Technical Twinair battery draining fast and only 12.8V with running engine

[onnaj]

Hi,

I have a 2011 500 twinair with a 3 year old battery.

Last with a bit colder weather I couldn't open the car door with the remote and the car didn't want to start.

Seems the battery was dead and jump starting with another car wasn't working also.

After using a trickle charger (slow) charger the car would start right away.

When running with accessories on max (Aircon, heating, rear window and mirror heating, headlight, etc) the voltage meter stays on 12.8V and only falls back 0.2V or so with everything on. When everything is off and only the engine is running it stays at 12.8V. After a few times cranking the voltage with engine off dropped to 11.6V or so. With running it was around 12.5V.

I left the car for a week without driving and then I wasn't able to open the car with the remote again. The battery was showing 7.x volts only so completely dead.

After a complete recharge with the trickle charger and warmer weather it still stays on 12.8V with everything on and it keeps it's voltage after multiple starts.

Could a faulty battery causing the alternator to not be able to charge it well? I'd expect around 13.5V with a running engine.

Or do I have had luck and maybe both the alternator and battery are bad?

I've checked for lights that are staying on in the car but can't find anything that could possibly cause the drain of the battery

Thanks!

 

[jrkitching]

Has your car got Blue&Me?

A failed Blue&Me module will keep draining the battery until physically disconnected, and is a commonly reported issue.

 

[onnaj]

Yes i have Blue and me. How can I check this or disable the unit?

 

[jrkitching]

It's behind the rear three quarter trim panel. The only potential snag in removing this is the rear seat belt mounting bolt, which sometimes shears off due to corrosion on the outer threads. I believe you can just loosen the panel sufficiently to pull the connecting plug off the module without removing the bolt.

Have a look on youtube for the videos on this subject by 'love500' (@typecastboy)