Discovery Sport Forum banner

"Low Battery, Please Start Engine" message....

202K views 157 replies 61 participants last post by  Smarty 
G
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
When my 2017 Sport HSE has been standing for two or three days without use, I can open the driver's door, or the powered tailgate, then a message flashes up on the display telling me the battery is low and to start the engine. This message is accompanied by a bleep. If I have opened the tailgate it will not close automatically when I press the button - until I start the engine.

The car is going to the dealers for it to be looked into but I wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem.
 
G
#3 ·
lodgic said:
i Had issue a while back it's a software issue as the car is not shutting down properly
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if it could be software...... when I booked it in the receptionist said a software update may be required. They are also going to look at the offside rear window which is being temperamental - sometimes the 'one touch' close works, other times it doesn't! Apart from these two problems the car seems to be going well but I do miss my D4 which was stolen in the middle of the night just about a year ago never to be seen again :(
 
#4 ·
RegG said:
lodgic said:
i Had issue a while back it's a software issue as the car is not shutting down properly
Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if it could be software...... when I booked it in the receptionist said a software update may be required. They are also going to look at the offside rear window which is being temperamental - sometimes the 'one touch' close works, other times it doesn't! Apart from these two problems the car seems to be going well but I do miss my D4 which was stolen in the middle of the night just about a year ago never to be seen again :(
Yep get the latest software updates is always a good start.
Sorry to hear about the D4 .....make sure if you have keyless you get a good quality faraday pouch for your keys , don't forget the spare needs one too!
 
G
#5 ·
[/quote]
Sorry to hear about the D4 .....make sure if you have keyless you get a good quality faraday pouch for your keys , don't forget the spare needs one too!
[/quote]

Thanks - both sets of keys in faraday pouches and a stop-lock on the steering wheel! Plus tracker at the insistence of the insurance company!
 
#6 ·
Hello,

I have had that problem for over a year. The car has been in to the dealers a few times and the issue has never been resolved.

I have had software updates and various parts of the electrics replaced including the battery, header unit and parts of the alarm. Its always worse when the weather is cold but I will say that the car has never failed to start even when the car has not been used for 4-5 days.

The Start/Stop rarely works so I know there is something going on but as the car has never broken down and always starts I just accept its part of the cars personality.

JW
 
#7 ·
I've just had the same issue.
The battery was fine and fully charged.
LR Assist came round and he cleaned the contacts around the back of the battery. He said that if they get rusty or clogged with dirt, the sensor can read that the battery is not charging. Since then I've had no problems, fingers crossed.
 
#8 ·
I had the issue for a while. They replaced the battery then told me the new battery had gone flat overnight while still at the dealers. They did several software updates and claimed it was drawing 2 or more amps while shut down. They kept it for several days testing it, they never did give a satisfactory (to me) answer as to what caused it. They tried very hard to blame it on faulty workshop test equipment saying the tester was causing the battery drain...
 
#9 ·
My DS150 is now 3 years old, hence out of warranty. Despite having all the updates the 'low bat' warning keeps appearing now since last October.

First thing I did was charging the battery. Lasted for two weeks, then the message was back. Charged again, same result.
Next I brought it to the dealer in November to check the battery with one week of warranty left. Next day I was told the battery is like new but was nearly empty. They charged the battery, charged me €80 for their service and I got a lecture about driving style and short trips for free.

Well, the 'low bat' message was gone ... for five days. Since then I charge regularly ...

I have to admit, my DS does some short trips, but it is also used on longer motorway distances and the message also appears after longer trips.
So I´m now at the point to buy a new battery, but I´m not willing to pay Landrover premium prices. The only thing that concerns me is the battery managment system which should be reset when replacing the battery.

So here are my questions:
- Is it definitely necessary to reset the BMS when replacing the battery? I will install the same Varta battery that was built-in from new, so no changes in battery parameters necessary.
- Would it maybe help to charge the battery to full, then reset the BMS without replacing the battery at all?
- Is there a diagnosis unit (like the IID tool) which is capable of resetting the BMS by myself? I have that stuff for my Volkswagens, but unfortunately this doesn´t help with the DS.
- And lastly, what is the best method to charge the battery? Dealer says, directly at the connectors. But I think in this case I will bypass the BMS sensing module resulting in the BMS not recognising the charging at all. Would it be better to connect minus to ground?

