Hello all,
Popped out to the garage because it has been a while since I last used my car and I thought it would be sensible to attach the Ctek trickle charger I'd bought in preparation for the ~6 month storage it'll have over the winter. I last used it in October on the way back from a long weekend in France, so the last journey was a good few hours long...
Walked up to the car and it didn't open the doors by proximity. Fair enough, it often doesn't work if it's been idle for more than a few days at a time and I know this feature times out with lack of use. I pressed the open button on the remote and, nothing. Not a beep, click, or light anywhere. The lithium battery is dead and I'm staring down the barrels of a very costly replacement because I've not had it connected to a trickle charger for 10 weeks. Bugger!
Whether the battery was dead or not, I still needed to get to it so it could be checked and/or removed, so here's a little guide that you might all be aware of already but could be useful for some:
In the key fob there is a small blade that you have to slide out with your fingernail. This blade fits into a secret, hidden lock, that is under the driver's door handle. You do need to fully lift the handle in order to clear it and hold it open fully while inserting and turning the blade to avoid scratches. The blade only works one way up (although apparently fits in in both orientations), and only in one direction.
Once turned 90-degrees to unlock, the blade can be removed and you can then re-pull the handle to gain access to inside the car. The next thing you need to do is reach over to the passenger side and open the plastic cover that houses the relays in the passenger footwell. There is no way that I could get the passenger door open, so leaning over the centre console was the only way for me. Care must be taken to not lean on the passenger seat with your hand or you may break the heating mat and/or proximity sensor in the seat base that indicates a passenger is present.
With the cover of the fuse box removed, you will see a red/orange 'plug' in the centre. This must be pulled out until it stops and has a copper piece on the side of it. That's the positive jumper that you then need to attach either another 12v battery to, or in my case my trusty Noco booster.
The negative can be attached to the opened door latch or hinge to make the circuit.
With power now applied, the bonnet release can be operated next to the driver's seat and the bonnet will unlatch. Yippee!!
The next stage iss to attach the Noco directly to the battery positive and the negative post by the windscreen wiper mechanism. I then powered on the Noco and left it supplying power for 5 minutes. This, I'm told, gives the battery enough juice to bring it out of dormant mode. After 5 minutes, I disconnected the Noco and hooked up the dedicated lithium Ctek that I should have connected 10 weeks ago. Bingo, battery charging.
I've had the Ctek connected for 24hrs now and can safely say that all is well. The car started in the garage and ran happily for the couple of minutes I allowed it to before shutting off and reconnecting the Ctek again for the months ahead.
Just a little helping hand for anyone who may worry they need to replace the horrendously expensive lithium battery now or in the Spring!
Merry Christmas.
Popped out to the garage because it has been a while since I last used my car and I thought it would be sensible to attach the Ctek trickle charger I'd bought in preparation for the ~6 month storage it'll have over the winter. I last used it in October on the way back from a long weekend in France, so the last journey was a good few hours long...
Walked up to the car and it didn't open the doors by proximity. Fair enough, it often doesn't work if it's been idle for more than a few days at a time and I know this feature times out with lack of use. I pressed the open button on the remote and, nothing. Not a beep, click, or light anywhere. The lithium battery is dead and I'm staring down the barrels of a very costly replacement because I've not had it connected to a trickle charger for 10 weeks. Bugger!
Whether the battery was dead or not, I still needed to get to it so it could be checked and/or removed, so here's a little guide that you might all be aware of already but could be useful for some:
In the key fob there is a small blade that you have to slide out with your fingernail. This blade fits into a secret, hidden lock, that is under the driver's door handle. You do need to fully lift the handle in order to clear it and hold it open fully while inserting and turning the blade to avoid scratches. The blade only works one way up (although apparently fits in in both orientations), and only in one direction.
Once turned 90-degrees to unlock, the blade can be removed and you can then re-pull the handle to gain access to inside the car. The next thing you need to do is reach over to the passenger side and open the plastic cover that houses the relays in the passenger footwell. There is no way that I could get the passenger door open, so leaning over the centre console was the only way for me. Care must be taken to not lean on the passenger seat with your hand or you may break the heating mat and/or proximity sensor in the seat base that indicates a passenger is present.
With the cover of the fuse box removed, you will see a red/orange 'plug' in the centre. This must be pulled out until it stops and has a copper piece on the side of it. That's the positive jumper that you then need to attach either another 12v battery to, or in my case my trusty Noco booster.
The negative can be attached to the opened door latch or hinge to make the circuit.
With power now applied, the bonnet release can be operated next to the driver's seat and the bonnet will unlatch. Yippee!!
The next stage iss to attach the Noco directly to the battery positive and the negative post by the windscreen wiper mechanism. I then powered on the Noco and left it supplying power for 5 minutes. This, I'm told, gives the battery enough juice to bring it out of dormant mode. After 5 minutes, I disconnected the Noco and hooked up the dedicated lithium Ctek that I should have connected 10 weeks ago. Bingo, battery charging.
I've had the Ctek connected for 24hrs now and can safely say that all is well. The car started in the garage and ran happily for the couple of minutes I allowed it to before shutting off and reconnecting the Ctek again for the months ahead.
Just a little helping hand for anyone who may worry they need to replace the horrendously expensive lithium battery now or in the Spring!
Merry Christmas.
