Electric consumer offline

[Keith Prole]

This message has appeared but the battery in the boot is fully charged its taking about 15 minutes before everything starts working
it doesnt matter how far i drive once the engine is switched off i have the same problem again when i return to the car any help would be much appreciated

 

[KennyN]

A few Mercs have two batteries main + consumer , possibly the SL has a flat consumer battery tucked away somewhere ?

K

 

[Keith Prole]

A few Mercs have two batteries main + consumer , possibly the SL has a flat consumer battery tucked away somewhere ?

K

Hi Kenny my car does have 2 batteries one in the engine bay the other in the boot both are fully charged i was led to believe the one in the boot was the consumer battery

 

[KennyN]

Far from being an expert but i would have thought the main battery would be the bigger one (100A plus) in the boot and the smaller one (35A) would be for the consumer electrics.

How have you checked they are fully charged and holding the charge?

K

 

[Keith Prole]

Hi Kenny yes they are both fully charged showing the green indicator light the battery tester shows both are fully charged it also shows battery charging correctly when engine is running

 

[BPD07]

r230s and parasitic drains. It sounds like something is not shutting down. There’s a few videos of trouble seeking routes you can take. The easiest is to check (pull) the light bulbs from the boot light and glovebox one. On my old 350 it turned out to be the front SAM that was waking up after being beaconed by the keyless start to say I was in the car. It didn’t have keyless start… wire cutters please.

 

[KennyN]

Similar issue with this chap ,all points to a faulty consumer battery.

If the battery is good and fully charged and draining every time you switch the car off then there must be a serious load on the consumer system ,from somewhere.

How old is the consumer battery ?

What tool , and what method , are you using to check the battery ?

Have you tried disconnecting the battery after running the car , then reconnecting it before using the vehicle again - it is still showing the fault then the battery has drained on its own and is faulty , if it is OK then there must be something draining it when connected to the car.

K

 

[BPD07]

Similar issue with this chap ,all points to a faulty consumer battery.

If the battery is good and fully charged and draining every time you switch the car off then there must be a serious load on the consumer system ,from somewhere.

How old is the consumer battery ?

What tool , and what method , are you using to check the battery ?

Have you tried disconnecting the battery after running the car , then reconnecting it before using the vehicle again - it is still showing the fault then the battery has drained on its own and is faulty , if it is OK then there must be something draining it when connected to the car.

K

On earlier r230s the Consumer battery runs the central locking and soft close, so disconnecting will mean opening the door with the blade key.

 

[peterws1957]

Far from being an expert but i would have thought the main battery would be the bigger one (100A plus) in the boot and the smaller one (35A) would be for the consumer electrics.

How have you checked they are fully charged and holding the charge?

K

Counter intuitively, the starter battery is the small one, only 35ah, the consumer battery in the boot is 70ah.

I'd be checking the consumer battery with a volt meter with the engine running, to check if the alternator is working correctly. As you suggest though it could just be an old battery which doesn't hold a charge and needs replacing. An R230 will eat consumer batteries if the car is not used often and not kept on a trickle charger and it will take 15 minutes or more for consumers to come back online if the battery is slightly below full charge. Further testing required for the OP.

 

[Keith Prole]

i would like to thank everybody for your replies i will try all the advice i have been given the consumer battery is less than a year old it is definately holding its charge i use the car everyday even if i disconnect the battery when i reconnect it says consumer offline i will let you know how i get on thankyou all once again

 

[LostKiwi]

Counter intuitively, the starter battery is the small one, only 35ah, the consumer battery in the boot is 70ah.

I'd be checking the consumer battery with a volt meter with the engine running, to check if the alternator is working correctly. As you suggest though it could just be an old battery which doesn't hold a charge and needs replacing. An R230 will eat consumer batteries if the car is not used often and not kept on a trickle charger and it will take 15 minutes or more for consumers to come back online if the battery is slightly below full charge. Further testing required for the OP.

This is 100% correct.

 

[peterws1957]

i would like to thank everybody for your replies i will try all the advice i have been given the consumer battery is less than a year old it is definately holding its charge i use the car everyday even if i disconnect the battery when i reconnect it says consumer offline i will let you know how i get on thankyou all once again

That's a bit intriguing. Are you sure the consumer battery is the correct one? It has been known for nearly new batteries to be defective for some reason as well. Could be the battery maintenance module also I suppose but purely guessing and a session on Star at an indie might be best.

 

[LostKiwi]

As above it's important the consumer battery is the correct type. It should be 70Ah AGM.