My car has been super reliable until just now.

The engine started fine as usual but immediately I was faced with numerous fault messages and warning lights such as

gearbox fault
limiter not operational
DSC fault
ABS fault
Air Suspension fault.
Park brake fault
various fluid level low warnings
Climate control communication error!

Essentially most systems seem to be non operational apart from the radio.

I turned the engine off, tried to start it again, there was no sign of the engine even trying to turn over. I locked the car and unlocked it, the engine then started, I got the same fault messages again.

The engine didnt seem particaulay smooth and then it stalled after I revved it up a little. I havent been able to start the enging since.

I've measured the voltage across the battery, with it disconnected from the car it's 12.3V. With the ignition on its about 12.0V (no lights). I didnt get a reading with the engine running to see if the alternator was working correctly

This seems a little low to me so I now have the battery out of the car and charging over night.

Can anyone confirm if a battery could cause the faults I'm seeming?


Matt

 

voltage needs to be checked while the vehicle is running. Don't over charge the Batt, make sure the batt has enough fluid and have the batt analyzed after its charged up.

 

I re-installed the charged battery (Bosch S3), voltage measured about 12.7v. Car started first time. No warning lights or faults, everything seems to be fine now. I measured the voltage across the battery with engine idling and limited electrical load, this was 14.3v. So I'm thinking the alternator is fine, it's less than a year old.

I've driven the car about 50 miles today in three seperate trips. So far so good in terms of electrical issues.

After each trip I measured the battery voltage after switching off the engine and ignition, the voltage seemed to be getting less and less.

So I've bought a new battery, a Bosch S4. I'm going to install it tomorrow morning and I'll report back on how I get on.