[U696783]

So, following on from my last post - New battery and I now have a working HRW.

Now obviously this is not the optimal solution and, after time, it will probably degrade, but with a couple of good runs planned, it might see me through winter.

And my theory is that after three and bit years, the poor charging regime has knackered the OEM battery (compounded by my low mileage) so that it stopped hold charge (even when CTEK'd).

So 130 quid and I have a five year guarantee - that's cheaper than getting to the garage to have a moan!

Fingers crossed.

 

[peralfaadastra]

Good news!
Any chance you've got MES and you're able to tell which BCM software version your car has?

Perhaps, I've just learnt of a second justification to buy a 20MY Quadrifoglio. Ski Hatch plus charging logic that works, probably still not enough to tip the balance though.

Unfortunately, I don't have MES, so can't help there. I dropped my previous Super before the warranty ran out because of the charging issues, but relieved that this Veloce seems to be much improved. We'll see what happens over the winter, but it's been through one already without any problems.

 

[GVblue]

I assume you mean Epsonix

Sorry, I'm dickslexix.

 

[AshleyJU]

Hi all, adding to this rather large tread... I have a MY17 Veloce. Recently had a spontaneous awakening by my car alarm... needless to say I suspected an issue with the sensitivity.

However as a precaution I decided to meter my battery, at the time it was reading 12.22v (Don't have MES yet). Took the car for a 40+ mile motorway blast, checked the charge after and it was at 12.5v. Checked again the next day and had dropped to around 12.18v again.... after another 70+mile motorway drive Battery metered around 12.5 again.

Invested in a CTEK and charged the battery to full yesterday, all seemed well and metered 12.9v. After roughly 16hrs of off and locked the battery managed to meter 12.2v again.

It would appear something is having a profound effect on the battery. I can't seem to understand what could be draining the battery so quickly. Initially I thought the battery was defective, I would have expected the CTEK to have thrown an error?

Picked up my car over 1 month ago, SS hasn't worked, not too fussed about that though. What is more concerning is the fact I might come to my car one morning and it'll be flat. As far as i'm aware i'm shutting the car down correctly..
Put into P > apply E brake > push ignition button (with foot off brake pedal).

I intend to take the car back to the dealer for inspection,where do I stand with the AR dealer? i still have 1yr warranty left. I have done around 1k miles since picking the car up, surely this should be sufficient to keep the battery charged.

Thinking I should just replace the battery for an aftermarket AGM.. (Bosch or Varta)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Navlet]

It could be that if you unlock the car open the boot and check the battery voltage the boot light will be on , plus other electrical systems waking up prior to engine start so battery voltage will drop cf no load voltage.
If you fully charge with c tek charger I would have thought SS should work though as battery SOC needs to be 65% for that to work.
AGM are better in general.

 

[AshleyJU]

It could be that if you unlock the car open the boot and check the battery voltage the boot light will be on , plus other electrical systems waking up prior to engine start so battery voltage will drop cf no load voltage.
If you fully charge with c tek charger I would have thought SS should work though as battery SOC needs to be 65% for that to work.
AGM are better in general.

Thanks for the relpy. Yeah I understand, Just strange to me.. Suspect i'll end up with an AGM before long plus a SS cheat device.

 

[U696783]

Hi all, adding to this rather large tread... I have a MY17 Veloce. Recently had a spontaneous awakening by my car alarm... needless to say I suspected an issue with the sensitivity.

However as a precaution I decided to meter my battery, at the time it was reading 12.22v (Don't have MES yet). Took the car for a 40+ mile motorway blast, checked the charge after and it was at 12.5v. Checked again the next day and had dropped to around 12.18v again.... after another 70+mile motorway drive Battery metered around 12.5 again.

Invested in a CTEK and charged the battery to full yesterday, all seemed well and metered 12.9v. After roughly 16hrs of off and locked the battery managed to meter 12.2v again.

It would appear something is having a profound effect on the battery. I can't seem to understand what could be draining the battery so quickly. Initially I thought the battery was defective, I would have expected the CTEK to have thrown an error?

Picked up my car over 1 month ago, SS hasn't worked, not too fussed about that though. What is more concerning is the fact I might come to my car one morning and it'll be flat. As far as i'm aware i'm shutting the car down correctly..
Put into P > apply E brake > push ignition button (with foot off brake pedal).

I intend to take the car back to the dealer for inspection,where do I stand with the AR dealer? i still have 1yr warranty left. I have done around 1k miles since picking the car up, surely this should be sufficient to keep the battery charged.

Thinking I should just replace the battery for an aftermarket AGM.. (Bosch or Varta)

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

As per my last post - I think the battery after a few years simply loses the will to hold charge.
Check - does your heater rear screen work?

Might be new battery time - I bottled out and kept with the EFB (which is the OEM spec) -
A new battery is under £100 if you fit it yourself , but a word with the dealer sounds in order.

