V60 random flat battery and driver's door window malfunction

[Stroudy]

Hi all. This morning I went to start my 2014 V60 D4 r-design after being sat on the driveway for one week with no use. I use the car once or twice a week for a 200 mile round trip and it's always faultless. A while ago the start stop function became unavailable and occasionally it said low battery and the radio shut down when the ignition was on. There's never been a problem starting and I assumed this was something to do with the auxiliary battery.

This morning when I went to start the car in warm conditions it turned over a couple of times and then died. This hasn't happened before. I connected it up to my partner's 2016 V40 diesel and it was very difficult to jump start, even with all the connections correct between the two cars. I got some very strange electronic noises from the engine bay and the main dashboard display went a very bright red and then a bright blue colour with lots of lines through it as if a serious error occurred. The drivers door window then wouldn't go up automatically and now that I have got it going it will go down on auto setting but it won't go up on the auto setting, and as soon as it gets to the top it stops and automatically goes all the way back down again, but only about 95% of the way and won't go any further. You can make it go back up manually but you have to stop just before the top and then ease it into position click by click otherwise it automatically goes back down again.

After I finally successfully jump started it I took it on a 200 mile round trip, stopping halfway and then intermittently for errands on the way back and it started first time each time.

Does this sound like some kind of fault or maybe something damaged when I jump started it off of the diesel V40? Have tried to search the forum but can't find anything the same as this. Hoping potentially just a new battery will sort it, but if anybody knows any information based on this, or if this sounds familiar please let me know.

Thank you.

[glynh]

Honestly, sounds like the battery has died.

I had similar in a Insignia, over time it seemed to get unreliable, and one day went out all fine, then went to go out in the afternoon and wouldnt do anything.

All sorts of flashing lights on the dash and struggled to turn over even once.

https://www.tayna.co.uk is good for batteries, bought one for the caravan from there and was reasonable including delivery, probably get it to your door tomorrow if you order now.

You could try a battery charge with a good and suitable external charger first?

also the window, have a search on here, the fix is easy but cant remember the specifics (something like wind down then hold for 5 seconds and then wind up and hold for 5).

[Stroudy]

Hi Thanks for the information. My apologies as when I searched I did it on my smartphone and it didn't seem to bring up the full results that it did this morning on a laptop. I have identified the problem as the battery as you suggest and already ordered a new one from Tanya. I've test removed it this morning and it was fairly straightforward once you've removed trim. And also managed to reset the window by putting it up on light setting and then holding it for a second until it clicks. Put down and back up again and all sorted. Thanks.

Originally Posted by glynh

Honestly, sounds like the battery has died.

I had similar in a Insignia, over time it seemed to get unreliable, and one day went out all fine, then went to go out in the afternoon and wouldnt do anything.

All sorts of flashing lights on the dash and struggled to turn over even once.

https://www.tayna.co.uk is good for batteries, bought one for the caravan from there and was reasonable including delivery, probably get it to your door tomorrow if you order now.

You could try a battery charge with a good and suitable external charger first?

also the window, have a search on here, the fix is easy but cant remember the specifics (something like wind down then hold for 5 seconds and then wind up and hold for 5).

[Stroudy]

Just thought I'd report back on this, it was indeed a battery issue. New battery from Tanya refitted just over 2 weeks ago and after a trip to the Alps and back with no faults everything is working correctly including the start stop. Vehicle can be left for an extended period with media on and no low battery warning appears. Cheers.

[RDesign4Life]

Volvo's appear to be programmed to stop charging the battery at 85%. Monitoring via a carscanner OBD dashboard shows battery state of charge always flat lines at 85% and then alternator voltage drops back accordingly.

So your battery will never hold more than 85% charge unless you put an external charger on it. Wouldn't have thought this a very clever way to treat a battery for maximum lifespan but maybe Volvo have some research into this to inform the approach (although my guess is that by treating the battery as a consumable similar to brake pads it simply allows them to put an extended life expectancy on the more expensive alternator and reduce projected whole life cost). There's probably been a past win in there for them in relation to fleet sales and maybe carbon accounting.

