Starter Battery Drain; How to stop ECU's etc from consuming battery when door opens?

[carpetman]

I go camping and usually stay at a location for 5-7 days at a time. I have an independent Li-ion battery plus solar that I use for all of the aux power. The starter battery gets drained from the nominal 82% down to ~40% after only 2 days. I'm sure this is a function of doors opening/closing starting the ECU's/pumps. I have tried to keep at least one door open at all times, however, I do see the display turn on if I open the rear door, while the driver door has been open for hours. The grenadier remains unlocked for the full duration of this time and I'm trying to figure out what door/doors (or other options) do I need to keep open to stop the drain on the starter battery. I'd be happy to pull a fuse for the duration of the camping if that would work! I would like to avoid having to start the car every day to recover the lost charge.

I think I have read all of the battery drain post, but I don't see a concise solution to this.

I'd appreciate your feedback if you have a solution for the above scenario.

Regards, Carpetman

 

[HereinDaRockies]

Seeking similar workarounds..

The IG has a stupid level reliance on infotainment system, for a vehicle touting its emphasis on simplicity..

I am certain this design decision was due to poor software optimization in the Grenadier.

There is regulatory requirements for Minimum Time Delay for Rear Camera Activation, to support the scenario where someone starts the car and immediately pop it into reverse.

Eagerly activating the ecu + infotainment software affords the system more time, to “boot up” the electronics and software to enable the rear camera, to satisfy regulatory testing.

Beyond the rear camera, I suspect the Grenadier’s electronic speedometer further necessitates this eager activation strategy. Imagine a scenario where driver takes off, while the screen is still booting with Grenadier splash screen. LOL

Furthermore, the fact that the cargo door activates the system, tells me there is likely even poorer optimization efforts, where Ineos skipped the efforts to differentiate the different door activation events. E.g.: Nothing warrants priming the system when the cargo door open / closes.

Case in point, when I close my cargo door, the system boots and a few seconds later I get startled by a bong warning for low fuel - this is the same system priming sequence, as if I open the driver door and jump into the driver seat, potentially taking off. Wtf kind of simpleton logic is this?

A sensible optimization is to simply prevent the LCD screen from turning on, if engine is not running. The ecus can still get primed - just don’t turn on the screen. Not sure how much power saving this would represent.

I hate the shortcuts they have taken on the software.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

To simulate a closed door, I wonder if a carabiner can be used to insert into the open door’s latch.

Subaru Ascents from a few years ago also had battery drain issue while the cargo hatch is open.. people inserted this carabiner to fool the system

 

[landmannnn]

I go camping and usually stay at a location for 5-7 days at a time. I have an independent Li-ion battery plus solar that I use for all of the aux power. The starter battery gets drained from the nominal 82% down to ~40% after only 2 days. I'm sure this is a function of doors opening/closing starting the ECU's/pumps. I have tried to keep at least one door open at all times, however, I do see the display turn on if I open the rear door, while the driver door has been open for hours. The grenadier remains unlocked for the full duration of this time and I'm trying to figure out what door/doors (or other options) do I need to keep open to stop the drain on the starter battery. I'd be happy to pull a fuse for the duration of the camping if that would work! I would like to avoid having to start the car every day to recover the lost charge.

I think I have read all of the battery drain post, but I don't see a concise solution to this.

I'd appreciate your feedback if you have a solution for the above scenario.

Regards, Carpetman

In the IA bodybuilder's guide they mention a transport mode which cuts off some of the electronics when a fuse is pulled.
I've not tried it.

 

[carpetman]

In the IA bodybuilder's guide they mention a transport mode which cuts off some of the electronics when a fuse is pulled.
I've not tried it.
View attachment 7879835

I will give this a try on our next outing, thank you for the suggestion.

 

[landmannnn]

I will give this a try on our next outing, thank you for the suggestion.

I was thinking while posting that it would be useful to find out if any of the other fuses would stop the whole system from booting up.
My experience with pulling a fuse on the wipers and getting an error code would stop me from pulling fuses on a trial and error basis.

 

[carpetman]

Basically I'm looking to see if anyone has a recipe that works to stop the starter battery from draining significantly (80->60% would be fine) over a 4 day period. The kids and the people I'm camping with will be opening/closing the doors (even if I try and keep them open). Also, the cold beer is in the fridge in the back, so it needs regular access!

Cheers

 

[Lollo050968]

I drained while camping in 3 days starter to 0% and Auxillary to 7%, Grenny start without any problem. If not, I have a Nocco JumpStarter available.

 

[ADVAW8S]

Basically I'm looking to see if anyone has a recipe that works to stop the starter battery from draining significantly (80->60% would be fine) over a 4 day period. The kids and the people I'm camping with will be opening/closing the doors (even if I try and keep them open). Also, the cold beer is in the fridge in the back, so it needs regular access!

Cheers

This is a issue for all modern cars. The start up of the infotainment system takes a while and people don't want to wait. So they now don't ever go deep sleep. I would suggest disconnecting the battery if you are going to be in a location for extended period. It sucks but will stop the drain.

 

[HereinDaRockies]

This is an issue for all modern cars. The start up of the infotainment system takes a while and people don't want to wait. So they now don't ever go deep sleep. I would suggest disconnecting the battery if you are going to be in a location for extended period. It sucks but will stop the drain.

I thought IG has all kinds of issues with disconnecting battery? Like airbag errors etc? Requiring a trip to the dealer to clear?

 

[ADVAW8S]

I thought IG has all kinds of issues with disconnecting battery? Like airbag errors etc? Requiring a trip to the dealer to clear?

To my knowledge and I feel comfortable, the errors show up for the first 10 mins but then clears once you start driving.

 

[TCMColorado]

There are things about this rig that make me question my continued ownership .

 

[Clark Kent]

To my knowledge and I feel comfortable, the errors show up for the first 10 mins but then clears once you start driving.

There are two parts to this:

1. Allowing the vehicle to enter sleep mode before disconnecting the main/starter battery will prevent the airbag fault. This is in the US owner's manual.
2. The errors after reconnection of the battery will self clear after driving. This is diff locks and perhaps one other light that I cannot recall

 

[ADVAW8S]

There are two parts to this:

1. Allowing the vehicle to enter sleep mode before disconnecting the main/starter battery will prevent the airbag fault. This is in the US owner's manual.
2. The errors after reconnection of the battery will self clear after driving. This is diff locks and perhaps one other light that I cannot recall

That's it , thanks

 

[Ovrland Bill]

This is a issue for all modern cars. The start up of the infotainment system takes a while and people don't want to wait. So they now don't ever go deep sleep. I would suggest disconnecting the battery if you are going to be in a location for extended period. It sucks but will stop the drain.

A relative has a late model Alfa and has the same issues: battery will be too weak to start engine after car is parked for two weeeks.

 

[ADVAW8S]

A relative has a late model Alfa and has the same issues: battery will be too weak to start engine after car is parked for two weeeks.

The issue here is the infotainment system boots up each time the door opens up. There is a decent size draw to get it up and running as it preps everything to start running. Then it stays live for awhile as it waits for the car to start. Then after about 10 mins it goes to asleep. Open the door and it starts all over again. Do that 20 times in camping trip, and it has a negative effect on the battery.

 

[landmannnn]

A tradesman working next door needed my jump starter to start his very new hired Transit van.
Every time he opened a door, it turned on all the computers, the battery didn't last the day.