Re: Thoughts on industrial design

On 4/28/2025 10:21 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:

On 4/28/2025 8:47 PM, Radey Shouman wrote:

>
On the other hand, if you want to experience the depths of true "off",
just let that atavistic 12V battery run down, and prepare to find an
experienced mechanic with a jump starter just to get the door open,
never mind rolling down the windows.

 I've had two 12V battery incidents with my Kia EV. Despite having a 64 kw-hr battery full of electrons (at something over 300V), the car would not start. Some parasitic loss had drained the very conventional 12V battery down to a voltage too low to fire up* the electronics. One was a complete mystery, the other was a device plugged into an outlet within the car.
 I happened to have a spare motorcycle battery on hand and charged. I used that to "jump" the car's 12V battery, and all was well. It doesn't seem to require much current to kick the electronics awake, energize the relays, etc.
 The car does have a "utility mode" in which the big traction battery tends the 12V. That's mostly intended for things like camping, where one might run lights, etc. off the 12V.
 (* Note the archaic term still in use: "fire up," as with a steam engine.)
 

My cars will bump start on a small incline or with two guys pushing on flat ground.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971