.
Scottf200, you are right. The Karma is probably still what I would consider a low volume exotic car. I've had many such cars. And as such, there are certain idiosyncrasies you might have to get used to. This is similar to having to not pull on top of a curb as you pull into a parking spot. Or, getting used to the poor rear view from the inside of my mid-engined exotics. But, the issues I just described can't be remedied with a simple software update like the charging issue you pointed to and that some people have just reported is not an issue to them as they plug in and open doors at will. So, is a potential software update going to keep a Fisker (or just the Karma) out of your future?

 

[dennis]

So 6.28 you still need to wait for fans to turn off?

According to the FAQ that Fisker released this week:

Q. Can I plug in the Fisker Karma while the fan is still running?

A. The recommended practice is to let the car go to sleep (wait 2 minutes, PRND light turns off) before plugging in to the charger. Plugging in to charger while the fan is running will prolong the fan running time and reduce the efficiency of the charging cycle but will not harm any components.

These sort of things really make me think about whether a Fisker in in my future. I think this sort of thing is ridiculous. Implies they either have limit quality, quality inspection, technical skills, or user centric design. I want to come home, plug in and go in the house. That is what I do today. As well I've open the car door while it was charging, started it, ripped CDs, etc, etc, without any issues. This is very basic testing.

It's not testing or QA. They said on the call that they have deliberately erred on the side of overrunning the fans in order to keep the battery and associated electronics cool. They also said they are working on dialing this back while still protecting the battery. I believe their current algorithms are extra cautious, and it's OK with me that they don't want to fry batteries.

 

[scottf200]

Thanks for both your responses. I appreciate them.

But, the issues I just described can't be remedied with a simple software update like the charging issue you pointed to and that some people have just reported is not an issue to them as they plug in and open doors at will. So, is a potential software update going to keep a Fisker (or just the Karma) out of your future?

I am interested to see how they work through these problems and resolve them with updates/dealer fixes and that is one reason I'm here. I can't justify the Karma but I could justify an Atlantic. I would want it to be my regular ride tho so I would expect it to be dependable and not regularly at the dealers.

It's not testing or QA. They said on the call that they have deliberately erred on the side of overrunning the fans in order to keep the battery and associated electronics cool. They also said they are working on dialing this back while still protecting the battery. I believe their current algorithms are extra cautious, and it's OK with me that they don't want to fry batteries.

Sorry. It would appear to be a failed design if that is true. I could appreciate them protecting the batteries. Absolutely. I just think they could handle this 'internally' without the user being forced to change what would be natural. Exit car. Plug in immediately. Go inside.

 

[Sigurd]

Scottf200, I am with you. I completely understand and agree. To me, the Karma is predictable, understandable, and performs beyond my dreams as I had when I bought into it in 2008. This is unlike the 150K CAD/CAM machine I purchase for my dental office and took delivery of around the same time as my Karma. I still haven't figured it out.
Since I purchased my Karma, I have had nothing but better than I feared and most of the time better than I hoped for experiences. I have even become an ardent Volt supporter! I always used to say: "My Lamborghini is great, but the best sports car for the money and the masses is the Corvette." And, now I tell people that balk at the price of a Karma, look at the Volt. The best car for the money IMHO, certainly at half the cost of this one.

 

[dennis]

It's not testing or QA. They said on the call that they have deliberately erred on the side of overrunning the fans in order to keep the battery and associated electronics cool. They also said they are working on dialing this back while still protecting the battery. I believe their current algorithms are extra cautious, and it's OK with me that they don't want to fry batteries.

Sorry. It would appear to be a failed design if that is true. I could appreciate them protecting the batteries. Absolutely. I just think they could handle this 'internally' without the user being forced to change what would be natural. Exit car. Plug in immediately. Go inside.

OK, I may be giving Fisker the benefit of the doubt here, but I believe they intend to NOT require the user to wait for shutdown in order to plug in in a future software update. They are just being cautious about dialing back on the software that runs the fans until they are sure that any changes they make do not jespordize the battery.

Sometimes we forget how both new and complicated the software for PHEVs must be. There are only 3 models in production, right? And Fisker has way fewer resources than GM and Toyota.