E320 W211 Malfunction

[Alex225]

My E320 CDI keeps giving me the error - "Electrical Consumers Switched Off"

Now I had this earlier in the year and put it down to a knackered battery which I have since replaced and all has been fine. That is until I've cut down using it day to day so mid-week only 1 or 2 days then on and off throughout the weekend.

Thing is I did a 260 mile round trip on Saturday so gave it a good run and assumed it would give the battery a decent bit of power. Got in the car this morning for 20 minutes or so and that error remained on screen the whole time.

Is it just the nature of the car and the cold weather it's not liking?

I had considered perhaps one of those solar chargers to get some power back into the car but slightly wary of them charging through the 12V socket.

 

[merc85]

Did you replace both batteries? Also maybe worth checking the output of the alternator.

 

[4life211]

It might be BCM or aux battery .but if you replace aux battery it keeps the message on the screen for a period of time and then it removes.

 

[Alex225]

I replaced the main one in the boot not the one up front. Thing is the car has been absolutely fine after replacing the main one in the boot, only since the colder weather and less frequent usage.

 

[whitenemesis]

If the "Electrical Consumers Switched Off" message stays on for more than a couple of minutes after starting up you've most likely got a charging problem. Get the system checked out.

In my 219 (same electrical system) I used to get that message routinely in the cold weather but it always went off again within 30sec.

 

[b1g1an]

^ what he said, even when the battery has sat for a few weeks the message only stays on for a couple of minutes at most.

Used to get it after a few days in cold weather but after getting a CTEK and running the recondition mode, which they recommend to do annually, it can now sit for two weeks without issue.

 

[Alex225]

Thanks guys, usually it is a couple of minutes today just seemed to be a fair bit longer.