Member Since: 12 Sep 2010
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 580
Another battery query....
Hi all,
I , as many others it would appear, have been getting the HDC and T/R not functioning message in the dash, when first turning over the engine on cold mornings.
I assumed it was battery related as many have said this is the normal cure for such warnings with the extra load on the system with all the electrickery related gadgets being used in freezing conditions.
When looking on the nav screen via the "secret button" ( again another great find by the wiser than me on this site ) the original battery , 4 years old/original battery I assume, showed 11.5 v when ignition on, then up to around 14-14.5 v when engine was running.
I bit the bullet and purchased a new battery from Armstrong Massey at York, who kindly did it at £99+ vat with the alligence discount it is the new 950 amp one , ( the one I removed was a land rover stickered unit rated at only 825 amps)
Anyway , having fitted it, then checking the output on the nav screen again, I was a bit surprised to see it was exactly the same as the old one, 11.5
I now have it on the ctek charger , assuming maybe it needed charging/using for it to take charge, or am I missing something entirely obvious
Many anks, Nick Procrastination is the thief of time!!
4th Jan 2011 5:45 pm
drivesafe
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi Nick, how often do you drive your D3 and when you do drive, how long do you drive for?2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
4th Jan 2011 8:22 pm
wiggs
Member Since: 03 Sep 2006
Location: Manchester
Posts: 14368
the voltage on the nav screen secret button is not accurate ...it only shows in increments of .5
so it will only show 11.0 - 11.5 - 12.0 etcG4 Gone ...but not forgotten
4th Jan 2011 8:27 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
Alternator OR earth lead needs replacing... found the later was a "contributing " factor as the new OEM LR 950 amp battery has only slightly smaller terminals - even with the original one tightened up, the collar was hand tight but could be pulled off/twisted round , temp fix was to wrap some copper wiring around the earth terminal on the new battery, then sit the orignal collar over it
new neg lead easy cured the problem in less then 10 mins at less than £20
take another look under the bonnet tonight and just check whether you can pull round the neg terminal with ease and also that its sitting right down with the new terminal just proud of the collar, not level (often the tap of a wooden handled hammer does the trick)
ps dont forget to unplug the trickle charge and let the car go to sleep with no keys in the ignition
4th Jan 2011 8:29 pm
Windowlicker
Member Since: 12 Sep 2010
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 580
Hi, thanks for the replies
I drive the d3 daily, usual work trip is about 65 miles a day, though recently whilst off there have been a number of short trips into town so to speak, but the various error messages have been showing up most of the way through december, though only on start up in the morning.
When I popped the new battery on this aft it didn't seem to be a bad fit on the terminals to be fair, gave them a good wiggle but didn't exactly give them loads of beans to be honest.
Will give them avtug now
It's on charge at the mo, was going to leave it overnight and see how it looks tomorrow .
I have just assumed with the old battery bing 4 years old, and regular usage of the gsm fbh etc , that it had just seen it's best, and I suppose the new battery being " apparently" the same, voltage wise, just surprised me, could the new battery just be in a partial state of discharge whilst in storage at the dealers??
Thank ya Procrastination is the thief of time!!
4th Jan 2011 8:39 pm
Windowlicker
Member Since: 12 Sep 2010
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 580
Just been out and checked the terminals, all tight, no movement whatsoever. Procrastination is the thief of time!!
4th Jan 2011 8:54 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
are the terminals slightly proud of the connectors?
see how yer get int morning, from experience a very quick way to see if yer running on the new battery which is not being charged by the alternator (assuming you've not got the right diagnostic kit to do it insitu) is to drive for a short while with the lights on, heater on, radio, then turn on the windscreen wipers, if they are slow in the sweeping action, get off the road as soon as or back home if its only a mile or so away, coz once that battery drains, you're going to get christmas 2011 on the dash
Funnily enough I had a System fault message yesterday when I came to start the engine so I could raise the suspension to do some work. Though I do a fair amount of short journeys at the moment, I had done Manchester and back last Thursday, so the battery should be charged I would have thought.
Anyway, I put my Ctek 4300 on and it started at only 2 LED's on and had got to 3 after about 90minutes. (Is that normal?)
I then checked the voltage and was getting between 11.5 and 12v on the diagnostic screen (Couldn't be bothered to get my multi-meter out ) I did see it as low as 11V (I think) when it was -9'C before christmas.
Long and short, I'm wondering if I'm on borrowed time with my battery as I think it's original (6 Years)Mark.
2006, D3 SE Auto - gone but not forgotten.
2014 BMW 530d M Sport Tourer.
1977 Triumph Spitfire 1500
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Disco Picture Website Here
4th Jan 2011 9:24 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
mark, borrowed time is a bit of an understatement
just do me a favour tomorrow, have a look at your neg and possitive leads, are they properly sat on the battery terminals ie right down with the terminal slightly proud and can it be moved left or right even though the screw/nut are fully tightened, be interested to know whether that has any effect
I was under there yesterday and yes the terminals are proud and tight as I checked them too
I can take a picture if it will help Mark.
2006, D3 SE Auto - gone but not forgotten.
2014 BMW 530d M Sport Tourer.
1977 Triumph Spitfire 1500
_________________________________________________
Disco Picture Website Here
4th Jan 2011 9:46 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
mark, when you do upgrade to the 950amps battery that is now OEM spec for D3, be interested to know whether they are just as tight a fit with the new battery
4th Jan 2011 10:01 pm
MacLeod 313
Member Since: 18 Apr 2008
Location: away
Posts: 10723
The New 950Ah battrey terminals are very tight. Bit of an effort to push them on Mathew.
4th Jan 2011 10:04 pm
Windowlicker
Member Since: 12 Sep 2010
Location: East Yorkshire
Posts: 580
Thanks again for the replies chaps , haven't worked out how to multiple quote yet
Just been out and checked , the charger is still charging, not flicked to green yet, diagnostic screen now showing 12v.
I think it's pretty much a given that once past 3-4 years a batteries cells are sufficiently depleted to hugely affect it's ability to hold a decent charge, one thing i have just noticed is that the nav screen instantly came on when the ignition was turned on, as of this last week it has been slightly delayed, then the last two mornings the screen was black for a good few seconds before showing the normal agree screen.
It will be interesting to see how it fires up and idles first thing in the morning.
Anglefire: form what I have read on this site , I looks like you have done very well with a 6 year life of your battery, it's one of those " well it works, why would I spend £120 to get something else that does the same" but only when it fails entirely and leaves you stranded or makes you late for something that you think, " why oh why did I ignore all the kind warnings I used to get on that little screen everyday"
Just been out and taken a couple of pics, both terminals are tight as a gnats chuff, definitely more Mouses ear, than Wizards sleeve
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated Procrastination is the thief of time!!
4th Jan 2011 11:47 pm
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
when you've charged him, just tap that second one down so there is no gab at the bottom, just loosen him a wee bit an tap the bracket with a wooden implement.
5th Jan 2011 12:23 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
MacLeod 313 wrote:
The New 950Ah battrey terminals are very tight. Bit of an effort to push them on Mathew.
had quite the opposite, hence changing the negative lead
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( again another great find by the wiser than me on this site 
) the original battery , 4 years old/original battery I assume, showed 11.5 v when ignition on, then up to around 14-14.5 v when engine was running.
) I did see it as low as 11V (I think) when it was -9'C before christmas.
