dash lit up like a xmas tree.

[onefortheroad]

driving home tonight from work , im greeted with pre safe not working, esp not working, distronic not working,cruise control unavailable ,i lost power steering and the speedo stopped working. cars in limp mode. do we think all these relate to a bad state of battery as my the dashcam came on for around 12 hours during the night , when i went to close all my windows is when the dash went crazy . its reading 12v - 11.8v on the dash , the other reading i think is ib was flashing - 15.2 or something like that .


i hope its not something more sinister ....

 

[Craiglxviii]

Sounds very much like a knackered battery, plus potentially a poor charge controller condition too.

 

[onefortheroad]

Sounds very much like a knackered battery, plus potentially a poor charge controller condition too.

cheers , its on charge now , when its driving its getting 14.8 v . i knew the w211 was voltage sensitive but wow , these creations are even worse.

numbers stamped on earth are 2616 is that 2nd of the 6th 2016 ??? also what voltage should it be steady at , is it 12.7 v ?? at the moment its reading 12.1 and the ib was around - 13

 

[Craiglxviii]

cheers , its on charge now , when its driving its getting 14.8 v . i knew the w211 was voltage sensitive but wow , these creations are even worse.

numbers stamped on earth are 2616 is that 2nd of the 6th 2016 ??? also what voltage should it be steady at , is it 12.7 v ?? at the moment its reading 12.1 and the ib was around - 13

12.8V is the magic nominal value for my car

 

[onefortheroad]

Battery current (IB)
Battery voltage (uB)


Mine states not running .

Ub 12.1 v

Ib minus 15 .1


Thanks again. I'll see what it charges up like . Hopefully all the messages disappear. Car was driving fine for 6 miles until I opened and closed all the windows. Damn thing , glad its Friday, or I'd be goosed ... best think about a replacement as the original is 2016 .

 

[ajlsl600]

You will have a grand nu of stored fault codes 99% related to low voltage.note anything then clear them all at next chance.I had four pages once !!

 

[Craiglxviii]

It’s worth saying that undervoltage faults can in themselves cause other actual “real” problems in their own right. Good advice by Andy.

 

[onefortheroad]

Sticking 8 amps through it and its not even fizzing. Dead I recon. Just enough charge to start the car everyday me thinks , and the trip to work puts it back.

 

[Blobcat]

Sticking 8 amps through it and its not even fizzing. Dead I recon. Just enough charge to start the car everyday me thinks , and the trip to work puts it back.

Open the battery up and check the electrolyte levels. I had a 2018 AGM that was dry. It wouldn’t hold charge and basically knackered. Topped it up with distilled water and after a short while it was back to full health.

The cell covers are a pain to remove but they will unscrew with a hammer and a screwdriver... (as the battery was “knackered” a bit of damage to the plastic screw lids wasn’t going to make it worse)

 

[onefortheroad]

Open the battery up and check the electrolyte levels. I had a 2018 AGM that was dry. It wouldn’t hold charge and basically knackered. Topped it up with distilled water and after a short while it was back to full health.

The cell covers are a pain to remove but they will unscrew with a hammer and a screwdriver... (as the battery was “knackered” a bit of damage to the plastic screw lids wasn’t going to make it worse)

I would normally ,but as its over 4 years old ,its life is up . I'm getting a new one today , as winters on its way also. It was quite scary losing power steering , speedo, abs , etc etc I dont really fancy a repeat of it.

 

[onefortheroad]

Always open to advice , I opened it up and every cell is infact bone dry.

 

[Blobcat]

Always open to advice , I opened it up and every cell is infact bone dry. View attachment 62043 View attachment 62044

Fill it up and see what happens. Zero to lose

 

[onefortheroad]

Fill it up and see what happens. Zero to lose

£2.50 at asda. Ill get some guiness while I'm there .

 

[daibevan]

Fill it up, charge it and keep it as a spare. If it was march I'd get another 6 months out of it, but Winter Is Coming.

 

[Oldspanners]

I'd a lot of weird and wonderful faults, one side headlights not working, doors unlocking whilst driving, not being able to open with the electronic key, faults appearing on the dash display etc.
Cured with a new battery at the beginning of the year (he said hopefully) but the old one was almost 11 years old! but still held a charge and I used it to jump start a neighbours car since.

 

[onefortheroad]

Filled up and all 6 are gassing. See how it goes.

 

[onefortheroad]

£195 at my local stealers for a new battery.

 

[Craiglxviii]

£195 at my local stealers for a new battery.

Have you tried MB Grangemouth?

 

[Tony Dyson]

I think this one is yours, check the dims to confirm, just short of £151 delivered
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/f21/

 

[onefortheroad]

I think this one is yours, check the dims to confirm, just short of £151 delivered
https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/varta/f21/

I went to halfords as I need the battery and the car sorted today. I've read halfords batteries are made now by varta and carry a 5 year guarantee , used to be made by yuhusa?? If i didn't need it in a hurry I'd of gone for the f21 ... anyhow halfords 800 cca 80 ah £142 . Its now fitted . I've had 21 error codes to delete , I'm on the car now with it running and all faults have gone, test drive in a bit.