Thanks for your input!
Nic
 
#10 ·
geonic said:
So here are my questions:
- Is it definitely necessary to reset the BMS when replacing the battery? I will install the same Varta battery that was built-in from new, so no changes in battery parameters necessary.
Any shunt based battery management system, which the DS BMS is, will gradually drift out of sync with the actual state of charge (SOC) of the battery, so it will periodically recalibrate itself by going through a deep discharge and recharge cycle over a couple of days. When the dealer installs a new battery they will force this recalibration to happen over a few hours. So, if you install a new battery yourself without the tools to do a forced recalibration, your system will be out of sync until such time that it does one of it's periodic recalibrations and then all should be well.

- Would it maybe help to charge the battery to full, then reset the BMS without replacing the battery at all?
A battery will gradually lose capacity over it's life, and so the voltage may be showing fully charged, but the BMS will be telling the ECU that it's not fully charged because the BMS works on an 'bank balance' basis of energy in versus energy out. So, the dealer can also initiate a 'new battery capacity reset' on an existing battery to reset the capacity figure in the BMS to the actual capacity of the installed battery so this mismatch doesn't happen. Unlike the periodic and automatic SOC recalibration described above, I believe this capacity reset procedure can only be done by the dealer.

- Is there a diagnosis unit (like the IID tool) which is capable of resetting the BMS by myself? I have that stuff for my Volkswagens, but unfortunately this doesn´t help with the DS.
I don't believe so. I think only the LR diagnostics can force a SOC recalibration and capacity reset.

- And lastly, what is the best method to charge the battery? Dealer says, directly at the connectors. But I think in this case I will bypass the BMS sensing module resulting in the BMS not recognising the charging at all. Would it be better to connect minus to ground?
With any battery charger, but particularly today's smart multistage chargers which rely on accurately sensing the voltage and temperature at the battery to determine the charge they put in, it's best to attach as close to the battery terminals as possible. However, you are correct that you do not want to bypass the BMS, so the negative should not be attached to the battery post itself, but to where one of the existing wires bolts on, or if you want to be ultra safe - to where the battery negative wire attaches to the chassis ground point.

I should add that all this is just my limited knowledge of how it works based on having a battery problem on my DS, reading the workshop manual, and what the dealer has said he's done. I cannot guarantee it's complete accuracy.
 
#11 ·
Just a quick input - when I had the pleasure of Land Rover Assist to my house one Sunday morning last year, the technician connected Red lead to Positive battery terminal, and Black to the far left of the engine block on the nut at the top of the mounting itself.
 
#12 ·
Badgerface said:
Just a quick input - when I had the pleasure of Land Rover Assist to my house one Sunday morning last year, the technician connected Red lead to Positive battery terminal, and Black to the far left of the engine block on the nut at the top of the mounting itself.
Was that for a jump-start Badgerface?

The instantaneous current flow in a jump start situation can be in the hundreds of amps, and can damage the sensitive BMS which is attached directly to the battery negative terminal, so it's best to have the negative lead attached far away, such as the chassis ground point you describe. That way the circuit is from the donor battery positive to the starter motor, and back through the chassis and the negative wire to the donor battery. The high current path bypasses your battery and BMS so is less likely to damage it.

However, when charging the battery as geonic was asking about, you are trying to push current into your battery, but only about 5-10 amps maximum will flow, which is well below the normal amps flow when the engine is running, so it's quite safe to attach the charger negative lead much closer to the BMS. In fact as I mentioned above it's quite important to the sensing mechanisms in smart chargers that they are attached as close to the battery terminals as possible, or under/over charging can result..
 
#13 ·
Thanks Mamil for your explanations!
This encourages me in giving a new battery a try and hope that the BMS will recalibrate itself re. learn the values of the new battery shortly.

Anyway, I will try charging with the negative attached to a chassis ground point first. My charger Optimate 6 is limited to 5 amps.
 
#14 ·
Thank you again Badgerface and Mamil for your advice!

I tried it once again to charge the battery with minus connected to a chassis ground point. Lasted for one day, then the 'low bat' warning was back.

So I ordered a new battery (identical Varta F21 Silver Dynamic AGM, 80Ah, 800A), charged it to full and installed it. Warning message is gone now and powered tailgate works again all the times (third day today). Stop/Start still doesn´t work, but this could also be due to low temperatures at the moment.