 

[AshleyJU]

As per my last post - I think the battery after a few years simply loses the will to hold charge.
Check - does your heater rear screen work?

Might be new battery time - I bottled out and kept with the EFB (which is the OEM spec) -
A new battery is under £100 if you fit it yourself , but a word with the dealer sounds in order.

Thanks for the reply, I am going to call them today. Hopefully they'll replace it on warrany... Failing that £100 isn't so bad... also found the Varta Silver Dynamic AGM @ Tayna for £171.95 for the 95Ah.
If I did go down that route would the IBS work or could this prove to be more problematic? tbh though; looking through this thread, root cause could point toward the IBS in the first place.

 

[jwq]

.....
If I did go down that route would the IBS work or could this prove to be more problematic? tbh though; looking through this thread, root cause could point toward the IBS in the first place.

It's not the IBS that's problematic, but the way the info from the IBS is handled by the software.....

 

[MR D4VE]

I’ve fitted that Varta AGM battery and have had zero issues since, with S/S working 100% of the time (when not switched off) and HRW has worked on the few occasions, including this morning, that I’ve needed it.
I have a Ctek Battery Sence unit fitted so I can monitor battery voltage and it tends to hover between 70-90% SoC depending on usage. On a really long drive (returned to Cheshire from Scotland this weekend) it will get up to 100%.
I never got 100% with the old EFB battery, even after driving to Cornwall last year, unless I put the charger on it.

 

[smarty156]

Also check the radio on/off/volume button isn't sticking down as this is a known cause of battery drain.

 

[jwq]

Also check the radio on/off/volume button isn't sticking down as this is a known cause of battery drain.

my dealer also had 1 or 2 cases where the outside light in the doorhandles didn't turn off due to sticking button on the handle .....

 

[nillm8tic]

Going to draft an FOI request based on a template tonight hopefully. I'll post it on here and it would be great for feedback before I send it off. Not sure what I am trying to achieve but I like annoying big cooperations from time to time.

So I submitted a defect report to the DVSA (not much on at work and pi$$ed off with Alfa about something else so I thought how better to user my frustration any other than being productive) and now I am working on a FOI request. I will post the draft here shortly and would appreciate input to filling in the gaps from the more knowledgeable members of the forum...

 

[Andy Bowden]

Surely FOI requests only apply to Government departments not companies?

 

[nillm8tic]

I do not believe (example cambridge analytica) that is the case but no harm in trying right? Maybe I'm calling it by the incorrect name.

@Andy Bowden you are correct. FOI's are for Public Auths and Subject Access Requests (SAR) are for personal data.

still going to send the letter to Alfa UK. 110% sure they will decline. But again...no harm in trying

I am requesting the below.

Data regarding the Alfa Romeo Giulia and

(i) How many cases have been reported of the rear window heating element(s) ceasing to function as intended?

(ii) Of the cases reported how many have been closed and resolved by re-charging the battery.

(iii) If there have been re-occurrences of the same issue in (ii).

(iv) Of the cases reported how many have been closed and resolved by re-replacing the car battery.

 

[Matthew159]

I had a new battery fitted under warranty (car was 2yrs old at the time) and the stop start only started work after a 650km trip. All was well for most of the summer, then it stopped working and hasn't worked since. I've more or less given up trying to solve this as dealer and service support have also run out of ideas!! It's the only issue i've really had and apart from this it's a fantastic car.

 

[Alfa Again]

The S/S gave up after 6 months in on my Veloce, April time. I just didn't bother to get it looked at as in the winter months my HRW, Heated seats and Steering wheel all worked. I'd rather that be the case than a functioning S/S.

 

[Andy Bowden]

the stop start only started work after a 650km trip.

The IBS/BCM needs time to assess the SoC of a new battery.
Over time the charging logic is such that the SoC will reduce typically to 60-70% and may reduce further depending on driving patterns.
According to @epsonix's posts, the threshold for S/S is 65% and for the hrw is 50%. Thus many will lose S/S and some may lose hrw within a few weeks/months of new battery fitment, solely due to the BCM software.
Most if not all of the battery replacements under warranty were a waste of AR's money which would have been been spent on getting the BCM software design right.

 

[AshleyJU]

Hi guys,

Another issue today.. Had the alternator light come on the dash, after around 5 mins of driving this went off. The battery had a full CTEK charge about 2 weeks ago after another random alarm episode.

Obviously limited use of the car isn't helping due to lockdown and working from home, I still intend to replace the battery so hoping to push these gremlins under the carpet in the new year...

Just wanted to know if I should get the car checked out or just monitor the dash over the next few weeks. Noticed a post over at GIULIA forums US claiming this dash light is normal. Anyone had this?

 

[Top Down]

Changing the battery, to a larger one, wont cure the problem, you need to get that light checked.