RXV Intermittently Works

[basshawk84]

A neighbor has a 2011 RXV that will run great for 10-15 minutes. Then it will slow to a quick stop. He can turn the key off and back to reverse and hears a very faint reverse buzzer but no movement. I he lets it sit for 10 minutes, turns it to reverse the buzzer is loud and everything works. It started happening a few days ago. Battery voltage is good, 50.7 volts the two times he's checked it. Maybe a key switch issue? Thoughts?

[cgtech]

The fact it goes "back to normal" after cooling down for a few minutes leads me to believe it's a problem inside the motor controller that is triggered by thermal expansion in the controller.

[basshawk84]

Would a scanner show the fault maybe?

[BobBoyce]

Originally Posted by basshawk84

Would a scanner show the fault maybe?

The fact that the reverse beeper sounds weak is also a sign that the voltage is dropping in the controller. That should not be happening if the power from the pack is holding steady. Does that RXV have 23" tires? That could be causing controller overheat. When that hapens repeatedly, the damage adds up each time it occurs.

Bob

[basshawk84]

It does have 23" tires. I drove it for an hour or so yesterday and couldn't get it to fail. Then when I stopped briefly and turned the key off, it failed when I turned the key back on. I pulled back on the gas pedal and got it to work, so I took the floor mat off and cleaned, lubed and shimmed the big spring on the gas pedal. I couldn't force a failure after that. I told him to drive it today and see what happens.