charging noise

[5363767]

I might not pay attention to this before. But today I heard the noise from the back of the car when I plug in the charger. Sounds like fan is cooling the battery? The outdoor temperature is around 86 degree Fahrenheit. The car has been cooling down for long before being plugged in.

Anyone has similar experience. Just wondering if this is normal or any problem with car?


update: received response from dealer. The noise is from the REX engine. When the SOC is too low, e.g. 30%, the engine will start automatically when connecting i3 with the charger. The engine is to help to charge the car in a faster way. So it has nothing to do with the temperature. But I really think this is a very bad idea to use the engine when connecting to the charger.

 

[PluviaPlumbum]

Quite normal I believe, it's just the active battery thermal management. Not really an issue for those of us in more temperate climates though!

 

[5363767]

Quite normal I believe, it's just the active battery thermal management. Not really an issue for those of us in more temperate climates though!

Thanks! Just the fan sounds like pretty noisy. I would expect it's more quiet.

 

[5363767]

Quite normal I believe, it's just the active battery thermal management. Not really an issue for those of us in more temperate climates though!

update: received response from dealer. The noise is from the REX engine. When the SOC is too low, e.g. 30%, the engine will start automatically when connecting i3 with the charger. The engine is to help to charge the car in a faster way. So it has nothing to do with the temperature. But I really think this is a very bad idea to use the engine when connecting to the charger.

 

[BrianStanier]

Your dealer is talking BS.

 

[MikeS]

Absolute BS! Dealership and dealer should be named and shamed!

 

[alohart]

Yeah, that is total nonsense! Think about how stupid it would be of BMW to have designed the REx engine to start when charging … in one's garage where the possibility of CO poisoning would be great.

 

[mindmachine]

I have heard mine doing the same thing in hot weather after the car was driven, your dealer is so full of BS. The Rex is way louder then what you are hearing from the charging cooling system.

 

[epirali]

Yeah, that is total nonsense! Think about how stupid it would be of BMW to have designed the REx engine to start when charging … in one's garage where the possibility of CO poisoning would be great.

From what I have seen it will only do that if you arrive at a very low SOC, even if you plug in, until it reaches a minimum, but I think that is in the very low single digits. So the dealer is either BSing or just doesn't know much.

 

[PDXelectric]

Yeah, that is total nonsense! Think about how stupid it would be of BMW to have designed the REx engine to start when charging … in one's garage where the possibility of CO poisoning would be great.

From what I have seen it will only do that if you arrive at a very low SOC, even if you plug in, until it reaches a minimum, but I think that is in the very low single digits. So the dealer is either BSing or just doesn't know much.

This noise is certainly different than the REX starting up. It is a whirring fan type noise and I have noticed it since higher temps have started in the summer. I have been fairly impressed with the lack of knowledge of "igeniuses".

 

[5363767]

Thanks guys for the reply! I get the same feeling the dealer actually doesn't know much about i3. I tried to send email to BMW global for queries. But all emails were then passed back to the dealer as BMW stated in the email the dealer will provide the service locally. Sounds I will never get a direct answer from the manufacturer?!

 

[Jeffj]

See this blog from one of the admins here:
http://bmwi3.blogspot.com/2015/08/bmw-i3-ac-compressor-noise-yes-thats.html