A bit of a long shot regarding a van battery problem but wondered if anyone has experienced similar , seems common on some citroens but this one has the experts baffled .
Actually seemed to start after a non destructive electronic entry attack on my Citroen Nemo but this could just be a coincidence .
Simply the battery drains overnight .
The van has had 4 new batteries fitted over the last two years , The van is Six years old with only 25,000 miles on the clock
My mechanics auto electrician checked it out and could find no problem but he could not reset the mileage indicator which constantly flashes but still records the mileage so suggested i took it to a dealer .
I took the van to a diagnostic company who checked everything but could find no problem and fitted yet another new battery . I asked them to reset the mileometer , the mechanic pointed to their company Citroen Nemo and said we have the same problem and have checked everything on ours .
The van has done approx 900 miles since new 4th battery was fitted and now back to needing a jump start every morning , It does hold the charge between travelling to jobs but drains overnight , obviously everything has being checked interior lights , alternator is working fine , its the correct battery , a trickle charger will restore the battery to full but it drains down quickly .
when doing approx 30 miles a day charge is retained but any less of say 8 miles a day battery goes flat .
Any theories or suggestions appreciated .
Many Thanks
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I have a 69 plate Citroen Dispatch and my last van, 66 plate Dispatch drained the battery completely in its first 9 months of ownership. I had a new battery installed dispite the dealership saying it is an item that wears outs and therefore not covered. I told them to to invoice the lease company then. They couldn't find a fault on it either but I decided to ensure that I kept the doors shut when I was working at my customers to ensure that the interior lights etc didn't drain the battery. In my view, there are just too many electrickery in these modern vans that just drain the battery. In my van I can listen to the radio for approximately 20 minutes as it will switch off to conserve the battery to enable me to start it later. Unbelievable.
Do they only have one battery?
Transits for all their faults... Have had two batteries in the cab for about 20 years now. One battery does major stuff (starting etc.) and the other does the radio, interior lights and whatever else.
John, it might be worth posting this query on a Citroen forum as I am sure there might be someone who can relates to your woes and crucially resolved this niggle. Just a thought.
Thanks Andrew . I agree too much still going on under the bonnet with modern vans when they are parked up .
I am thinking about going back to basics something similar to Suzuki which means looking at 19 / 20 year old vehicles to get this .
Have tried the citroen forums but inconclusive , i am prepared to pay the experts to solve the problem but they seem to think they have fixed it by putting a new battery in , current battery is still under guarantee so be interesting to hear what they say .
John, that's a very interesting response about an older van as that's what I have been thinking too. I have several ideas of choice of vans that I won't reveal here. Don't get me wrong, I love the van I got as its served the job well and is a great ride on the motorways to collect my son from and to university. I got to a stage in life where I think to myself do I really want to fork out x amount a month? On the one hand it's hasssle free motoring and is tax reductable but I do enjoy the thoughts of looking after an older van. I will be following your posts on an older van with interest!
Just a thought - could the van have been fitted with a hidden tracker by the previous owner or had an after market BT kit fitted behind radio ?
Another options is the auto dimmer light switches found on modern vehicles (these can often be disabled or deconfigured using the diagnostic software as a cross -check). Some vehicles are too clever, like turing courtesy or main lights on when you unlock etc, but with Dealer level diagnostics these features can be 'altered'.
My experience is most Dealers rarely have the skills or desire to troubleshoot, most now just go for 'part replacment' at owners expense.
Are you any good with auto-electrics - good enough to be able to verify what they've checked ?
A simple check is to get a good quality Amp Meter. Turn igntion off, place Meter in series (on a high setting initially).
Once checked, bring Meter range down to somewhere between 10-20amps, switch something/open door etc to see Amp meter detecst change - just to give you confidence you are monitoring ...
Then turn Meter down, get you handbook, knock off the fusebox cover trim (where ever it is on your van) and start removing systematically low rate fuses one by one and note the reading and go onto next one.
Just watch if you have a coded Audio system ( ie that you have codes in Service booklet before pulling those fuses)
You're looking for a sudden change that can't be explained by reasonable logic - as there is always some low, very low drain to most BT, Audio or SatNav systems.
Even test opening and closing doors, bonnet etc, switching on ignition (best to up the Meter range - but never try to start a vehicle with Meter in series), then off again but constantly watching current draw. Think Apollo 13 film sequence.
Worth checking if there any o/s manufacture software recalls (an unlikely cause)....
You can get a suitable meter from Screwfix, Toolstaion, amazon etc for £10-20
My money would be on a suspect device or the control module on the Alternator.
Thanks Gary much appreciated .
I have had the van from new , purchased from an online dealer , not sure if they would fit tracking devices but i have had a few issues with the audio / hands free .
The hands free suddenly stopped working and no longer visible on the menu yet any new portable device will instantly pair up with it although it wont work but makes me think its scanning behind the scenes .
I had a check earlier and noticed one of the 12v accessory sockets no longer has any power coming from it , It might be worth trying a new 15 amp fuse tomorrow when i can get to halfords .
Certainly worth me doing the checks you suggest during the christmas break .
Hi John
I have had a Citroen 64 reg for 4 years and not experienced the same batteries issues that you have so cant share a resolution to the problem, I can share my annoyance with the 20 minute or 1\2 the journey length time limit to the radio, its damn annoying on the rare ocassions where I may be in a stationary vehicle on a wet day or tuning into the cricket for an hour etc. This is annoyingly citroen ECO mode and suppose to prevent flat batteries! Next van I will make sure it works like my old vauxhall did (on and off at the press of a button)
What I would say is that I always lock the doors, wherever I am working, when the doors open the lights come on when you shut the doors they dont dim, they stay on till you double lock the van or this is my experience so could use some power. Last week I changed the load area to the Halfords LED bulbs and thats made a difference on the dark evenings and use less power
Gary may be right about a tracker in the van, when I got mine (2nd owner) it was inactive as not on a subscription but the only signs of it were the Teletrac display unit in the cradle mount on the dash board, a sticky tab on the windscreen near where a rear view mirror were and a very annoying tick tock tick tock each time i stopped and parked up somewhere. Ocassioanly a voice from the glove box said satelites lost every now and then. One weekend I investigated on the driveway and found the wiring from the drivers side mount and the tracker on the screen all wired back under the dash and upholstery round the windscreen leading to a "thing" in the dash behind the glove box and casing below, i pulled out a couple of the cables from the "Teletrac thing" to the power unit and never heard the sounds again and not had any other issues since
A good point about the radio there are some issues with the menu it seems to have a life of its own its sensitive and likes to go into eco mode and hide data .
A bit unnerving hearing voices from the glove box lol , The load area light has come on while driving so i turned this off completely and installed a magnetic rechargeable light to the back door , i also turned off the interior lights inside the cab .
I will try the halfords led bulbs . many thanks .
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