Stop Start Query

[RChiv]

Hi all, a small problem has occurred and I am wondering if it is normal. I bought the car in January have not had a problem with it.
The stop start has been working fine up until I started to get messages that an A1 Service is overdue by so many days. I booked the service after taking a two year plan and it is due next Tuesday. The message comes up each time I start but the stop start has not worked since irrespective of journey distance.
Is this normal as I cannot find any reference to it anywhere.

Roger

 

[Gazwould]

You have no eye deer that this is a good thing ?

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Likely your main battery is on its way out. If you do a long drive check it again.

 

[RChiv]

Likely your main battery is on its way out. If you do a long drive check it again

I have driven at least 40 non stop miles a few times in the last week and it still has not changed.

Roger

 

[markjay]

I have driven at least 40 non stop miles a few times in the last week and it still has not changed.

Roger

If you have access to a trickle-charger (e.g. CTEK), then you can try charging the battery overnight and see what happens.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

If you have access to a trickle-charger (e.g. CTEK), then you can try charging the battery overnight and see what happens.

+1 for this. It’s that time of year again.

i’d simply say that the battery may well need a top up charge. Borrowing someone’s charger to “fill ‘er up” could well solve the problem. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll extend your battery life

Reasons why the start-stop system does not work

Does the start-stop system not work? There are various reasons why the engine keeps on running at traffic lights. What can you do to prevent it?

batteryworld.varta-automotive.com

 

[Gazwould]

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[KillerHERTZ]

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A bit irrelivant as its now law for all cars to have SS.

That Scotty bloke is truely horrible.

 

[Gazwould]

But not part of an mot test .

Yes he's Marmite but people who have been lifelong mechanics and fathers before them are Gold .

You get all the very best info of what is really going on .

Look at all this TV push for electric cars , the reality is a compromise .

 

[GeeJayW]

In stop-start traffic, stop-start engine control is (for me anyway) a pain in the Rse. Invariably turn it off. The only time I leave it on is when the display on the dash says it's not available. When the symbol goes green, I turn it off.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

As long as you arent in traffic which is slowly creeping forward I think its a decent system.

I cycle to work and past miles and miles of cars with their engines on not moving wasting fuel. even if half of these have their engines off its better for everyone.

 

[RChiv]

Being an Ex Auto Electrician I understand battery faults. It just seemed odd that it was working fine until the Overdue Service message came up. So will see when they reset the message if anything changes.
Thanks for your replies.

Roger

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Re the "push for electric cars." It's not really advertising or manufacturers who are "pushing for electric cars."

The 21st century push to EV's and hybrids is purely driven by the public demand for emissions control. The regulators in all countries have created massive potential fines for manufacturers who don't bring down the emissions of their products. We're talking tens of billions of Euros . That's what's driving stop start and turbo engine design as a small step to extend the existence of fossil fuel vehicles.

How automakers plan to avoid CO2 fines in Europe

CO₂ emissions are increasing

Clean Air Act Vehicle and Engine Enforcement Case Resolutions | US EPA

We're getting what we voted for when we told the EU and USA to reduce CO2 emissions.

 

[Tonygw]

My stop start doesn't work. I did an awful lot of research and talking with merc specialists, it seems as though these cars monitor battery condition, if the battery doesn't hold 100% charge with 100% load capacity it can disable the system to avoid the battery being damaged by excessive engine cranking in stop start conditions. Which could end up with the car not starting at all from cold eventually.

The cost of a new battery is over £100 and my car for now starts fine so its going to stay as it is, if one day it doesn't start because of a dead battery I will of course replace it.

My owners manual states all the conditions that need to be met before the system will enable the stop start system. there's quite a few of them!

I never liked it when it did work, I was never stopped in traffic for that long anyway, only slow moving traffic jams etc And my local merc specialist blames these systems for premature wear of engine mounts, gearbox mounts and in some cases premature timing chain wear..

 

[Gazwould]

I did this..

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[Scooby_Doo]

The 21st century push to EV's and hybrids is purely driven by the public demand for emissions control.

Well I can't remember demanding emissions control , not that there's anything wrong with the idea , I just think that it's aimed at the wrong mode of transport.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Well I can't remember demanding emissions control , not that there's anything wrong with the idea , I just think that it's aimed at the wrong mode of transport.

“Some say” a single long haul flight in the course of a year creates more CO2 than a year’s worth of motoring.

“All we know” is that the EV and hybrid push is caused by the regulators in the EU and USA. It isn’t a “marketing thing.”

 

[ShaunB]

I have driven at least 40 non stop miles a few times in the last week and it still has not changed.

Roger

Definitely get yourself a CTEK charger. My wifes A200 stop/start wasn't working, the car was driven 120 miles to Dublin airport(stop start still didn't work)), left for a week and driven 120 miles back home, still no stop/start.
Threw it on charge for about 24 hours, and stop/start was working again within a couple of hundred metred from leaving the house.
Best thing I ever bought, especially because of our heavily restricted traveling regulations from earlier in the year.

 

[Gazwould]

Does the same at a fraction of the price .

 

[FiveAlive]

Definitely get yourself a CTEK charger. My wifes A200 stop/start wasn't working, the car was driven 120 miles to Dublin airport(stop start still didn't work)), left for a week and driven 120 miles back home, still no stop/start.
Threw it on charge for about 24 hours, and stop/start was working again within a couple of hundred metred from leaving the house.
Best thing I ever bought, especially because of our heavily restricted traveling regulations from earlier in the year.

Similar story. My partner's A160 stop/start didn't function at all for about a year. I checked both batteries at the time and they seemed OK on a basic voltage check, so I decided not to bother throwing money at new batteries without being sure of the cause. During the first lockdown this year the main battery went flat after a few weeks sitting idle so I charged it up using my CTEK charger, and used the "recondition" mode because the battery was 9 years old at this point, and stop/start has worked ever since.