Abstract

Battery depletion in stationary vehicles is one of the most common reasons for automotive breakdowns worldwide. When a vehicle stays parked for long periods, the cumulative current drawn by control units, telematics modules, alarm systems, and other always-active electronics can quietly drain the 12 V lead-acid starter battery to the point where the engine cannot start. Current solutions—such as dashboard voltage gauges, Bluetooth-connected monitors, and proprietary OEM telematics—are mainly passive; they observe and report but do not actively stop the discharge process. This paper presents and experimentally validates a fully integrated, microcontroller-driven battery protection system based on the ESP32 system-on-chip and the SIM800L quad-band GSM module. The system continuously monitors battery terminal voltage using a precision resistive voltage-divider circuit and applies a dual-threshold detection algorithm. An SMS alert is sent via the cellular network when the voltage drops below 11.8 V; when the voltage reaches 11.2 V, a staged relay-based load-disconnection sequence is triggered. The ESP32 operates mainly in deep sleep mode, consuming only 48 µA when idle. Prototype tests on a 45 Ah flooded lead-acid battery showed an RMSE of 0.038 V, average SMS delivery time of 4.3 seconds, and successful staged relay load disconnection. Following load shedding, functional battery life was extended 4.7×. Total component cost is approximately ₹1,850 (US$22), making this solution affordable for retrofitting in conventional vehicles.

