Member Since: 30 Jun 2015
Location: Surrey
Posts: 4
New Battery Options
Hello all
As a newcomer to D4 ownership after several defenders, I need some advice on battery replacement. Car electrics have always filled me with dread and the D4 has more in the wing mirror than my entire previous defender fleet.
Problem: 59 plate D4 needed jump starting after ~1hr with the doors open - jump started by recovery service started and a 40 mile drive home - amber engine warning light still on - restarts today.
Requirement: replacement battery to give piece of mind that is will start without fail and cope with a couple of rug rats turning things on and off it the background and without having to be paranoid about making sure the interior boot lights off.
Read a number of threads this morning about AGM batteries and BMS resets and still bewildered etc - Local LR dealer has quoted £330 for a fit a new battery (what make are they?) and reset.
At that kind of price, happy to buy a high-end unit and fit it myself (Odyessy, Bosch etc), but a few things holding me back:
1) will I still need the BMS setting
2) what make fits well/easily (I have taken is out ~6weeks ago and fully charged it when it failed on the driveway - guessing having the doors open whilst I vacummed it out caused that failure) - very heavy snug fit.
As a separate note - whats the verdict of charging with the terminals disconnected in the tray? The handbook put the fear of godinto to me last time - I found the removal and replacement a struggle and do not want to be doing that too often.
Cheers. D
30th Jun 2015 1:09 pm
tlt
Member Since: 02 Sep 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 262
A couple of things come to mind for your consideration.
I have happily switched over to Deka AGM, various pictures of them in my gallery. D3 though, not a D4 but close to the same.
You could also consider an aux battery, that at least would give you a self jump should you run down the primary. Traxide is top of the line. Pictures of my setup in gallery.
I don't know of you are modded for off road, roof rack, etc. but I added solar, for a good constant float level when outside, also gives you a bit of ability to run fridges, and other kid stuff.
Any combination of stuff may help your situation. Bear in mind, Amp Hours are Amp hours they are either there or are not. I would be suspicious of the Alternator or Battery if it goes low that fast.
I don't know about the D4 but on D3 folks have fitted (I need too do it) LED in place of the power hungry bulbs for lighting. Also a worthwhile item to investigate.
Check out pictures of various setups in my gallery to maybe give you some ideas.
30th Jun 2015 6:31 pm
lrodolly
Member Since: 30 Jun 2015
Location: Surrey
Posts: 4
Thanks tlt - the D4 is really our main family car for all occasions - no mods added.
Further reading has got me a little further.
Buy new battery (Bosch S6) and then fit it - take it to dealer for BMS reset and CCF changes.
Booked in with the dealer later in week - they were trying to convince me to go oem and I would have faults in the future / warnings etc - hard to believe but who knows.
30th Jun 2015 8:12 pm
motolite
Member Since: 18 Mar 2013
Location: Sydney
Posts: 931
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi D and welcome to the forum.
First off, as posted above, leaving the door open for an hour should not flatten your battery, BUT, how well charged was your battery before you left the door open?
The thought of replacing a battery because it apparently went flat in a short time of use seems to be common place these days but if your battery has not been getting a proper charge in the first place, it may well have been in a low state of charge before you even opened the door.
Also, as above, a 40 mile drive is no where near enough drive time to fully recharge a battery so if you have a battery charger, try charging your battery, over night, all night for a week and see if this improves your battery’s performance.
Could work out a lot cheaper than replacing the battery, particularly if there is nothing wrong with your battery.
BTW, it is not uncommon for the amber engine light to come on after needing a jump start.
I would not worry about this as it was not the jump start that caused the light to come on, it was because your battery got so flat.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
30th Jun 2015 11:05 pm
tlt
Member Since: 02 Sep 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 262
I agree with "drivesafe" You can "see" here how it "looks" and some descriptions of what is happening...
In the first circle, you can see how long it takes while driving for the charge cycle to go "float" for lack of a better term. This is described in something I read somewhere, specific to the Discovery series.
I have experienced though, while closely monitoring battery performance lately after burning through a battery every two years since new.. Some people blame it on the charging system, and add a ctek at home and quick plug to keep it topped up. Due to the limitations others have mentioned. I went with solar for a number of reasons.
1st Jul 2015 3:42 am
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Opening a door does a lot more than turn on the interior lights. It wakes almost all ECUs from their suspended state. It then takes a D3 around 30 mins to go back to electronic sleep. If you open another door later on then the cycle repeats. So the campsite or cleaning the interior scenarios can really eat through the battery, especially if it was not at a particularly high state of charge in the first place. Turning on the ignition only makes things worse and if you have an ECU that does not respond correctly to the sleep command then things get ugly very quickly.
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