PID 5B%
Hybrid battery pack remaining life
The remaining charge of a hybrid's high-voltage battery. Only hybrids and electric cars have it. This is NOT the twelve-volt starter battery — its voltage is PID 42, and that is what is to blame when the car will not start. A high-voltage pack sitting below its usual minimum makes the engine run more often and noticeably raises fuel use.
What is normal
It changes constantly while driving, and that is by design: a hybrid keeps the charge inside its own window.
These figures hold for most cars, but the maker has the last word: some engines run hotter or idle higher by design.
How it feels behind the wheel
The same fault shows itself in different ways. Each sign below says what to look at in the live data.
The voltage jumps, the lights dimThe headlights and the dashboard change brightness while driving, sometimes the battery lamp flickers. The electronics behave oddly.It cranks but will not startThe starter turns the engine over briskly, but it does not catch. Sometimes it catches and dies.
How to see it
In CarScan: the Live data tab, «Start polling». The app asks the car several times per second, draws a graph and remembers the highest and lowest value of the trip.