General Dead battery after sitting a week

RickLederman · Jan 13, 2014

My daughter's 500L battery goes dead if the car sits for something like a week. The dealer told me that they have had a number of reports of the same thing and the new cars in their lot they regularly have to take a booster battery to start them. Our car sits in a heated garage.

I'm surprised that I don't see the same thing in this forum. Any one else with the same problems?

Rick

MJG · Jan 13, 2014

Welcome to the forum Rick,

We haven't but ours is used virtually every day so I couldn't say for sure we wouldn't. The longest it's been left will be 48 hours max. Some modern cars do seem to run down the batteries much sooner than they use to when not in use and I have heard of and read of other makes and models that do it. That said a week sounds an unacceptably short period of time to me and the dealer should be investigating. They sound as if they are trying to fob you off as comparing your daughter's with cars stood for days on end in their lot barely run at all is not comparing like use with like use.

Jazzist · Jan 13, 2014

Mine regularly stands for a week no problems.

The only thing I've noticed is that the start stop then doesn't action.

I think it should take a few months.. What if you were to leave it in an airport car park for 3 weeks? I wouldn't expect the battery to be dead; it would be a big hassle after a long flight.

Is she doing very very short journeys and the battery never gets charged?

RickLederman · Jan 13, 2014

Thanks for your help guys! Older Ferraris are known to go dead after a while (and are owned by Fiat!). I am fortunate enough to have both a California and a FF and neither of them goes dead in 30 days, let alone a week. Depending on the season (we are in northwest Ohio) one of them becomes my daily driver, the other sits.

I will contact Service at the dealership one more time along with complaining to the Fiat USA guy I talked to Friday night to see if I can get any more help.

It is a 30 minute drive each way to my daughter's school, and since she still on a temporary permit she drives there with me, I drive the car home and take my FF to the office. That is plenty of time for a charge. I have tested it with a voltmeter and the system is charging it. Voltage while idling is OK.

For now if were to take it to an airport for more than an overnight trip I would pop the battery disconnect, easy to do but then you have to reset the stupid click.

MJG · Jan 13, 2014

RickLederman said:
Thanks for your help guys! Older Ferraris are known to go dead after a while (and are owned by Fiat!). I am fortunate enough to have both a California and a FF and neither of them goes dead in 30 days, let alone a week. Depending on the season (we are in northwest Ohio) one of them becomes my daily driver, the other sits.

I will contact Service at the dealership one more time along with complaining to the Fiat USA guy I talked to Friday night to see if I can get any more help.

It is a 30 minute drive each way to my daughter's school, and since she still on a temporary permit she drives there with me, I drive the car home and take my FF to the office. That is plenty of time for a charge. I have tested it with a voltmeter and the system is charging it. Voltage while idling is OK.

For now if were to take it to an airport for more than an overnight trip I would pop the battery disconnect, easy to do but then you have to reset the stupid click.

If you are sure it's charging OK then that points to a dodgy battery not holding it's charge while standing or something that is drawing current while the vehicle is stood.

Just a shot in the dark (no pun intended) has she checked the 'vanity' lights under the sun-visors are both off? I was surprised on ours to see that these can be switched on with the ignition key off and the key out.

I thought they would only be able to be switched on with the key at the first stop or would be on some sort of a timer. No timer seems evident. I am not sure of the current draw but if both were on it could possibly be sufficient to flatten the battery over a week - certainly worth checking before you shoot off to the dealers.

(The above of course assumes the US market version is the same as the UK one)

Ziggy122 · Jan 14, 2014

MJG said:
If you are sure it's charging OK then that points to a dodgy battery not holding it's charge while standing or something that is drawing current while the vehicle is stood.

Just a shot in the dark (no pun intended) has she checked the 'vanity' lights under the sun-visors are both off? I was surprised on ours to see that these can be switched on with the ignition key off and the key out.

I thought they would only be able to be switched on with the key at the first stop or would be on some sort of a timer. No timer seems evident. I am not sure of the current draw but if both were on it could possibly be sufficient to flatten the battery over a week - certainly worth checking before you shoot off to the dealers.

(The above of course assumes the US market version is the same as the UK one)

Dont just check the extra vanity mirror lights

Check if its got them - they are switching off

A - Boot light
B - Interior Light
C - Engine Bay light - if present
D - Glove box

If it has any of those, even if its a simple 5w bulb
it'll be drawing (400ma roughly)
That 400ma for 10 hours becomes 4amps, in a day that 9.6amps drawn

Now leave that 9.5amps (rounded figure) for 7 days = 66.5amps been drawn!

Thats not including the increase in amperage it'll pull as the voltage gets lower....

Ziggy

MJG · Jan 14, 2014

Ziggy122 said:
Dont just check the extra vanity mirror lights

Check if its got them - they are switching off

A - Boot light
B - Interior Light
C - Engine Bay light - if present
D - Glove box

If it has any of those, even if its a simple 5w bulb
it'll be drawing (400ma roughly)
That 400ma for 10 hours becomes 4amps, in a day that 9.6amps drawn

Now leave that 9.5amps (rounded figure) for 7 days = 66.5amps been drawn!

