Battery Issues

grandslam1950 · May 8, 2020

Hi guys

I know these cars are very susceptible to low voltage issues.
I have just had a brand new battery fitted by a garage to overcome a battery that seemed to not be charging that well or holding its charge.
I have a CTEK 5.0 so can charge an AGM battery well

I just got it back and low and behold after charging it fully yesterday when I opened the door this morning I got the same issue with windows up an down and all the lights on the dash going on an off. It starts fine and after a while the only light left on is an Airbag warning light

I have to assume its something draining the battery overnight

What I noticed is that with everything off I can still hear a whirl from the disc that runs the satnav

Could it be that or simply the airbag connection shorting and draining the battery

Wanderer · May 8, 2020

Do u have Navtrak?

grandslam1950 · May 8, 2020

Yes I do--does that drain a fully charged battery overnight ???

Wanderer · May 8, 2020

Well not overnight but I think when it's internal battery fails it draws from the main battery, mine has one and as car is 14 years old I'd assume it's internal battery has failed and I generally cant leave it 4/5 days before it either won't start (flicking needles on speedo and rev counter) or struggles like mad and just about catches.

Not an answer but maybe a contributor?

StuartW · May 10, 2020

Despite it being a new battery, it could be worth testing it as it possibly faulty - it's not unheard of, I had a Yuasa fail after a couple of months

grandslam1950 · May 10, 2020

Thanks Guys
What I have noticed is that now the Airbag fault light is on I am getting no other electrical problems at all--It starts fine and drives fine--everything seems normal
So an obvious question

Does the Airbag light on mean that an ECU ( if there is one that controls that) is not putting current to the Airbag and therefore not draining the battery

Or does it share an ECU with some other systems

I cant tell which Airbag obviously as don't have the computer stuff to be able to interrogate the systems

CatmanV2 · May 10, 2020

It's not going to be that simple in terms of current or not. Classic air bag faults are the switch to disable the passenger airbag and the connectors under the seats.

C

conaero · May 10, 2020

The airbag error system on the GT is not persistent, meaning if you fix the fault, the light will go out without ecu reset upon re-ignition.

As Catman above, take the seat connectors apart and spray with contact cleaner and replace the dash end switch, it’s cheap and used across many Alfa’s and Fiats.

lozcb · May 10, 2020

StuartW said:
Despite it being a new battery, it could be worth testing it as it possibly faulty - it's not unheard of, I had a Yuasa fail after a couple of months

Totally , ive just had exactly that on my CLK ( sorry will wash my mouth out with soap and water ) new battery lasted 2 days , took it back under warranty , tested it and it was faulty and issued me a new one wwithout a problem

grandslam1950 · May 26, 2020

Now back in the garage for the third time with this power issue--they have now reset every ecu and got a current meter seeing if there is a battery drain problem when the car is left for 24hrs. Lovely car when its working but this is negated by all the issues I have had. Might be a time for a change. BTW can anyone recommend Autoffacina in Epsom as I may look for a different garage from now on

safrane · May 26, 2020

Not used them, but those who have were pleased.

Felonious Crud · May 31, 2020

This is a natty little thing to have an easy view of battery health. Just wire it to the always-live 12V socket in the boot. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BT2TBTS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Templar · Jun 1, 2020

Hi FC, Thank you for your recommendation on the battery monitor. Would you happen to know that if I plugged a double cigarette socket into the one in the boot if using the one socket of the double for the monitor the other one would work to use as I do now with the boot socket to either run a tyre inflator or if I want to charge the battery I can plug in my Ctek? Thanks.

bigbob · Jun 1, 2020

Templar said:
Hi FC, Thank you for your recommendation on the battery monitor. Would you happen to know that if I plugged a double cigarette socket into the one in the boot if using the one socket of the double for the monitor the other one would work to use as I do now with the boot socket to either run a tyre inflator or if I want to charge the battery I can plug in my Ctek? Thanks.

Easy enough to plug the CTEK straight into the battery - it's under the boot floor. Personally when topping up the tyres I always use the socket in the car.

Templar · Jun 1, 2020

Hi, bigbob, thank you for your advice. However I find plugging into the boot socket more convenient as I don't have to empty the boot to get at the battery for the Ctek. I am interested in the battery monitor that FC suggested but want to plug in a double socket into the boot socket so that I can run the monitor and have a spare socket for the tyre pump etc. I hope that makes sense. I know I will have to watch the electrical loads but I think I have sussed that.

grandslam1950 · Jun 5, 2020

Well then. I now have the car back. It seems that the Magneti Marelli NIT system was putting spurious info onto the B-Can data bus and setting off the NQS module which controls all the dash lights and gauges

Interestingly one of the original fault indications was this NIT unit doing continual reboots and the screen going white

I have had the NIT system replaced and so far so good, Fingers crossed but no problems for the last 4 days.

Not the cheapest fix but if it works then I have my wonderful car back

If not then my patience with the garage will be wearing very thin

CatmanV2 · Jun 5, 2020

Pretty normal symptoms of the NIT HD failing, except the CANBUS issue. Hopefully you'll be good

C

grandslam1950 · Jun 5, 2020

Thanks CatmanV2

I live in hope and have my fingers crossed but admit that every time I open it first thing in the morning I am still nervous

CatmanV2 · Jun 5, 2020

grandslam1950 said:
Thanks CatmanV2

I live in hope and have my fingers crossed but admit that every time I open it first thing in the morning I am still nervous

Oh that never changes

C

grandslam1950 · Jun 24, 2020

So then I finally have my car in good running order after the new NIT unit. Its been 3 weeks since it was fitted and no problems whatsoever. Back in love with it every day and looking forward to finally going places now the lockdown is finally starting to loosen. Happy Days

Battery Issues

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