Battery protection. Convenience functions temporary unavailable

[davidC200K]

E220cdi left in garage for 72 hours through the bad weather. Got this message on startup this morning "Battery protection. Convenience functions temporary unavailable" which I assume means that battery is either not holding a full charge or not being fully charged. Looks like it shuts off non essential ancillary circuits. Not a fault as such but an indication that a potential fault may be developing. Advised by dealer to bring vehicle in to workshop tomorrow.

Had a previous experience of a voltage regulator failing whilst on a weekend away. C Class 200 Kompressor. Called into dealer en route who checked it and confirmed the fault but advise they could not fix it as they would need to get part. Advised to keep going on journey and check into dealer at destination (York). Almost made it too but about 12 miles out the car electrics just progressively closed down. Fascinating to watch as each function failed and the car eventually went into limp mode.

Called MB Assist who got a transporter out to me and got me to Mercedes Benz of York. At about 4.15pm on a Friday afternoon they just had time to get the part onto the van from Milton Keynes. Car fixed on the Saturday morning. Well done Mercedes Benz of York.

 

[television]

Was it the battery control module that went down

 

[Cole@MBS]

Sound like another battery u/s, common this time of year with the 211,s!

 

[jberks]

All depends on what kind of running the car has had recently. Lots of short runs with heater, rear window, lights,wipers etc on followed by parking up for 72 hours and then starting from cold with the same ancilliaries on and it could be normal. The battery is 50% charged so the voltage drops for a few secs with all the current drawn for the starter and the warning trips.
By the time it has, the alternator has caught up, is steadily charging and all is well.
Just take it for a run or trickle charge it to top up the battery and it should be fine.

Alternatively the battery is faulty and not holding charge or you have a battery drain issue. The 3rd I doubt as with most of these, after 72 hours it would have been reluctant to start (dependant on what state the battery was in when you parked up). The 2nd is possible but again I'd imagine that after 72 hours parked, starting would be an issue so in this weather the 1st would be my initial diagnosis.

 

[davidC200K]

Think that jberks is probably correct. A lot of stop/start short journeys with heaters, lights etc on constantly and still on when vehicle started after laying for a couple of days.

Anyway all tested and appears to be in order and technician also thinks that the cause was probably as outlined above. Believes that the system is designed that way to ensure adequate voltage for safety critical equipment such as braking system.

Will obviously monitor. Cars are too clever by half.

 

[Ellsy Tanners]

If you like you can ask the dealer to flash programme the battery control module with the latest software. This will stop the message from coming up, but will allow the shut down as normal. It just doesnt tell you it is doing it.

 

[cjgrobler]

Battery Protection Message

My 2005 E350's battery failed last year and was replaced by MB. Shortly after an intermittend problem started where the "Convenience functions temporarily disable to protect battery" warning comes up. All convenience functions are then disabled. The problem now occurs daily and will last between 5min to more than an hour. I drive mainly long distance open roads every day (120km + daily) which should allow the battery to properly charge.

The car has been to the dealer a couple of times now but they claim they cannot find the problem or the error do not occur.

I have read the regulator on the altenator or the altenator itself are the most likely culprits (http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w21...ction-conven-function-temp-unavailible-2.html). Anybody with similar experience ? Advice ?

 

[television]

Hello and welcome. is your car the 2 battery version ? and do the messages appear in the middles of a run. they normally are there from a cold start say for the first 10 mins and then go away

 

[Dec]

Advice ?

This will allow you to monitor the condition of your battery before you start the car, provided it hasn’t been driven for a few hours, it will also show the voltage in the battery while the engine is running, you can see the battery voltage drop as you turn on consumers such as rear window demits, lights, wipers etc.

If the original poster had one of these in his E220 he would have known the condition of his battery on the day he parked the car for 72 hours and would have been forewarned of what to expect on the next start up, 3 days later.

It seems to me that all the Mercedes system dose is tell you that the battery is low or flat and turns off consumers, it’s a bit late then anyway, it doesn’t monitor the condition of the battery as well as the driver can with this instrument, the driver always knows the battery condition, for example my battery was 12.7v this morning, yesterday it was 12.2v, I do a lot of short trips and have seen it down to 11.7v but I haven’t been left start-less yet.

Dec

 

[Joe in LA]

Hello and welcome. is your car the 2 battery version ? and do the messages appear in the middles of a run. they normally are there from a cold start say for the first 10 mins and then go away

I am having this problem with a 2006 E350 and it is occurring during long runs--not just at start up, but apparently randomly. It seems like the battery would be well charged in most instances when this happens. Dealer can't find the problem. Any ideas?

 

[Cole@MBS]

Have they up-dated the software on the BCM???

And welcome Joe

 

[nadeem786]

Hi

I am suffering from "Battery Protection: Convenience Functions Temporarily Unavailable" problem.

