Had to call LR Assist this morning!

scrannel · 26-11-2013 03:33pm

Right you are, Donny. Look, the whole thing is pretty straight forward: A simple Load Test ( or a CCA test) is designed to check if your battery has enough power too start your car -- consistently. In ye good olde days a home mechanic would pull the rotor out of the distributor (after being sure the battery was charged) then crank it over (can't start of course) while a pal measured the voltage drop. If the voltage dropped below a given point the battery failed.

For high compression engines (like diesels) and in very cold weather, the battery has to work harder.

PhilSkill · 26-11-2013 03:34pm

I hope nobody ever actually short circuited a battery... Load tested yes.

CCA measurement using Frequency Injection is only around 70% accurate on Lead acid though, so means untrained/unfamiliar users could be fooled either way, but it's advantages are you're not loading the battery and gives a better reading for State of Charge and internal resistance which should detect failing cells better, and it works well over a larger temperature range, which will affect the loaded voltage drop greatly when performing the load test.

I hear Alibeau saying, but I just wanted my Evoque to Start! Laughing

scrannel · 26-11-2013 05:02pm

With all due respect, Phil, you're making something simple sound complex. The average driver, if he suspects a battery problem, needs to have a load test done. If it fails, all other tests are moot. If the battery will not reliably start your car it needs to be replaced.

Donny Dog · 26-11-2013 06:15pm

(26-11-2013 03:34pm)PhilSkill Wrote: I hope nobody ever actually short circuited a battery... Load tested yes.

CCA measurement using Frequency Injection is only around 70% accurate on Lead acid though, so means untrained/unfamiliar users could be fooled either way, but it's advantages are you're not loading the battery and gives a better reading for State of Charge and internal resistance which should detect failing cells better, and it works well over a larger temperature range, which will affect the loaded voltage drop greatly when performing the load test.

I hear Alibeau saying, but I just wanted my Evoque to Start!

They used to call it a 'short circuit test', but they didn't just put a spanner across the terminals, no! The tester had two big diiameter 'spikes' with insulated handles connected via a meter, but they still got a fair old shower of sparks when they put them across the battery, and many people used to say that the test did more harm than good.

Incidentally, the electronic test I described above also gave the amp hours, so you also get an idea of battery life, which you can again compare to the original specification. Maybe the test isn't totally accurate, but I didn't tell him which battery wouldn't start the engine and which would, and the defective one was still revealed quite clearly in the test.

PhilSkill · 26-11-2013 06:26pm

(26-11-2013 05:02pm)scrannel Wrote: With all due respect, Phil, you're making something simple sound complex. The average driver, if he suspects a battery problem, needs to have a load test done. If it fails, all other tests are moot. If the battery will not reliably start your car it needs to be replaced.

Like I said in Post 5... Laughing

(26-11-2013 06:15pm)Donny Dog Wrote: They used to call it a 'short circuit test', but they didn't just put a spanner across the terminals, no! The tester had two big diiameter 'spikes' with insulated handles connected via a meter, but they still got a fair old shower of sparks when they put them across the battery, and many people used to say that the test did more harm than good.

Incidentally, the electronic test I described above also gave the amp hours, so you also get an idea of battery life, which you can again compare to the original specification. Maybe the test isn't totally accurate, but I didn't tell him which battery wouldn't start the engine and which would, and the defective one was still revealed quite clearly in the test.

Yes it's a neat bit of kit and no load to the battery, all done through frequency spectrometry!

**XFullFatTim** · 26-11-2013 08:42pm

IIRC the Diesel Evoques have a different battery to the gasoline engined cars - it's a heavy duty battery in the TD's/SD's

alibeau · 20-12-2013 05:09pm

Update!

Gearbox fault - traction reduced warning came on this morning. Rang dealer who asked me to ring LR Assist. LR Assist came out. I explained about my recent battery problem and now this warning and also my alarm went off for no reason this morning - all battery related I would assume. The very nice LR Assist guy agreed that it all seemed battery related and he asked if my car had the latest software update - I presumed 'yes' as my car had been in for it's second service only last week.

Disappointed to find that my car had not had the software update despite the dealer telling me it had Sad

Also as I had informed the dealer of my prior battery problem the LR Assist guy said it should go without saying that they should have updated the software Rolling Eyes

So this is my first 'dealer disappointment'.....

LR Assist guy sorted the software update for me and hopes I should encounter no further problems - fingers crossed!

Don't panic, I won't let this episode dampen my festive spirit!!!!! Merry Xmas everyone Very Happy

Ali.

**XFullFatTim** · 22-12-2013 12:27pm

The problem is that the BMS software upgrade is bumbled with the Stop/Start system upgrade patch, I'm 90% certain that dealers service people do not select the Stop/Start
upgrade from the list they get when they plug the car into their computer "because it
is an automatic and hasn't got Stop/Start" not appreciating that the upgrade also upgrades the BMS system. I now know of at least 15 owners who have been in contact
recently with weak/flat batteries and from what they say their car has had a service, it's an automatic and it hasn't received the "stop/Start" upgrade. LR needs to look into it
because it is cause a lot of unnecessary LRA call outs just because an upgrade is bundled with another that isn't applicable to many of the cars because they happen to be automatics.

alibeau · 22-12-2013 12:35pm

Morning Tim,

Thanks for your reply, very informative! Looks like I will be calling LR Assist again today though as same warning light has come back on. Strange thing is I thought that the warning light (gearbox fault - reduced traction) came on 'in error' due to the low battery power but the car was actually suffering from reduced traction yesterday, when I pulled away from a few junctions (in the rain) there was some wheel spinning going on and loss of control!

Ho hum! Or should that be Bah Humbug!

Ali.

doug · 22-12-2013 01:01pm

Q261 is the software update you need.
My 2nd year service invoice has this listed as done & I have the Auto. I guess it depends on the dealer whether this update is automatically done or not. As Tim pointed out, it's named "stop start" so could get overlooked on a Auto model.

Gearbox fault on the display is a LR thing for a low battery. My D3 was the same & as my RRE is only used weekends it often shows this fault if I've only driving 2 miles (Tesco) in two weeks. That said, I now know to leave my trickle charger on when the outside temperature drops.