Lessons Learned

Technical Advice, Faults and How-To Information.
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Panthera
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2017 6:00 pm
Location: Fleet, Hampshire, UK

Post by Panthera »

I thought I'd share some experiences of the last couple of weeks, in case it helps any fellow members - certainly taught me a couple of lessons.

I went to open mine last weekend after 5 days of it being parked up on the drive. Anyway no response whatsoever from pressing the unlock button on the key fob. I then used the emergency key to open the driver's door - battery so flat that the alarm didn't go off, even the internal courtesy light didn't come on.

So as I didn't need the car urgently I reckoned I'd put it on charge for a while, and I knew from articles on the forum that this should be done via the bus bar in the boot. Problem number 2 is having no power means the boot wouldn't open. Next thought as I'm sitting in the car is to browse the owner's manual to see if there is another route to charging the battery - and so to problem number 3, having no power means you can't open the glove box.

Well at least you don't need power to open the bonnet, so I resorted to jump starting via the terminals behind the offside headlight. After I'd dealt with the alarm triggering, and then resetting the windows, and resetting my preferences on the car settings and display, all was back in order. In addition to giving the car a run I did leave it on charge overnight, and she started up fine this weekend after another 5-day break.

So to some lessons. 1. The only way to deal with this situation as far as I can see is a jump start, so make sure you have jump leads or a jump battery in your arsenal. 2. Don't stow your jump leads in the boot! 3. I've now installed the flying lead for the Ctek charger in the boot, so I can readily plug the charger in should it be required in the future, or if the car is going to be parked up for more than a couple of weeks.

As to what caused the issue, I'm pretty sure it was using an OBD reader the previous weekend. I've read elsewhere on the forum that this can apparently leave processes running in the ECU - or maybe it prevents the car going into sleep mode as it is supposed to after a couple of days? I do intend further experiments some time to see whether if I power the OBD device off before disconnecting it, the problem is avoided - does anyone know? Anyway to look on the bright side, when the battery has gone as flat as mine did you don't need to disconnect the battery for 15 minus to reset everything!

So, not a big deal in the end but I'm very happy to share my experience in case it helps anyone else.

Jon
V6S Coupe IRR MY16 :D

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Lunar
Posts: 1991
Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2017 9:02 pm
Location: Frimley Surrey

Post by Lunar »

Just glad to hear all was ok in the end Jon.

When jump starting it you must have wondered if it would upset something.

Hand info. to know - thanks for posting.

Simon
MY14 "S" badged V6 Convertible in Lunar Grey metallic
Performance seats, Meridian, heated flat bottom wheel with aluminium paddles, heated front screen, cruise, dual zone climate, switchable active exhaust
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PussCat
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:20 pm

Post by PussCat »

I know little of these OBD readers of which you speak :) but if you were using it on that weekend, how much did you drive the car?

Sitting in the car with bits of the electronics on can be quite a drain. And if the car was not fully charged to begin with...

My battery drainer is the dashcam parking mode (motion detect video front and back) which I have because Pusscat lives very close to the street. I'll try time lapse mode instead to see if it is more frugal.

I also have a ctek flying lead, to which I attach a cheapo charger from Lidl. Winter doesn't help, as battery capacity is a lot lower.
VROOOOM! (Pockle Pockle Pockle) MY17 V6S coupe in BRG.
SammyV6S
Posts: 572
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 10:19 pm

Post by SammyV6S »

Hmm interesting.

Mine sits on the drive sometimes for 4 weeks without use while I'm away for work and although a couple of times I've had a low battery warning message, it's actually never gone totally flat.

I too have a dashcam with motion detect installed, but this shuts off after 48 hrs or if the battery level gets too low.

I tend to then top it up via my CTEK battery conditioner although the in-car mounted connection for this, which has LED's on it to indicate the battery level, never actually flash green to say the battery is totally topped up once the reconditioner is removed. I guess it doesn't actually re-charge the battery fully.
Going for a drive seems to cure this :)
MY2016 Coupe V6S in Italian Racing Red + Black pack, Black 20" Cyclones, black badges all round. VelocityAP valved Exhaust, black tips. Pano Roof, Sports seats, Cold Climate & Parking packs. InControl nav, Blackvue front + Rear dashcams.
Dassalt
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:31 pm

Post by Dassalt »

Hmm Hmm interesting,

I top up with my CTEK battery conditioner and when charged I get a green LED which remains green for a week or more after the conditioner has been disconnected. My pattern is to connect my CTEK up about once a month.
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PussCat
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:20 pm

Post by PussCat »

Mine doesn't stay green for long - perhaps overnight - dashcam or not.

I've just charged and it's green and still attached (but not charging) to the Lidl special "Ultimate Speed 3.8A" which has a meter. I'll report back with the voltage at which the indicator lead goes from green to amber.

If I'm feeling anal enough, I'll also try and find the amber to red transition voltage on the CTEK comfort indicator.
VROOOOM! (Pockle Pockle Pockle) MY17 V6S coupe in BRG.
Kdes
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:40 pm
Location: Wales, UK

Post by Kdes »

PussCat wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 pm I know little of these OBD readers of which you speak :) but if you were using it on that weekend, how much did you drive the car?

Sitting in the car with bits of the electronics on can be quite a drain. And if the car was not fully charged to begin with...

My battery drainer is the dashcam parking mode (motion detect video front and back) which I have because Pusscat lives very close to the street. I'll try time lapse mode instead to see if it is more frugal.

I also have a ctek flying lead, to which I attach a cheapo charger from Lidl. Winter doesn't help, as battery capacity is a lot lower.
How are you connecting the lidl charger to the ctek lead as I’d like to do something similar? My charger has croc clips.
Kev
Storm Grey V6 coupe 2016MY
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PussCat
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:20 pm

Post by PussCat »

I cut off the crocs and soldered the wires to a ctek extension lead ((£14 off ebay).

We are straying a bit from Panthera's Questions about whether the ODB causes insomnia in the car, and what to do about it.
VROOOOM! (Pockle Pockle Pockle) MY17 V6S coupe in BRG.
Kdes
Posts: 113
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2017 8:40 pm
Location: Wales, UK

Post by Kdes »

Not sure whether linking to other forums is approved of but ....

This (mainly US ) jag site he’s been discussing OBD and battery drain it in depth -

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f-ty ... ix-195551/

Kev
Storm Grey V6 coupe 2016MY
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PussCat
Posts: 107
Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2018 6:20 pm

Post by PussCat »

That's a quality thread, though they don't come to firm conclusion regarding cheaper ODB2 devices.

Finished testing the CTEK comfort indicator 'traffic light' voltages.

Amber is 12.4v-12.7v.

Red below and green above this range.
VROOOOM! (Pockle Pockle Pockle) MY17 V6S coupe in BRG.
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