[Bromie]

I was having a very similar issue with my 2016 XC60 D4 AWD I bought in June this year.

I thought something was off, as even several hour journeys would still intermittently show the Stop/Start as non-functional due to 'Battery charging due to low temperature, etc.,". Also, the music would cut out for a second when the engine restarted using Stop/Start, although I didn't realise that this was related at the time.

After assuming the battery was on its way out I took the car to Halfords for a free battery check. It turns out the main battery was still good despite being dated 2015 (680 CCA left of its original 720), however the support battery quickly dropped to 10.4V when checked separately.

I sourced a replacement from Tanya (Enduroline YT12A-BS) which fixed the issue straight away! It still feels strange to hear the sound just carry on because I've always known it to go off while Stop/Starting!

The odd thing is that I never once had a low battery warning - I don't know if the support battery isn't monitored in the same way, even if the car knows it's still trying to charge it.

[Tannaton]

On a 2014 - 2016 car it's very likely that the original battery is still in use, in which case it will be 6-8 years old....

I have that dilemma with my 2015 XC60 which has the original battery.... do I replace it or wait for it to fail which might be in 3 weeks or 3 years....?

I'll probably replace it come the colder weather.

[Bromie]

Exactly. Like I say, my car has its original 2015 battery (60,000 miles) but a free Halfords test proved that it still holds a sufficient charge. Why don't you pop somewhere so you can confirm what condition yours is in, just for peace of mind?

When I first looked, Eurocarparts was quoting around £450 for a new battery! Halfords' equivalent was around £150, but I'm sure you could find decent alternatives elsewhere. However, the support battery I changed was only around £35, so it didn't take as long to think about!

From what I understand, the main battery starts the engine, whether normally or through Stop/Start, and presumably powers most major electrical systems. The support battery powers the car's interior systems (infotainment, climate control, etc.) when the car is stopped during Stop/Start, but the main battery still starts the car again. It's also meant to take load away from the main battery so everything doesn't dim while starting the engine.

It explains why mine had no real problem starting, but presented strange issues with the sound cutting out and the 'battery charging' message.

[Bromie]

Originally Posted by RDesign4Life

Volvo's appear to be programmed to stop charging the battery at 85%. Monitoring via a carscanner OBD dashboard shows battery state of charge always flat lines at 85% and then alternator voltage drops back accordingly.

So your battery will never hold more than 85% charge unless you put an external charger on it. Wouldn't have thought this a very clever way to treat a battery for maximum lifespan but maybe Volvo have some research into this to inform the approach (although my guess is that by treating the battery as a consumable similar to brake pads it simply allows them to put an extended life expectancy on the more expensive alternator and reduce projected whole life cost). There's probably been a past win in there for them in relation to fleet sales and maybe carbon accounting.

I can only assume this is to increase the life of the battery. From what I understand, repeatedly charging and discharging a battery greatly reduces its life, and that it's better to keep its State of Charge at some 'optimum' point.

I believe a few electric car manufacturers limit the capability of the battery charging to between 20% and 80% capacity (while still appearing to the user as 0% and 100%). This 'hidden' capacity is slowly increased over time as the battery ages, so the usable capacity of the car doesn't drastically take a swan dive after so many years.

[GrahamHR]

I had the same problems with my "new" 2015 V60 Polestar in early 2016.

When delivered after a 200 mile trip the low battery warning after playing with the vehicle functions for 10 mins or so.. New battery fitted by the local Volvo dealer, I was not happy.

This issue has plagued it ever since. There must be a huge battery drain or the battery is seriously undercharged by the car by design. I have used a smart charger on it since new; it always indicates a partially charged battery. I changed the battery for a Bosch one, the same problem. The removed Volvo battery, sometimes charged by a smart battery, keeps almost full charge for months and months. The Volvo dealer told me the charging is "smart" (= flat battery if left at an airport for a few weeks). Smart like smart motorways I suppose, which are anything but smart !