Here's what had happened to my car.

My car had suddenly lost power last year. I was unable go beyond 60 MPH. Taken the car to the garage and after diagnostics, I was told SAM unit (under the bonnet) is faulty, so I bought the unit from eBay. I did not had this Battery Protection problem then.

When the SAM unit was replaced, I lost majorly of the internal consumables, i.e. heated seats, fan blowing little air, internal lights don’t come on. I see the batter sign in the instrument cluster along with "Battery Protection: Convenience Functions Temporarily Unavailable" error.

So I’ve taken the car back to the same mechanic for further diagnostics and he told me that Aux battery is faulty (small battery, located under the bonnet).

Bought the new battery from Mercedes and replaced the battery myself. Problem still persisted after replacing. The main battery in the boot is also a new, well, that's what I have been told when I bought this car a year ago and it is charging normal.

I’ve gone back to the same mechanic advising that new aux battery has not resolved the problem. He advised that this battery requires re-programming, so he re-programmed the battery but this has also not resolved the convenience functions error and internal consumables problem. It appears to be that this guy is trying to make a living out of me.

I've taken my car to my friend's garage and he advised that this could be an alternator problem. I had the alternator re-conditioned, however problem remains.

I have been told that Battery Control Module (BCM) could be faulty. So before purchasing more parts, I would be grateful if anyone could help me with this problem.

Thanks in advance.

 

[television]

Ask your dealer if the update cover an 2003 car, that should fix it,, this is just a software change, if the indie has on line STAR then he can do it

 

[dursleyman]

Convenience Function Message

We have been getting the Battery Protection etc message on our 2005 W211 estate, on and off, for a couple of years but not had any other problems. Even when we park it for 2-3 weeks to go on holidays and still OK.
However we have now had the car for more than 3 years and I noticed for the first time it was a bit slow turning over this morning (minus 2 degrees) so wondering if it is time to start sorting out a new battery?

How can we tell if the battery needs replacing - is it true we may have two batteries?

Can I do it easily myself or best done by my specialist?

 

[Spannaz]

we had this fault last year, simple cure as Cole@mbs said......New Main battery at rear of car.
What alot of places do is test for voltage, ok yes but when under cranking, that's where the issue is, and normally you've warmed the car up, driven to garage, battery topped up again etc etc.
the garage that we purchased the car from DID fit a new battery, but the WRONG type, and even the local factors kept getting the wrong info. The correct one was almost twice the size, and twice the price. 100amp IIRC
Since then we have only ever had the error when it was left for some considerable time, and cleared after about 2 mins of engine running.
With ice cold engines, thick oil, batteries will take a huge pounding from cold. if in doubt ask for it to be drop tested (no, not dropped on the floor) this should show up if the battery is able to cope under heavy load.

 

[television]

We have been getting the Battery Protection etc message on our 2005 W211 estate, on and off, for a couple of years but not had any other problems. Even when we park it for 2-3 weeks to go on holidays and still OK.
However we have now had the car for more than 3 years and I noticed for the first time it was a bit slow turning over this morning (minus 2 degrees) so wondering if it is time to start sorting out a new battery?

How can we tell if the battery needs replacing - is it true we may have two batteries?

Can I do it easily myself or best done by my specialist?

Do not forget that in this weather it is harder to crank the engine, most AMG batteries are good for 10 years,,,most of them could do with a good charge at least once a month, it can take a 4 amp charger more than 20 hours to charge one fully,,, A constant charger is better than an automatic one for AGM batteries and they are not expensive

 

[dursleyman]

Do not forget that in this weather it is harder to crank the engine, most AMG batteries are good for 10 years,,,most of them could do with a good charge at least once a month, it can take a 4 amp charger more than 20 hours to charge one fully,,, A constant charger is better than an automatic one for AGM batteries and they are not expensive

Yes I expected the car to crank a little slower but it just got me wondering if it was time for a new one. May take a ride to my specialist in Gloucester and ask him to check the condition.

Should add, I have never even found the battery yet, guess its under the rear floor somewhere?

 

[television]

I know you can get good and bad batteries, I am still using my 2002 AGM battery, just a few short trips in Winter with everything on, can be just a little too much for the cars sometimes and a good charge really does work well

 

[nadeem786]

Hi

I bought the SAM unit from eBay which had the same Part Number as my orginal unit. This has now resolved my battery convenience functions error. Also, all my interior consumables are working.

I have one more issue. Engine Management light is on and error P0403 is recorded. The car has no problem with the drive. What would be the cause?

Thanks for your help.

 

[mersum1es]

I have one more issue. Engine Management light is on and error P0403 is recorded. The car has no problem with the drive. What would be the cause?

Thanks for your help.

Generic codes and readers are never fully reliable with merc, this may refer to EGR problem - or not. Check the connectors of the EGR, and/or open and clean the EGR valve...