References

• S. Haldar, S. Mondal, A. Mondal, and R. Banerjee, ‘IoT-Based Battery Monitoring System for Electric Vehicle Using ESP32 with Arduino IoT Cloud Integration,’ Proc. IEEE International Conference on Power, Instrumentation, Control and Computing (PICC), 2024. DOI: 10.1109/PICC.2024.10391772.
• M. Kamble, A. Deshmukh, P. Patil, and R. Kulkarni, ‘IoT-Based Battery Management System of Electric Vehicle Using ESP32 Microcontroller and Blynk Mobile Application,’ IRJMETS, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 9881–9895, May 2024.
• Md. R. Islam, M. Rahman, T. Sarkar, M. Islam, and Md. Asadullah, ‘Development of a Real-Time Battery Monitoring Solution for Automobile Batteries Using IoT Technologies,’ International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. VIII, issue III-S, pp. 1012–1024, Apr. 2024. DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.
• A. Kontogiannis, G. Pappas, and D. Manatakis, ‘Real-Time Monitoring of a Lithium-Ion Battery Module to Enhance Safe Operation and Lifespan Using ESP32 DevKit v4,’ Engineering Proceedings, vol. 82, no. 1, article 66, Nov. 2024. DOI: 10.3390/ecsa-11-20423.
• S. Karthikeyen, C. K. Priya, M. Varshini, P. Swathi, and S. Sudharsan, ‘IoT-Based Wireless Battery Surveillance and Management System,’ Journal of Electronics and Informatics, vol. 6, no. 2, Jun. 2024.
• F. Martinez et al., ‘IoT-Enhanced Battery Management System for Real-Time SoC and SoH Monitoring Using STM32-Based Programmable Electronic Load,’ Internet of Things (Elsevier), vol. 30, article 101527, Jan. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.iot.2025.101527.
• R. H. Malele, B. Mendu, and B. B. Monchusi, ‘Microcontroller-Driven Battery Management in Hybrid Energy Systems: A Systematic Review of Applications, Control Strategies, and Emerging Trends,’ IEEE Access, vol. 13, pp. 29341–29360, Feb. 2025. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3539862.
• J. Bokstaller, J. Schneider, and J. V. Brocke, ‘Estimating State of Charge, State of Health, or Remaining Useful Life of Rechargeable Batteries via IoT: A Review,’ IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 2114–2134, Feb. 2025. DOI: 10.1109/JIOT.2024.3439826.
• P. M. Ali, M. A. Siddiqui, S. Khan, and Z. Daoud, ‘Microcontroller-Based Platform for Lithium-Ion Battery Charging and Experimental Evaluation of Adaptive Charging Strategies,’ Technologies (MDPI), vol. 13, no. 5, article 178, May 2025. DOI: 10.3390/technologies13050178.
• L. Mao, J. Wen, J. Zhao, and K. Qu, ‘Online State-of-Health Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Based on a Novel Equal Voltage Range Sampling Count Number Health Indicator,’ IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 2277–2292, Sep. 2024. DOI: 10.1109/TTE.2024.3352290.
• A. Haraz, K. Abualsaud, and A. Massoud, ‘State-of-Health and State-of-Charge Estimation in EV Batteries: A Survey on Machine Learning Approaches,’ IEEE Access, vol. 12, pp. 158110–158139, 2024. DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3486989.
• ‘Smart Battery Management in EVs Using IoT, Blockchain, and Machine Learning,’ Scientific Reports (Nature), vol. 15, article 37650, Oct. 2025. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-21605-2.
• K. M. Pushpa et al., ‘Smart Vehicle Theft Detection System Using Arduino UNO, GPS (NEO-6M) and GSM (SIM800L) Modules,’ International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication Engineering (IJARCCE), vol. 14, no. 9, pp. 451–457, Sep. 2025. DOI: 10.17148/IJARCCE.2025.14944.
• S. A. Khan and M. Alam, ‘Smart GPS Tracker Using Arduino, GPS and GSM Module for Real-Time Asset and Vehicle Monitoring,’ International Journal of Scientific Development and Research (IJSDR), vol. 10, no. 4, pp. 1985–1993, Apr. 2025.
• K. Premkumar, A. Raj, S. Subramaniam, and T. Vignesh, ‘Real-Time IoT Security Alert and Monitoring System Using ESP32-CAM and GSM SIM800L for Remote Surveillance,’ IRJMETS, vol. 7, no. 6, pp. 445–453, Jun. 2025.
• A. R. Bhavya and K. M. Sudharshan, ‘Optimizing Energy Efficiency in Battery-Powered IoT Applications: Power Consumption Analysis of ESP32-WROOM Module Across Communication Interfaces and Clock Frequencies,’ Engineering, Technology and Applied Science Research (ETASR), vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 21769–21773, 2025. DOI: 10.48084/etasr.9640.
• M. Salim, R. Yusoff, A. Aziz, and M. N. Haron, ‘Evaluating the Energy Consumption of ESP32 Microcontroller for Real-Time MQTT IoT-Based Monitoring System: Deep Sleep vs. Active Mode,’ Proc. IEEE International Conference on Consumer Electronics (ICCE), Las Vegas, NV, 2025.
• V. Karandikar, A. Deshpande, and S. Patil, ‘Energy-Efficient IoT Hazard Detection System with Adaptive Monitoring Using ESP32-CAM and PIR Sensor,’ Sensors (MDPI), vol. 25, no. 6, article 1819, Mar. 2025. DOI: 10.3390/s25061819.
• D. Fikru et al., ‘Efficient Integration of Ultra-Low Power Techniques and Energy Harvesting in Self-Sufficient Devices: A Comprehensive Overview,’ Sensors (MDPI), vol. 24, no. 14, article 4471, Jul. 2024. DOI: 10.3390/s24144471.
• M. Majhi, A. A. K. Majhi, and S. Mohanty, ‘A Comprehensive Review on IoT Applications in Power Systems,’ IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 11, no. 12, pp. 21438–21459, Jun. 2024.
• M. Balcerak et al., ‘Review of Monitoring and Control Systems Based on Internet of Things,’ Applied Sciences (MDPI), vol. 14, no. 19, article 8943, Oct. 2024. DOI: 10.3390/app14198943.
• A. Raza, X. Xu, Y. Xiao, M. Javed, and A. Siddique, ‘Sensing-Based Monitoring Systems for Electric Vehicle Battery: A Review,’ Sensors and Actuators A: Physical (Elsevier), vol. 377, article 115729, May 2025. DOI: 10.1016/j.sna.2025.115729.
• K. Hassan, P. Naranjo, S. Lim, and M. Sohail, ‘Next-Generation IoT Battery and Cooling System for Electric Vehicle Safety and Energy Efficiency,’ Proc. IEEE International Conference on Computing, Power and Communication Technologies (IC2PCT), Greater Noida, India, 2024. DOI: 10.1109/IC2PCT.2024.10914820.
• Espressif Systems, ‘ESP32 Technical Reference Manual v5.3,’ 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.espressif.com
• SIMCom Wireless Solutions, ‘SIM800L Series AT Command Manual v1.10,’ 2024. [Online]. Available: https://simcom.com