The old battery still had 12.6V, so I wouldn´t call it a dead battery. However, remaining capacity is unknown.
The new battery had 13V after charging. That quickly dropped to 12.8V after reenabling auto close of the window motors and fiddling a bit with the powered tailgate and seats. So at least voltage-wise old and new battery aren´t that far apart.
So at the moment, I just hope for the best :)

Best regards
 
G
#15 ·
Well, finally managed to get the car into the dealer for this to be looked at (and a service was due).....

They phoned me to say that the battery was in need of replacement as it wasn't charging properly. Fortunately, they are replacing it under warranty but have recommended I use the car more or trickle charge the battery if I'm not using it for a while.

I will have to see what its like over the next few weeks.....

Thanks for all the helpful replies.
 
#16 ·
Invest in a CTEK MXS5.0 Smart Charger. It will be the best £60 that you spend on accessories for your home garage.
 
#18 ·
Did anyone have further problems? Mine is at the dealers and one of the points I asked them to look at under warranty was the low battery message which appeared after only 4 days sat on my drive.
It started up no problem but still isnt a message I want to be seeing.
 
#19 ·
I have this problem regularly when the Low Battery message comes up and the boot lid won't open. It's been to the dealer a few times - latest being 5 weeks ago and the message is back.
First visit to dealer suggested a smart charger to charge periodically, and latest visit to dealer the BMS system was reset - this seems to have made matters worse!
I have never ever had this issue with any previous vehicle - Jaguars, Audis, Mercedes - I am totally disgusted and disappointed with Land Rover and am about to look at selling and replacing.
As I type, my DS is sitting in the garage with the Low Battery message - dealer cannot collect car until APRIL!!!
Very disappointing and sad as otherwise I'm pleased with the vehicle
 
#145 · (Edited by Moderator)
As usual LR dealers don’t give a ....after you have purchased car and it is out of warranty. Low battery warning light came on a week ago. Long trip seems to have resolved issue. Lots of comments about driving styles, real problem is they shouldn’t be selling these cars if not suitable for multiple short journeys….quite frankly would never buy one again 😡
 
#21 ·
My DS is 2 years old this month and new when I bought it. Mostly journeys of around 20/40 miles or so with occasional 300+ trips. Since my last post I called LR Assistance and a technician did all the checks and found the Battery Mgt software was up to date BUT the Gateway module (which apparently is central to all electrical functions including controlling their shutdown when the vehicle is locked) required a software update. Following this the Low Battery message disappeared and the vehicle is now on trickle charge. He did hint that he felt the battery was probably faulty but until a battery failure message is specifically obtained on LRs analytical system, the battery can't be replaced under warranty??
 
#22 ·
JLR clearly haven't got their smart charging algorithms right yet! The battery isn't getting properly charged, so shows symptoms of Stop/Start not working, and then low battery warnings, and eventually the battery will die from chronic undercharging.

Mine went through this slow death over a period of two and a half years, and eventually the dealer replaced the battery - not under warranty they were at pains to point out, as batteries aren't covered in the warranty. No, it was goodwill they said. Makes no difference to me - free is free!

Anyways the new battery started to show the same symptoms of undercharging after a month, so since then I've been hooking it up to a charger every few weeks to keep it healthy. I shouldn't have to, but if that's what it takes to avoid another battery dying prematurely then that's what I'm resigned to doing for the rest of the life of the car!
 
#24 ·
Just to add to this thread , mine was finally traced to a bad engine earth , took me stamping my feet to get the master tech to look at it , faulty crimp on the end of the earth lead.
 
#25 ·
It took me too to indulge in a lot of feet stamping, Barnish! Eventually got the electrics technician to visit me yesterday - fingers crossed he has sorted things out - removed and cleaned all battery connections ans updated Gateway software. The initial response of local dealer was very poor - they had 3 chances to sort out (2 days at a time) and just wanted to do the same again. LR central customer services very helpful
 
#26 ·
geomacl said:
It took me too to indulge in a lot of feet stamping, Barnish! Eventually got the electrics technician to visit me yesterday - fingers crossed he has sorted things out - removed and cleaned all battery connections ans updated Gateway software. The initial response of local dealer was very poor - they had 3 chances to sort out (2 days at a time) and just wanted to do the same again. LR central customer services very helpful
Yep I had jag assist , who fitted new battery ( same system as DS with smart charging) , it went in to be checked as battery was only 4.3 volts. Got it back and it was fine for a few months , then the warnings came up again.
He suggested a crek charger, I told him the car had a fault , a few terse words later he cane back with his tail between his legs " faulty braiding cable clamp, new earth fitted and charging checking is spot on now after leaving fir 10 days.
 
Top