I set my timed climate this morning to defrost the car. Went out 15 minutes later in order to set off on my commute and the battery didn't have enough power to start the engjne. I had to put it on charge for half an hour

Today's top tip is to make sure your battery is fully charged before using the timed climate  I'm in the shed, I'll be back in the real world in a minute.

Not true. If the battery is healthy and the system senses the timed climate is draining the battery too much it will cut the timed climate and there is still plenty of juice left to start the old girl. I have faced this scenario.

If your battery is unhealthy then you will not be able to start the car. I have also faced this scenario. Replacing the battery with a high quality new one solves this problem. Kerching!

So I speak from experience (i.e. I also learned the hard way)  L405 P400e Autobiography (MY2020)... Silicon Silver / Espresso
RRS TDV6 HSE Lux (MY2011)... Nara Bronze / Arabica - now gone!

In my experience, the alternator follows the battery. Or rather the battery is a symptom of a poorly alternator. Be worth getting it all checked over. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Hmm.
I put my smart charger on it & after 4 hours it reported that the battery was fully charged and was holding excellent charge, indicating my battery is fine.
I put my multi-meter across the battery terminals and it is showing 12.4v without the engine running and 14.4v (IIRC) with the enging running, indicating the alternator is good too.

Admittedly a lot of my journeys are short, but I tend to switch lots of battery draining stuff off as soon as I start the car.
Maybe a trip to the dealers is in order (it's still under extended warranty).

I did think the FBH should have shut off if the battery didn't have enough charge.

Thanks all. I'm in the shed, I'll be back in the real world in a minute.

Quote:

...and 14.4v (IIRC) with the enging running, indicating the alternator is good too.

Not necessarily...if the diodes are failing, you could get a perfectly acceptable voltage, but also excessive AC ripple and a battery drain, not that I'm saying that this should be the case.  Visiting from DISCO3.CO.UK
2006 Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto HSE Zambezi Silver

Russben wrote:

Hmm.
I put my smart charger on it & after 4 hours it reported that the battery was fully charged and was holding excellent charge, indicating my battery is fine.
I put my multi-meter across the battery terminals and it is showing 12.4v without the engine running

My Ctek said my battery was charged after a few hours. Turned out to be about to die. New battery and alternator. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks for the replies, all.

I haven't used the FBH since and there's been no issues. No warning lights on dash (after engine started, obviously), starts first time etc. I'll check the battery again tomorrow.

I'll get it into the dealers to see what they say. At least the alternator is under warranty.

Cheers.  I'm in the shed, I'll be back in the real world in a minute.