Flat Battery - Again

(12-12-2012 06:45pm)The Valeter Wrote:  Mine is going to dealer on Saturday to have battery fully charged then plugged into diagnostics & the Body Control unit will be told a new battery is fitted & then a software update added.
This is after 2 flats last week!!
Problem is I often use the car for work & leave it unlocked while using it & open doors etc though this shouldn't be allowed to be a cause to flatten a battery = modern technology I guess!
The AA man sugested fitting an AGM battery as fitted to the Stop/Start cars.

My understanding is that the AGM batteries are required as standard fit for any vehicle that has stop start, but most importantly energy recuperation. These battery technology has spare capacity to store the extra energy gained from recuperation. This i believe means that the battery is not fully charged as the normal ones are. To stop this flat battery problem some cars like Volvos with stop start run a small motorbike type 12v battery in parallel so that when the engine is off the accessories don't drain the main battery.

I have been lucky I have done 27000 in ten months and I have very little in the way of accessories and not had any problem.

The manufacturers are all playing the game of the least amount of drag on the alternator, hence smart charging, this is what is causing the chaos.

It might be worth checking what battery you have, I don't think the auto has recuperation so could use a traditional battery. You will see the AGM logo on the side of the battery.

I would prefer having a traditional type battery too, i have recently had the scary moments too. i have done about three different trips abroad recently and had to leave the car in an airport carpark only to return late at night, so far all has been ok with no warnings. Didn't like the feeling though. We shouldn't be scared to leave a car in this day and age.

Just had my Evoque in at Lookers Park Royal for messages on Terrain Response Programs not available. While investigating that they also found that the battery was very undercharged. They investigated further and applied a new software update for battery charging and replaced the battery with a new one (all under warranty). All seems okay but it's interesting that there appears little mechanical work these days but everything centres around 'software updates'.

Just got back from the dealer. they fitted a new battery (were going to fully charge the original & tell the BCU a new one was fitted) & did a software update.

Not sure if this has been posted already as i have not read the full thread but it may help some.

TECHNICAL BULLETIN
DSC10232535
14 DEC 2012

SECTION: 414-00
Customer Reports Flat Battery
AFFECTED VEHICLE RANGE:
Freelander 2/LR2 (LF)
Model Year: 2013
VIN: H321215-H332150

Range Rover Evoque (LV)
Model Year: 2012-2013
VIN: H600000-H740160


MARKETS:
All
CONDITION SUMMARY:
Situation:
Customer reports flat battery where no sign of quiescent drain is present.

NOTE: The Central Junction Box (CJB) is also known as the body control module (BCM).

Cause: Smart charging can cause the vehicle to undercharge the battery. Suggested Customer Concern Code C25.
Action: Should a customer express concern, follow the Service Instruction outlined below.
PARTS:
No Parts Required
TOOLS:
No Tools Required
WARRANTY:
NOTE: Repair procedures are under constant review, and therefore times are subject to change; those quoted here must be taken as guidance only. Always refer to DDW to obtain the latest repair time.
NOTE: DDW requires the use of causal part numbers. Labor only claims must show the causal part number with a quantity of zero.
DESCRIPTION SRO TIME (HOURS) CONDITION CODE CAUSAL PART
Evoque Configure Central Junction Box (CJB) 86.90.09 0.2 42 LR028902
Freelander 2/LR2 Configure Central Junction Box (CJB) 86.90.09 0.2 42 LR028902
Test and Charge Battery 86.15.89.38 0.1 42 LR028902

NOTE: Normal Warranty policies and procedures apply.
SERVICE INSTRUCTION:
1. CAUTION: This procedure requires SDD DVD132.02 and Calibration File 122 loaded or later.

Connect the Land Rover approved battery conditioner/power supply.

2. Connect SDD to the vehicle and begin a new diagnostic session, by reading the VIN for the current vehicle and initiating the data collect sequence.

3. Select the Diagnosis Session Type.

4. Select the Symptoms tab and enter any of the following Symptom (s).

1. Electrical - Battery - Charging system - Flat battery.

2. Powertrain - Engine system - Starting system - Will not start.

5. Select the Recommendations Tab.

6. Configure existing module - Body control module.

7. When all tasks are complete, exit the current session by selecting the Session tab and then selecting the Close Session option.

8. Disconnect SDD and Land Rover approved battery conditioner/power supply.

9. NOTE: Make sure the battery is fully charged prior to release back to the customer.

Carry out a Test of the battery using Land Rover approved Battery tester.

Took our car in for a service yesterday and mentioned the comments raised on this thread to the service department. They told me they checked their system and they could not see any references to this issue or aware of similar customer complaints.

They fully recharged my battery but said this was happening due to not enough long journeys. The irony is my journey is no different in the last 4 years and previous vehicles never had this issue.

I average about 1000 miles a month so I'm not sure what is considered the optimum weekly milage to keep the battery in the safely charged.

(18-12-2012 07:37am)Alex Wrote:  Took our car in for a service yesterday and mentioned the comments raised on this thread to the service department. They told me they checked their system and they could not see any references to this issue or aware of similar customer complaints.

They fully recharged my battery but said this was happening due to not enough long journeys. The irony is my journey is no different in the last 4 years and previous vehicles never had this issue.

I average about 1000 miles a month so I'm not sure what is considered the optimum weekly milage to keep the battery in the safely charged.

Show them the technical bullitin in post #64 above. It really annoys me when dealers deny knowledge of known problems. Come on dealers come clean with your customers. We are not the naieve idiots you seem to think we are

(18-12-2012 09:13am)speary Wrote:  Show them the technical bullitin in post #64 above. It really annoys me when dealers deny knowledge of known problems. Come on dealers come clean with your customers. We are not the naieve idiots you seem to think we are

+1

I will be copying this to hand to my dealer at 1st service in Feb. I have so far not had a re-occurance of the '3 minute warning' since it was last back at the dealers for a 'fix' but I don't trust it.

How things have changed at dealerships. Twenty/thirty years ago you took a car to the dealers with a fault and were meet with the comment "They all do that mate". Now the quote seems to be "Never heard of that one before". Whichever way its BS and great forums such as this help to expose it as such.

I was told that the update to the BCM was (and I direct quote) "Nothing to do with your battery issue".
like I said, I'm not a fan of coincidences!

EDIT, pdf added here


pete

Alex.

We had a similar problem with our BMW 330i Coupe.

BMW said exactly the same thing, we pointed out that the car was being driven exactly the same as our last 5 cars, never had a battery issue with them, it was then that they changed tune and said that the car had a lot of battery draw due to all the various electronics and other systems running in the background.

It does seem odd that cars are no longer off even when they are turned off.