How to Identify and Fix a Below-Minimum HV Battery on a 500e

[Chuchara_0604]

If you’ve bought a non-working Fiat 500e or your car’s been sitting idle and now won’t charge, you might be dealing with a High Voltage (HV) battery that’s dropped below its minimum charge level. Here are the key symptoms:

• No contractor sound: Normally, you’d hear a “clunk” when opening the door—if not, something’s off.
• 38% charge reading: The car shows exactly 38%, regardless of its actual charge.
• “Service Charging System” error: When plugged in, this message pops up.
• BPCM stops responding: After trying to read important details like cell voltages, the Battery Pack Control Module (BPCM) may stop responding, forcing a restart.

Likely Causes:
HV battery voltage is too low: To fix this, you may need to open the HV pack. Don’t worry—most cars recover fine after this.
Something caused the issue: It could be neglect or a 12V battery failure. You won’t know for sure until the HV pack is recovered.

 

[f.r.a.n.k.]

Got it! That’s super helpful info for anyone tackling a Fiat 500e. Huge thanks for dropping that knowledge!

 

[ChuckJ07]

Thanks a bunch for this @Chuchara_0604!

Have you run into any of these symptoms before with your Fiat?