sapstar66

Guys,

My RWD 2010 has been parked in my driveway since June, waiting to be sold... Last night I had to move it but of course, the battery was drained.

I started it with a booster/charger and then went on a run to charge the battery a bit since I wouldn't be able to park it near a power source for charging overnight.

Problem is...

I now have a christmas tree in the dash... Check Engine light is ON, anti-skid light is ON (and non-operational)... Brake Hold doesn't work (and ABS non-operational) and the Cruise control will not turn on.

Could all of this be related to the battery? Is there anything special I could do to reset all those warnings after I get the battery charged properly?

I've searched around this forum and the web at large with nothing of value...

thx...

jmcraney

When batteries are discharged too far - I think the threshold for this is 50% SOC - they can be permanently damaged. Older batteries are more susceptible to this. When a car is allowed to sit, the car's parasitic load is constantly reducing the battery's SOC, so the longer they sit the lower the SOC.

Several things come to mind to try.

You can remove the battery from the car and take it to a battery dealer to be charged and tested. And replaced if defective.

If you are using a home charger, be sure the battery is charged to a reasonable SOC - 75% or greater is considered good. If you can't get the SOC above 75% then the battery is considered bad. If you have charged the battery in place, then you should remove the cable from the negative terminal for a few minutes and then restore the connection and turn the ignition on to allow the car's electronics to be initialized.

Be sure that the car's ignition is OFF if you are charging the battery in-place. And be sure the car's ignition is OFF when you are connecting the battery for initialization.

sapstar66

That might be it... When I boost-started the car... it didn't start at first try... starter just clicked... but in the meantime the center console was initializing... and I waited until it was done before turning the ignition back off. So I'm thinking (might be a stretch here) that maybe the other non-visible systems were not fully re-initialized?

For sure I will be able to park it closer to a power source tonight and charge it. I will make sure to disconnect the car from it during the charge.

If you think of something else to try...

Thanks much. Really appreciated.

J.P.

comotiger

For resetting the lights, you could use Carista or similar app to run diagnostics and reset all codes.

sapstar66

That's a good idea... I have techstream and a cable. Haven't touched it for a while but I will give it a try.

Thanks

DarKnight

iTrader: (3)

I had an issue with my 2007 where the VSC lights were on and I was getting the warning to take it to the dealer to have them check the VSC system. My battery was already on the way out then the car sat for about 5 days without being started. Once I replaced the battery with a new one everything worked fine again. You may just need to pull the battery and charge it at home. If that doesn't work then you'll probably need to replace it.

sapstar66

Thank you all for your replies.

Indeed, a full charge disconnected from the car did the trick. Everything is back to normal.

I love a self-healing car... my old Benzes would typically create more issues by themselves than while driving...