Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster 2008 Battery/Starting Issue
Discussion
Hi, just wondering if anybody has any advice regarding a starting / battery problem I have with a 2008 ‘08 AMV8 Roadster (Sportshift)
Car has been parked up for 3 weeks, and it’s as flat as it could be...no lights on and the windows don’t drop so getting the door open is tricky 😂
Put a jump pack on it using the positive terminal under the bonnet.....could hear a slight click tick sound coming more from the rear (could be a tracker...not that I know either way if it’s got one fitted. Left the jump pack on for 5-10 mins, all dash lights, stereo and heater controls turn on but when you press the start button, nothing. No sounds and no cranking. Put a trickle charger on instead, using the metal Airbox housing as an earth and it came up with ‘fault’ so called the AA.
AA guy came, jump pack got the lights to come on the dash but still nothing from the push start button. We got the boot open, and fatally he pressed the battery isolation switch thinking it was an on/off button which has isolated the battery, and the under bonnet jump points are now dead. LUCKILY the drivers seat was already positioned forward as he’d been trying to locate the battery with no luck at this stage. What a SH*T car design this is. Had the seat been clicked back it would have been impossible to move it forward again to access the battery as the seat is fully electric tilt and slide. The AA guy said he was retiring in April and this is the most impossible case he’d worked on in his 46 year career. It’s quite frankly a piece of scrap. I called AM dealer and spoke to a really nice chap but he couldn’t visualise what a 2008 roadster battery set up/isolation switch system was like, but did encourage us to yank the cover behind the seat harder and wow we managed to find the battery. Removal of a load of screws and trims later he got to the battery. Tried charging it, got like 7/8 amps which was a start but not enough. So he got a second pair of leads and a spare battery so effectively gave it 2 batteries to jump and charge off. Concluded the ‘battery reconnection switch’ didn’t exist and did some sort of bypass thing which got it to crank which made me smile, but he threw the towel in. He said the battery is cooked but didn’t want to do half a job and put a new one in given we had looked for 2 hours for this damn switch.
I have to say, this car is the biggest POS I’ve ever owned and if there’s a solution to get it reset and new battery fitted to get it running I’m going to get rid of it as the design is absolutely disgracefully bad!
Apologies for the essay, in fact I could write a book as to my findings over the past few days and how rubbish these cars are - the designer must love beautiful lace knickers with nothing beneath them! If anyone knows how to find the battery reconnection switch and any advice on how to get this wretched thing going then I’ll buy you a bottle of your choice!!
Car has been parked up for 3 weeks, and it’s as flat as it could be...no lights on and the windows don’t drop so getting the door open is tricky 😂
Put a jump pack on it using the positive terminal under the bonnet.....could hear a slight click tick sound coming more from the rear (could be a tracker...not that I know either way if it’s got one fitted. Left the jump pack on for 5-10 mins, all dash lights, stereo and heater controls turn on but when you press the start button, nothing. No sounds and no cranking. Put a trickle charger on instead, using the metal Airbox housing as an earth and it came up with ‘fault’ so called the AA.
AA guy came, jump pack got the lights to come on the dash but still nothing from the push start button. We got the boot open, and fatally he pressed the battery isolation switch thinking it was an on/off button which has isolated the battery, and the under bonnet jump points are now dead. LUCKILY the drivers seat was already positioned forward as he’d been trying to locate the battery with no luck at this stage. What a SH*T car design this is. Had the seat been clicked back it would have been impossible to move it forward again to access the battery as the seat is fully electric tilt and slide. The AA guy said he was retiring in April and this is the most impossible case he’d worked on in his 46 year career. It’s quite frankly a piece of scrap. I called AM dealer and spoke to a really nice chap but he couldn’t visualise what a 2008 roadster battery set up/isolation switch system was like, but did encourage us to yank the cover behind the seat harder and wow we managed to find the battery. Removal of a load of screws and trims later he got to the battery. Tried charging it, got like 7/8 amps which was a start but not enough. So he got a second pair of leads and a spare battery so effectively gave it 2 batteries to jump and charge off. Concluded the ‘battery reconnection switch’ didn’t exist and did some sort of bypass thing which got it to crank which made me smile, but he threw the towel in. He said the battery is cooked but didn’t want to do half a job and put a new one in given we had looked for 2 hours for this damn switch.
