V8 Vantage Battery Issues (Again)

[Philipcollins340]

I thought that I would share my experiences in replacing the battery on my 2007 V8V.

1. The car failed to start one morning (very slow cranking ) after a few weeks of slow cranking and need to charge it every
night (CTek intelligent charger). For the last 6 months I was suffering with non-functional/partially working windows. (no
function on the LH window at all.) I was advised by an Aston Martin approved agent that both window regulators had
failed and needed replacement. The battery terminal voltage did not appear to rise above 13 volts even with the engine
running. (normally 14.6). Voltage was < 11.8v with engine off. Since I bought the car, I was also disappointed to endure
numerous flat battery episodes even after a week or 10 days with no charger connected! What could be causing this?
2. The Bosch battery (S5013) that I bought in Dec 2016 with 5 year guarantee had failed.
3. I got a replacement under the guarantee and the agent tested it with a proper tester and agreed that the battery was
faulty.
4. The new battery was great. The new battery was showing 12.6 v (car off) and 14.5v with engine running. Surprisingly the
windows both started to work. I have previous experience of these window regulators and it is a fact that there is a design
flaw and they will cease to work even with a good battery that is not fully charged.
5. I checked the web including this site and it appears that a number of V8V owners are reporting short battery life (2-3
years)

6. I investigated the current draw from the battery when the car was locked. I was staggered to find that it was 0.33Amps !!!
This would give a battery life of about 10days! Aha ! I found the problem. I heard that the Eurowatch Tracker was
suspected by others so I pulled F2 to disable it.. current draw fell to 0.008 A. Now I will get the Tracker de-commissioned
and eliminate this crazy situation. I am looking forward to an enormous improvement in the starting performance.
7. This issue explains the short battery life. We all know that not keeping the battery fully charged most of the time will
cause it to deteriorate and I am sure that its this that is causing the battery life to be shortened. It seems that the new
technology batteries (no lead) are still sensitive to this and cannot be recovered. (I know that Lead acid batteries used to
get 'sulphated' but not as quickly.

8. Conclusions:
a. If you have a Eurowatch tracker (factory fitted by AM) , get rid of it or get it replaced with a better unit or disabled. AM
dealer should do this for you. (you cannot disable it by permanently removing F2 since the car wont start.)
b. for those of you who want to check current draw , please note that after turning the ignition off, the figure will initially be
as high as 4A but will reduce in stages down to about 0.3A if you have the EuroW tracker fitted or about 0.01A (no
tracker). It can take 10 to 15 minutes for this to finally settle to the lowest current figure.
c. If you have a Eurowatch tracker and dont want to remove it , then use a battery conditioner at all times and suffer the
consequences of flat battery after 7- 14 days.
d. Dont assume that strange car behaviour (windows, stereo, etc) need to be fixed. It could be, as in my case, that it is
the battery that is in a constant state of discharge.
e. Not using the charger regularly will cause your battery to fail prematurely.

I hope this helps the may of you that have been suffering similar issues.

Phil Collins

[R129 300SL]

Thanks for sharing. Changing my battery this week because is weak as well.

[Dewi 2]

Philipcollins340 said:

I thought that I would share my experiences in replacing the battery on my 2007 V8V.

5. I checked the web including this site and it appears that a number of V8V owners are reporting short battery life (2-3
years)

8. Conclusions:
a. If you have a Eurowatch tracker (factory fitted by AM) , get rid of it or get it replaced with a better unit or disabled. AM
dealer should do this for you. (you cannot disable it by permanently removing F2 since the car wont start.)

After 9 years my V8V still had it's original battery (with Eurowatch connected).

The battery was fine, but purely based on the length of time it had lasted, I decided I was pushing my luck, and so had it replaced at service. That decision was partly because I had read how awkward it is to remove and refit, plus the possible difficulties with various electrical systems.

When I knew the car was to be unused for more than 3 weeks, then the trickle charger has always connected.

I followed your explanation about the battery drain by the tracker, but maybe there is a variation, and some owners have more luck than others.

[Philipcollins340]

Thanks for your comments.

I thought that maybe I was unlucky with a faulty unit but I see many owners having the same issue as I have.
My tracker was working OK but I no longer use it because of the cost and my two Samsung phones would not pair with the Eurowatch Tracker. Then the Fob batteries went flat - ugh - too much hassle...

The charger will overcome the issue but to be honest the Eurowatch Tracker increases the battery drain by
40 Times over the normal 8mA ! and this will mean that you will rarely need the C-Tek conditioner unless you dont drive the car for many weeks.

I read that this issue was the cause of AM ditching the Eurowatch Tracker.

I would be most interested in hearing from other owners. The EW tracker consumes 0.32A.
Doing the maths for a 90Ah battery gives you 270 hours before the battery is flat. i.e.11 days and this is on a fully charged new battery. Not good enough.

My other tracker has a standby current of 0.016A.

Thanks again for your input. It could be that your tracker is consuming less current or is a later model?

Phil Collins

[Dewi 2]

Philipcollins340 said:

Thanks again for your input. It could be that your tracker is consuming less current or is a later model?

Phil Collins

MY2009, so I think Eurowatch.

I have mislaid my multimeter at present, but having minimal electrical knowledge, how do I measure the battery drain?
The button near the tyre inflator, I think turns off some electrical equipment, so the drain is presumably then lower. How much difference does that make?

[Philipcollins340]

I am not sure what the battery isolator disconnects.

This is what I did .
I took out the rear parcel shelf and took off the battery terminal ( easy).

I then connected my multimeter on the 10A DC range. One lead of the multimeter to the battery lug (you need to make a good connection with a big croc clip or similar). The loose battery cable lug connected to the other terminal of the multimeter.

You may lose some of your settings doing this so windows, stereo, folding mirrors may need re-setting.
Under no circumstances attempt to start the car or switch on your headlamps or any other high current ancillaries when you have your multimeter connected or you may blow its fuse or cook it beyond repair.

You can check if the Tracker current draw is excessive by removing F2 . you should see a significant reduction if this is the case.
The normal current draw is typically <0.010 A (10mA) unless the tracker is consuming excessive current in which case you may see up to 0.3A. Note that the current my take up to 20 mins to settle to its final value after you have connected your multimeter. Ignition must remain off , stereo off and doors shut during these tests.

Good luck

Phil Collins

[Blue7]

We had a a 2008 V8V with Eurowatch and no battery probs. Trickle charger only connected up Nov-March when the car wasn't used. Now have a 2014 V8V with Cobra / Vodaphone tracking