Hi all, I have a problem with the message "low battery ..start engine" appears after the car has been standing for more than 2 days on a 2017 ab. This is happening whilst I'm away in the caravan, & opening & closing the car doors throughout the day. I've tried disabling the interior lights and not locking the car during the day but this has no effect. If I don't restart the car & run on tickover (an unpopular solution on caravan sites) I then find the electric boot hatch won't open or close electrically. I believe the 2017 models are fitted with two batteries, one solely for starting the car, so which battery is this message referring to? If I ignore it will the car still start? Also, the two charging posts under the bonnet, do they connect to the "starter" battery or the auxiliary one? I have spoken to my dealer about this but as yet they haven't come back with an answer. The car has done just over 2000 miles. current 2015 hse dynamic, grey.

the 2017 has dual charging system as standard? I wouldn't have thought so as this is a very expensive setup which is only great for those camping/caravanning

best investment is a ctek battery maintainer and max the battery before any holiday

Oops see below 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Last edited by Tim in Scotland on Wed Sep 13 2017 9:54am. Edited 1 time in total

I had this warning come up earlier this year on my March 2015 car. The fault is not with the main battery but the 2nd one solely for the Stop start system. The problem went away after a long run in the car but when it went in for its 2nd service I had to have a new battery under warranty. Do you use Stop/start a lot - I use it all the time 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Hi Tim, I never use the stop start system. I'm still waiting for my dealer to contact me. After 3 days waiting I assume the question was difficult for them. I have a c tek on order & see how that goes. It may be that my journeys are too short, about 60 miles a week. current 2015 hse dynamic, grey.

If you are doing 60 miles a week in 10 x 6 miles trips too and from work then I would say 99.99% that is the cause of your problem, also I am surprised that you haven't had DFP problems. A C-Tek conditioner will help but the best thing is to give the car a good long run every week or so as that will rejuvenate the battery, clean the DPF and give the engine a decent bit of work to do. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Hi tim I didn't say that I'm doing 10x6 miles a week to work. I said that I do 60 miles a week. This is one trip. current 2015 hse dynamic, grey.

I've done 2,000 miles in the first six months, with only occasional long journeys, and not had any battery problems so far. However, I'm a great believer in the CTEK conditioner, which I've needed on previous cars, and will use it as winter approaches and when I leave the car for prolonged periods. There's certainly no harm in giving it a good charge before you use the caravan as has already been said. (No DPF problems either, incidentally).

I think I said "if" but you say it is one trip then you have a problem with the BMS as I leave mine undriven for up to 95 days with no low battery warnings and no conditioner attached, in the winter it is different, especially if we have very low temperatures, then the car gets driven for around 40 miles every 5-6 weeks and has no problems. In previous L320 RRS's I used to leave the car hooked up to a Malpins solar panel on the cubby box lid and never suffered battery issues but since LR started making cars with a battery management system I haven't been able to use that method of trickle charging as no sockets remain live with the ignition off these days. I had a CTek on my last 2 Evoques as they destroyed batteries in around 10 days if left without it. I leave my Defender on the CTek all winter and it runs periodic battery discharges and a full recharge to keep the battery good. I replaced the original 20 year old battery last January with a new one as the old one was struggling to hold charge. I put the original battery's longevity down to the CTek use when the vehicle is stored. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Oops, echo on my satellite link I think! 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

I get a similar issue with my 2014 SDV6. It is definitely associated with the Stop/Start because when I get the warning the Stop/Start doesnt work. The dealer supposedly fixed it once but the problem returned after a few months. I'm not unhappy about that because as far as I'm concerned, the Stop/Start is a PITA. Currently I am experiencing a low battery message every morning on start up but I'm past caring especially as my new RRS is here next month

When the batteries are low, the battery management system shuts down various functions one by one to save battery capacity. One of the first to go is the powered tailgate. that is what you are experiencing.

Stop-start must put a huge load on the battery, which, coupled with spasmodic usage, must be struggling to keep up.

Stop-start on the RRS is, in my view, dangerous since it can shut the engine off unexpectedly at, for instance, a right turn just when acceleration is needed. It must also be harmful to the turbos, since they can have the oil supply terminated suddenly, frequently and without regard for whether they are hot or cool. It also means that you lose cabin heating or cooling when the engine shuts off. Why would I want that?

Stop-start is there to get a low CO2 figure on the type approval test. For that much I am grateful, but after that, my start-up routine is to press starter button, then press to cancel stop-start. I know I can modulate the brake pedal to prevent the engine cutting, but why would I want to?

There is a separate dedicated battery for stop-start, though (albeit surprisingly tiny).

Quote:

Stop-start on the RRS is, in my view, dangerous since it can shut the engine off unexpectedly

Interesting that you say the climate/heating in your goes off because I use Stop/start all the time and the ventilation continues running and seat heaters stay on with the engine stopped on my MY2015.5 until the BMS decides the load is too high and then the engine restarts automatically. I have never had the issue of the Stop start cutting in at a road junction though, maybe I don't press so hard on the brake pedal as you, or not hard enough for the sensor to think that I am stopped at traffic lights! I have no problems with the Stop start and wouldn't say it is dangerous because it were LR wouldn't have fitted it in that form, I think with maybe more practise with it you might find that you won't need to press the brake so hard. I must admit that on my first car with Stop/start I never used it, after 3 months I got the manual out and found that I was not using it properly for stops at traffic lights I have no problem now and as I use the same routes into all my local towns I am used to the phasing of traffic lights and can get the engine started right on que, I think it is a great device and being an apprentice Scotsman (after 53 years as an expat Englishmanliving in Scotland I'm nearly accepted as a local but still have to pass the "tight wallet " test ) love the little bit of fuel I save by not leaving the engine idling for long stops at traffic lights it is also kinder to the gearbox to be in N or P when stopped at traffic lights 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW