Battery charge warning

[feltorange]

Hi. I took delivery of a MY2017 XC60 D5 in late October. After I left the dealership we drove about 20 miles and stopped for a coffee. Whilst consuming it in the car, the engine was off but we left the radio on. After a few minutes the radio switched off due to low battery power.
I wasn't unduly concerned as we still had 100 miles to travel and felt that would be sufficient to charge the battery up. I surmised the battery was low due to being stood on a showroom forecourt for a month or so. Got home, no problems.
Since then the car has only done about 50 miles per week due to C19. On a couple of occasions whilst waiting in the car, I had the same radio issue as before. Then yesterday I got a message warning about battery charge levels.
When I spoke to the dealer the service guy told me that there's bags of power left in the battery when that warning comes on and not to worry if I'm using the car weekly.
I'm just seeking second opinions now.
Do you think I should buy a charger and charge the battery, or is the dealer's opinion valid?
Many thanks for any assistance.

[Zebster]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. But you should probably get a charger anyway

[Clan]

Originally Posted by feltorange

Hi. I took delivery of a MY2017 XC60 D5 in late October. After I left the dealership we drove about 20 miles and stopped for a coffee. Whilst consuming it in the car, the engine was off but we left the radio on. After a few minutes the radio switched off due to low battery power.
I wasn't unduly concerned as we still had 100 miles to travel and felt that would be sufficient to charge the battery up. I surmised the battery was low due to being stood on a showroom forecourt for a month or so. Got home, no problems.
Since then the car has only done about 50 miles per week due to C19. On a couple of occasions whilst waiting in the car, I had the same radio issue as before. Then yesterday I got a message warning about battery charge levels.
When I spoke to the dealer the service guy told me that there's bags of power left in the battery when that warning comes on and not to worry if I'm using the car weekly.
I'm just seeking second opinions now.
Do you think I should buy a charger and charge the battery, or is the dealer's opinion valid?
Many thanks for any assistance.

Volvo advise that the battery should be fully charged every 2 weeks in todays conditions where you do not use the car much . the battery low message is a reminder rather than a warning it will go flat any minute

[Deck1ng]

As above, no need to worry at this stage, invest in a good smart charger and give it a charge at least once per month if you are not travelling far.

[TeamG]

I’ve the same age XC60 and it’s on the CTEK charger fortnightly, just like my other two cars. Voltage does indeed drop considerably in a fortnight, but for the first week after charging the stop/start works fine.

I went for a CTEK CT5 stop/start, currently £73.99 from Tayna Batteries online. Works a treat and it comes with a little adaptor that you connect to your battery and earth point leaving a trailing connector to plug into the charger when needed. Very convenient.

[Toprivetguns]

Originally Posted by TeamG

I’ve the same age XC60 and it’s on the CTEK charger fortnightly, just like my other two cars. Voltage does indeed drop considerably in a fortnight, but for the first week after charging the stop/start works fine.

I went for a CTEK CT5 stop/start, currently £73.99 from Tayna Batteries online. Works a treat and it comes with a little adaptor that you connect to your battery and earth point leaving a trailing connector to plug into the charger when needed. Very convenient.

Another vote for the CTEK. I have it wired to the battery positive and negative on a good earthing bolt nearby. Makes easy connection everytime without the hassle of removing the protective covers.

[johnnyoro]

Hi + 1 for the ctek I have a ctek mx5 . Only thing i would add is if your battery is low it can take a lot longer than 48 hrs to bring it up to a good state of charge . If you can get a smart charger and leave it connected . Once the battery has a really good charge the stop/ start will work even if the engine is cold.
My vehicle is a MY 17 Xc60 D4

[GaryP]

I picked up a 2012 S60 1.6 DRIVe a few weeks ago had had exactly the same problem. In my case the car had sat for 6 months due to the death of the previous owner and the battery was just shagged. Low battery warnings every time I switched it off, plus the start/stop function wouldn't work. I replaced it, reset the BMC and it's been perfect since. They will drain the battery if left for a month or two, and the battery will never come back to a usable state.

[Tannaton]

The CTEK and other intelligent chargers are good, especially if you want to leave them connected for days on end etc.

However if you don't want to spend a lot of money, something like this will do the job perfectly well :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laptronix-B...%2C165&sr=8-52

Make sure you connect is correctly as documented in the owners manual and leave it on for at least 12 hours, preferably 24-48 hours to get the battery fully charged.

If you want to leave it connected for long periods (after doing the above), then get one of these as well :

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Status-S24H...1228033&sr=8-7

Set it so come on for 30 mins a day, doesn't matter when in the day.

The smart chargers are the better option, but if you just want to keep your battery healthy during lockdown, the above option will do that perfectly well.

[moosehead74]

I have a 2017 D5 and frequently get the low battery charge warning. It was a bit disconcerting at first but like many others have been advised by the dealer it's not a problem. I have the CTEK CT5 Start/Stop charger which I connect via my 13 pin tow electrics. I went for the CT5 as it limits the O/P voltage to 14.55V primarily as we have 2 x Mercs and MB specify a max charging voltage of 14.8V. Some of the other CTEKs can exceed this.