Command install flattens battery!!!!

[craigyb]

Ok, I carefully installed my Command 2 system and now my battery is flat after 1 day.

I used all the connectors that came with the unit, so I've not spliced into any wires except for the CD changer pair, and the speed control signal as per instructed.

Everything works ok, Nav, chnager, FM, TV in-motion etc. But my battery has been dead twice now since Sunday.

I charged the battery after the first time and then drove 200 miles on it, should have been fully charged.

This is a bit of a pain cos I live 200 miles away from where I work.

I noticed that I can power the command up regardless of wether the car ignition is on or not. Is that normal.

Craig

 

[Shude]

Originally posted by craigyb
I noticed that I can power the command up regardless of wether the car ignition is on or not. Is that normal.

Yes it is, but after 30 mins of no-ignition it tells you it is going to turn off to prevent draining the battery

 

[craigyb]

Hi Shude, thanks for that, is there some setting that I'm missing. It does power down when I turn the ignition off which is what I expect.

Well the screen blanks, which is what I expect. Also my instrument cluster stays lit for a good while after stopping the engine, or should I say the digital mileage indicators, gear selection etc stay lit.

I was wondering if this is because my system is not setup for command yet and things are a little confused.

I wil lhave to disconnect the system to use the car and try and get it sorted at a stealership at this rate.

And that means £££££'s

Craig

 

[Steve_Perry]

I don't want to sound facetious but could it be your battery is on its way out and it's just coincidence that it just happens to be giving up the ghost at the same time that you've completed your command installation?

My mileage/outside temp/clock also take a while to fade after switching off IIRC, they also come on immediately after unlocking the car, i.e. way before I've got the key any where near the ignition.

S.

 

[craigyb]

Hi Steve

Yes, it could be the battery has just died, my misfortune, but as I've only had the car for 4 weeks I'm a bit miffed then. As I fitted the Command, it's my responsibility to fix it I suppose.

Also after that first battery flattening, the drivers window wont close properly, it goes down ok, but now when I push up, it sticks and eventually closes. Very strange.

It seems too much of a coincidence, but I'm taking the command out tonight and I'll test the car over the weekend, this may put the trip to the northern GTG in jeopardy!!

Craig

 

[RichardM]

Originally posted by craigyb
Also after that first battery flattening, the drivers window wont close properly, it goes down ok, but now when I push up, it sticks and eventually closes. Very strange.

I don't know about Mercedes but on other cars I've had this is quite common after the battery has been disconnected. The owners manual normally tells you how to reset the windows so they learn the open and shut positions.

 

[jaymanek]

Hi,

Yes all the windows need resetting...
Its highly unlikely that ure battery died at the same time as installing comand! But its possible... I would look closely at the wiring again, gotta be something up with the permanent live....

 

[pepe]

My friend had this in his car ,was using a system very similar to command, and on the back there is a little fan to remove excess heat from system, the way he had it wired the fan was running 24 hours a day hence flat battery, he moved the wire to an ignition live and sorted problem, worth a look. you should have one power wire going to permanent live which saves all your settings and the main control to ignition.

 

[craigyb]

Hi Pepe

Yes, I'm using the loom supplied by Steve from Holland, I haven't made any changes myself to the wiring, maybe they are crossed, I notice that as soon as I plugged the unit in, the fan made some noise and I noticed it was running

It is quite possible that this is the cause.

As I said the unit will power up without the ignition on, old radio didn't do that.

Craig

 

[sym]

Originally posted by craigyb
Hi Pepe

Yes, I'm using the loom supplied by Steve from Holland, I haven't made any changes myself to the wiring, maybe they are crossed, I notice that as soon as I plugged the unit in, the fan made some noise and I noticed it was running

It is quite possible that this is the cause.

As I said the unit will power up without the ignition on, old radio didn't do that.

Craig

normal for the fan to come on for a few seconds when you connect COMAND to your ISO plugs - mine does the same, but it doesn't drain the battery !

There is a permanent live in the ISO Connector which allows the unit to power up without the ignition on - as well as an ignition sense wire which will turn it off automatically when the ignition is switched off.

