Technical Panda battery problems

[richardblack]

Hello All,
I have a Panda pop which has been suffering from a flat battery some mornings. I thought it was a dead battery so fitted a good battery. This has now done the same.
On connecting a charged battery, it draws about 500ma, rising to 2A for a few seconds then falls to about 200ma where it remains. I have disconnected the alternator to check it isn't drawing through there with no affect.
Is 200ma an acceptable level or should I start looking for causes?
I'm not sure if it is coincidence but the Blue and Me stopped working and the mileometer started flashing about a week ago.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thank you,
Richard Black

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi

Blue and Me is prime suspect..

Look in 500 section

Charlie

 

[chris3234]

Hi

Blue and Me is prime suspect..

Look in 500 section

Charlie

Unlikely on a pop moddel











That being said I'd leave it at least 30 mins before checking the current draw from the battery to give time for all the stuff to go to sleep but 200 mah is higher then normal

 

[Panda IIs]

Hello All,
I have a Panda pop which has been suffering from a flat battery some mornings. I thought it was a dead battery so fitted a good battery. This has now done the same.
On connecting a charged battery, it draws about 500ma, rising to 2A for a few seconds then falls to about 200ma where it remains. I have disconnected the alternator to check it isn't drawing through there with no affect.
Is 200ma an acceptable level or should I start looking for causes?
I'm not sure if it is coincidence but the Blue and Me stopped working and the mileometer started flashing about a week ago.
Any suggestions welcome.
Thank you,
Richard Black

Hi There,

Yep Blue and Me unit - take a look here https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-iii/480771-wheres-blue-me-module-2.html

You can get the unit repaired for something under £200.00 Its nearer £500 from FIAT for a new part.

Blue and Me seems to fail in an "active state" and continues to drain the battery to flat over 3-4 days if the car isn't used. Disconnection fixes this but the flashing odo is only resolved (my understanding) by replacing the unit and a reprogramme of the system.

 

[FiatMatt94]

When my original Mopar battery was starting to go recently the first symptom was my steering started to feel heavier but only when turning right & the car was taking a bit longer to start, a new battery solved both problems as the steering now feels as it should & even if left for a few days the car starts straight away on the first turn of the key. If you need to buy a new battery get it from Battery Megastore for a fraction of the price of motor factors & free 24 hr delivery. I purchased a Varta battery from them for £49 with a discount code through Ebay, the normal price from them before discount was £61 whereas Euro Car Parts wanted £137.99 for the same item.

 

[Tom95]

Silly question, but do you have anything plugged into the 12v or USB sockets?

While they power off with the ignition, I find that they sometimes don't in my car (or occasionally power back on for a few minutes at a time)

 

[murphyv310]

Hi.
200ma is way too high. After the system shuts down 50ma is tops. 200ma will drain the small battery to a level the starter is too sluggish in 4 days.
Blue and me is the prime suspect as has been said.

 

[Panda IIs]

Silly question, but do you have anything plugged into the 12v or USB sockets?

While they power off with the ignition, I find that they sometimes don't in my car (or occasionally power back on for a few minutes at a time)

The clue is in the original post - the odometer is flashing.

This is triggered by the failure of the Blue & Me module (under drivers seat if RHD). The flashing may be triggered by other CANBus errors but the Blue & Me unit is the only one I am aware of. Blue & Me fails and the system appears to not shut down hence the battery drain.

Simple test is to disconnect (at the connector on the module - not at the radio head unit) and check battery drain.

 

[richardblack]

Thank you all for the helpful replies.
I am fairly certain now that my spare battery is not as good as I thought.
I also found that if the back door is not fully closed, after opening and closing the front door, the current drain stays at 1A. It might explain why sometimes it's ok the next morning and other times not.
I have put a new battery on which should cope with the drain for a couple of days not using it.
I will try disconnecting blue and me (not worth replacing blue and me for us). Will that stop the mileometer flashing?
Thanks again for all the help.
This forum is brilliant. Really helpful members.
Cheers
Richard.
Ps. Bought the battery from local factors for £49 before I saw yours Fiatmatt. I'll try them next. I've been using Tayna for a while.

 

[jrkitching]

I will try disconnecting blue and me (not worth replacing blue and me for us). Will that stop the mileometer flashing?

No; you'll need to do a proxi alignment for that.

 

[Panda IIs]

No; you'll need to do a proxi alignment for that.

And a new (or working) B&M unit. The car is expecting that to be there. I believe the proxi alignment simply programmes in the ID of the new unit (like an IP address I guess).

 

[chris3234]

And a new (or working) B&M unit. The car is expecting that to be there. I believe the proxi alignment simply programmes in the ID of the new unit (like an IP address I guess).

no you don't need a new blue and me unit not if you arnt bothered about the features working you can simply did connect it to stop the battery drain and then do a proxi allignment to fix the flashing millage

 

[Panda IIs]

no you don't need a new blue and me unit not if you arnt bothered about the features working you can simply did connect it to stop the battery drain and then do a proxi allignment to fix the flashing millage

Is this your experience? I have removed my failed B&M module sometime ago but was advised by an Independent (who I have good faith in) that the car needs to see a B&M module to clear the flashing ODO.

I don't need the Bluetooth functionality so would be pleased to clear the fault indication.

 

[chris3234]

Is this your experience? I have removed my failed B&M module sometime ago but was advised by an Independent (who I have good faith in) that the car needs to see a B&M module to clear the flashing ODO.

I don't need the Bluetooth functionality so would be pleased to clear the fault indication.

Nope a proxi allignment will cure the flashing odometer
It will still show a error when connected up to a computer
But with the proxi allignment done it won't cause any issues

 

[Panda IIs]

Nope a proxi allignment will cure the flashing odometer
It will still show a error when connected up to a computer
But with the proxi allignment done it won't cause any issues

Ok; I'll give it a go at the next opportunity.