[Ionicsilveri8]

So looking under the front bumper (below the number plate) there seem to be two flaps that look like they should open (possibly electrically). I know that when I have been in electric mode for a while and park up at home, the first thing I do is plug it in and I sometimes hear the front fan starting up which I guess is to cool the battery? Thing is, tonight I looked under the car expecting these flaps to be open when the fan is on and they weren’t.

Am I missing something? If they should open then I have a fault?

[Coastali8]

Yep... your missing the battery. It’s in the center console and is liquid cooled. I believe those vents are thermostatically controlled to open and allow air to flow up through the radiator for the ICE when the vehicle is in motion and are normally closed unless the temperature of the ICE requires additional cooling.

[Ionicsilveri8]

Originally Posted by Coastal i8

Yep... your missing the battery. It’s in the center console and is liquid cooled.

Please explain further?

[Coastali8]

Well..
This is the closest explanation on the i8 I could find.
Hope it helps. Also, I misstated... the high voltage battery is cooled by a refrigerated circuit, not liquid.

Home / BMW i I12 i8 Coupe / Electrical Components / Connectors / Components / Components with M / M81 Radiator blind drive /
Radiator blind drive

An active air flap control via actuator motor (radiator shutter drive) is installed in the front end.

Active air flap control regulates the air supply for the engine and assemblies cooling system by only opening the radiator shutter as it is needed.

Functional description

The engine control system continuously calculates the required cooling. The engine control system only opens the radiator shutter when a higher level of cooling air is actually required.

While the vehicle is being driven, the closed radiator shutter reduces the warm-up phase of the engine, as operating temperature is reached more quickly if the environment is better encapsulated. The air flow through the radiator creates high aerodynamic drag as the driving speed increases. In higher road speed ranges, the closed radiator shutter improves the aerodynamics. This reduces fuel consumption and thus the emission level during driving with the combustion engine.