I have to say, this car is the biggest POS I’ve ever owned and if there’s a solution to get it reset and new battery fitted to get it running I’m going to get rid of it as the design is absolutely disgracefully bad!
Apologies for the essay, in fact I could write a book as to my findings over the past few days and how rubbish these cars are - the designer must love beautiful lace knickers with nothing beneath them! If anyone knows how to find the battery reconnection switch and any advice on how to get this wretched thing going then I’ll buy you a bottle of your choice!!
Never, ever and I mean ever leave an Aston for 3 weeks without putting the battery on charge. You can use the battery disconnect switch to shutdown most systems and save the battery 
Trackers can also drain the battery.
Finally, don't ever and this time I really mean EVER leave a half knackered battery in an Aston as its a complete pain in the arse to get at the battery compartment especially as the seats won't move.
Put new battery in the car, do all the resets as per the Frequently Asked Questions, top of the page, enjoy the car.
There are no bad Astons, just bad owners
Trackers can also drain the battery.
Finally, don't ever and this time I really mean EVER leave a half knackered battery in an Aston as its a complete pain in the arse to get at the battery compartment especially as the seats won't move.
Put new battery in the car, do all the resets as per the Frequently Asked Questions, top of the page, enjoy the car.
There are no bad Astons, just bad owners
Possibly but if another good battery was directly connected I would have thought it should have started. Mines the same year but a manual, you can hear the solenoid tripping in when the key is put in and turned after the boot switch was triggered. I think that the unfindable switch you were looking for was fitted to earlier cars and later ones use the key to reset. Jump starting any modern car can cause issues if not done correctly.
I’m not an expert but I’d suggest if you do jump start again, connect the battery directly on the terminals visible behind the seat. Also, put the sidelights on when starting, this protects the electrics from spikes that may happen from jump starting. This was always drummed into me as good practice, I was in the truck trade and someone failed to do this and it cooked a £4K ECU on a brand new Mercedes-Benz truck. I’m not sure the terminal under the bonnet is up to jump starting, the size and design of it makes me think it’s only for trickle charging but I’d ask another expert for confirmation of this.
They are a good car so don’t get too angry with it, if it was mine, I’d trickle charge it for a day on a low setting and then give it another go. Check the dash does it’s checks as normal and is showing neutral and give it another go tomorrow evening. May be after a couple of hours of charging check the headlights work on dip and full beam and the height adjusters do their thing. If not then the battery is knackered.
Good luck!
I’m not an expert but I’d suggest if you do jump start again, connect the battery directly on the terminals visible behind the seat. Also, put the sidelights on when starting, this protects the electrics from spikes that may happen from jump starting. This was always drummed into me as good practice, I was in the truck trade and someone failed to do this and it cooked a £4K ECU on a brand new Mercedes-Benz truck. I’m not sure the terminal under the bonnet is up to jump starting, the size and design of it makes me think it’s only for trickle charging but I’d ask another expert for confirmation of this.
They are a good car so don’t get too angry with it, if it was mine, I’d trickle charge it for a day on a low setting and then give it another go. Check the dash does it’s checks as normal and is showing neutral and give it another go tomorrow evening. May be after a couple of hours of charging check the headlights work on dip and full beam and the height adjusters do their thing. If not then the battery is knackered.
Good luck!
sf1969 said:
The ‘battery back on’ switch is actually the key, the button in the boot simply part disconnects the power to save drain. Put the key in the ignition and turn it on, if the battery now has sufficient charge it will come back on.
This. On early cars, the battery reset switch was behind the driver seat. 07 onwards I believe has a relay which is incorporated into the key barrel (so it resets when you put the key in to start). A few other points to note- the seats fold forward when you press the button, but there is a nylon pull cord under the headrest which you can use to release the seat and get to the battery if the low power mode has been activated.
The tracker is the likely drain of your battery. They go nuts on older cars - mine used to drain a new fully charged one in less than 2 weeks. Since disabling it, the car sat for a couple of months (through lockdown) with no problems.
