Low battery warning , battery good?

[crispyj]

Hi I have a 2005 db9, I am currently fitting a Bluetooth device on the most network. I went to the car today turned on the ignition, I am getting a low battery warning and the stereo will not power up. Any ideas?

Thanks

[LTP]

My Vantage has, I believe in common with all Astons, an electrical power management system to shut down unnecessary electrical items if the battery gets a bit flat so it might affect starting - particularly noticeable if you listen to the in-car entertainment system with the engine off, you'll soon get the "Low battery" warning and the sounds will die. Just start the engine and all should be well, but you may now need to give it a run or connect a battery conditioner to top up the battery.

If you've been connecting the Bluetooth and altering settings without the engine running this could have flattened the battery enough to induce the power-saving.

[crispyj]

Thanks for the info, I have had a conditioner on the battery and the voltage is 12.5volts at the test point under the bonnet with conditioner disconnected. I will try starting it tomorrow and see if that helps.

[paulrog1]

The DB9 is very voltage sensitive you dont need to do much in the car with the battery conditioner disconnected for the car to shut down some systems.

I would replace the battery, not much at all and keep the conditioner plugged in.

[Manx V8V]

Resting voltage (without the conditioner) should be 12.6v minimum, so you are probably on the cusp of needing a new battery.

Try another test around 8 hours after running the car & without connecting a conditioner, to give you a true 'resting voltage'

[crispyj]

I put a battery on it approx 5 years ago. It may be getting weak. Thanks for the info.

[Manx V8V]

Amazingly I have only last weekend finally replaced the original battery on my 2006 V8V, it still did the job and had never failed to start the car, but it was just starting to do little things like losing the window drop memory during the week, it is noticeable now though how much quicker the new one spins the motor up.

Conversely on my Diesel Jag XF daily runner I'm on my second replacement battery in 7 years, it seems to eat them!!

[medshop]

New Aston Martin DBX with 3100 miles and the drivers door locked in the open position with no response from key fob. This is my daily driver and there was no indication that the battery was low. Dealer service manager calls back reporting that the voltage tested low causing the electronic systems to shut down. Her solution was for me to put the DBX on a battery tender every night since the cars electronics were draining the battery. I have never heard of such an issue requiring daily battery charging however, the service manager states that there are so many electronic functions operating when the is not running that they will start to shut down if not on a battery tended when not in use. Does this explanation make any sense to anybody?

[SL500UK]

Yes it means something is wrong with your car.

[pschlute]

If you drove your car once a month or so, the advice would be correct. I have had both my cars on a battery charger when parked up in the garage for any time.

For a new car used every day there is no need.

Which dealership is telling you this ?

[LTP]

medshop said:

Does this explanation make any sense to anybody?

No. Modern car engineers have been expending considerable effort reducing quiescent current drain. As a modern car sits unused various systems get progressively shut down to extend battery life. Without direct experience of the DBX I'd expect the car to be able to sit for a month without issue, whereas for the older VH models it'd be more like 2-3 weeks. For a daily driver, as long as you are not just doing 2-3 miles, I'd never expect a flat battery

If your DBX's electronics are draining the battery then it sounds like something is staying live when it should be shutting down. Assuming you haven't got any after-market accessories connected like a phone charger that may be drawing current I'd go back to the dealer. If you don't get any joy then find another

typo fixed

Edited by LTP on Thursday 13th January 14:04

[BigR]

Funnily enough I just posted about this exact same response on another thread about my Vantage:

"Just purchased one myself, a 2 yr old in Cinnbar orange. Love driving it, however, its had a few issues with it, notably a couple of issues appearing on the dashboard regarding a fault with the lights and the handbrake. They cleared themselves but the garage is holding onto it to try and find the cause.

Reason for mentioning this is that it was suggested this could be because of low voltage as if you don't drive it for 2 or 3 days then the battery might flatten. I have to say this sounds like BS, as who would conceivably create a car that required plugging in every night (save for perhaps an EV of course!). I also call BS as I had a Vanquish V12S for a period and they said the same thing about that when it had a couple of early problems.

It sounds like others don't have those issues and can more or less treat it like any other car in this respect and perhaps the dealer is kind of reverting to a 'typical dealer' approach, which would be desperately disappointing.

By contrast I can leave my Lambo for a couple of months and it starts up as though it was driven only the day before."

[cypriot]

it is bullst. my vantage was left for 2 and a half months with no tender and the tracker still active and it started first time. so if your battery is good, you shouldnt need to put the car on a trickle charger even for weeks at a time. and thats according to the manual as well.

[BigR]

cypriot said:

it is bullst. my vantage was left for 2 and a half months with no tender and the tracker still active and it started first time. so if your battery is good, you shouldnt need to put the car on a trickle charger even for weeks at a time. and thats according to the manual as well.

Great, thanks for the reassurance. They have subsequently said today that maybe as it had been on the forecourt etc...etc... I did suggest they change the batteries when selling cars if it was such a problem!

[EVR]

BigR said:

Great, thanks for the reassurance. They have subsequently said today that maybe as it had been on the forecourt etc...etc... I did suggest they change the batteries when selling cars if it was such a problem!

I can add to the reassurance, went for easily a month without anything and it just starts.

[Jon39]

cypriot said:

It is bull. My vantage was left for 2 and a half months with no tender and the tracker still active and it started first time. So if your battery is good, you shouldnt need to put the car on a trickle charger even for weeks at a time, and thats according to the manual as well.

How old is your Vantage?

I don't know the technical aspects, or whether it only applies to particular makes of tracker (have AML just used two different ones), but apparently the tracker will eventually cause battery drain.

I guess there must be a rechargeable battery within every tracker. When that battery becomes dud, is that perhaps the point when problems occur?