Thats not including the increase in amperage it'll pull as the voltage gets lower....

Ziggy

Sorry yes - I was just mentioning the most obvious ones to check as they can be left on as in 'user error' - anything else would be classed as a fault really and should be sorted by the dealer because if none of those others are switching off it would require a warranty repair to sort it.

varesecrazy · Jan 14, 2014

MJG said:
Sorry yes - I was just mentioning the most obvious ones to check as they can be left on as in 'user error' - anything else would be classed as a fault really and should be sorted by the dealer because if none of those others are switching off it would require a warranty repair to sort it.

very true, along with selectable stuff,

like parking lights,
radio / CD,

worth taking to a dealer if relatively convenient though, as it should only take an hour with a meter to see what is drawing current, and where,

strange how they say their stock vehicles are in a similar way though

,

Charlie

Ulpian · Jan 15, 2014

There was a small article in What Car today about a new 500L needing to be started after having a flat battery, twice, so this looks like a chronic problem that Fiat needs to address.

MJG · Jan 15, 2014

Ulpian said:
There was a small article in What Car today about a new 500L needing to be started after having a flat battery, twice, so this looks like a chronic problem that Fiat needs to address.

I'm tempted now to leave ours and see what happens. I would rather find out on the drive at home than in the airport car park after a weeks holiday...

Problem is it's our only car and our daily driver so it never gets left more than a day, two at the most so it's not really a practical proposition.

s and b · Jan 15, 2014

if fiat dealer admits its a problem then i despair because this could be a major problem if it gets out
i assume its either a module not going to sleep so needs a software update from fiat or faulty alternators leaking

digaff · Jan 17, 2014

Rick- Car in heated garage unlocked?? Most modules run on battery power and are in a standby mode unless powered down by locking the door. ever notice how the relays kick on when you open the door? Try locking the car as it sits inside should take care of the issue....

MJG · Jan 17, 2014

digaff said:
Rick- Car in heated garage unlocked?? Most modules run on battery power and are in a standby mode unless powered down by locking the door. ever notice how the relays kick on when you open the door? Try locking the car as it sits inside should take care of the issue....

Are you certain about this? I understand the electrics don't come 'alive' until the ignition key on a 500L is turned to the MAR-ON position. That is when I seem to hear the relay 'clicks' you refer to. And in turn they shut down when the key is turned to off.

varesecrazy · Jan 17, 2014

Hi,
beware of confusing different market spec cars/ set-ups,
I know that a LOT of the semi-auto's fire the hydraulics as the drivers door is opened( panda, Idea, etc)

being a US owner posting the query, it could well be a Semi-auto that they own,

my sisters FORD people carrier had a major drain issue whereby a substantial amount of dashboard, air-con , radio stuff didn't shut down as it was designed to,
apparently a VERY common FORD issue..,

Charlie

MJG · Jan 17, 2014

varesecrazy said:
Hi,
beware of confusing different market spec cars/ set-ups,
I know that a LOT of the semi-auto's fire the hydraulics as the drivers door is opened( panda, Idea, etc)

being a US owner posting the query, it could well be a Semi-auto that they own,

my sisters FORD people carrier had a major drain issue whereby a substantial amount of dashboard, air-con , radio stuff didn't shut down as it was designed to,
apparently a VERY common FORD issue..,

Charlie

Interesting and yes being a US owner I would say it is almost certainly not a 'stick shift'.

What purpose does it serve I wonder? - seems pointless as you may just be going to the car to retrieve something and logically none of it is really needed until you actually need to start the car.

varesecrazy · Jan 17, 2014

I was always tempted to use the passenger doors for general in + outery,
only opening the drivers to actually drive,
Charlie

RickLederman · Jan 18, 2014

digaff said:
Rick- Car in heated garage unlocked?? Most modules run on battery power and are in a standby mode unless powered down by locking the door. ever notice how the relays kick on when you open the door? Try locking the car as it sits inside should take care of the issue....

Yes I am in the US. The car does remain unlocked. I will try locking it and see what happens. And yes it is a dual clutch, not a 'real' stick. I tried to find a real stick to force my daughter to learn to drive one but it was very difficult to find one near northwest Ohio with the rest of the options I wanted.

Rick

MJG · Jan 19, 2014

RickLederman said:
Yes I am in the US. The car does remain unlocked. I will try locking it and see what happens. And yes it is a dual clutch, not a 'real' stick. I tried to find a real stick to force my daughter to learn to drive one but it was very difficult to find one near northwest Ohio with the rest of the options I wanted.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Please remember to post back with the outcome as the info. could be helpful to others.

Many thanks.

Jazzist · Jan 19, 2014

mine has sat unlocked for a week no problem

jabird101 · Jan 19, 2014

My L had a bad battery from the factory. This is something the dealer will tell you never happens. It took me leaving it three weeks at their service department after having it towed to them twice to diagnose it correctly. I told them what the ussue was on day one. They didn't listen and it cost them a loaner for three weeks. They always deny that it could be the obvious problem.

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