Thankyou everybody for your replies and advice! I was a bit frustrated at the complexities of getting round the issues that I haven’t seen before on any other car and was more than starting to think I had a very expensive plant pot on the driveway esp after the AA chap was here for 2 hours and AM dealer couldn’t get his head around it. So basically, no need to worry about the reconnection switch as it’s a slightly later model...and give the trickle charger a chance directly connected on the battery for a couple of days and if no joy fit a new battery. (I will probably just get a new battery tomorrow) No other issues with the car to answer one chaps question....just so frustrating when everything seems so difficult right down to the way the door opening causes the window to bend so much into the door card damaging the rubber etc, and now the interior looks like a jigsaw puzzle! 🥴 Thankyou for all the helpful advice - it sounds like the answer to what I figured would be a recovery job and a load more hassle.
I had a similar situation a while back. My ctek was draining not charging
It was a bit tricky getting into the car and the various nooks and crannies but patience and knowledge is the key.
As an aside I had no luck getting the car running from the under bonnet jump points.
Seems odd that the AA man after 46 years hasn’t seen other awkward designs
It was a bit tricky getting into the car and the various nooks and crannies but patience and knowledge is the key.
As an aside I had no luck getting the car running from the under bonnet jump points.
Seems odd that the AA man after 46 years hasn’t seen other awkward designs
Thankyou for the further replies! I find it strange also that the under bonnet jacking points did work the other day in terms of getting enough life to light up the dash, but now are dead. Also a bit worrying that the AA guy had a ‘good battery’ connected directly to my battery, and a jump pack and it still wouldn’t start.
I’m just wondering whether to get a new decent battery and whether that will solve the problem (arghh). Certainly wondering that more now that you guys have told me there is no battery reconnection switch, and that the key does that bit!
I’m just wondering whether to get a new decent battery and whether that will solve the problem (arghh). Certainly wondering that more now that you guys have told me there is no battery reconnection switch, and that the key does that bit!
The under bonnet connections will take enough charge to put the lights on the dash on but I’m not comfortable with using them to take a starter motor loading. If you’ve ever watched jump leads come under load when you bring in the starter motor they physically move. If you use cheap ones they soon get hot, there is a large current draw needed to turn over a large engine. The miniscule point of contact between a crocodile clamp and the small threaded part under the bonnet will probably melt as they “arc weld”. Hence use good jump leads and get a very good contact direct to the battery if trying to start it. I’ve seen the lead terminals on batteries melt to nothing if not tightened sufficiently.
I’ve had my car 7 years and it was 6 years old when purchased and I don’t believe it’s had a battery yet but it always lives on a small trickle charger in the garage when not out. I’m going to get my tracker disarmed next service though as I can see the battery drops quite quickly if not on charge.
The window issue you mentioned sounds like the car needs the resetting process so I’d fit a new battery and do that and then hopefully it’ll be ok.
I’ve had my car 7 years and it was 6 years old when purchased and I don’t believe it’s had a battery yet but it always lives on a small trickle charger in the garage when not out. I’m going to get my tracker disarmed next service though as I can see the battery drops quite quickly if not on charge.
The window issue you mentioned sounds like the car needs the resetting process so I’d fit a new battery and do that and then hopefully it’ll be ok.
Edited by sf1969 on Tuesday 2nd February 21:14
Thankyou for the advice there! I will pick up a new battery and go from there. Perhaps disconnecting the old one and connecting a new will solve the problem. I’m just slightly baffled as to why the under bonnet jump points have now stopped working, and why the AA man’s battery connected directly to mine (plus a jump pack) didn’t enable it to start. Wondering if anything has spiked the system or whether it has an immobiliser issue and or tracker (not sure if it has one)
Any recommendations on battery type? I’ve seen something online about using a smaller but better battery. Are Exide any good? Local battery place has them in stock. People say to not use Lion
Any recommendations on battery type? I’ve seen something online about using a smaller but better battery. Are Exide any good? Local battery place has them in stock. People say to not use Lion
Rich-be2p2 said:
Thankyou for the advice there! I will pick up a new battery and go from there. Perhaps disconnecting the old one and connecting a new will solve the problem. I’m just slightly baffled as to why the under bonnet jump points have now stopped working, and why the AA man’s battery connected directly to mine (plus a jump pack) didn’t enable it to start. Wondering if anything has spiked the system or whether it has an immobiliser issue and or tracker (not sure if it has one)
Any recommendations on battery type? I’ve seen something online about using a smaller but better battery. Are Exide any good? Local battery place has them in stock. People say to not use Lion
https://www.tayna.co.uk/Any recommendations on battery type? I’ve seen something online about using a smaller but better battery. Are Exide any good? Local battery place has them in stock. People say to not use Lion
geresey said:
How did that happen?????
