Warnin bong - no message, ignition off

[mkviken]

Just got back from work car sat for 2 and a bit weeks in garage. Charged battery and washed before going away

Just got back and pulled car out to do a few things and noticed car making a bong sound from speakers. Radio was off, keys out, lights etc all off. Only difference is car was unlocked

Message cAme on stereo briefly saying shutting down device to save battery - radio was t even on!

The sound is similar to a beep an iPhone makes when you do the boice recognition thing- low pitched bong, not high pitched like low fuel or seatbelt


Anyone know what this is? Is my battery knackered? Was just charged prior to going away and never had any issues before and car was warm in garage.

[Snoopy]

Have you got a multimeter?
Leave the car an hour or so since last start and check the battery voltage.

Did your interior lights come on when you got in the car in the garage?

Sounds like the battery voltage is low. The car then goes into a life suppport type mode and starts to turn off non critical items. Happens to mine a few times.
Sounds like it really dropped probably to 11.8V area and it than generates the warning message.
it does reset everything.
You probably also find the windows don't auto anymore. Put them fully Up then fully down a few times resets them as it needs to learn the limits again.

[mkviken]

cheers geoff

just seems strange that this message was coming on even though the stereo was off and the key was out.

ive had that message on before once while cleaning the car with the radio on but no warning sound happened, just a warning on the stereo screeen



when i got in the interior lights came on, engine started perfectly etc.

it was strange how this bong sound was going (every one or seconds for about 6 times) when i opened the door (even the back doors made it trigger the sound)

the same noise is if you go to stereo and press MEDIA without anything plugged in and a message comes up saying no media found.

[Jimble]

I've had this before when i've been cleaning the car and the doors have been open for an extended period, i just assumed it was to save the battery although i was a bit concerned as i'd recently had bluetooth retrofitted and wondered if it might have been draining it a little? Been fine ever since though so maybe a glitch??

[mkviken]

well i put it on charge tonight. took about an hour to get fully charged. usually when i put it on it goes form charging to maintain in a matter of minutes.


could leaving an SD card plugged in drain the battery?

[ScottA]

well i put it on charge tonight. took about an hour to get fully charged. usually when i put it on it goes form charging to maintain in a matter of minutes.


could leaving an SD card plugged in drain the battery?

wouldn't have thought so

[RickS]

If you're not using the car for extended periods just charging the battery ocassionally isn't good enough.
I use a CTEK MXS 3.6 3.8A 12V Multi-Functional 4-Stage Car Battery Charger; you leave it connected to the battery and it maintains voltage and conditions the battery.
Even though your RCD510 wasn't turned on it still uses power to maintain settings.

[dubber36]

So how long should a battery last if the car is left for long periods? Mine would not start after about 3 weeks last winter, but in that time I had had the doors open cleaning it one day and fitted the new RCD510, so was playing with that too. Even so, I wouldn't have thought that was a great deal of battery usage. My Mk2 would have let me done all that.

[RickS]

So how long should a battery last if the car is left for long periods? Mine would not start after about 3 weeks last winter, but in that time I had had the doors open cleaning it one day and fitted the new RCD510, so was playing with that too. Even so, I wouldn't have thought that was a great deal of battery usage. My Mk2 would have let me done all that.

3 weeks in winter is a fairly long time to leave a car, and there's a number of factors to consider; how much charge had the battery got before you stopped using the car? Do you do a lot of short trips [especially in winter] when everything electrical is on most of the time? The battery is never fully charged just from the alternator unless you've been on a long run. Also just simply charging it when it's flat won't do it any good in the long run, you really need to condition it as well.
There are several items in the car using power continuously; alarm system, RCD/RNS, ECU etc, they all take their toll especially in cold weather.
If you garage your car for part of the winter you really need to get the item I suggested in my first reply [About £50 for complete peace of mind - bargain]

[mkviken]

ive got a battery conditioner but i cant open the bonnet in my garage so cannot leave it on on the garage. i can only charge it on the drive


also i dont think 2 weeks is a long time to leave a car standing. been offshore 10 years nearly and never had an issue leaving cars standing for a few weeks before.