This study develops a method to internally preheat lithium-ion batteries at low temperatures with sinusoidal alternating current (AC). A heat generation rate model in frequency domain is developed based on the equivalent electrical circuit. Using this model as the source term, a lumped energy conservation model is adopted to predict the temperature rise. These models are validated against the experimental results of preheating an 18650 cell at different thermal insulation conditions. The effects of current amplitude and frequency on the heating rate are illustrated with a series of simulated contours of heating time. These contours indicate that the heating rate increases with higher amplitude, lower frequency and better thermal insulation. The cell subjected to an alternating current with an amplitude of 7 A (2.25 C) and a frequency of 1 Hz, under a calibrated heat transfer coefficient of 15.9 W m−2 K−1, can be heated from −20 °C to 5 °C within 15 min and the temperature distribution remains essentially uniform. No capacity loss is found after repeated AC preheating tests, indicating this method incurs little damage to the battery health. These models are computationally-efficient and can be used in real time to control the preheating devices in electric vehicles.