S.

 

[craigyb]

Well that suggests that all is working as it should.

The fan noise stopped after a while, I can power the unit on/off at will.

It shuts down after the ignition is turned off.

I'm removing the command system tonight, charging the battery and seeing how I get on without it.

Maybe my battery is goosed after all and the cold weather is now showing this up.

I will speak to the stealership today.

Craig

 

[sym]

my money is on your battery . . .

Co-incidentally, the last time I installed some ICE on my Previous car, and was playing around with it for a couple of hours, it ended up with not enough power to start the engine ! Was also very strange as I had Xenons, and there was only enough power to build up enough charge to turn on one of them, so I was thinking headlamp bulbs (££££) / fuses / etc. AA Checked it out and confirmed that the battery had reached the end of its life (about 3 years) - £50 and a new battery solved the problem.

Shame batteries are never covered by warranties !

S.

 

[craigyb]

Although the car is second hand, it's only 4-5 weeks old to me from the Manchester dealership, so I've just called them.

Not said anything about the command install, but just that the battery was dying. and as it was less than 5 weeks since I got the car, I'm less than happy.

Unfortunately all the phone lines to the Manchester dealer are down, and I spoke with another branch, a nice man there said he will get a message to the Service/Sales dept and get some one to call me when the lines are back up.

I'm off work on Friday so maybe i can get it looked at then.

Craig

 

[jaymanek]

i dont think the battery is covered on warranty usually, but you never know...
Also on MB batteries, it is common for the water to get low, just check that aswell and top up with deionised water if necessary...

 

[sjmaxwell]

My moneys on the battery. The Comand unit will powerdown after a certain amount of time if the unit is left on for about 30 mins. Comand also, I believe, warns when the battery is low on power.

The problem with the windows also suggestes there is a battery issue as there is a reset procedure in the handbook if the battery is disconected.

As to the power on the Comand I believe that the looms on CAN bus cars for ICE only have permanent lives and not ignition live, therefore they rely on the CAN bus for powering down the stereo.

On my 2000 year CLK230K the Comand unit stays on when the key is in the ignition but switches off when I remove it.

 

[craigyb]

Also the car is 2000, so yes 3 years old battery, looks new to me though. Probably cos it's been in the nice shiny boot and not under the bonnet.

The car has done less than 15,000 miles, I expect a lot of that was stop/start short journeys as the previous owner was a Woman (not discriminating) and it was probably a second car, hence low mileage short commutes, not good for any battery.

Craig

 

[Shude]

Originally posted by craigyb
The car has done less than 15,000 miles, I expect a lot of that was stop/start short journeys as the previous owner was a Woman (not discriminating) and it was probably a second car, hence low mileage short commutes, not good for any battery.

Or the catalytic converter, or indeed any other part of the engine! I wouldn't consider buying a low mileage car, the one situation Mercedes overlooked when designing their cars to last millions of miles is the one where it sits in a garage for months going nowhere

 

[craigyb]

Doh!

 

[craigyb]

Having said that, I bough a 3 year old Toyota Supra Twin Turbo with 6000 miles on the clock I ran it for 3 years and it never ever gave me any trouble....

Same scenario, rich womans car, low mileage, short journeys, too powerful and dangerous for her and was sold back to the dealership.

Craig

 

[craigyb]

OK, my car's been at the dealers all day, the Command system had been removed by myself the day before.

They reset my faulty drivers side window.

Battery was ok this morning after a 200 mile run from london to Manchester, even though I left my park light on all night.

The dealer could find nothing wrong with the battery after exhaustive tests. And of course they are reluctant to swap it out with no fault found. :-(

So I'm beginning to suspect the command system is the culprit. I will leave it out for a week and see what gives. If all is well, then I will re-install the command and wait for battery failure.

If it's ok, then I keep it, if it fails I'm sending it back to Steve.

I have made no changes to the command system, except splicing in the wires for my CD player as instructed. Is anyone going tomorrow that has a similar setup, I will bring the unit with me.

Craig