Member Since: 26 Oct 2009
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 21
Lumpy idle caused by a faulty battery ???
Hi,
Can anyone assist, over the past few weeks I have been suffering with a very lumpy idle on cold starts, around 7-800rpm and car shakes a bit till it gets warm. There is an increase in exaust smoke on initial fire up which then dissapears, along with this are sporadic HDC system messages, again this only seems to happen when cold.
I have looked at several posts, many which point the finger at the battery. Current battery (on an 05) is original (30k mls). Over the past 4 weeks, my wife has used it but only very short distances and with lights etc on . Changing the battery seems a good starting point (no pun) but can anyone explain how to do this, what is sleep mode? Is this anything to worry about or is it basically just a straight battery swap ??
Thanks in advance !![/b]
1st Feb 2011 12:08 am
kernowexpeditionaryforce
Member Since: 15 Jan 2009
Location: Kernow
Posts: 329
change it m8! did mine yesterday and its sorted every issue!
i used a bosch battery from halfraulds (had a discount card!) so LR one maybe cheaper...
i had lumpy idle, flikering of interior light & LCD displays, then the usual special progs off!
1st Feb 2011 12:29 am
character
Member Since: 01 Jan 2008
Location: wiltshire
Posts: 5781
new battery I'm afraid, make sure its a 950AMPS one from yer LR stealer, they'll fit it as well
1st Feb 2011 12:31 am
cobblers
Member Since: 06 Dec 2008
Location: Chester
Posts: 175
Hello Steve,
If its the original battery, I'd agree that a new one might be the way to go.
Before then it might be worth giving the current battery a good charge (pardon the pun) to prove the point or give the battery a bit more life. I got similar symptoms if I only use the Disco for short journeys in Winter, esp with the seat heaters, lights on etc. I bought a CTek XS7000 charger which does a great job. I have also made up a cable to charge via the 12S socket in the towing electrics, I can then charge up overnight (once a week at the mo) without leaving the vehicle open.
Cheers
Steve
1st Feb 2011 10:39 am
parjan_fin
Member Since: 19 Oct 2010
Location: Finland
Posts: 26
Hi.
I had the same problem and here in Finland winters can be littlebit colder
I replaced the original battery and also fitted Defa's Multicharger 1203 (http://wup.defa.com/en/wup_products_batterychargers.html) and also interior heater (http://wup.defa.com/en/wup_products_interiorheaters.html). This way I can heat up the interior without Webasto and also charge the battery and car can stay locked.
Charger is intelligent so when the battery is full charger goes to "keep alive" mode so it wont do any harm to the battery.===============
2005 TDV6 SE
I've just had all of this and it was the alternator so worth checking both before spending moneyPot Noodle Challenge Winner 2011
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1st Feb 2011 1:12 pm
SHARKYSHARKS
Member Since: 20 Dec 2008
Location: Saddleworth Oldham
Posts: 1954
Steve where abouts are ya i'm just outside Mossley at the mo and if ya wanted i could test ya battery, and check what voltage the alternator is pushing out if ya wanted.
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1st Feb 2011 1:24 pm
Tawny Owl
Member Since: 22 Oct 2008
Location: Here and there
Posts: 1645
Agree with poss changing the battery as it's the original but I did this on mine and it made NO difference at all.
Had the original battery 825 amps so replaced with the 950A and next morning exactly the same. Stars fine but runs rough for a few seconds (misfire) and then clears it's self.
1st Feb 2011 6:05 pm
Steve B LR3
Member Since: 26 Oct 2009
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 21
Thanks for all your replies so far.....
Have been looking further and decided to follow up the advice. The original battery is now on trickle charge, will give it a day and start it to see what difference (if any). When the car is running I will "clock" the output voltage with a digital voltmeter.
(SHARKYSHARKS) - Thanks very much for your kind offer to come down (i'm in Hyde) but I will assume (?) that I should be getting around 13.6-13.8 volts on initial startup. This should prove the alternator is doing what it should.
I have conceeded. that, after 2 x crap winters and low mileage between startups (and my wife likes the heated seats) it wouldnt be a bad thing to "eliminate" the battery out of the equation, so looks like the 5+ yr old battery will be replaced by the end of next weekend. I will, of course, let you all know whether a battery swap does cure these "ailments". - thanks... and I will be back in touch....... Of course, if anyone has any more useful advice or suggerstions, feel free ....
SHARKYSHARKS
2nd Feb 2011 12:15 am
SHARKYSHARKS
Member Since: 20 Dec 2008
Location: Saddleworth Oldham
Posts: 1954
You should be getting about 14 + volts after start up, but after you have charged your battery get it discharge tested and this will give you an indication of it's condition, and wether you should fork out on a new one. If you need a new one and do not want to go down to L/R route PM me and i,ll let you know who we use who are pretty decent on price, and local to you.
Cheers
Sharks.MY18 D5 HSE LUX😎
MY12 Freelander SD4 HSE
44 Tonne 12 Litre 6x2 Scania T cab (Current)
Freelander 1 (Wrote off 😫)
Ex D1
Ex D2 GS
Ex V8 D2 GS
Ex D3 S
Ex D4 GS
Club skip ya lockers !!!
Club BAS remote heater !!
Club Duratrac
Club Phillips DRL
Club Prospeed Rack Mk 1
Club Prospeed Rack Mk 2
Club Sankey
Club RLD spare wheel protector
2nd Feb 2011 7:57 am
Dave T
Member Since: 03 Jul 2009
Location: Glasgow
Posts: 6902
Just as a thought, is perhaps the actual cause of the lumpy idle because the battery doesn't have enough power to heat the glow plugs properly. Which then means you don't get enough heat to make the fuel/air mix explode because its all going to heat the block initially. Joined the BMWX5 45e group
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2nd Feb 2011 8:03 am
Steve B LR3
Member Since: 26 Oct 2009
Location: Cheshire
Posts: 21
Back with an update ...
(SHARKYSHARKS - Thanks for the info)
After trickle charging the original battery for 24 hrs+, started car and it seemed better on idle, digital voltmeter across battery showed 14.8volts so assumed alternator OK. Have owned the car from new so know the original battery must be approx 6 yrs old so have purchased a Bosch replacement. Have only had 3 "cold" starts since the swap but can say the lumpy idle has gone (albeit outside air temp is warmer now at 9 degrees). Haven't seen any spurious display messages such as "HDC not available" etc. So far so good...... Will monitor over the next few weeks, if I post no more updates, the Battery was the problem.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and suggestions, again it proves how worthwhile this website can be.
Steve.
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