Just developed a fault. It’s rare but not unheard of. By the time I realised the battery was down to 2v so useless Much fun ensued afterwards to get the battery out
I bought a AA branded charger/conditioner from Halfords I think for much less than ctek which works just the same
I posted the following back on November 9, 2020. It may help you since your problem seems similar:
I have a 2012 V12 Vantage that I bought new in 2013. It’s been a great car. Never any real problems. I keep it maintained yearly at the local Aston Martin dealer. I use a battery maintainer consistently.
A few weeks ago I went to my garage to start the car and drive to a friends car gallery. When I pushed the “key” nothing happened beyond the normal lights displaying on the instrument panel. So I expected that the battery was dead although it had been plugged-in to the maintainer. I got my volt meter out and read about 8 volts across the battery terminals. Not good, but not unexpected for a 9 year old battery. Unfortunately, my garage space at our building is confined between concrete block walls so I didn’t have a lot of room to work so changing out the battery myself wasn’t going to be something I wanted to attempt.
I decided to purchase a small jump start battery and received it a couple to days later. I charged it and then corrected it to the Aston. The starter would crank the engine but the engine never fired-up. I called my insurance company’s roadside assistance and they sent a man with a specially rigged Jeep with a 30 foot jumper cable. After trying every possible way to get the car to start the same problem persisted. I even went to the Aston dealer and got a new battery that I hooked-up with jumper cables in place of the old battery but got the same results.
I finally bit the bullet and had the Aston flat-bedded to the dealer. They tried a jump start battery but of course got the same results. They hooked-up their Aston diagnostic computer and it reported a voltage of 7.9 volts and that the throttle bodies had been disabled. So no matter what you could do to get the battery system up to snuff the car will never start. The solution was to use the Aston diagnostic computer to enable the throttle bodies and then with the old battery replaced with a new one the car immediately fired-up.
Luckily all this happened while I was at home with the car safely tucked away in the garage. It could have been a real pain if that hadn’t been the case. I’ve now learned that batteries don’t last 9 years and Aston’s don’t tolerate bad batteries.
I have a 2012 V12 Vantage that I bought new in 2013. It’s been a great car. Never any real problems. I keep it maintained yearly at the local Aston Martin dealer. I use a battery maintainer consistently.
A few weeks ago I went to my garage to start the car and drive to a friends car gallery. When I pushed the “key” nothing happened beyond the normal lights displaying on the instrument panel. So I expected that the battery was dead although it had been plugged-in to the maintainer. I got my volt meter out and read about 8 volts across the battery terminals. Not good, but not unexpected for a 9 year old battery. Unfortunately, my garage space at our building is confined between concrete block walls so I didn’t have a lot of room to work so changing out the battery myself wasn’t going to be something I wanted to attempt.
I decided to purchase a small jump start battery and received it a couple to days later. I charged it and then corrected it to the Aston. The starter would crank the engine but the engine never fired-up. I called my insurance company’s roadside assistance and they sent a man with a specially rigged Jeep with a 30 foot jumper cable. After trying every possible way to get the car to start the same problem persisted. I even went to the Aston dealer and got a new battery that I hooked-up with jumper cables in place of the old battery but got the same results.
I finally bit the bullet and had the Aston flat-bedded to the dealer. They tried a jump start battery but of course got the same results. They hooked-up their Aston diagnostic computer and it reported a voltage of 7.9 volts and that the throttle bodies had been disabled. So no matter what you could do to get the battery system up to snuff the car will never start. The solution was to use the Aston diagnostic computer to enable the throttle bodies and then with the old battery replaced with a new one the car immediately fired-up.
Luckily all this happened while I was at home with the car safely tucked away in the garage. It could have been a real pain if that hadn’t been the case. I’ve now learned that batteries don’t last 9 years and Aston’s don’t tolerate bad batteries.
Rich -
If you are going to replace the battery yourself this thread may help you.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
If you are going to replace the battery yourself this thread may help you.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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